Best car for under £14,000

[Willclark22]

Good evening all!

Currently selling my Abarth 124 spider for £14,000 and looking too replace it. Im currently looking at a mark 8 fiesta ST but open to a range of options. others I'm thinking of but haven't looked at yet are Up GTI, Mini Cooper JCW (hesitant as brother owns one), Golf GTI (hesitant as mum owns one), MX5 (hesitant Girlfriend owns one), Peugeot 208 GTI.

I'm open to any options as ongoing as it can do 40mpg plus and is 0-60 in under 7 (im aware the up gti is slower but feel is the cars key point).

Thanks!

[Chris_i8]

TT?
Leon FR or Cupra?

[Willclark22]

TT is an option but could be expensive to run as I’ve heard maintenance can be expensive as hell but I hadn’t considered seat yet so will definitely look!

[Roboticarm]

A while back I test drove the Abarth 595, Up GTI and the Fiesta ST. Having driven the older version of the ST there was something about that 3 cylinder engine which didn't feel as sporty or "right" as the 4 cylinder it replaced

The UP was probably my preferred choice but a much better finance deal swung it for the Abarth, great fun car.

The above was in 2019, I'm now in a Focus ST which I chose after looking at Golf GTi / GTD and realising the Focus offered more for the money

I guess though, there's not really a poor choice on your list. I'd be happy with any of them

Just realised I've probably not been much help there...

[Stick Legs]

Replace a sports car with a hatch?

Forget all this 40mpg nonsense and buy this.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15899606

[Lo-Fi]

Lexus IS300h. 220bhp, rear drive, at least 45mpg around town, £20 tax (if pre 17 plate). But not quite 7 seconds to 60.

A left-field, non-hot hatch option.

[Dusty964]

A 330 either Coupe or cabriolet

Spend 10k, 12k....put the rest in as petrol to offset the 40mpg requirement.

See also...

C class
E class

Boxster
Z4
6 series
Slk


Etc etc

[Baldchap]

3 cyl 200bhp Fiesta ST wipes the floor with its predecessors for noise, driving dynamics and straight line performance.

Thanks for attending my TED talk.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

Stick Legs said:

Replace a sports car with a hatch?

Forget all this 40mpg nonsense and buy this.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15899606

And then a few weeks in find out the previous owner sold it as it has bore score and an engine rebuild is the purchase price again.

[Dusty964]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

Stick Legs said:

Replace a sports car with a hatch?

Forget all this 40mpg nonsense and buy this.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15899606

And then a few weeks in find out the previous owner sold it as it has bore score and an engine rebuild is the purchase price again.

Or, include an inspection in your budget...do your checks before buying and enjoy a fine car when found to be fault free.

[simonrockman]

There is a 996 in PH auctions that will probably not break your budget.

[nikaiyo2]

M135

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18959235

[Shnozz]

Dusty964 said:

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

Stick Legs said:

Replace a sports car with a hatch?

Forget all this 40mpg nonsense and buy this.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15899606

And then a few weeks in find out the previous owner sold it as it has bore score and an engine rebuild is the purchase price again.

Or, include an inspection in your budget...do your checks before buying and enjoy a fine car when found to be fault free.

If the OP is worried on running costs for a TT, I am not sure I would recommend a 20 year old Porsche that is a well known lottery for large engine issues.

[Willclark22]

Roboticarm said:

A while back I test drove the Abarth 595, Up GTI and the Fiesta ST. Having driven the older version of the ST there was something about that 3 cylinder engine which didn't feel as sporty or "right" as the 4 cylinder it replaced

The UP was probably my preferred choice but a much better finance deal swung it for the Abarth, great fun car.

The above was in 2019, I'm now in a Focus ST which I chose after looking at Golf GTi / GTD and realising the Focus offered more for the money

I guess though, there's not really a poor choice on your list. I'd be happy with any of them

Just realised I've probably not been much help there...

[Magnum 475]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

Stick Legs said:

Replace a sports car with a hatch?

Forget all this 40mpg nonsense and buy this.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15899606

And then a few weeks in find out the previous owner sold it as it has bore score and an engine rebuild is the purchase price again.

3.2s don't suffer with bore scoring, that's 3.4s.

This is a later 3.2, so has the upraded IMS bearing and won't score its bores.

[Cam Tait]

We've just featured this on The Gassing Station podcast! Here's what John and I came up with, hope one of them fits the bill!

John's 987 Porsche Cayman: https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12870755

My Renaultsport Megane: https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13096691

[nav2014]

£10k Bentley Continental GT + fuel, job jobbed.