Cheapest way into a 'decent' paddle shift?

[tapandunwrap]

I've only ever owned manual cars, and fancy a paddle shift. what's the consensus on the best paddle gearbox for reliability and driving enjoyment, but without horrific servicing risk?

Probably in a leggy used car in the £20k region.

[shtu]

Golf GTI Performance? R? Loads of them about at that sort of money.

[cj2013]

Smart ForTwo?

[xcesx]

I had a 2015 335d for 4 years from new. Good auto and a quick car.
I've got a 69 plate Golf GTI PP now. Only done 5k in it from new. It can't match the 335d on outright pace but its a lot more fun.

You can get into either at that money. Just depends on what sort of drive you're after.

[TonyTony]

As far as servicing risk, the price to fix or replace with refurbed units is comparable to the clutch going on manual cars. There are plenty of specialists around now.

20k is an easy range for a decent auto with fair mileage.

[csd19]

Facelift Jaguar XFR with the 8-speed ZF gearbox is available for under £20k and not particularly leggy? I think you'll need a 62 plate onwards, or whenever they introduced stop/start.