Fun daily driver for £6.5k

[Brob]

Time for an upgrade from my first car.

Looking for a fun daily driver for around 6/6.5k max.

I'm only 20 with 2 years of no claims so insurance can be a bit of a hindrance.

I've been considering a Scirocco 2.0 but I'm still unsure.

Any suggestions?

Open to anything really, so long as it puts a smile on my face on a B road.

[Belle427]

Hot Clio or Megane.

[MattyD803]

I reckon the Suzuki Swift Sport would be a great shout, owing to your age / insurance costs. Chuckable, great fun within speed limits, pretty safe, reliable and economical. I'd expect insurance on a 2.0 turbo sirocco (assume your meant petrol?) would probably be pretty horrific....? Not to mention the fuel economy, which really isn't the greatest on those, particularly round town.

Edited by MattyD803 on Thursday 30th June 10:46

[KarlMac]

So much available to you, insurance will be an issue at your age so I’d recommend looking at retro classics which qualify for classic insurance. Horribly clichéd at this point but your budget gets you a really nice MX5 with money left over.

Any 90s/00s hot hatch will be a riot to drive but might hurt you on insurance.

Left field suggestion could be an MR2? Not sure on the quality of one’s in your budget but it’s worth a look for the pop up headlights alone. These improve any journey by a proven 73%.

[Brob]

The scirocco is only £50 a month more to insure than my current 59hp fiesta. I'm not sure about driving a classic every day, especially in the winter but have always fancied a mk2 MR2.

For as much as I'm trying to be sensible with my choice, I'm young with no real responsibilities outside of getting to work. No kids, no real bills so it seems like the right time to get something daft before I have to calm down.

Edited by Brob on Thursday 30th June 11:02

[shiversaint]

That's £600 per year extra insurance - that's the total cost of insurance for me on a Range Rover SDV8, to put it into context. That's a big increase.

[Obee72]

Another shout for Suzuki Swift !! Should be insurance friendly and on the whole quite reliable whilst being a hoot to drive. Given the state of the country, I wouldn't be putting myself into anything else at the moment until things calm down and you get a few more years NCB under your belt.

[wong]

F56 1.5L Cooper. Cheap insurance, Fun.

[wong]

KarlMac said:

So much available to you, insurance will be an issue at your age so I’d recommend looking at retro classics which qualify for classic insurance. Horribly clichéd at this point but your budget gets you a really nice MX5 with money left over.

Any 90s/00s hot hatch will be a riot to drive but might hurt you on insurance.

Left field suggestion could be an MR2? Not sure on the quality of one’s in your budget but it’s worth a look for the pop up headlights alone. These improve any journey by a proven 73%.

A lot of Classic insurance only covers you if it's a 2nd car. Most insist you have access to another daily on "normal" insurance.

[benp1]

Panda 100hp?

[Silvanus]

Suzuki Swift Sport should definitely be up near the top of the list. Other slightly different alternatives would be Honda CR-Z, Hyundai Veloster and Alfa MiTo 1.4 turbo. All lots of fun in different ways.

[Ash_]

I'd be looking at one of these in your shoes.
These are all from the same Ebay seller, they seem to sell a lot of MR2s, and they always look very well presented and they have 100% feedback.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265740269817?hash=item3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265733000763?hash=item3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265732938405?hash=item3...

Last one's slightly over budget but is a 10th Anniversary model

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265740212990?hash=item3...

[mattyprice4004]

Try a Mazda 3 MPS. Mine was pennies to insure!

[Throttlebody]

Another option - Seat Ibiza FR. Low insurance,

[scoey1001]

Ash_ said:

I'd be looking at one of these in your shoes.
These are all from the same Ebay seller, they seem to sell a lot of MR2s, and they always look very well presented and they have 100% feedback.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265740269817?hash=item3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265733000763?hash=item3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265732938405?hash=item3...

Last one's slightly over budget but is a 10th Anniversary model

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265740212990?hash=item3...

All of those look really good. The black one (gt t bar) is that a turbo engine?

[Mr_Webb]

The Mini R56 JCW is a fun car at that price point. I had one for a year and was quite impressed with it.

[wong]

Mr_Webb said:

The Mini R56 JCW is a fun car at that price point. I had one for a year and was quite impressed with it.

Good choice apart from the OP is 20 years old and will get hammered on the insurance for a JCW. One to look forward to in 2-3 years time.

[Mr_Webb]

wong said:

Good choice apart from the OP is 20 years old and will get hammered on the insurance for a JCW. One to look forward to in 2-3 years time.

You may well be right and it's a long time since I've had to worry about insurance groups

That said, you do get oddities with insurance so worth running quotes.

[biggbn]

F56 Cooper if available, a really enjoyable car to own and huge fun.

[wong]

biggbn said:

F56 Cooper if available, a really enjoyable car to own and huge fun.

I actually bought an F56 Cooper S last year. But all the reviews seem to point that the 1.5L Cooper was the pick of the bunch. Not much slower, more interesting sound, cheap road tax.