New Car 10k Budget??

[TOBYALLERTON]

I desperately need a new car.

I currently still drive my first car, a 1 litre Polo and I'm so bored of how ridiculously slow it is. Therefore I'm looking to buy something new.

I do about 250 miles a week for work so preferably something that isn't going to guzzle fuel and is going to be reliable.

Would love a bit of poke when I'm pulling away and overtaking middle lane hoggers on my commute to work, but doesn't need to be anything ridiculous.

Also don't want anything that's already got to high mileage already on it as I will be doing a few myself.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[ingenieur]

Are you over 25 yet? Not sure if it's still the case but you get a big insurance reduction once you pass 25 and this opens the door to more exotic machinery.

[TOBYALLERTON]

Unfortunately not, just turned 23.

[Shabaza]

Something sensible like a mk7 golf would do the trick.
It typically comes with radar guided cruise control as standard which is a bonus.

1.4/1.5 petrol
the 1.6 diesel is a but gutless so i would avoid it

[ingenieur]

TOBYALLERTON said:

Unfortunately not, just turned 23.

have a look at 3-series beemers. Quite exciting cars, lots of choice with them being so popular but semi-sensible, reliable and cheap to run at the same time. Avoid the N47 engines I've heard. Only some of them have this dodgy power plant.

[TOBYALLERTON]

Shabaza said:

Something sensible like a mk7 golf would do the trick.
It typically comes with radar guided cruise control as standard which is a bonus.

1.4/1.5 petrol
the 1.6 diesel is a but gutless so i would avoid it

Decent cars, just feel they are a bit boring.

[Pablo16v]

TOBYALLERTON said:

Shabaza said:

Something sensible like a mk7 golf would do the trick.
It typically comes with radar guided cruise control as standard which is a bonus.

1.4/1.5 petrol
the 1.6 diesel is a but gutless so i would avoid it

Decent cars, just feel they are a bit boring.

What about a Leon FR then as they tend to be a bit sportier and buzzier feeling than the VW equivalent.

[Sslink]

What's your budget?

EDIT: Forgive me, I've JUST seen your budget in the title

Edited by Sslink on Wednesday 10th January 13:42

[TOBYALLERTON]

Sslink said:

What's your budget?

Sorry forgot to say in the main bit. Around 10k.

[FIREBIRDC9]

ingenieur said:

Are you over 25 yet? Not sure if it's still the case but you get a big insurance reduction once you pass 25 and this opens the door to more exotic machinery.

Is this actually a thing?

When i turned 25 in 2018 the difference was negligible.

[venster70]

A JCW Mini, the later R56 is just within reach, but even the Cooper S is a blast in this generation.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15642594

If you can push the budget a later F56 model is a better bet.

You won't find anything more engaging to drive, and the insurance should be pretty sane.

[A500leroy]

Youd get a nice gt line turbo clio for that.

[TOBYALLERTON]

Ive always seemed to think they won’t the most reliable things.

[TOBYALLERTON]

venster70 said:

A JCW Mini, the later R56 is just within reach, but even the Cooper S is a blast in this generation.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15642594

If you can push the budget a later F56 model is a better bet.

You won't find anything more engaging to drive, and the insurance should be pretty sane.

Ive always seemed to think they won’t the most reliable things.

[georgeyboy12345]

TOBYALLERTON said:

venster70 said:

A JCW Mini, the later R56 is just within reach, but even the Cooper S is a blast in this generation.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15642594

If you can push the budget a later F56 model is a better bet.

You won't find anything more engaging to drive, and the insurance should be pretty sane.

Ive always seemed to think they won’t the most reliable things.

You are correct, they are not! I wouldn't get one of these. Better to get the newer shape F56 as he mentioned. Here's a Cooper SD 5 door
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311174...


I think what you want is a warm-ish diesel hatch - shouldn't be too much to run or insure, but at the same time have plenty of poke, especially in comparison to a 1.0 Polo. These are all Euro 6 as well so will be ok in low emission zones and shouldn't lose their value as much as a Euro 5 or lower version.

Ford Focus ST 2.0 TDCi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401055...


BMW 118d Sport
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312074...


Peugeot 308 2.0 BlueHDI GT Line
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311063...

[Max1111]

You might find insurance makes the decision for you.. I live in London myself and anything typically driven by boy racers or stolen (M4s+SUVs) is just too expensive to insure. Midlife crisis cars on the other hand were cheap to insure!

[TOBYALLERTON]

Max1111 said:

You might find insurance makes the decision for you.. I live in London myself and anything typically driven by boy racers or stolen (M4s+SUVs) is just too expensive to insure. Midlife crisis cars on the other hand were cheap to insure!

Luckily I live in a decent area where car theft isn’t very high.

[Silvanus]

Alfa Romeo Giulietta with the 1.4 turbo. Loads of versions and some nice special editions. Probably as reliable if not more, than some of the cars already mentioned. Plenty on autotrader.

[ZX10R NIN]

Giulietta Sportive Nav 170 in either petrol:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311204...

Or QV Line diesel form, both are reliable & a very good option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312225...

Hyundai i30 Turbo:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312084...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311023...

Kia Proceed GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311133...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312305...

[Kingdom35]

I can vouch for the Kia Proceed. If you have any questions or you’re local to me (Herts) let me know and you can come and have a look at mine.