Sporty-ish manual petrol hatch £10-15k

Sporty-ish manual petrol hatch £10-15k

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Newcarbuyer555

Original Poster:

14 posts

12 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Hi all,

Looking for some advice on a 2nd car please.

I have a sports car which has been my only car for the past few years. Due to expanding family plans, I am looking for a “daily driver” (will only be used in winter & some weekends as I don’t need a car during the week).

Criteria:

  • Around size of VW Golf
  • Not SUV / crossover
  • Able to take 4 people
  • 5 doors (incl. hatch)
  • Fits 6’5” driver comfortably on longer drives, including to France / around Europe
  • Relatively modern & safe – 7 – 8 years old maximum I’d say?
  • Anchors for a child seat – the car needs to be able to take one infant and be safe in doing so
  • Manual
  • Petrol
  • RWD would be amazing (but obvs BMW only) but not mandatory
  • No major ticking time bomb known issues on platform / engine (it’s possible I would only have the car for a couple of years so don’t want massive bills)
  • Somewhat sporty (e.g. good handling, can rev match / heel & toe on downchanges etc)
  • Doesn’t have stupid modern headrests that push your head forward
  • Not Japanese or Korean (so this would mean VW, Audi, Seat, Fiat, Alfa, Citroen, Renault, Peugeot, BMW etc?)
  • Price range £10 – 15k
  • Insurance – “cheap” to insure. I live in a very high risk area of London, so this is a consideration if the particular model is known to be expensive to insure

My thoughts would immediately go to an older Golf GTI or similar, however the issue is that my wife may also want to drive this car in future. She is 35 and has never held a license, so when she qualifies she would be on P plates. Does this mean I would be limited to 80hp econoboxes, or does the fact that she will be older + female mean the insurance may be more reasonable than for a normal new driver?

If insurance makes it impossible to get something sporty, then I’d forget putting her on the insurance as there is a chance she will never actually learn to drive at all, or learn manual…

I tend to maintain my cars to an extremely high standard (preventative maintenance, replacing things before they break, only the very best tyres etc), so would be looking for a similar enthusiast owner, low number of overall owners etc.

Appreciate your help!

Edited by Newcarbuyer555 on Saturday 25th March 19:10

Zero7

510 posts

182 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Not sure if it meets 'all' your criteria, I've got a 308 Gti as a stop gap and it's a proper hoot to drive.

Newcarbuyer555

Original Poster:

14 posts

12 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Zero7 said:
Not sure if it meets 'all' your criteria, I've got a 308 Gti as a stop gap and it's a proper hoot to drive.
Thank you. Any criteria you think it wouldn’t fit? This was actually on my list, as it happens… but would need to find one locally to see how the fit is.

hothatch1.6

64 posts

84 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
I am 6' 4" and drive a 308 GTi as my daily, 15k miles a year. With me driving it is a bit tight behind the driver for an adult, but bearable. But the boot is bigger than a golf, It will do 45mpg on a cruise. I average 40mpg no issues with a spirited 130 mile commute which is NSL A road, Dual Carriageway, Mway then London Traffic. Insurance is reasonable too.

LightningBlue

501 posts

40 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
An Alfa Giulietta QV could fit the bill. A Megane RS would be great if you didn’t have kids, they’re a bit tight in the back but then you’re not sitting there biggrin

Zero7

510 posts

182 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Zero7 said:
Not sure if it meets 'all' your criteria, I've got a 308 Gti as a stop gap and it's a proper hoot to drive.
Wont be any room behind you if you are tall, that's about it.

classicfred

376 posts

76 months

Silvanus

5,146 posts

22 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
LightningBlue said:
An Alfa Giulietta QV could fit the bill. A Megane RS would be great if you didn’t have kids, they’re a bit tight in the back but then you’re not sitting there biggrin
I was going to recommend the Alfa too, my brother is loving his, he uses it alongside a Giulia.

Newcarbuyer555

Original Poster:

14 posts

12 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Zero7 said:
Zero7 said:
Not sure if it meets 'all' your criteria, I've got a 308 Gti as a stop gap and it's a proper hoot to drive.
Wont be any room behind you if you are tall, that's about it.
No issues, other people who would go in the car are only 5’4” or so.

308 GTI is interesting. Looks like good ones are >£15k though? (And ideally I’d prefer to spend at the lower end of my budget!!!).

Any big issues with the 308 platform or the GTI engine? Seems a lot of power to be extracting from a 1.6!

Newcarbuyer555

Original Poster:

14 posts

12 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
classicfred said:
Someone once told me all cars in / around Bedford are stolen / clocked?

CG2020UK

1,361 posts

39 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Mk7 Golf GTIs are great for insurance as they have the auto collision and adaptive cruise control as standard.

I had my wife (fiancée at the time) insured on mine as soon as she passed her test and she loved driving it as it was so easy.

We are now back on the market keeping an eye out for another GTI or R for her.

Budget is a pain in the ass as they are holding their value really well.

I’m a massive fan of the 308GTI as well.

classicfred

376 posts

76 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Newcarbuyer555 said:
classicfred said:
Someone once told me all cars in / around Bedford are stolen / clocked?
Not sure about that ? Never been there. Ad has reg on it so previous MOT's / mileage can be checked on Gov website for any car you have a reg for. Looks like it has done just over 8,000 miles in last 4/5 years . Roughly same as the car I own !

hothatch1.6

64 posts

84 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Engines in the 308 are made of mostly forged components so no reliability issues. Worlds away from previous Prince engines.

Platform wise, worth going for a facelift car. Easiest way is to differentiate on power output. Pre-FL cars are 250 or 270 output. Post FL are 260. The FL has improved ICE and also resolves some issues. On pre-FL cars if you brim the tank the NRV on the carbon canister can fail which throws and emission code and means new fuel tank (and in my case a new Cat). Most models will have had this done under the warranty. All bar the 250 models have Alcon front brakes which suffer from sticky callipers (mix of stainless and aluminium in callipers/pistons). Godspeed sell a piston replacement kit to resolve this.

Edited by hothatch1.6 on Friday 24th March 14:16

Driver101

14,376 posts

120 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Newcarbuyer555 said:
Zero7 said:
Zero7 said:
Not sure if it meets 'all' your criteria, I've got a 308 Gti as a stop gap and it's a proper hoot to drive.
Wont be any room behind you if you are tall, that's about it.
No issues, other people who would go in the car are only 5’4” or so.

308 GTI is interesting. Looks like good ones are >£15k though? (And ideally I’d prefer to spend at the lower end of my budget!!!).

Any big issues with the 308 platform or the GTI engine? Seems a lot of power to be extracting from a 1.6!
The Alcon brakes are an issue. The pistons corrode and the calipers need replaced or rebuilt with stainless pistons.

The brake discs are also very expensive. The discs will set you back about £800 alone.

Expect most of the used cars available in need of a front brake refresh.

Newcarbuyer555

Original Poster:

14 posts

12 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Driver101 said:
The Alcon brakes are an issue. The pistons corrode and the calipers need replaced or rebuilt with stainless pistons.

The brake discs are also very expensive. The discs will set you back about £800 alone.

Expect most of the used cars available in need of a front brake refresh.
Very helpful, thank you.

CrippsCorner

2,781 posts

180 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Thought you could now get third party brake replacements that are a lot cheaper?

Macron

9,807 posts

165 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Newcarbuyer555 said:
Someone once told me all cars in / around Bedford are stolen / clocked?
fk me, must be true.

Call the rozzers now, they should all get down there immediately. Because. Someone. Once. Told. You...

ChrisH72

2,125 posts

51 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
RS Megane could do the job for that budget.

I know it's only 3dr but i've managed fine since my son was 18 months old. In a way its always been easier getting him in and out of car seats whilst facing him. Tilt and slide the front passenger seat forward and you can pretty much climb in which I've always found quite easy. Nowadays (age 7) he just gets himself in and out.

I also like the 308 but would be put off by the brakes. Also the face-lift model is closer to 20k I think.

Mk3 Focus ST is good, as someone suggested.

You probably wouldn't consider it but those Astras with the 200bhp 1.6 turbo are very much under the radar. SRI or Elite trim seem to offer good value and I hear they drive very well.

ChrisH72

2,125 posts

51 months

Friday 24th March 2023
quotequote all
Oh and I forgot about these.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023030248...

Always liked them and it appears to tick all your boxes except the one about not being Korean.