£4K budget, practical and frugal but not too "boring"?!

[sugarytea]

Hi all, having sold my Legacy Spec.B due to it being slightly on the not very economical side for me, I now need to replace it.

My budget is about £3-4K top end really, I'd prefer less.

I want it to be reasonably frugal but I suppose not a lot would be much worse than the SpecB.
Practicality is not too important but I'd like to be able to chuck an Ikea furniture or a bike in the back from time to time.
I'd like it to be as reliable as reasonably possible, goes without saying probably but it's a consideration.

I've looked at Suzuki Swift sports but apparently the pre-2012 ones as in budget are terrible at motorway speeds and probably too small for a bike anyway.

Any other ideas?

[ZX10R NIN]

Focus ST-2 225bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Focus ST-3 225bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Vauxhall VXR 240bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Leftfield option (not sure about economy)

C350 Estate 272bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[louismchuge]

a quick Mini?