Change of commute = fun shed

[CX53]

I'm changing jobs soon to one that's lower paid, but only 8-9 miles and 10-15 mins from home. This means to cut costs a bit, the lease car is going back.

I thought I'd get the usual reliable Jap hatch for the job for sub £1k, but then I thought just because I won't be spending much time in the car any more doesn't mean it has to be completely boring...

Criteria:

Cheap to run - preferably cheap to tax and insure, mpg won't make a huge difference as long as it's above say 25.

Sub £1k

Fun in some way, even if not quick

Reliable

Thoughts so far:

Suzuki swift, 1.2/3/5. I had the sport and loved it, so for my budget these might be pretty good, the 1.2 has close to 100hp
Toyota Yaris T Sport
Aygo - could be quite go kart like?
Lexus IS250
Honda Civic 2.0 Type S

Discounted: Panda 100HP (not sure if they're In budget anyway) had one before and hated the ride, but it was a cool little car and cambelt change cost £70!
Rusty old BMW's with expensive parts, tyres etc
Mazda MX5, just not keen
Focus - quite fun to hoon and very reliable but been there and done that, bit too bland
Clio 172/182 - expensive cambelt and dephaser service etc

Any more suggestions?

Cheers

[durbster]

Something small and French is usually the answer for some cheap fun.

What kind of roads? Will you be sitting in traffic a lot?

I know you've discounted the Mazda but a little roadster would do. There's something enjoyable about sitting in a low sports car, even if you're trundling along in a line of traffic.

Alternatively, how about a Celica? You can pick them up for peanuts now, they're good fun to drive and still look great.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Silenoz]

I'd go with an Aygo, plenty of choice and will be cheap to run. Quite fun too, if outright speed isn't important.

[Nickp82]

Puma or Fiesta Zetec-S?

[pilchard8]

Suzuki Ignis Sport is another choice, looking into these myself for the next cheap fun daily. Should be able to get one for around £1000.

[Actus Reus]

Didn't they have some sort of Daihatsu Sirion (??) as a shed a while back? Small, turbo'd and cheap as chips. I remember thinking I'd quite fancy one as a potential house move might mean B-road driving to the station.

[nitrodave]

good luck finding an is250 for under £1k... I can only assume you mean is is200.

Lots of good saabs under £1k too. get an 63 or 95 aero and enjoy some turbo fun.

[Mr2Mike]

The Swift would be perfect, but you won't get a 1.2 (introduced in 2010) thats any good for 1k, and even the older 1.3/1.5 is likely to be a bit of a dog at this price. The 1.3 tends to suffer from gearbox issues at higher mileages.

Plenty of choice if you go for a Yaris, and they are good little cars, though handling not a patch on the swift.

[Mr2Mike]

Actus Reus said:

Didn't they have some sort of Daihatsu Sirion (??) as a shed a while back? Small, turbo'd and cheap as chips. I remember thinking I'd quite fancy one as a potential house move might mean B-road driving to the station.

The Sirion Rally had a 1.3 normally aspirated engine. They are light and go well but are now getting very rare, since there werent many made in the first place. Styling is a bit 'challenging' as well.

[Mr GCC]

I used to have a Yaris 1.0l and it was so much fun, no power at all but just a laugh and never went wrong, would highly recommend them for a fun shed.

[Actus Reus]

That's the one - and yes, styling was, errrr, not to everybody's taste. Nevertheless it looked a hoot and was about £800, and also, at that money, I'd have felt able to have a go at changing some of the styling elements myself. Certainly a rare beast.

[brrapp]

[quote=CX53
Mazda MX5, just not keen

[/quote]

I'd really urge you to think again on this, or at least try one. I don't know anyone who has driven one and not come away with a big grin on their face.
If you really won't shift on this, how about a Micra sr ?

[GreatGranny]

Go on take a risk :-)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[MrAverage]

Make a sensible offer on something like this https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/fiesta-zetec-s-mk5/...

I have enjoyed my time with several of these and they have proven to be reliable and a good laugh. they will be slower than most of the french motors but they handle great and with a few cheap / well known mods can be made to go faster, handle better.

[Dan29]

Puma 1.7 is what I have for a similar commute - brilliant fun.