Help choosing next car please

[Timb0]

I am totally done with my 2006 Peugeot 307. I have owned it for over 3 years and it's time for an upgrade. This is not a sudden decision, I have been saving since end of last year and have been lurking on this forum ever since.

My current yearly mileage has been no more than 5k. So I don't really do a lot of miles but that doesn't mean I can't have a car I enjoy driving.

Budget would ideally be £6k - £8k

The must haves list:
Comfortable interior and modern
Pertrol
Quick acceleration (something that has a bit of power to it when needed)
No more than 70k miles on clock
Reliable
Cheap to maintain/parts
Something that's nice to drive

Ideally 5 doors would be preferable but 3 could do.
Automatic folding mirrors would be great.

Looks wise, I'd love an audi A5 but they are to expensive for my budget.

I am not sure if my budget is a bit low for what I'd ideally want.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

[ToMeToYou]

Mercedes A180 would be a nice upgrade from your old/current car.

[Lukas239]

Left field option; seat exeo 2.0 TSI. Basically a Mk5 golf GTi in a saloon or estate, typically very cheap and fast enough. Unlikely to be exciting though.

[Mo28]

BMW E92 330i/335i with the 330i being an NA

[ninjag]

650i is quick

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...

[ZX10R NIN]

If you can live with three doors the Astra VXR is a very good shout:

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

A5 S Line

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

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

335i

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

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

CLK350/500 Sport these are surprisingly practical with fold down rear seats & lots of space.

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

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Mercedes-Benz-CLK-...

If you want a practical 5 door then it's hard to look past the Giulietta at this price point with it's 1.4/1.8T in either Sportiva/Cloverleaf spec:

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

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

Cloverleaf 235

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

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

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

[Timb0]

Some brilliant suggestions thank you! Now it is just deciding which one exactly! I suppose which ever is for sale near by.

[chrisch77]

Lukas239 said:

Left field option; seat exeo 2.0 TSI. Basically a Mk5 golf GTi in a saloon or estate, typically very cheap and fast enough. Unlikely to be exciting though.

Not exactly correct - the Exeo was a re hash of the third generation Audi A4, so longitudinal engine not the Golf/A3/Octavia/Leon etc platform. It looked like great value when it was new, not sure how they are as a secondhand buy.

[Lukas239]

chrisch77 said:

Not exactly correct - the Exeo was a re hash of the third generation Audi A4, so longitudinal engine not the Golf/A3/Octavia/Leon etc platform. It looked like great value when it was new, not sure how they are as a secondhand buy.

Is it not the same EA113 engine on am A4 chassis? There's an estate on AT with 96K for 4 grand. Look good I think but slightly off mixture of engine and chassis

[ninjag]

I mind looking that car a long time ago and came across an article which made a good point that because the bulk of the development was already done in the Audi it allowed SEAT to further develop/improve it without great expense. Something about the engine being too far forward and not ideally over the front axle so they did some trickery with the front suspension to overcome it rings a bell.

I think some also had a solar roof which provided power to an interior air quality system whilst the car was switched off.

[M4cruiser]

Timb0 said:

I am totally done with my 2006 Peugeot 307. I have owned it for over 3 years and it's time for an upgrade. This is not a sudden decision, I have been saving since end of last year and have been lurking on this forum ever since.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

The obvious answer is a newish 308. By that I mean an oldish new-shape one.

[Timb0]

I have been doing some more research and narrowing down the options.

Top two at the moment are Audi A5 s line 2010/2011 & BMW 330i. I prefer the Audi overall on looks.

I do really like the astra vxr 2012 but I think it is a bit to sporty looking for what I am after. And there is not many for sale at my budget.

My questions are mainly about running costs of owning the said Audi/BMW compared to my cheap to run current Peugeot 307?

I am fully aware servicing and parts are going to be more but how much more roughly. I don't mind spending a bit more and would feel better about spending money on a car I am proud to own. I just don't want a huge jump in running costs when my current yearly mileage is only 5k.

Other ideas I was thinking was either a astra gtc/kia proceed gt.

[ZX10R NIN]

The GTC's at this price point look similar to the VXR & are 180bhp at which point I'd by the VXR each & every time especially with that mileage, now if you want something more understated then the Alfa Giulietta Cloverleaf:

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

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

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

As for the A5 I'd say with such low annual mileage the running costs will be pretty sensible I'd say expect around £600 a year to run one, with the A5 keep an eye on the oil consumption.