Practical/Fast/Cheap - Pick 2?

[Mully1906]

Hi all,

Recently changed jobs and my commute is now less than a 5 minute walk, and the pay is better than the last job.

I currently drive a 2.0 diesel Ford Mondeo Tit X Sport estate, but thinking of changing for something a bit more..."engaging".

My criteria are:
- Practical (want to be able to fit mountain bike and associated kit inside easily - not a fan of roof bars etc so rear seats will need to fold down)
- Fast (while the Mondeo is nice to drive, it's not exactly pokey)
- "Cheap" (will be able to sell my car for around £3500-£4000 maybe - do I finance a newer car and aim for ~£200p/m?)

Any suggestions?

[zedx19]

Bit over budget, but it's an Italian V6 with a manual box, in Estate form, ticks all the boxes! Reads as a CAT N though...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325252588258?hash=item4...

[georgeyboy12345]

Sounds like you need a hot hatch!

What about another Ford - here's a Focus ST
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206297...

Peugeot 308 GTi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205095...

BMW 125i M Sport
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205025...

VW Golf GTI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206106...

Alfa Romeo Giulietta TBi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206096...


Estate Options

Renault Megane GT Sports Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207087...

Seat Leon Cupra 280 Sport Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203183...

Or for under 2 grand - Saab 9-3 2.8 V6 Turbo Aero Sportwagon
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207027...


Really quick stuff

Mercedes A45 AMG
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206036...

BMW M135i
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205175...

Audi S3
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207067...

Edited by georgeyboy12345 on Thursday 14th July 16:27

[ZX10R NIN]

Mully1906 said:

Hi all,

Recently changed jobs and my commute is now less than a 5 minute walk, and the pay is better than the last job.

I currently drive a 2.0 diesel Ford Mondeo Tit X Sport estate, but thinking of changing for something a bit more..."engaging".

My criteria are:
- Practical (want to be able to fit mountain bike and associated kit inside easily - not a fan of roof bars etc so rear seats will need to fold down)
- Fast (while the Mondeo is nice to drive, it's not exactly pokey)
- "Cheap" (will be able to sell my car for around £3500-£4000 maybe - do I finance a newer car and aim for ~£200p/m?)

Any suggestions?

It sounds like you'll still need something Mondeo sized to enable the bike to fit in easily, only you can decide how much you want to finance a car for.

The hard part is that the Mondeo is a good steer so getting something with a better chassis will be the hard part.

I'll give you the alternates list.

Insignia VXR actually a good steer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110299...

If you want to spend more there's the more subtle/less powerful Insignia Grand Sport Elite Nav not as good a steer as the VXR but cheaper to run:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205025...

V60 T6 with a Polestar remap:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207137...

Passat R36 Estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008252...

For around the same money you'll sell your car for you could get a 2.5T Mondeo:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207067...

The VXR Vectra (they're a better car than they're given credit for) is an alternative to the 2.5T above but for me the Ford edges it:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204074...

If you decide you can live with a hot hatch then these are some very good alternates that handle & go well:

Astra GTC VXR:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207117...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207057...

Giulietta Cloverleaf:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206206...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205165...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206106...

Warm Hatch.

Q30 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203153...