£15k All Rounder - M135i Replacement

[N88]

Evening all

I'm currently have an M135i on lease. I jumped on a stonking deal a couple of years ago and haven't regretted it one bit, I've found it to be a great all rounder. 320bhp and RWD makes for some great fun when you want it to, but at the same time the other half can take it to the shops no bother. It lapped up a European road trip last year including a few laps of the Nurburgring. The only downside that I can actually think of is that it doesn't feel a particularly special place to be. If I compare it to the Integra DC2 I had a few years ago that always felt like much more of an occasion - and that's what I prefer.

The lease comes to an end in October and I've decided that as much as I'm a fan of leasing (this was my first go at it) I want to own a car again.

That leaves me with a budget of £15k for a replacement. A few points to note are:

- Doesn't need to be overly practical but rear seats are required occasionally.
- Anything above 25mpg is fine, I don't mind buying fuel for a car that I enjoy driving
- Must be reliable, I don't want too much risk of significant surprise bills, and I use the car daily for work. I'm thinking anything year 2010 onwards for that reason.

I think the challenge I'm having is that the criteria is quite wide and the M135i does everything rather well. The shortlist so far consists of:

- Honda Integra DC5
- Renaultsport Megane
- BMW 335i
- E46 M3
- Audi S3
- Audi TTS
- Toyota GT86

Anything else I should be considering? What would you go for?

[Belle427]

Problem is that M135 looks such a great car it’s hard to beat, especially as you can get a decent one for £15k.
£15k does not really buy you much Audi so I’d probably skip those.
Those renaults look interesting and are highly regarded on here.

[steve-5snwi]

Focus ST ? although as already mentioned the M135i is just about perfect.

[stevemiller]

Given that the M3 quoted is dated prior to the time line, there is a nice unmolested 335i 2006 manual saloon for sale on e-bay. Not my own but once was.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E90-335i-Manual-200...

[jamiem555]

steve-5snwi said:

Focus ST ? although as already mentioned the M135i is just about perfect.

Was going to say the same. I'm on my second one now.

[ZX10R NIN]

Megane RS265 with the Cup Chassis & Recaro's

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

I'm not a Golf fan but everytime I jump into an R32 they feel special to me maybe it's the engine, either way they're worth a test drive.

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

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

Same with the (I actually bought one of these) 2.5T Focus ST-3

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

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

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

Nissan 370Z these are a very good overlooked steer I would recommend a test drive before dismissing it.

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

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

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

Honda Civic Type R Saloon

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

Mugen Civic

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

Scirocco R

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

[N88]

jamiem555 said:

steve-5snwi said:

Focus ST ? although as already mentioned the M135i is just about perfect.

Was going to say the same. I'm on my second one now.

A friend had one that he'd taken up to 320bhp - sounded and went superbly!

ZX10R NIN said:

Cars

Cheers - very helpful.

The Megane RS265 is probably favourite at the moment. I love the 370Z too but 2 seats unfortunately.

It's surprising how many cars start coming into budget at £15k - S5's fall into that price range now.

Thanks so far everyone.

[MrAverage]

If you like your current car is it not worth getting a quote to buy it?

I have been looking at cars around the 15k mark and there is so much choice i'm struggling too.

[ZX10R NIN]

N88 said:

Cheers - very helpful.

The Megane RS265 is probably favourite at the moment. I love the 370Z too but 2 seats unfortunately.

It's surprising how many cars start coming into budget at £15k - S5's fall into that price range now.

Thanks so far everyone.

If you like the 370Z then there's always it's four seater cousin the Infiniti G Coupe:

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

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

Or here are some other Coupe alternatives obviously these are less hot hatch but are still good steers::

C350 Sport

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

E350 Sport

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

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

E500

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

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

Alpina B3 BiTurbo

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

335i M Sport

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

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

S5

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

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

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

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

[MissChief]

MrAverage said:

If you like your current car is it not worth getting a quote to buy it?

I have been looking at cars around the 15k mark and there is so much choice i'm struggling too.

This seems like a no-brainer, at least to begin with.