£15k for a car, options?

[tommyboy1972]

I have around £15k for my new car. The car will be used for twice a week commute of 100 mile round trip and weekend pleasure drives. I am not a driving god but enjoy a spirited B road drive now and again but also appreciate somewhere comfortable to sit with some good tunes/podcast on my A road commute.

I have previously had a lot of different cars but more recently:
Jaguar XF S Portfolio 3.0 Diesel. This was a lovely drive, acceptable mpg, comfortable but bit of an old man image in my mind.
Mini Cooper SD. Lots of toys like HK stereo, led headlights etc great fun on B roads, ok on commute but short wheelbase And run flats made it a bit crashy on poor roads of which there are many here in Suffolk.
Mercedes E Class Coupé 2.1 Diesel. Again lots of toys, reasonable on A roads but a bit numb.
BMW 120d x-drive. Was ok but ruined by run flats. Not that inspiring really.
Mk7 Golf Gti DSG I liked this car and it was good fun but a bit sterile on B roads.

I was really considering a Cayman Tip 2006 so not smashed by road tax like the slightly younger cars. Things that I worry about are silly porsche tax bills, it will be too old for a reliable commuter and mpg would be <30 mpg even on a steady A road commute with a light right foot.
I have thought about a 2014 on TT 2.0 Quattro with auto box, for my budget I could get something around 45k miles with B&O stereo and xenons.
Another E class Coupé with all the bells and whistles, 2015/16 with approx 30k miles seems easily in reach. Just worry I will get bored with this and although I love the look the fact the new shape is IMO lovely makes me see this as less desirable.
435d with pro nav and HK stereo is probably just out of my reach with <45k miles.

Anything suggestions as to what I have missed or have wrong about the above? I know I need to compromise between B road fun and something that is a bit wafty on the A road stuff.

Thanks for reading.
Tom

[edc]

If a Cayman tip is near the top of your list I would perhaps try and go for a PDK 987.2 Boxster in either 2.9 or 3.4. it will be fine on a couple of days commute and perhaps doubles up as the weekend car much better.

[covmutley]

How about a 640d? Or 3 litre A7 is a bit more practical. More angled toward your commute of course.

At the opposite end, you could get the new 1.5 mx5. Apparently does 50 mpg and suspension set up is quote comfortable

[2Btoo]

edc said:

If a Cayman tip is near the top of your list I would perhaps try and go for a PDK 987.2 Boxster in either 2.9 or 3.4. it will be fine on a couple of days commute and perhaps doubles up as the weekend car much better.

This ^^^^

Don't worry about the model, buy a good example and make sure it really is good (FSH, enthusiast owners etc).

Ignore the internet scare stories; the 987.2 is much more robust than the 987.1 (and the only 987.1 to worry about was the 3.4litre or 'S' model.)

[ZX10R NIN]

Take a good look at the 370 GT it ticks a lot fo your boxes & is a good steer.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012106...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012297...

Or it's four seater cousin the Infiniti G37

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009193...

Mercedes wise the E400 is a good pick, with a nice mix of grace & pace with near to 400bhp a remap away.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101047...

As someone said earlier the 640d is a good shout.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011186...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011236...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012237...

[Mike Jersey]

Have you considered purchasing a plug in Hybrid?

[tommyboy1972]

Thanks all for the replies. The merc does look nice I must admit. The 6 series I am afraid I just can’t get over the nose, I hate the way way they squished the headlights, shame as I really like the rest of the car
Maybe I would hold out for a 2.7/9 good auto Cayman, does anyone have any real world mpg experience?
I hate waiting for the right car to come up, patience is not one of my strong points when looking for my next car.

[Mouse Rat]

OP I'm in a similar position.
Need a car for 3day commute, 100 miles per day mostly motorway. Similar budget upto around £18k and I can't look past the E350cdi coupe or cab.

However the golf GTE im running atm is a great car. If you're happy with the faff of plugging in, it will deliver 60mpg winter and 70mpg in summer on a 100nile commute. The GTE is a fun car on B roads with plenty of shove.

[2Btoo]

tommyboy1972 said:

Maybe I would hold out for a 2.7/9 good auto Cayman, does anyone have any real world mpg experience?

I have a 987.1 2.7 manual Cayman. MPG knocks around the 29-30 mark for regular use. Driving the socks off it doesn't make that much difference but cold starts and driving in town brings it down quite sharply.

[tommyboy1972]

2Btoo said:

I have a 987.1 2.7 manual Cayman. MPG knocks around the 29-30 mark for regular use. Driving the socks off it doesn't make that much difference but cold starts and driving in town brings it down quite sharply.

Do you think a steady 70 for 35 miles would give 35mpg or am I hoping for too much?

[romeodelta]

tommyboy1972 said:

2Btoo said:

I have a 987.1 2.7 manual Cayman. MPG knocks around the 29-30 mark for regular use. Driving the socks off it doesn't make that much difference but cold starts and driving in town brings it down quite sharply.

Do you think a steady 70 for 35 miles would give 35mpg or am I hoping for too much?

I have a 2.7 manual 987.1B and average about 10l/100km (~28 mpg) and I boot it pretty much everywhere.

What you lose here in MPG, you will lose more in depreciation on the 2014-16 options, so I don't think it's worth quibbling over 5mpg IMO.

[2Btoo]

tommyboy1972 said:

2Btoo said:

I have a 987.1 2.7 manual Cayman. MPG knocks around the 29-30 mark for regular use. Driving the socks off it doesn't make that much difference but cold starts and driving in town brings it down quite sharply.

Do you think a steady 70 for 35 miles would give 35mpg or am I hoping for too much?

Maybe not 35 but with careful driving you could get it up to 33 or 34 without too much problem.

[covmutley]

Is a 2 car solution possible? 3k on a diesel commuter and the rest on a boxster?

Would keep the value of the boxster higher, and possibly make it feel more special at the weekends??