Best fun and practical car for under £10k?
Discussion
Looking for advice on a car around the £10k mark. (I live in Sweden, so the prices are prob. +15% vs. UK market.) Hoping for something fun & not-too-impractical (see below), with around 60k on the clock (but I’m flexible).
My needs/wants are:
- 15 min each way daily B-road commute to work
- Something sporty-feeling
- Reliability > Style
- Isn’t completely useless in snowy conditions (will have winter tyres!)
- Can’t be completely impractical (fits weekly shopping for 2 and/or guitar case + bag of clothes for weekend getaway). I will consider 2-seaters.
On account of winter, I'm not going to consider convertibles/cabriolets.
See my shortlist below. I haven’t test driven these yet, but I’d like a heads up on what to look out for. If there’s something I should consider but don’t mention, please let me know!
Some uncalled-for context: I feel that if I don’t get a reasonably ‘fun’ car now, I prob. never will. The kids are 5 years away and I haven’t lived yet! Help me, before I turn into one of those sad dudes that drives a rickety used V70 filled with toys and dog blankets, staring past the flailing wipers and regretting his tame youth. On the other hand, I don’t want to buy a car than makes people think “there goes a bellend” either.
--- --- ---
Here’s my shortlist with perceived pros and cons and the price/milage I could get here in Sweden. (No particular order.)
Ford Focus ST (2007), approx. £8k-10k with 60k miles. Pros: Seems like a good blend of value, performance and practicality. Cons: If I bought this, would I regret not getting something more… err… exotic? Too chavtastic? Also, I found nothing about reliability in reviews. Anyone?
Nissan 350z (2003-2006), approx. £10k-12k with 75k miles. Pros: Love the looks (esp. in dark grey metallic), the engine note, the 280 bhp. Cons: Worth the 2 seater compromise? Would it fit a guitar with that rear strut cross the back? Could I live with RWD in the winter snow, even with snow tyres?
Audi TT 2.0L TFSI (2007), approx. £10k-12k with 75k miles. Pros: Good reviews, looks, Audi interior is nice, refined. Cons: Pretentious? Service costs?
Mini JCW GP (2006), £12k-£14k with 40k-70k miles. Pros: Performance and looks. Go-cart handling Cons: Impractical? Reliability and repair costs? Only a 2 seater? Murderously hard ride? No rear windscreen wiper. Winter a no hope?
Mazda 3 MPS (2008-2010), approx. £8k-11k with 60k miles. Pros: Performance, practicality and great value! Cons: Torque-steers like a mother. Surely, it’s not fun to own a car you’re scared to drive?
VW Sirocco (2008-2010), approx. £11-13k with 60k-100k miles. Pros: A good compromise of practicality and fun? Would fit guitar and another human at the same time! Cheaper than GTI. Cons: “Only” 160 bhp. Looks like any other VW after an elephant sat on it. Sounds trivial but… I don’t like the available colours. (Snot green, anyone?)
Mini JCW (non GP) (2003-2007), £12k-£14k with 70k-100k miles. Pros: More practical than the GP. Some cool colour combinations. 4 seater. Go-cart handling. Cons: Reliability & repair costs? For the mileage, more expensive than the GP! The cabin seems the definition of ridiculous and impractical.
VW Golf GTI (pre 2008), £12+ with 70k+ miles. Pros: Performance and practicality. Cons: Too common? Price seems high, even used compared to, say, 350z, TT or MPS.
Porsche Cayman (2008) £14k+ (okay… £15k) with 80k+ miles. Pros: Looks and performance! It’s a Porsche! Cons: Really stretching the budget here. Beyond what the gf would accept. Total fail on the practicality/winter requirements? Or not?
Mitsubishi Evo 5/6/7/8 (2000+), various mileages or Subaru WRX. Pros: Performance and practicality. 4wd for the winter! Cons: Hard to find unmodified, or even ‘healthy’ one that hasn’t been tortured by several previous owners. Crappy interiors. Also the Swedish used car market has only right-hand drives for some reason; would drive up insurance.
Honda Civic Type R (2008 or so), 45k miles. Pros: Seems great value. Honda reliability. Not completely impractical, either. Cons: Need to rev the engine like crazy to get any fun out of it. Uncomfortable ride.
BMW 1 Series (2007 or so), £10k with 80k+ miles. Pros: Seems great mix of practicality and fun. Cons: Can you live with RWD in snow? All reviews mention a v. hard ride for the pre-2011 models.
--- --- ---
If someone put a gun to my head and yelled “choose!”, I would go with either the Focus ST (in which case I know I'd wake up the next day crying for not choosing something sexier), or the 350z (in which case I'd wake up the next day crying because it’s impractical and I can’t fit both my guitar and my friend in it at the same time).
Cars I wish were in my price range but aren’t yet: Toyota GT86, Fiesta ST (2012+).
Let me know what you think I should buy/watch out for/consider to add to the list…
Thanks in advance!
My needs/wants are:
- 15 min each way daily B-road commute to work
- Something sporty-feeling
- Reliability > Style
- Isn’t completely useless in snowy conditions (will have winter tyres!)
- Can’t be completely impractical (fits weekly shopping for 2 and/or guitar case + bag of clothes for weekend getaway). I will consider 2-seaters.
On account of winter, I'm not going to consider convertibles/cabriolets.
See my shortlist below. I haven’t test driven these yet, but I’d like a heads up on what to look out for. If there’s something I should consider but don’t mention, please let me know!
Some uncalled-for context: I feel that if I don’t get a reasonably ‘fun’ car now, I prob. never will. The kids are 5 years away and I haven’t lived yet! Help me, before I turn into one of those sad dudes that drives a rickety used V70 filled with toys and dog blankets, staring past the flailing wipers and regretting his tame youth. On the other hand, I don’t want to buy a car than makes people think “there goes a bellend” either.
--- --- ---
Here’s my shortlist with perceived pros and cons and the price/milage I could get here in Sweden. (No particular order.)
Ford Focus ST (2007), approx. £8k-10k with 60k miles. Pros: Seems like a good blend of value, performance and practicality. Cons: If I bought this, would I regret not getting something more… err… exotic? Too chavtastic? Also, I found nothing about reliability in reviews. Anyone?
Nissan 350z (2003-2006), approx. £10k-12k with 75k miles. Pros: Love the looks (esp. in dark grey metallic), the engine note, the 280 bhp. Cons: Worth the 2 seater compromise? Would it fit a guitar with that rear strut cross the back? Could I live with RWD in the winter snow, even with snow tyres?
Audi TT 2.0L TFSI (2007), approx. £10k-12k with 75k miles. Pros: Good reviews, looks, Audi interior is nice, refined. Cons: Pretentious? Service costs?
Mini JCW GP (2006), £12k-£14k with 40k-70k miles. Pros: Performance and looks. Go-cart handling Cons: Impractical? Reliability and repair costs? Only a 2 seater? Murderously hard ride? No rear windscreen wiper. Winter a no hope?
Mazda 3 MPS (2008-2010), approx. £8k-11k with 60k miles. Pros: Performance, practicality and great value! Cons: Torque-steers like a mother. Surely, it’s not fun to own a car you’re scared to drive?
VW Sirocco (2008-2010), approx. £11-13k with 60k-100k miles. Pros: A good compromise of practicality and fun? Would fit guitar and another human at the same time! Cheaper than GTI. Cons: “Only” 160 bhp. Looks like any other VW after an elephant sat on it. Sounds trivial but… I don’t like the available colours. (Snot green, anyone?)
Mini JCW (non GP) (2003-2007), £12k-£14k with 70k-100k miles. Pros: More practical than the GP. Some cool colour combinations. 4 seater. Go-cart handling. Cons: Reliability & repair costs? For the mileage, more expensive than the GP! The cabin seems the definition of ridiculous and impractical.
VW Golf GTI (pre 2008), £12+ with 70k+ miles. Pros: Performance and practicality. Cons: Too common? Price seems high, even used compared to, say, 350z, TT or MPS.
Porsche Cayman (2008) £14k+ (okay… £15k) with 80k+ miles. Pros: Looks and performance! It’s a Porsche! Cons: Really stretching the budget here. Beyond what the gf would accept. Total fail on the practicality/winter requirements? Or not?
Mitsubishi Evo 5/6/7/8 (2000+), various mileages or Subaru WRX. Pros: Performance and practicality. 4wd for the winter! Cons: Hard to find unmodified, or even ‘healthy’ one that hasn’t been tortured by several previous owners. Crappy interiors. Also the Swedish used car market has only right-hand drives for some reason; would drive up insurance.
Honda Civic Type R (2008 or so), 45k miles. Pros: Seems great value. Honda reliability. Not completely impractical, either. Cons: Need to rev the engine like crazy to get any fun out of it. Uncomfortable ride.
BMW 1 Series (2007 or so), £10k with 80k+ miles. Pros: Seems great mix of practicality and fun. Cons: Can you live with RWD in snow? All reviews mention a v. hard ride for the pre-2011 models.
--- --- ---
If someone put a gun to my head and yelled “choose!”, I would go with either the Focus ST (in which case I know I'd wake up the next day crying for not choosing something sexier), or the 350z (in which case I'd wake up the next day crying because it’s impractical and I can’t fit both my guitar and my friend in it at the same time).
Cars I wish were in my price range but aren’t yet: Toyota GT86, Fiesta ST (2012+).
Let me know what you think I should buy/watch out for/consider to add to the list…
Thanks in advance!
Edited by bajek on Saturday 31st May 04:14
Edited by bajek on Saturday 31st May 14:12
Edited by bajek on Saturday 31st May 14:14
Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. (The ST seems to divide opinion!) The Series 1 is now added to the list; intended to include it originally but forgot. Seems like it could be an option. As for the TVR, Z4, etc: I couldn't live in Sweden with a convertible/cab as my only car. Whatever I get it has to withstand the snow. Added these considerations to the post at the top. 90% of used Evos and WRXs in Sweden are right-hand drive imports, which I'm sure adds to the insurance.
Reviews of the 2007+ TT seem v. positive. Can anyone comment on the cost of services or maintenance work?
Reviews of the 2007+ TT seem v. positive. Can anyone comment on the cost of services or maintenance work?
V8RX7 said:
With your winters I have to admit I wouldn't want RWD if it was my only car.
Hence I'd go 4WD
If you can't find a decent Impreza, Evo, Forester etc why not import one ?
Considered this, but not sure I'd have the confidence: isn't it risky if you can't look at the car in detail in advance? Especially with an Evo-type someone might have tortured? Hence I'd go 4WD
If you can't find a decent Impreza, Evo, Forester etc why not import one ?
(Oddly, Sweden has a large market for imported US cars. You see a lot of Cadillacs, Chevys, Mustangs, Pontiacs... But that's another topic...)
bajek said:
Considered this, but not sure I'd have the confidence: isn't it risky if you can't look at the car in detail in advance? Especially with an Evo-type someone might have tortured?
(Oddly, Sweden has a large market for imported US cars. You see a lot of Cadillacs, Chevys, Mustangs, Pontiacs... But that's another topic...)
Go to the country in question and buy it yourself.(Oddly, Sweden has a large market for imported US cars. You see a lot of Cadillacs, Chevys, Mustangs, Pontiacs... But that's another topic...)
I only mention it as my Dad is a classic car dealer and has had many foreign buyers over the years.
Leon19841 said:
I had a front drive TT and it was the best all round car I have owned… With the seat bench down it can fit a fair bit of gear in there too (golf clubs, mountain bike at same time)
How expensive are the services/repairs? I hear a lot about Audi having expensive parts and labour. Also that the turbo needs replacing at 70k miles. Is it true?DAmiJO said:
BMW 130i m sport in my biased opinion
So where I live in Sweden you can count on say 2-3 months of snow/year (think 1 foot+). Any thoughts on RWD in snowy conditions as your only car? It would be sweet if I could be persuaded that snow+RWD was livable-with. Also, 1 series reviews mention a harsh ride. Is that over-exaggerated?Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff