£20k practical drivers car

M.F.D

Original Poster

800 posts

108 months

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[news]

Saturday 10th February

Looking to see where people's money would go with the below requirements. This would go alongside a more sensible car my wife has.

- £20k budget / c. £400 pcm low deposit
- Manual preferred
- Engaging to drive
- Fairly practical (must be able to move young kids about etc)
- Not totally ruinous to use daily
- Suitable for the odd track day

Current thoughts are a Megane 300 trophy (pushing the budget slightly) but a friend is egging me on with an E90 M3. Open to just about anything that meets the requirements.

ChrisH72

2,346 posts

59 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

With that criteria you could really just take your pick of the many newish hot hatches available.

For me it has to be the i20N

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024013060...

There have been some for sale at closer to £20k but they do seem to get snapped up. Possibly get a better deal on a brand new one?

Depends how fussed you are about outright power but I always favour smaller, lighter cars for maximum fun.

Belle427

9,736 posts

240 months

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[news]

Saturday 10th February

Id probably stick to the Megane but the Hyundai looks a great little car.
Maybe a Civic Type R if you can stand the looks.
The M3 is fantastic but i would imagine fairly ruinous to run.

Vsix and Vtec

739 posts

25 months

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[news]

Saturday 10th February

Another vote for the Civic Type R here, it'll do all your list, plus you get the legendary reliability that means even if you DO spank it round the track on the odd occasion it won't throw a rod bearing or something while doing it.

nunpuncher

3,464 posts

132 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

The Mégane is the correct answer. I'd also be looking at the fk2 type r and the m240i.

I'd take the later over an e90 M3 any day of the week. Potential for rod bearing failure. Parts carry an unjustifiable M tax. They are heavy, thirsty and not as potent as they look on paper. In fact, I'd stop talking to that friend for that suggestion.

Your budget is confusing though as £20k and low deposit and £400pm put you in different brackets. Do you really want to finance and just hand back?

ChrisH72

2,346 posts

59 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

I had a look a Sainsbury bank loans.

Borrow £17k over 48 months is £400 a month. APR 6.3%

So with £3k to put down it could be done.

wyson

2,690 posts

111 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

Vsix and Vtec said:

Another vote for the Civic Type R here, it'll do all your list, plus you get the legendary reliability that means even if you DO spank it round the track on the odd occasion it won't throw a rod bearing or something while doing it.

The FK8 Honda Civic’s don’t have a good reliability record. Honda as a brand, their reliability isn’t a given anymore.

ChrisH72

2,346 posts

59 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

I like the CTR.

But £20k only seems to get a 2016 car so that'd be FK2. To me, it's a lot to pay for an 8 year old car.

CG2020UK

2,011 posts

47 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

BMW M2 with the N55 engine.

Have an ask on the BMW M2 forum on Facebook and you should get a tidy FSH car for that price.

Thankfully the N55 M2s are actually pretty bulletproof and are really reliable by normal car standards never mind M car. Just high insurance cost and 25mpg.

Zarco

18,482 posts

216 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

I'd get a Megane. In fact that's what I did in 2017 and it's fitted the bill so well I still have it.

Find it really hard to look past them as do-it-all single car. Car seat in the back for our 8yr old daughter (it's not our main family car), just got back from the tip this morning, gets me to work, drive it for kicks at the weekend.

I am planning to move it on this year, but only as I want to get dedicated weekend car and something more mundane for the commute.

ZX10R NIN

28,365 posts

132 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

M.F.D said:

Looking to see where people's money would go with the below requirements. This would go alongside a more sensible car my wife has.

- £20k budget / c. £400 pcm low deposit
- Manual preferred
- Engaging to drive
- Fairly practical (must be able to move young kids about etc)
- Not totally ruinous to use daily
- Suitable for the odd track day

Current thoughts are a Megane 300 trophy (pushing the budget slightly) but a friend is egging me on with an E90 M3. Open to just about anything that meets the requirements.

Neil1323bolts

1,167 posts

113 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

ChrisH72 said:

With that criteria you could really just take your pick of the many newish hot hatches available.

For me it has to be the i20N

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024013060...

There have been some for sale at closer to £20k but they do seem to get snapped up. Possibly get a better deal on a brand new one?

Depends how fussed you are about outright power but I always favour smaller, lighter cars for maximum fun.

I’ve had my i20N for a year now and it just keeps getting better to drive , fantastic thing and just right amount of power for a good B road blast. There can’t be a better/ newer hot hatch for the money , go try one, I think you may be impressed

cjstott

69 posts

62 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

ChrisH72 said:

I had a look a Sainsbury bank loans.

Borrow £17k over 48 months is £400 a month. APR 6.3%

So with £3k to put down it could be done.

I took a loan instead of PCPing my current car, yes I got the better rate, and it was great because id built a decent chunk of equity, but when the Range Rover prices collapsed it has meant I'm now underwater on it, if I had PCP'd it I'd have been protected from that.

PCP is more expensive but make your decision weighing up all your options.

M.F.D

Original Poster

800 posts

108 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

ChrisH72 said:

With that criteria you could really just take your pick of the many newish hot hatches available.

For me it has to be the i20N

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024013060...

There have been some for sale at closer to £20k but they do seem to get snapped up. Possibly get a better deal on a brand new one?

Depends how fussed you are about outright power but I always favour smaller, lighter cars for maximum fun.

Neil1323bolts said:

I’ve had my i20N for a year now and it just keeps getting better to drive , fantastic thing and just right amount of power for a good B road blast. There can’t be a better/ newer hot hatch for the money , go try one, I think you may be impressed

Cheers, not something that was on my radar, albeit I think they look like great fun. That said, £25k now gets you close to Yaris GR-Four money and if going to something that size it would be the Yaris all day long. Just not sure a car in this segment would be quite big enough sadly.

Belle427 said:

Id probably stick to the Megane but the Hyundai looks a great little car.
Maybe a Civic Type R if you can stand the looks.
The M3 is fantastic but i would imagine fairly ruinous to run.

Vsix and Vtec said:

Another vote for the Civic Type R here, it'll do all your list, plus you get the legendary reliability that means even if you DO spank it round the track on the odd occasion it won't throw a rod bearing or something while doing it.

FK8 is more appealing than a FK2, never had a Honda but I drove the FK8 on an experience day and in many ways preferred it to the F430 that I drove afterwards!

nunpuncher said:

The Mégane is the correct answer. I'd also be looking at the fk2 type r and the m240i.

I'd take the later over an e90 M3 any day of the week. Potential for rod bearing failure. Parts carry an unjustifiable M tax. They are heavy, thirsty and not as potent as they look on paper. In fact, I'd stop talking to that friend for that suggestion.

Your budget is confusing though as £20k and low deposit and £400pm put you in different brackets. Do you really want to finance and just hand back?

ChrisH72 said:

I had a look a Sainsbury bank loans.

Borrow £17k over 48 months is £400 a month. APR 6.3%

So with £3k to put down it could be done.

Zarco said:

I'd get a Megane. In fact that's what I did in 2017 and it's fitted the bill so well I still have it.

Find it really hard to look past them as do-it-all single car. Car seat in the back for our 8yr old daughter (it's not our main family car), just got back from the tip this morning, gets me to work, drive it for kicks at the weekend.

I am planning to move it on this year, but only as I want to get dedicated weekend car and something more mundane for the commute.

I’ve had 3 x Megane 250 Cup’s, I simply cannot fault them and probably the best cars I have owned all things considered. The lure of the last Renaultsport in manual is really strong, and probably where my head/heart is just now. £400pm is roughly what a £20k loan would cost via Tesco @6.1% over 60 months, give or take.

CG2020UK said:

BMW M2 with the N55 engine.

Have an ask on the BMW M2 forum on Facebook and you should get a tidy FSH car for that price.

Thankfully the N55 M2s are actually pretty bulletproof and are really reliable by normal car standards never mind M car. Just high insurance cost and 25mpg.

The M2 is something I would love, especially an ‘OG’ in manual. The running costs daily and insurance is something that does concern me. Might take a closer look at these though, the natural progression from Megane RS' appears to be into M2's and then into Porsche ownership etc.

Edited by M.F.D on Saturday 10th February 22:44

M.F.D

Original Poster

800 posts

108 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 10th February

ZX10R NIN said:

Thanks for the links, the VXR8 is interesting but my current car is a 'cool' fast barge and looking for something a little more dynamic. Unfortunately I cannot get past the wheel/instrument setup on the 308.

First two links are exactly what I think fits the bill!

S366

1,096 posts

149 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 11th February

An E90 m3 is a fantastic car, but it can be expensive to run, ideally you’d want an example that has both a very comprehensive history and ideally has had the rod bearings replaced.

Alternatively, the E46 M3 would be my recommendation, they are not only a great car that fits the bill, they’re likely to gradually appreciate in value. You just have to make sure you get the right one(which IMO is a facelift hardtop with a manual box), this looks like it could be a decent one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134893638100?mkcid=16&a...

Belle427

9,736 posts

240 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 11th February

Id be interested to know if the FK8 Type R is that much better than the FK2 for every day real world driving.
I know they had some issues that were resolved in the FK8 but the FK2 seems to be dropping into sensible money now.
You probably need £25k to get into a nice OG M2 but these are 2 cars im thinking about myself.
Point to point most would say the Type R is the quicker fun car, the only thing that bugs me is the lack of character in the engine which the M2 has.

Edited by Belle427 on Sunday 11th February 08:17

CG2020UK

2,011 posts

47 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 11th February

Belle427 said:

Id be interested to know if the FK8 Type R is that much better than the FK2 for every day real world driving.
I know they had some issues that were resolved in the FK8 but the FK2 seems to be dropping into sensible money now.
You probably need £25k to get into a nice OG M2 but these are 2 cars im thinking about myself.
Point to point most would say the Type R is the quicker fun car, the only thing that bugs me is the lack of character in the engine which the M2 has.

Edited by Belle427 on Sunday 11th February 08:17

I’ve drove both and done the FK8 vs M2 decision back 18months ago.

An M2 is quicker than an FK8 especially DCT cars.

The FK8 is easier to drive fast as they can be a bit more point and shot and being FWD. Are engaging but not outright fun.

The M2 is very Jekyll and Hyde in that at normal speeds it can be quite tail happy, crashy and naughty. On the limit at 10/10 on a track it’s amazing and really well behaved!

Also worth noting is the FK8 with the Nurburgring time isn’t a production car. FK8s also have proper heat issues on track that are worth looking at.

Certainly test drive both is my advice!

S366

1,096 posts

149 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 11th February

CG2020UK said:

Belle427 said:

Id be interested to know if the FK8 Type R is that much better than the FK2 for every day real world driving.
I know they had some issues that were resolved in the FK8 but the FK2 seems to be dropping into sensible money now.
You probably need £25k to get into a nice OG M2 but these are 2 cars im thinking about myself.
Point to point most would say the Type R is the quicker fun car, the only thing that bugs me is the lack of character in the engine which the M2 has.

Edited by Belle427 on Sunday 11th February 08:17

I’ve drove both and done the FK8 vs M2 decision back 18months ago.

An M2 is quicker than an FK8 especially DCT cars.

The FK8 is easier to drive fast as they can be a bit more point and shot and being FWD. Are engaging but not outright fun.

The M2 is very Jekyll and Hyde in that at normal speeds it can be quite tail happy, crashy and naughty. On the limit at 10/10 on a track it’s amazing and really well behaved!

Also worth noting is the FK8 with the Nurburgring time isn’t a production car. FK8s also have proper heat issues on track that are worth looking at.

Certainly test drive both is my advice!

I’ve also driven both, I’m more in the M2 camp though.

When it comes to the M2 I’d have to choose the manual box, it just makes it comes to life, I’d driven a few DCT M2’s but when I drove a manual one for the first time, I was blown away with how much more I enjoyed driving it.

The FK8 is a great car but I felt the steering feel to be a little ‘disconnected’, however my biggest gripe was the touchscreen system, I couldn’t stand having to use a touchscreen for everything(especially the fan speed). Unless your craving the latest tech, if I were to buy a fast 4 door jap car that could be used daily, I’d just get an older Impreza.

M.F.D

Original Poster

800 posts

108 months

[report]

[news]

Friday 16th February

S366 said:

An E90 m3 is a fantastic car, but it can be expensive to run, ideally you’d want an example that has both a very comprehensive history and ideally has had the rod bearings replaced.

Alternatively, the E46 M3 would be my recommendation, they are not only a great car that fits the bill, they’re likely to gradually appreciate in value. You just have to make sure you get the right one(which IMO is a facelift hardtop with a manual box), this looks like it could be a decent one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134893638100?mkcid=16&a...

The E46 has crossed my mind, just wasn't sure how it was fare as a daily. I imagine it would be safe money too as you say.

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