Best "fun" car for 30k

[ROB_GTR]

Having changed jobs and now my commute has moved from long motorway journeys back to country back roads my Audi A6 BiTDi Avant (black edition) has become a bit of a overweight bus to get around twisty roads that I once had fun on.....

Gone too has my R33 GTR so there's now a hole that I thought had gone but has since opened up again and needs filling.

Upon selling my A6, I should have in the region of 30k.

Up to now I have considered & toyed with the following cars:

Focus RS
Golf R / GTI
Fiesta ST
Audi RS3 / S3
Mini cooper JCW / GP

Ideally I would like to see some change from my budget but I'm drawn to the focus RS most of all...

I am open to any other suggestions that I may have overlooked, but I will say that I do not intend on modifying and going down that long and expensive route again.

I know all the above that I have listed will be far inferior in cabin luxury and build quality but the A6 just isn't doing it for me anymore. The auto box drives me insane around slow sharp corners as it remains in around 6th gear so upon trying to accelerate out of the bend it does bugger all, then, drops 3 gears and sets off like a startled rabbit.

Over to you

[TheDrBrian]

MX-5

[Slow]

Another Skyline? R32/34

[BrotherMouzone]

£30k?

Lotus Evora

[RBH58]

Not a lot to go on. What are your other requirements? How old can it be? Does it have to handle "sensible duties" or can it be Lotus Elise frivolous? Does it have to be "fast" or is "fun" the key criteria? How tight are these country roads? Lot's of 2nd/3rd gear stuff or more open than that?

Edited by RBH58 on Tuesday 28th March 04:34

Edited by RBH58 on Tuesday 28th March 05:27

[ROB_GTR]

MX5 - NO, just no (I have far too much manliness however good they may be)
Lotus, not really, bit too specialised and unreliable.

It will be my only car for daily use, so will need to be reasonably practical & reliable.
Not necessarily silly fast but enough to raise a few grins.
Roads mainly will be back country roads with the odd long straight and a few tight twistys so quite varied. I would say 2nd gear twice on my commute, the rest would be 3rd / 4th and point & squirt.
I personally think my main gripe will be wanting old school hot hatch type feel but ruined by modern electronics and weight.

Not really an option anymore but in a ideal world a Z-cars mini, dax rush etc and keep the A6 would be my preferred situation

Edited by ROB_GTR on Tuesday 28th March 04:59

[Cold]

ROB_GTR said:

Lotus, not really, bit too specialised and unreliable.

What are you basing either of those two assumptions on?

[RBH58]

ROB_GTR said:

I personally think my main gripe will be wanting old school hot hatch type feel but ruined by modern electronics and weight.

Well...if you go for a Haldexed slot car (Golf R, S3, RS3, A45) that will be the case, but a Renaultsport Megane RS265/275, Peugeot 308 GTi270, or a Golf GTI Performance/Clubsport (all proper mechanical LSD equipped) would give you plenty of "old school" hot-hatchiness. And the Fiesta ST you suggested yourself most definitely would.

[RBH58]

Cold said:

What are you basing either of those two assumptions on?

Modern Elise are not only pretty reliable, but pretty cheap to maintain being basically Toyota. But they are pretty uncompromising.

[ROB_GTR]

Cold said:

ROB_GTR said:

Lotus, not really, bit too specialised and unreliable.

What are you basing either of those two assumptions on?

Not really practical, generally 100% sports car, not many garages other than specialised would be trusted with something like a lotus etc etc

[Cold]

RBH58 said:

Modern Elise are not only pretty reliable, but pretty cheap to maintain being basically Toyota. But they are pretty uncompromising.

But the suggestion was for an Evora which is a world away from an Elise.

[RBH58]

Cold said:

But the suggestion was for an Evora which is a world away from an Elise.

More comfortable for sure. A fair bit more expensive new. Suffers higher depreciation. But I guess it too is still a Toyota underneath.

[mikiec]

1,2 or 3 series BMW, rwd fun plus good power if a 35i/40i ?

[anonymous-user]

Lupo GTI or Panda 100HP. It will be loads of fun on country roads and not inclined to take you over license losing speed either, ie it will make 60 feel much faster. Driving a smaller car closer to its limit is more fun than getting a more capable car and being limited to 50% of its potential.

[Ahbefive]

The more I drive my RS the more I am liking it. It really is a great fun car but for good or for bad draws more attention than something like a Golf R or S3.

[nobrakes]

ROB_GTR said:

my main gripe will be wanting old school hot hatch type feel but ruined by modern electronics and weight.

Edited by ROB_GTR on Tuesday 28th March 04:59

Buy a mint old school car?

[FN2TypeR]

If you can deal with the looks an FK2 Civic Type R would be well worth a look if you're heading down hot hatch lane - they're great to drive, really hold the road well and are properly quick, plus being a Honda you'd expect them to be reliable over the coming years, they also have a colossal boot and aren't bad on the motorway/longer journies in terms of comfort etc

[nottyash]

Drive the deal will do a brand new BMW M140 for £25200. Spec it up with some nice options, and your still in budget, and over £7000 saved.
A brand new M235 is in your budget too.

[Tickle]

I would said an Evora but these have been discounted.

A megane 275 Trophy with Ohlins spec?

... or a Clio 182 Trophy and a Caterham Superlight (k series) could be had for £30k

[anonymous-user]

E30 M3
Mustang
Megane RS
Evora
E90 M3
A45 AMG