Small, light, fun, manual car that can stay outdoors...

[ewand]

I've been looking after my nephew's 2016 1.0L VW Polo for a few weeks and necessitated driving it (on 3rd party cover) to get various things done. It's 4 or so years since I last owned a manual car and it's been a hoot. Made me really miss that sensation of having a narrow, light car with manual box that doesn't suffer from too much power so you can rag it without ever worrying about getting locked up.

So that's made me think - if I was to get myself something, what would it be?

Needs to be/have:

• Small; narrow especially, so it can be placed on the road rather than taking up the whole thing
• zippy engine; don't need more than 200bhp but I'd love something that can rev and sound good
• Great gearchange; the whole point of driving this car will be to enjoy the experience so it needs a great 'box
• not too expensive; budget maybe £20Kish and ideally not a fortune to tax/insure/maintain
• needs to live outside; I don't have garaging to keep a Caterham or an Elise or anything so it would need to live outdoors and not let in water/rot/stink

What do you think, PH massif? Fiesta ST mk8? Clio RS? It doesn't need to be overly practical so outright fun cars like GT86 or Abarth 695, even MX5 or S2000 could potentially be in the mix.

[Mr E]

Swift. The one before they turbocharged it.

[Matt_T]

i30 N?
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17941690

[_Neal_]

S2000 was my first thought, as per your post. Residuals should be decent too. Civic Type R as well.

[ChocolateFrog]

Probably get a MX5 still in warranty for that.

Depends what you actually want. There's a big difference between a hatchback and a 2 seat convertible.

[benp1]

Fiesta ST and Up! GTI would be high up my list

[Simon_GH]

I think you’d struggle to beat an MX5 - roof off makes it feel even faster at licence-friendly speeds.

[AnhBanhBao]

Some sort of MX-5, Type R or GT86 if the gear change is very important.

Have never owned one, but an i20 N seems to cover most bases - not sure how slick the ‘box is though, and they do hold their value very well, more expensive than an i30 N.

[Quattr04.]

My first thought was a mk7 fiesta ST. I loved mine, felt like a proper old school turbo hatch, lots of induction noise, slick gear changes, no annoying driver aids, looks the part and really cheap now

Harsh ride and you feel like you’re sitting quite high are the downsides.

If not maybe a z4? Not driven one but I hear BMW gearboxes are a bit naff in the manual cars

[Jakg]

ewand said:

• needs to live outside; I don't have garaging to keep a Caterham or an Elise or anything so it would need to live outdoors and not let in water/rot/stink

Simon_GH said:

I think you’d struggle to beat an MX5 - roof off makes it feel even faster at licence-friendly speeds.

Rust risk though.

Quattr04. said:

If not maybe a z4? Not driven one but I hear BMW gearboxes are a bit naff in the manual cars

I would've said E85 Z4 but quite a bit less than the OP's budget.

[ZX10R NIN]

ewand said:

I've been looking after my nephew's 2016 1.0L VW Polo for a few weeks and necessitated driving it (on 3rd party cover) to get various things done. It's 4 or so years since I last owned a manual car and it's been a hoot. Made me really miss that sensation of having a narrow, light car with manual box that doesn't suffer from too much power so you can rag it without ever worrying about getting locked up.

So that's made me think - if I was to get myself something, what would it be?

Needs to be/have:

• Small; narrow especially, so it can be placed on the road rather than taking up the whole thing
• zippy engine; don't need more than 200bhp but I'd love something that can rev and sound good
• Great gearchange; the whole point of driving this car will be to enjoy the experience so it needs a great 'box
• not too expensive; budget maybe £20Kish and ideally not a fortune to tax/insure/maintain
• needs to live outside; I don't have garaging to keep a Caterham or an Elise or anything so it would need to live outdoors and not let in water/rot/stink

What do you think, PH massif? Fiesta ST mk8? Clio RS? It doesn't need to be overly practical so outright fun cars like GT86 or Abarth 695, even MX5 or S2000 could potentially be in the mix.

I'd say the S2000 is the pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407252...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412197...

Or the nicest 370Z Nismo you can find:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410095...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502018...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502068...

2.7 Cayman:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502078...

[ChrisH72]

I picked up my mx5 RF for £20k last summer. 2020 2.0 sport tech with just 4k miles on.



I also have no garage which is why I went for the hard top RF. It lives outside and is used all year round.



It is a very small car. If you're over 6 foot I'd give it a miss! But if you're short like me then you'll struggle to find a car which better fits your brief.

[ewand]

Great answers so far, guys, thanks! TBH, I'm not saying I have a budget that needs to all be spent - it might be that the sweet spot for what I want is in the £8-12K range or something.

I had a couple of S2000s in period (AP1 when they first came out, then an AP2 a few years later). Part of me thinks it could be a disappointment going there again, though I suspect the late model ones will hold their value pretty well. Trouble is, the last 100 (in white) would be the obvious candidate and they're starting to look a bit pricey.

I tested an MX5 RF a few years back and quite liked it but we ended up getting an Audi S3 cab instead, with it's DSG. The S3 is a nice little car to drive but I'd love to go manual, and I suspect MX5 or S2000 would be too similar in some ways, while not being as nice inside (or as quick).

Nissan 370Z - interesting thought. I remember testing a 350Z when they first came out and hated the salesguy from the dealership so much that I vowed I'd never buy anything from him. Possibly a bit too big and bruisery compared to small, light, nimble stuff. I think after testing this one, I went back to Honda and got the 2nd S2000...

Now the Cayman 2.7 is an interesting thought; I may well pursue that. I had been musing an early non-S Boxster could be worth a punt, a la Johnny Smith's bargain Boxster. Was chatting with another mate who has similar taste in cars and he was starting to look for a <£10K Boxster to sit on his drive, probably under a cover...

[SpudLink]

A bargain Cayman seems like a great idea. But…. driven at sensible speeds, I’m not sure it will be as much fun as trashing the nuts off a ‘lesser’ car. Porsche know how to engineer a car, but not sure they are thrilling on the road unless you’re willing to risk your licence.

[ChevronB19]

Up GTi. Can thrash it without being illegal, is like driving an overexcited puppy. Holds value. Sticks to op criteria, now we are talking about cayman etc there is a lot of scope creep!

[Baldchap]

ChevronB19 said:

Up GTi. Can thrash it without being illegal, is like driving an overexcited puppy. Holds value. Sticks to op criteria, now we are talking about cayman etc there is a lot of scope creep!

Wife has one. Mapped it's actually quite rapid and with aftermarket wheels there is loads of tyre choice.

[ChevronB19]

Baldchap said:

ChevronB19 said:

Up GTi. Can thrash it without being illegal, is like driving an overexcited puppy. Holds value. Sticks to op criteria, now we are talking about cayman etc there is a lot of scope creep!

Wife has one. Mapped it's actually quite rapid and with aftermarket wheels there is loads of tyre choice.

The joy of it is that it feels quicker than it actually is. Even with original wheels there is an easy tyre upgrade from OEM.

[ChrisH72]

Fair enough.

Sounds like you're definitely after a 2 seater though. I love hot hatches and enjoyed the Fiesta ST I had before the mx5. But if you don't actually need back seats and luggage space then you might as well go down the sports car route.

I did consider a Cayman/Boxster but was too worried about big bills and reliability for daily use. Something like this could work for you..

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025020286...

Looking through the pics, it does seem to require some fairly expensive maintenance on a regular basis with most of those bills running at a few hundred quid a time. But it's a cheaper car in the first place and shouldn't depreciate much if looked after. You could look at the 2.9 from 2009 onwards for under £20k. It's said to be pretty reliable. Also, an equivalent Boxster could be a bit cheaper and I'm sure they're well insulated enough to survive outside without any issues.

[dan98]

ewand said:

I've been looking after my nephew's 2016 1.0L VW Polo for a few weeks and necessitated driving it (on 3rd party cover) to get various things done. It's 4 or so years since I last owned a manual car and it's been a hoot. Made me really miss that sensation of having a narrow, light car with manual box that doesn't suffer from too much power so you can rag it without ever worrying about getting locked up.

So that's made me think - if I was to get myself something, what would it be?

Needs to be/have:

• Small; narrow especially, so it can be placed on the road rather than taking up the whole thing
• zippy engine; don't need more than 200bhp but I'd love something that can rev and sound good
• Great gearchange; the whole point of driving this car will be to enjoy the experience so it needs a great 'box
• not too expensive; budget maybe £20Kish and ideally not a fortune to tax/insure/maintain
• needs to live outside; I don't have garaging to keep a Caterham or an Elise or anything so it would need to live outdoors and not let in water/rot/stink

What do you think, PH massif? Fiesta ST mk8? Clio RS? It doesn't need to be overly practical so outright fun cars like GT86 or Abarth 695, even MX5 or S2000 could potentially be in the mix.

The Polo Mk5 is particularly narrow and, as you've discovered, really great at zipping around on typical British roads.
It's also simple, cheap and perfect for low-worries ownership IMO.
The 110hp TSI is a great little engine and everything you actually need.
Personally I find the softer suspension in the SE versions more fun/enjoyable than the GTI, but that's just me.

I think suggestions of Boxster / 370Z and other similar stuff misses the point here, both in terms of size (especially width) and weight / engineering - probably much more competent but with a different kind of endgame.
I'd be inclined more towards Fiesta ST / Polo / Up or even Suzuki Swift for this kind of low-stakes fun.

[Quattr04.]

I agree with the other posters, I much prefer a lower powered car you can really thrash and enjoy at low speeds than a bigger more powerful engine car which you have to push harder to get to the limit

I am a firm believer a car with 200hp is more than enough for having fun on British roads where it’s never long before you come up behind Mabel in her jazz doing 40 in a 60 or a lorry on a winding road.

I also firmly believe the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on is in one with the roof down, having a convertible turns any sunny day trip into a joy.