Fun and practical?

[bangy1]

Hi folks I am currently running a Golf R which is good but not really that much fun and I am looking to sell it soon for something a bit cheaper to release some cash.

Criteria is:

Relatively spacious as will have to carry our daughter and her associated toddler stuff pram etc....

Fun and involving but not too expensive to run

Ideally not more than 10 years old

Below 14k if possible

Reliable

I have been considering either a 250/265 but not sure on the longterm reliability as had a R26 in the past that had a few issues. I was also looking at FD2s but perhaps not ideal as would need to be fresh import for rot concerns?

Anyone have any advice on the above or others I should consider?

Cheers

[Mr Tidy]

Slightly older than you are thinking of, but would a BMW 130i fit the bill?

Pretty quick and RWD for some entertainment!

Or if you need more space maybe a BMW 330i Touring.

Good luck with your search anyway.

[DoubleD]

The Megane 250 265 is actually a very reliable car. As all the reviews say, they are amazingly good fun to drive.

[DUBS73P]

I would just go for the megane with that budget. I've had 3 and for the money there's nothing ive found thats a better all rounder if fun is the main priority.
Didnt have a single issue with any of mine, only thing i would say is try and buy one that's just had the belts done as its a minimum £500 job or make sure you get that knocked off the price of one that's due soon.

Make sure you get recaro's even if its just for ease of resale, xenons are a must too as one of mine didn't have them and was noticeably worse for night driving, then either the RS Monitor or TomTom Satnav, I personally preferred the 2 I had with the RS monitor just for the linear throttle mapping option rather than sport which is too jerky.

I've had a DC5 and an S2000, and as great as they are for just having fun, I find them a real pain to drive day to day personally. I would avoid the FD2 just for that reason but the way it looks really seals the deal as a no go for me.

[bangy1]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes I was looking at 135i's actually but they are up there getting close to the Golf cost so be as well sticking with that and the 130i is maybe just on the old side and pretty dear to run perhaps.

I like the build quality of the FD2's and they are supposed to be unbeatable but when I look into importing costs and the like they are getting up there plus I believe you cannot fold the rear seats which is bit of a pain although not a deal breaker, they would also be in quite a big tax bracket I would guess being older.

I think the 265/250/275 is a good shout maybe as can pick one up for reasonable money, although local options for Recaro's and xenon's seem to be low on the ground (NE Scotland) for the moment anyway.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Megane is the pick at this price point you will probably have to travel to get a well spec'd one, the first one has a lot of the upgrades you'd like to add:

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

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

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