"Special" daily driver for ~£20k

[Robmarriott]

I've had my 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport for a while now and I'm looking to replace it, but as is always the case with me, I'm scouring the internet and nothing has jumped out at me yet.

I have absolutely no criteria to meet for vehicle type but I don't want something boring and it'll be my outdoor parked daily driver so as much as I'd love an Elise, something like that would be a bad idea.

My thoughts so far;

DC5 Integra - bit old now?
Cayman S - engine concerns
Golf GTI Clubsport - bit dull? also clutches are rubbish from what I gather
Leon Cupra 280/290 - Same as the Golf
S2000 - drove one a long time ago and I think I didn't like it.
E92 M3 - engine concerns
Mk3 Focus RS - might get nicked
FK2 Civic Type R - not 100% on the looks
TTRS - ? can't think of any reasons against
135/140i - I'd want a 235/340i
235/240i - I'd wish it was an M2

The problem is I don't ever now what I want and I like everything. My last 5 cars have been a GT86, a BMW 525d, a 260bhp Octavia 4x4 estate, a Clio 182 and the Peugeot.

Why am I not just a "new car which does the job every 3 years" kind of guy?

For £20k, what's your suggestions?

[ajguk]

Jag XE-S 380? If you can find one without the two tone interior which in pics, at least, looks awful.

There's a handful of Alfa Giulia Veloce's for less than 20k on AT as well, they seem to be pretty well recommended on here.

Edited by ajguk on Sunday 21st May 21:09

[paradigital]

Even the most mundane of drives feels much more special with the roof off.

Get a convertible of some description would be my suggestion. I’m not going to fall into the trap of recommending what I own (440i Convertible in this case), as if you don’t need 4 seats then a 2-seater will feel more nimble, but I would 100% recommend getting a convertible.

[Robmarriott]

ajguk said:

Jag XE-S 380? If you can find one without the two tone interior which in pics, at least, looks awful.

Just looked, you're right.

I don't think a 'modern' Jag is for me, I'd have had an XJR or even an S Type R a few years back but I'm not keen on the newer stuff.

[ajguk]

Robmarriott said:

Just looked, you're right.

I don't think a 'modern' Jag is for me, I'd have had an XJR or even an S Type R a few years back but I'm not keen on the newer stuff.

Just edited my reply to suggest the Giulia too which is worth a look.

[ChrisH72]

I'd be interested to know what you thought of the GT86 compared with a turbo hatch like the 208?

For 20k you could get an MX5 RF with the 2.0 184bhp engine which should have enough go. Folding hard top would work for year round use.

Or if you like the Cayman then a 987.2 with the 2.9 unit is meant to be reliable. Should be doable for 20k.

You're not far off an early F type V6 coupe.

Or a Giulia Veloce if a fast saloon interests you.

[Robmarriott]

paradigital said:

Even the most mundane of drives feels much more special with the roof off.

Get a convertible of some description would be my suggestion. I’m not going to fall into the trap of recommending what I own (440i Convertible in this case), as if you don’t need 4 seats then a 2-seater will feel more nimble, but I would 100% recommend getting a convertible.

I don't need two seats, let alone 4! I do like a convertible, I've had a couple of MX5s in the past and would have another, maybe a BBR kitted mk3. That's the reason I looked at an S2000.

I'm not entirely sold on convertibles which were built on an existing model though so that limits the options a lot.

[ajguk]

ChrisH72 said:

You're not far off an early F type V6 coupe.

He's on the money: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305207...

[RemarkLima]

Not sure why an elise wouldn't do the job, I had a S1 Exige as a daily for about 4 years. Pita to get in and out of, loud, hot but what a drive everytime.

Outside wouldn't be an issue I'd think?

Cayman / Boxster is a good shout as they do drive very well, and a comfortable place to be, but the borescore is a risk... But a borescope is about £200 or so, and can rule thats out as a risk.

[Robmarriott]

ChrisH72 said:

I'd be interested to know what you thought of the GT86 compared with a turbo hatch like the 208?

For 20k you could get an MX5 RF with the 2.0 184bhp engine which should have enough go. Folding hard top would work for year round use.

Or if you like the Cayman then a 987.2 with the 2.9 unit is meant to be reliable. Should be doable for 20k.

You're not far off an early F type V6 coupe.

Or a Giulia Veloce if a fast saloon interests you.

I didn't get on with the GT86 because the seat didn't go back far enough by one or two clicks. The car itself was great but I couldn't find a comfortable driving position (I'm 6'2" and at the time was about 18 stone). Despite what some people say about them not having enough power, they definitely do. It felt fast but you had to work for it.

The 208 is a completely different car, the engine has torque low down. Where in the GT86 it was all about keeping the revs up, in the 208 you can be in the 'wrong' gear coming out of a corner and the torque will pull you along.

I'd only ever looked at the Cayman S with the 3.4 but I'll investigate the other models too, same with the Alfa, I'd forgotten they even exist.

[Robmarriott]

ajguk said:

ChrisH72 said:

You're not far off an early F type V6 coupe.

He's on the money: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305207...

I take back everything I said about newer Jags. The F Type is pretty enough to sway me. I'll add it to the list.

[ajguk]

SLK55, can confirm these sound amazing: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305107...

[Robmarriott]

RemarkLima said:

Not sure why an elise wouldn't do the job, I had a S1 Exige as a daily for about 4 years. Pita to get in and out of, loud, hot but what a drive everytime.

Outside wouldn't be an issue I'd think?

Cayman / Boxster is a good shout as they do drive very well, and a comfortable place to be, but the borescore is a risk... But a borescope is about £200 or so, and can rule thats out as a risk.

Oh no, don't say that, this was supposed to reinforce my concerns. The dream is an early S1, I've wanted one since they were new.

I live in a small block of flats with allocated parking hidden from the road, so I'm not too concerned.

Maybe I'll see if I can find one nearby to try.

[ChrisH72]

Nice Cayman

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023050971...

Giulia Veloce 280

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023031954...

I30N with slight budget creep

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023050570...

[Robmarriott]

ChrisH72 said:

Nice Cayman

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023050971...

Giulia Veloce 280

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023031954...

I30N with slight budget creep

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023050570...

No room for budget creep or I'd have pretty much gone straight out and bought an i30n without considering anything else. I've seen a couple in budget but my experience tells me never to buy the absolute cheapest of something.

The others look good, even if the interior of the Alfa is a bit... sudden.

[ChrisH72]

Haha, surely an Alfa needs a red interior?

Also available in black anyway. I sat in one the other day and was quite surprised how light and airy it felt in there. Also sat in a Jag xe which was very dark.

I do like the i30N but currently thinking a nearly new i20N is better value.

[Macron]

The Alfa seems to get an awful lot of love on here although I'm not sure if it's universal, just a few people repeatedly pushing it, no matter, not a Veloce but this is the pale interior

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023041362...

This is the baseball esque one. At least it's not black.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023041964...

Personally with basically no limits, I cannot fathom why you'd go for a smallish saloon. I'd have one of these. And keep the change for whatever you want next time.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023051975...

[Robmarriott]

Macron said:

Personally with basically no limits, I cannot fathom why you'd go for a smallish saloon. I'd have one of these. And keep the change for whatever you want next time.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023051975...

You present a good argument. Drove a Z4M Coupe back to back with a 135i Coupe a few years ago and they didn't compare. I remember the Z4 being a bit of a squeeze for me though, but again, at the point, I was bigger. Ruby Black is a great colour too. Added to the list.

[ChrisH72]

If you like the BMW Z4 there's always this.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023040660...

Hard top as well so you can happily keep it outside and use it all year.

[RemarkLima]

Robmarriott said:

RemarkLima said:

Not sure why an elise wouldn't do the job, I had a S1 Exige as a daily for about 4 years. Pita to get in and out of, loud, hot but what a drive everytime.

Outside wouldn't be an issue I'd think?

Cayman / Boxster is a good shout as they do drive very well, and a comfortable place to be, but the borescore is a risk... But a borescope is about £200 or so, and can rule thats out as a risk.

Oh no, don't say that, this was supposed to reinforce my concerns. The dream is an early S1, I've wanted one since they were new.

I live in a small block of flats with allocated parking hidden from the road, so I'm not too concerned.

Maybe I'll see if I can find one nearby to try.

At 6' 2" you may struggle to fit into a S1 sadly, as they really are very small... And when I ran mine it was a lot newer... If you can find one, I'd say go for it. It's sort of ruined all other cars as a driving experience, but they are pretty raw ;-)