Which new daily, quick, practical and entertaining - 15k

[Yomamaisasnowblower]

Hi,

Long time daily lurker here, about 15 years!

Not sure how it has come to this, but I'm stuck on possible choices for a new daily after the demise of my current.

15k max budget, criteria is quite wide. The Mrs has a large family car. However having kids means mine needs to have some degree of practicality, ruling out 2 seaters.

- Decent amount of power, at least around 250bhp, prefer 300+.
- Four seats minimum.
- 6 cyl would be nice, 4 pot would not be a deal breaker.
- Saloon, Coupe or even an estate if pushed.
- Handles well but comfy for motorways.
- Reasonably reliable (?!!)
- Not too worried about engine size 2.0 to 3.5 ideal but would consider anything.
- I drive about 3-4k a year, soon be 7-9k and open to petrol or diesel. Quite like the diesel shove for daily grinds.
- Must have leathery type (or part alacantara), heated, electrically adjustable front seats and decent headlights as a minimum.
- No Vauxhalls, Ford or Passats(!)

Current crop of obvious contenders are

- BMW 6 cyl, 3, 4, 5 or 6 series (poss even GT)
- Merc E Class Coupe (prev gen)
- Golf GTi/GTD
- Jag XF
- Various Barges (7's, "Lexuses", S Class etc)
- Post 2013 models of the Accord, Mazda 6 (not convinced)

Really like the E Class Coupe 350 and 6er. Any particular models/years to avoid or recommend? Not sure about Jag reliability but like the looks and interior.

Looking forward to see what else my fellow PHer's come up with! Thanks!

[Carguy44]

A Megane RS275 should be doable for that budget. A practical great fun car.

[secret_stu]

Audi S4/5?

[_Rob]

What does 'entertaining' mean to you? Do you think you're an F1 driver in every bendy bit of road? Or do you want a big lump of brute force to make you chuckle every time you can put your foot down?

I'm more of the latter and loved my 540i for it. Amazing everyday car, great for family life, chilled out when you want, good for long distance, can handle corners nicely, but the engine and X-Drive combined kept me entertained.

[Chicken Chaser]

I'm looking at the potential of a 3 series GT for this exact kind of specification so if anyone has an opinion on the idea, I'm all ears.

[ZX10R NIN]

My leftfield choice is my first & it's a car I own, it's the 4.7TT V8 E500 coupe these are super rare as well as being a (the car in the link now has black wheels) a very good daily but the performance is truly AMG levels (& that's before the Remap/direct replacement air filters) but with a softer setup as well as the Orthopedic seats:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206016...

You can get the newer E400 but it's not as good a car imo:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211041...

Diesel wise you'll get a nice E350 AMG Line:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210301...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210281...

RS5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205246...

435i M Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207318...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204114...

At the lower end the G37 coupe is a good pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208259...


Left leftfielfd:

Q50 35h not the most entertaining but these are a decent steer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210220...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210220...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Tuesday 8th November 17:55

[kiethton]

BMW M135i, or even a M140i if you can sneak one in budget (normally start from £17k or so however)

Our facelift M135i is on 125k miles now without any major issue, handles well and was perfectly comfortable enough when we took it to Croatia in 2020

[CG2020UK]

kiethton said:

BMW M135i, or even a M140i if you can sneak one in budget (normally start from £17k or so however)

Our facelift M135i is on 125k miles now without any major issue, handles well and was perfectly comfortable enough when we took it to Croatia in 2020

+1

[Chestrockwell]

Another shout for the M135/40i.

Very comfortable , very fast and lots of fun.

I’d go for a manual, they’re a lot cheaper than the auto’s but a great drive, I’ve had mine over a year now and don’t see myself changing it at all because there’s nothing that comes close to it.

[Yomamaisasnowblower]

Sorry, the forum wouldn't let me post last night as I was a new user!

Thanks for the suggestions all and especially the examples Mr Nin, excellent as always! Really like the idea of the 4.7TT E Class.

Going to add the S4 to the list, just not sure about Audi due those I've test driven in the past handling like boats.

135/40i - On paper, these should be the ticket. However I left them off as I find the 1 a bit tight inside and the interior feels a bit...cheap. Still, I should check it out again.

Someone mentioned what I find entertaining. This is a daily, so something that can be a blast in a straight line and also has good steering feel, balanced through corners, gives you a feeling of connection etc - does not have to be razor sharp.

Previous was a FN2 Civic Type R which did a good job of an all rounder but the ride wasn't great! Moving away from traditional hot hatches now and want something with more of a premium feel (well, the wife does!)