Buying help : Fun & practical for £15k.. PH help please

[Rich Marks]

Hi

Been reading PH for many years, but my this is my 1st post.

Looking for a really fun car, fast, but fun / putting smile on my face is main criteria. Budget is £15k max ( ish )

New job .. So now do about 15k a year ..mpg needs to be a good 30+ on a long motorway run.

Currently after enormous research :

Nissan 370z : I hear road noise is an issue, and not sure I can get the mpg.

Alfa Spider 2.4 : Diesel of course so may not go down well here, but , reasonable mpg , faster than all but the 3.2 V6. And this car just looks fantastic. This is my default. Buying with heart, not head.

Really need some advice , some wild cards :

lotus Elise .. Mpg ok .. Bags of fun (more than above) ..but not sure I can use this for 15k miles a year, a daily commuter car.

(Ps .. Not a fan of BMW or Porsche ...and Audi TT looks great ...but I see dozens every day, so doesn't feel "special")


... Welcome open comments in my thoughts on everything above

Cheers

Rich

[JmatthewB]

You could get a Jaguar XK 4.2 V8 for under £15,000 but that will only get 25mpg max.

Anything 'fun' with 30mpg is challenging.

[161BMW]

CLK 55 AMG
E46 M3 CS (I know u said u don't like BMW but ....)
XKR

[ManOpener]

At this kind of budget I'd be hard pressed not to recommend an E46 M3, even to someone who doesn't like BMWs.
I fear you'll find the Spider disappointing, they're great to look at but not to drive.
You'll probably manage 30mpg on a motorway, at 70, in a 370z.

[Dracoro]

You could spend £12k or so and still get a great car, the £3k saved will more than pay for much fuel thus affording you a 20/25mpg car....

fuel costs based on 15k p/a
40mpg diesel car = £2332 p/a
35mpg diesel car = £2662 p/a
30mpg petrol car = £2951 p/a
25mpg petrol car = £3541 p/a
20mpg petrol car = £4426 p/a

So the difference between a 25mpg petrol and a 35mpg diesel is about £900 a year - that £3k I mentioned more than pays for this and you get a more fun, more interesting car (arguably cheaper to service and be more reliable too)

Edited by Dracoro on Monday 17th February 08:58

[james_gt3rs]

An M3 seems like the most suitable.

[nickfrog]

Rich Marks said:

(Ps .. Not a fan of BMW or Porsche )

By being badge selective you're ruling out a lot of very good cars that will match your criteria and might even save you money in the process.

130i or 987 spring to mind.

[Shaoxter]

Rich Marks said:

(Ps .. Not a fan of BMW or Porsche ...and Audi TT looks great ...but I see dozens every day, so doesn't feel "special")

BMW and Porsche make far more interesting and fun cars than the Audi TT, not sure why you wouldn't consider them. A Cayman would fit your budget and requirements perfectly I would have thought.

[Stick Legs]

Late generation Mazda MX-5 and some mods.

Toyota GT86, used are slightly over budget but only slightly, New on a deal would seem to be a good idea, if you have £15k kicking about then why spend it all on a car, if you are going to borrow £15k you could be in a brand new GT86 for the same money on a PCP.

[Dracoro]

Audi S5

[300bhp/ton]

Rich Marks said:

Hi

Been reading PH for many years, but my this is my 1st post.

Looking for a really fun car, fast, but fun / putting smile on my face is main criteria. Budget is £15k max ( ish )

New job .. So now do about 15k a year ..mpg needs to be a good 30+ on a long motorway run.

Currently after enormous research :

Nissan 370z : I hear road noise is an issue, and not sure I can get the mpg.

Alfa Spider 2.4 : Diesel of course so may not go down well here, but , reasonable mpg , faster than all but the 3.2 V6. And this car just looks fantastic. This is my default. Buying with heart, not head.

Really need some advice , some wild cards :

lotus Elise .. Mpg ok .. Bags of fun (more than above) ..but not sure I can use this for 15k miles a year, a daily commuter car.

(Ps .. Not a fan of BMW or Porsche ...and Audi TT looks great ...but I see dozens every day, so doesn't feel "special")


... Welcome open comments in my thoughts on everything above

Cheers

Rich

Hi.

Trouble is, fun, practical and economical are quite difficult things to get in one package.

A 370z is an awesome car IMO. But 30mpg+ is a pipe dream and is a 2 seater coupe really what most would consider practical?

Personally don't see road noise in one of these to be an issue.

Do you have any idea how much money a month you'd like to spend on fuel and what your typical driving conditions are going to be like?

Also when you say practical, practical for what?

[nickfrog]

Dracoro said:

Audi S5

30mpg ?

Fun ?

[mikeyr]

Might have some useful ideas in here...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[300bhp/ton]

james_gt3rs said:

An M3 seems like the most suitable.

Are these really serious propositions for 30mpg+ cars?

[Dracoro]

nickfrog said:

Dracoro said:

Audi S5

30mpg ?

Fun ?

Would get 30mpg on the motorway - certainly no less economical than most the other suggestions on this thread!!!

Fun is subjective - for most people it would be fun. Other cars can be more fun of course, but if we're going down that route most the other cars posted are dull compared to a Caterfield/Elise/etc........

[james_gt3rs]

300bhp/ton said:

james_gt3rs said:

An M3 seems like the most suitable.

Are these really serious propositions for 30mpg+ cars?

I reckon you could get 30mpg on the motorway. Reading the OP again though, 15k miles in an M3 would be quite expensive I imagine.

[Dracoro]

300bhp/ton said:

james_gt3rs said:

An M3 seems like the most suitable.

Are these really serious propositions for 30mpg+ cars?

On the one hand, I suggest the OP sees my first post.

On the other hand, the OP did NOT ask for 30mpg average cars, just ones that will do that on a motorway run

Rich Marks said:

mpg needs to be a good 30+ on a long motorway run

which I believe most will do (ish).

[si2085]

C5 Corvette, as per today's Carpool?! 37mpg!

[nxh66]

As said already, I think by ruling out BMW you are missing out on some crackers.

In your position I'd probably be looking at a M or 3.0si Z4 coupe.

3.0si will manage high 30s to the gallon on the motorway no problem.

[300bhp/ton]

Dracoro said:

300bhp/ton said:

james_gt3rs said:

An M3 seems like the most suitable.

Are these really serious propositions for 30mpg+ cars?

On the one hand, I suggest the OP sees my first post.

On the other hand, the OP did NOT ask for 30mpg average cars, just ones that will do that on a motorway run

Rich Marks said:

mpg needs to be a good 30+ on a long motorway run

which I believe most will do (ish).

But the thing is, I believe when most people say I want it to do 'x' mpg on the run, they are usually being unrealistic and really saying I expect the car to return this mpg most of the time with relative ease.

So I have no problem believing an M3 can achieve 30mpg, but you'll have to drive it in a manner what would even be boring in a 318. 30mpg is right at the peak of the M3's mpg ability and will require patients and concentration to attain.

Most of the time it will be well short of this.