Purchase Advice - Fun Automatic for less than £600p/m

[Nicodemus-A]

This is my first time buying anything beyond a £2k used and I'm frankly, overwhelmed.

So, my Mrs has an injury to her left hand and can't use a gear stick. Therefore we need an automatic, or semi-auto transmission. However, as I'm the one who's going to be driving it 95% of the time I'd still like it to be something that's going to put a smile on my face. Below are the criteria I need to meet and a few that would be nice. Any advice would be appreciated.

Needs:

Hatchback/Coupe
Automatic Transmission
Parking Sensors/Camera
New/Next to New (low mileage 2019 onwards used)
High reliability
High Performance when driven aggressively but refined enough to not bite my wife's face off if she's just running errands in it.

Would be Nice:

Quality, spacious, interior. (I'm 6'4 so I'd rather not be cramped)
Within 50 miles of Newcastle for used.

Cars I've considered include, Honda Civic, Audi TT, VW Golf R, Peugeot 208 GT, Mazda MX5, BMW M135i 2019 model, Audi A3 sport back, and probably many more besides. I've just no idea how to narrow it down.

[Nicodemus-A]

ZX10R NIN said:

I get you want something reliable but why the age limit?

Look for a Kia Ceed GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302284...

I don't have a good reason really. It's purely that I've always had to settle for the 10year old model with 100k miles on it. I'm planning on this car being around for a while and I really want it to be mine and not somebody's cast off.