£7k family car + £7k fun car OR one £15k fun family car?

[RoVoFob]

TL;DR
What are the most fun but practical £15k family cars?
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CURRENT CARS:
Fun car: 2006 BMW 130i M Sport
Family car: 2006 Audi A6 Avant 4.2 V8 SE Quattro

CURRENT PROBLEM:
We’re expecting child number one, hence why I recently purchased the Audi. It’s a lovely, soothing car and I very much enjoying driving the BMW as a contrast, however, as we’re in zone 4 on the edge of London, it takes 30 mins to get to any road I’d want to drive on, so I don’t use the BMW much, making the second set of running costs feel like a waste…

QUESTION:
I’ve bought/sold five sub-£7,000 cars in the last few years, so have a good feel of what that budget gets you. However, would selling both and getting one exciting £15k family car open me up to far more enticing cars that offer a better blend of practicality and excitement?

WISHLIST:

• Up to £15k (maybe towards £20k for something special)
• ULEZ exempt
• Practicality - decent rear seat room for newborn and big boot
• Interesting engine - responsive, revvy but torquey, pleasing sound
• Engaging drive - decent steering, body control and reasonable comfort
• Manual gearbox or responsive automatic
• Supportive seats
• Decent speakers

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Both my current cars are in very good cosmetic and mechanical condition and have pretty much perfect specs for me, with Isofix, leather, xenons, uprated speakers and heated seats in both…hence why I’m only now toying with swapping them for one all-rounder.

Fuel economy and running costs aren’t too much of a concern, though the thirstier and less reliable a car is, the cheaper I’d want it to be, so I can have something like a £1k Aygo or mk1 Focus as a shopping/backup car.

[ChrisH72]

I'm thinking if you enjoy driving the BMW then perhaps a larger, newer one might work?

335i maybe?

[RoVoFob]

ChrisH72 said:

I'm thinking if you enjoy driving the BMW then perhaps a larger, newer one might work?

335i maybe?

Thanks. Have wondered about this, but I imagine the E91 is less engaging than the 130i and not as practical as the A6. Feels like it’s in no man’s land a bit. I like small BMWs, but big ones less so…

[ChrisH72]

I was thinking more F30 for 15k.

I had an E92 and it was a but barge like. Trouble is though anything large enough to serve as your only family car will suffer the same surely?

[Volvolover]

If you think an e9x is big/Harvey etc you’re narrowing g the window massively as they aren’t at all if they’re in good condition

[eleveneleven]

I'd definitely reconsider the 335i, either that or a C63 Or E63 AMG. Otherwise just sell the beamer Keep the A6 and keep saving..

Oh and welcome to fatherhood. 😁

[pb8g09]

Sell me both. I’d love them.

[RoVoFob]

ChrisH72 said:

I was thinking more F30 for 15k.

I had an E92 and it was a but barge like. Trouble is though anything large enough to serve as your only family car will suffer the same surely?

Oh, ok. Didn’t think it was possible to get an F30 335i for that kind of money. Don’t mind a family car not being hugely agile, but it’d need to major on practicality or something else instead. The 3 Series is lost in the middle, which is my concern.

Think I’d be happy with a big, powerful and heavy car with all-wheel-drive for making the most of the power and a large boot, but the 335i has a bit too much weight and size to be particularly agile, but isn’t practical enough to compensate.

[RoVoFob]

Volvolover said:

If you think an e9x is big/Harvey etc you’re narrowing g the window massively as they aren’t at all if they’re in good condition

Don’t have a problem with the e9x weight or size - one of my favourite cars I’ve driven is the Bentayga W12 weirdly. That wasn’t agile and is hugely heavy, but had nicely precise steering and felt very planted…and enormously, effortlessly quick.

For me, it’s more that if a car is small, it needs to be really good in another area to compensate…and I’m not sure the 335i is exciting enough for that.

[RoVoFob]

eleveneleven said:

I'd definitely reconsider the 335i, either that or a C63 Or E63 AMG. Otherwise just sell the beamer Keep the A6 and keep saving..

Oh and welcome to fatherhood. ??

Thanks. I can very much see the appeal of the 335i, it’s just the balance of practicality and excitement doesn’t stack up for me compared with my current cars.

Tempted by the C63/E63. An engine that dramatic definitely appeals. With that much power, I think I’d probably want all-wheel-drive. I love rear-wheel-drive with my 130i, because you can use all the power all the time, but worry I’d be frustrated with the C63/E63. Might be worth a test drive, though…

The current options in my mind are:

• B8 Audi S4 Avant
• C6 Audi S6 Avant
• Porsche Panamera 3.6/4.8
• VW Passat R36

Yep, the sensible option if I’m not able to use the BMW more, would be to sell it. Would find that difficult without having a specific car to aim for. Panamera is looking quite tempting at the moment, though…

[RoVoFob]

pb8g09 said:

Sell me both. I’d love them.

Haha. Find me a good one-car alternative and you’re on!

[ChrisH72]

The other thing I would say is that people make too much of car size imo.

We have one child who is now 6 and so far have never owned anything bigger than a small family hatch. When he was new born I had a 5dr Civic and now we isr my wife's small mpv as family transport. Anything Focus sized will fit a car seat in the back and all your stuff in the boot unless you have dogs or hobbies which require tons more space. I've never felt the need for an estate.

Might be different if you're planning more kids but it's worth thinking about especially if you enjoy small entertaining cars.

[RoVoFob]

ChrisH72 said:

The other thing I would say is that people make too much of car size imo.

We have one child who is now 6 and so far have never owned anything bigger than a small family hatch. When he was new born I had a 5dr Civic and now we isr my wife's small mpv as family transport. Anything Focus sized will fit a car seat in the back and all your stuff in the boot unless you have dogs or hobbies which require tons more space. I've never felt the need for an estate.

Might be different if you're planning more kids but it's worth thinking about especially if you enjoy small entertaining cars.

Fair point. However, I like not have to worry too much about what I pack and am an estate fan, so it’s not too much of a hardship, though we don’t have pets/space-needy hobbies. I just think something like a charismatic VR6 or V10 engine would make things more enticing…

Having looked at travel systems today, my god some of them are huge, too! Think the sensible one-car choice is a B8 Audi S4 Avant. Have never driven one, though, so not sure if I’d enjoy it enough to sell the 130i. I suspect I might…

[fflump]

For 15k I’d get a Mazza QP V8.

[M.F.D]

OP - What enjoyment are you looking for out of the car? Track days/B-road blasting or just a generally nice, potent car to point and press the loud pedal now and again?

[ChrisH72]

RE travel systems. You don't need to buy the huge ones you know. To be honest the price of them is eye watering and its a total waste of money as you'll use it for a year or so at most. Hard to sell on too as most people (erm...ladies) will only consider new. Don't let your other half gey sucked in by it, it'll eat into your car budget haha!!

Audi S4 is probably okay. Reviews suggest it's not all that engaging to drive but I've never tried one so no idea. If you like VAG can you get anywhere near Golf R estate or Leon Cupra ST in budget? I know they're 4 pots but probably sharper than the S4.

[silentbrown]

RoVoFob said:

Having looked at travel systems today, my god some of them are huge, too! Think the sensible one-car choice is a B8 Audi S4 Avant. Have never driven one, though, so not sure if I’d enjoy it enough to sell the 130i. I suspect I might…

B8.5 S4 Avant owner here. Owned from new, expecting to change it after 3/4 years... Nearly 7 years on and I've no plans to change. Tip runs, family holidays and occasional hooning. It hasn't missed a beat and the only unplanned cost so far is a front wheel bearing.

As with any car like this, attempting to use all it's capabilities for more than a handful of seconds puts you straight into license-losing territory.

[RoVoFob]

fflump said:

For 15k I’d get a Mazza QP V8.

Hadn’t realised the prices for these were so low. Beautiful machine but unsure about saloon format and potential for gigantic bills sadly.

[RoVoFob]

M.F.D said:

OP - What enjoyment are you looking for out of the car? Track days/B-road blasting or just a generally nice, potent car to point and press the loud pedal now and again?

I’d like a car that’s well damped, has supportive seats, a nice sounding engine and good speakers for satisfying trips around town, whether sitting in a bit of traffic or whizzing away from traffic lights. And something that deals with motorway trips relatively quietly and smoothly but is enjoyable to drive on single carriageway A roads, with direct steering, a decent throttle response and a good amount of power. Won’t be doing track days or spending much time on small B roads…

I think a charismatic, punchy engine - that you can hear somewhat - and decent steering are probably standout features I’d value everywhere.

[RoVoFob]

ChrisH72 said:

RE travel systems. You don't need to buy the huge ones you know. To be honest the price of them is eye watering and its a total waste of money as you'll use it for a year or so at most. Hard to sell on too as most people (erm...ladies) will only consider new. Don't let your other half gey sucked in by it, it'll eat into your car budget haha!!

Audi S4 is probably okay. Reviews suggest it's not all that engaging to drive but I've never tried one so no idea. If you like VAG can you get anywhere near Golf R estate or Leon Cupra ST in budget? I know they're 4 pots but probably sharper than the S4.

Yes, very true. Even the medium ones are pretty enormous, though, which is what got me thinking. I’m keen to get a system with as few unnecessary pieces as possible, as this stuff is just an instant waste of boot space and money.

Think the S4 Avant is probably the borderline of what’s big enough boot space wise. The boot is only 12cm shorter and 5cm narrower than my A6, though, which doesn’t sound like much…

From what I’ve read, pre-facelift S4s are more than engaging enough for me and still have hydraulic steering - Tiff Needell raved about one in a Fifth Gear track test, though I’d ideally like one with the sport differential, as this is supposed to make the car more agile.

Had toyed with a Golf R Estate. I’d happily have one, as they drive very nicely, are the perfect size for me and even sound quite good, though I don’t think it’s worth the extra cost for me right now.

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As an aside, I found an excellent Australian site for assessing family cars. It has loads of pictures of all sorts of family paraphernalia in different cars, which helps to visualise the type of clobber that might be needed with a child: https://babydrive.com.au/reviews/wagons/2018-volks...