What car for my 35th birthday present!

[white_goodman]

I turn 35 this month and am thinking about treating myself to a new (to me) car to replace my worthy but dull and ancient Chrysler. Practicalities and two young children dictate that it must have 4 seats and a decent-sized boot and preferably 4 doors (but not necessarily). I live in a snowy/icy climate too (rural Manitoba, Canada), so I think AWD (or FWD) is probably better suited to the roads I have to drive on than RWD. I am also very keen to get back to a manual transmission! Now, I could probably afford the payments (I will need some financing) on a new vanilla-spec Focus but my wife and I test drove most of the small new cars last year before settling on a new Toyota Corolla and they were all as dull as ditchwater to drive (including the Toyota).

I have tried to find something in my price range with a manual transmission (which is a challenge in itself) and a little bit different to the generic Japanese/Korean/American cars that most people drive here. What should I go for?

Audi A3 2.0T Sportback

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Audi/A3/Brandon/Manitob...

Nice spec and low kms but I wish it was a quattro! Quite a rare car here, so not the slightly nobbish image that they have in the UK (also I've never owned an Audi).

mk5 Golf GTI

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Volkswagen/GTI/Winnipeg...

Again, very nice spec but higher kms than the Audi (although 100,000km isn't that much for an 8 year old car). Wish it was a 5 door though. Are the engines (2.0TFSI) in these problematic or was that the later ones?

MINI Cooper S

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/MINI/Cooper/Winnipeg/Ma...

These look like quite good fun and this is probably about the least girly spec you can get but not very practical and not sure if they are as reliable as BMW would like us to think?

Mitsubishi Lancer GT

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Mitsubishi/Lancer/Winni...

Can't stretch to an Evo or even a Ralliart and I expect this would be the disappointment of the bunch to drive but they are quite nice looking for a family saloon and you get a newer car with less kms for your money. 10 year warranty too! I think the GT has a 2.4 petrol engine with about 170bhp.

Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sport

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Subaru/Impreza/Winnipeg...

This car looks the part and has the desirable AWD but having previously owned a 2004 WRX, will 170bhp be enough?

Any thoughts on any of these choices would be gratefully received.

[superlightr]

Landrover Defender. different for sure. marmite.

[white_goodman]

superlightr said:

Landrover Defender. different for sure. marmite.

Bloody Yanks outlawed them in North America! I would quite fancy a Wrangler but they are expensive and occassionally I need to drive 3 hours on the highway to Winnipeg for which I imagine they are not the most comfortable companion!

[Hub]

The Mini would be the most fun out of those, but nowhere near practical enough.

The Golf then! Great to drive - More fun than the A3 with the same engine. Mk6 has timing chain issues but the mk5 is belt driven. Can use a bit of oil though.

The Mini is nowhere near practical enough.

Don't know about the Japanese options, but they look dull!

[Jasandjules]

Get a day set aside, arrange to drive ALL of them on the same day. You will know when you drive them which you want the most.

[white_goodman]

Hub said:

The Mini would be the most fun out of those, but nowhere near practical enough.

The Golf then! Great to drive - More fun than the A3 with the same engine. Mk6 has timing chain issues but the mk5 is belt driven. Can use a bit of oil though.

The Mini is nowhere near practical enough.

Don't know about the Japanese options, but they look dull!

Thanks. I had an inkling that the earlier engines had less potential issues. Are 2nd gen MINIs reliable. It is only a 2nd car but would need to step up if the family car was out of action and be able to do the occassional airport run with luggage 3-up when my parents come to visit, so I just don`t know!

Going off the Japanese options a bit. I thought that the Lancer may perhaps have a bit of the Evo magic and sparkle but perhaps not. The Subaru is more difficult. I like Subarus because they`re a slightly quirky, offbeat choice (no pun intended) and the AWD system is fantastic. The interior of this one looks to be a nicer place to be than my old WRX but in my experience, NA Subaru tend to feel a bit gutless and I wonder whether having owned one and loved it, only a WRX will do!