Give me your opinions...new car time!

[s-x-i]

Looking for some opinions as we are in the process of trying to decide on a new car for the wife.

She has had a Kia Soul for the past two years and we can’t fault it, however, due to less travelling we no longer need a diesel and she has just fallen out of love with it a bit.

I also have a company car (Mondeo) and I am looking to scratch my ‘petrol head’ itch.

Criteria Below

Around £14k
Below 40k miles
No older than 2015/16
Petrol
Manual
Fun
Fast Enough
Good Equipment – Nav, Heated Seats etc. (The Kia is fully loaded so she has been spoiled!)
FWD (where we live we often get bad snow during the winter)
Semi Practical

So far we have been looking at the F56 Mini Cooper S which seems to tick all the boxes.

Just looking for any other suggestions that I may have missed.?

[Wagonwheel555]

Not sure if you can get the Octavia VRS 2.0TSI with that budget

[silentbrown]

Focus/Fiesta ST, or staying with Kia, Pro Ceed GT...?

[cerb4.5lee]

I can definitely recommend the manual F56 Mini Cooper S and I absolutely loved mine for the 3.5 years that I had it. It was a nice place to sit and it had plenty of mod cons(mine was a very specced car/heated seats/nav/HK stereo/leather/heated front screen etc). It was fun to drive, and it had the added bonus of offering 40mpg in my hands too. I miss it a lot to be fair.

[cerb4.5lee]

A couple of pics from the dealer I sold it to back in March(it sold in only 3 days).

[cerb4.5lee]

silentbrown said:

Fiesta ST.

These are a fantastic choice from what I read too.

[s-x-i]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Octavia vRS - Too big, the company car takes care of this when required.

Focus/Fiesta ST - Never really been a fan of 'Fast Ford's' despite all the good reviews.

Keep them coming.

[madmatteo]

Given your criteria and budget, I would certainly consider a 308 GTi. Seems to have all the kit you are after and you can get into a 2017/18 car as far as I can tell. They seem good value given spec and performance.

More than enough performance. The economy seems to be good on the 1.6 Puertech turbo engine and has always been reviewed well. Bit of an underdog really.

Example - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106264...

Here's a good video of a 308 GTi vs i30N test. Shows that the 308 is serious bit of kit. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMUlPRvkdys&t=...

Edited by madmatteo on Friday 2nd July 14:50

[ElectricSoup]

Hyundai Veloster

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106043...

[madmatteo]

Another option would be the 308 GTi's little brother - the 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106254...

2018 model available some way under your budget. Should tick all your boxes as well.

Alternatives:

Vauxhall Astra VXR - 280hp - 2016 - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106113...

More leftfield and rarer option - DS3 Performance - 2018 - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105243...

[LightningBlue]

Alfa Giulietta QV or Megane RS? The Megane is more orientated to sporty driving than the Alfa but both nice cars

[s-x-i]

Thanks for the suggestions.

We went to see a F56 MCS at the weekend and I think we are pretty much set on one.

Now we just need to find or wait for one to come up with the rights spec. Due to all the options available its a bit of a minefield with some strangely specified cars out there.

Edited by s-x-i on Thursday 8th July 17:13

[resolve10]

Great choice.

[ZX10R NIN]

I think they're a good car but I'd always recommend test driving some alternatives as it's better to be sure.

I'd take a good look at the 208 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106113...

Clio RS Trophy Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107054...

[georgeyboy12345]

Loads of fun stuff about that fits the bill, here's some other ideas

A BMW 320i XDrive is fun to drive, well specced and will cope well with winter weather
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106183...


Abarth 595C Turismo
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103310...


Very low mileage 595C in a very bright red!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009103...

Non-convertible versions also available for a bit cheaper


Alfa Giulietta TB
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105062...


DS3 Performance
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107054...


Kia Proceed GT
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105092...


Peugeot 308 GTi 270 (!)
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104251...


Peugeot 208 GTi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104271...

Edited by georgeyboy12345 on Thursday 8th July 23:12

[PT1984]

Check out the Mini section as there are others who have asked about minimum spec. They are great, fun cars.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

For us the minimum was-

LED lights which are superb, and the XL media with the big screen. Both make the car feel that little bit more modern. They feel a little cheap without.

Chilli pack is also absolutely needed on the MCS. Chilli is - front fog lights, Mini Excitement Pack, optioned 17-inch Roulette wheels, Mini Driving Modes, dual-zone air conditioning, onboard computer.

I would get one with smaller wheels. We have the larger 18” JCW’s. The ride is a little hard on them and the diamond cut has started to corrode.