Am I missing something obvious? - fun 4 seater
Discussion
Luke H said:
Having had a selection of Lotus/Caterhams over the last 8-9 years with a growing family and less time for blasts out and trackdays I've been doing less and less mileage in them in recent years. Just sold my Elise Cup and now telling myself if i get something with 4 seats at least i can get some more use out of it with the family and still have something i can enjoy on my own on occasion, I'm lucky enough locally to have some excellent quiet roads on the doorstep and also still fancy the odd trackday with Lotus mates.
Needs to be:
- Manual
- Able to seat 2 kids in the back (currently 6 & 2) comfortably for the next 3-4 years.
- Engaging
- Not financially ruinous in terms of repairs/running costs.
- Budget upto £50k - will be buying outright so pcp etc irrelevant
- Manual!
Appreciate coming from what I've had all options will be barges but its primarily a car to enjoy, we have other stuff for lugging stuff around and nipping to the shops.
By rights i should get an Evora 2+2 but they've always looked a little 'awkward' to me and with the Emira coming down the pipe I expect prices to crash hard in the future and i want to get something for this spring.
Tried a boggo spec 3.4 991 and was left underwhelmed, tried a Yaris GR - mega car but too similar to the wifes MK8 fiesta ST which despite being less capable is IMO more fun to drive. DB9 doesnt feel like its the right thing to throw down a B road and worried about runnings costs...
I'm now at a point where i feel like I'm basically left with getting an M2 Comp - drove an OG recently and it was a fun little thing and hid its weight quite well.
Basically - am I missing a better option before i go and buy one?!
Likewise i have owned various Caterham's and wanted something to do the exactly the same.Needs to be:
- Manual
- Able to seat 2 kids in the back (currently 6 & 2) comfortably for the next 3-4 years.
- Engaging
- Not financially ruinous in terms of repairs/running costs.
- Budget upto £50k - will be buying outright so pcp etc irrelevant
- Manual!
Appreciate coming from what I've had all options will be barges but its primarily a car to enjoy, we have other stuff for lugging stuff around and nipping to the shops.
By rights i should get an Evora 2+2 but they've always looked a little 'awkward' to me and with the Emira coming down the pipe I expect prices to crash hard in the future and i want to get something for this spring.
Tried a boggo spec 3.4 991 and was left underwhelmed, tried a Yaris GR - mega car but too similar to the wifes MK8 fiesta ST which despite being less capable is IMO more fun to drive. DB9 doesnt feel like its the right thing to throw down a B road and worried about runnings costs...
I'm now at a point where i feel like I'm basically left with getting an M2 Comp - drove an OG recently and it was a fun little thing and hid its weight quite well.
Basically - am I missing a better option before i go and buy one?!
For me it had to be manual, able to transport my children to school daily (aged 4 and 6 at the time), fun and relatively affordable.
I ended up buying a Stealth Grey Mk3 Focus RS new in 2016 and its just been superb doing all of the above.
I added a warrantied Mountune upgrade a year later and the car still works a treat and honestly I am not sure what I would replace it with that offers the involvement with reasonable practicality. The boot is not huge (we have a larger family car) but fine for 95% of our use.
Stealth grey seemed a good option as it looks good (not too boy racer) and does not stand out too much in the 'posh school' car park!
Of course they are getting a bit older now, but they hold their money well, which was part of my thoughts also.
I have had no issues with my car at all from new.
Luke H said:
nickfrog said:
That's probably a little optimistic Luke. I had budgeted £250/month when I bought my OG 2 years ago and while it's still up on what I paid for obvious reasons, I think this will be a minimum when "normal" depreciation resumes. But still, £9k over 3 years is still very good VFM in my book.
I was at £5k per year so £15k over 3 years which i didnt think was overly optimistic?Cant see a tidy manual (which longer term given the numbers will be the one to have IMO) dropping much below £30k unless something drastic happens with the economy!
On that mileage your guess is actually erring slightly on the side of caution as mine is based on less than half those miles for a boggo OG.
I have a feeling the manual cars are going to do very well.
JAMSXR said:
I still struggle to see how people manage a coupe when it’s required to take up family duties. That’s commitment, kudos.
I curse everytime I have to climb into the rear footwell in the F82 M4 to plug the seatbelt in for my 5 year old to be honest! The F80 M3 would've been a damn sight easier for sure! Coupe for the win though.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff