Going from a Leon Cupra to a 6k car? What to get..

[sillwuka]

So, the lease for my Cupra 300 is coming to an end in the next couple of months and I'll be looking for a used car to replace it.(gutted to see it go, amazing car) I'm used to the power and would be needing something 200+ bhp at a minimum. Have been considering auto next aswell.

6k ish budget, I'm not looking for anything larger than a 3.0. I've been looking at a mixture of cars - Focus ST2, 6 pot 3 series, Golf GTi Mk5 with dsg, is250s.. etc. I don't know if to go for something more refined and comfortable or a hot hatch type car.

Any thoughts guys, best bang for your buck?

[Obee72]

Was in a very similar situation as came from a FR184 (albeit slightly down on power to the Cupra, lol) and jumped into a 57 plate BMW 130i and am loving it !!! Yes you do lose some modern touches but the 130i I have is well spec'd for its age and in great condition for its mileage. Don't forget the sound it makes !! Don't jump into your choice though and make sure you look around and go and see/test drive as many options as you can.

[zedx19]

I had a similar short list of cars a couple of years back. I had a newish Mondeo Ecoboost 240 at the time and my circumstances changed so I didn't need a big car anymore, I wanted a fast, fun hot hatch for 10k max. I test drove a mk5 Golf GTi, Leon Cupra 240, Megane RS250, FN2 Civic Type R, mk3 Focus ST and mk2 Focus ST. If you want balls out fun, the Megane and mk2 Focus are the best in my opinion. If you want more refinement with a trade off of less fun and less pace, the Golf GTi is the best. Personally I wanted fun so I got a 2010 mk2 ST with the 5 pot and it still puts a massive smile on my face. It's also been generally reliable, now lightly modded running 270-280bhp and I have no intention of selling it anytime soon. I paid 8k for mine 18 months back and similar age/mileage/condition models are still fetching 8k today. 99% of hot hatches in this price bracket run 4 cylinder 2 litre turbo's and none have the character of the 5 cylinder 2.5 litre turbo. Engines like this are a dying breed, so get one while you can!

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

[ZX10R NIN]

For me I can personally recommend the Focus but in ST-3 spec (unless you need 5 seats in which case it has to be the ST-2) they're great cars the engine adds character that just edged it over the Megane RS for me, you can land some nice examples for your budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Don't be afraid of buying one that's had some upgrades, when buying cars in that form I (as long as the seller agrees) book the car on a dyno, I do this because a dyno will alert you to any potential issues so you can then either haggle/walk away or you drive away with a good car & peace of mind.

In my experience most sellers that have (especially Ford & Vauxhall owners) had work carried are normally happy to do this.

A bit of a leftfield option is the 3.2 A3 not the sharpest but refined & that engine is a slightly detuned R32 engine:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Now if you want a bit of refinement don't look at the IS250's (as a steer they're actually better than they're given credit for) I'd actually gor for the Mondeo with the 2.0T (the 2.5's are hard to find & holding their money well) engine:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you can live with an estate then there are 2.5's out there:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you don't mind a warm hatch then the Alfa Giulietta in Veloce trim is a very good option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[nunpuncher]

My Cupra goes back in a few weeks.

I went through similar considerations a few months back. I wasn't especially enamoured by my Cupra. It was fine but just a bit average and the wheel hop/lack of traction absolutely did my head in. After hours and hours searching on Autotrader I came to the rather unoriginal solution of a mk2 3.2 TT. Similar if slightly better interior, better looking, 4wd and a better sounding engine. I pushed the budget up to a TTS at c£10k but the 3.2 suited me better.

However, after all that I threw a bit of wobbler and bought a super cheap r53 Cooper S. Still got the Cupra until BCA pick it up but not interested in driving it. Don't miss the extra 100bhp+ at all, having way more fun with this thing than I ever did in the Cupra.