Dilemma- Big & Wafty vs Small & Fun

[JPL123]

As per the title, I’m in a bit of a dilemma of what to do. I seem to change my made every other day!

Currently driving an FN2 Type R which I do like, I’ve just never loved it. I convinced myself I was going to sell up and buy myself something ‘nice’ (albeit on a tight budget of around £3k). Something wafty.

I only do 14 miles a day, so diesel is pretty much out. I also don’t fancy paying £700 VED, so that’s a lot of 6 and 8-cylinder cars out, although I do quite fancy me a V6 as long as it’s in the lower £400 ish band.

I’d love a Jag XF, but fear it’s a bit of a gamble and not sure if I’m comfortable with that risk (coming from my Civic which has been 100% faultless in 3 years). Plus it’s £700 tax on the 3.0 V6 petrol.

I quite like Volvo’s, but don’t think my budget would quite stretch to a V60, which I’d want, and I think the diesels are the pick of the range there which wouldn’t work for me.

So on the nice and wafty front I’m pretty much settled on a Lexus. Either an IS or a GS in petrol V6, SE-L spec. The spec and quality of them is incredible for the money. I’ve never had something that luxurious nor have I ever had a V6. Plus it SHOULD be as reliable, if not more so the my Civic. Win win.

Then I thought what am I even thinking. I only do 14 miles a day. Why am I paying high tax, high fuel costs and potentially extortionate maintenance and repair cost (should soemthing go wrong that is). My inner child came out and then I decided maybe I should just buy a Suzuki Swift Sport 1.6. Cheap to buy, pennies to run and apparently, hilarious fun. Insurance and tax is cheap too. Or maybe I look at a Mk7 ST (I’ve had one and absolutely loved it). Actually no, they’ll be absolute dogs at my budget. Ahh… NC MX-5! Under appreciated so available cheap, but a great steer and I’ve never had a rear wheel drive car nor a roadster before. Rust worries me, but maybe I can find a good one. Who knows?

So you can see my dilemma. Only I would be cross-shopping Lexus and Jaguar barges with Suzuki Swift Sport’s but here I am.


Basically I just want to be talked into, or out of whichever idea you think is best or worst.

TLDR;

Somehow I’m in a mental dilemma of picking a wafty luxury car or a small sporty hatch or roadster.

I do 14 miles a day so diesel is out.

£3k budget

What would you do in my shoes?

[paul_c123]

A vague/general piece of advice I'd offer, is get the smallest car that you need, rather than the largest you want/can afford. It might be that you prioritise comfort on eg motorways, so the smallest city cars and superminis are out. But these days, a decent supermini is absolutely fine on the motorway. And it will be lighter, cheaper to tax, fuel, insure, etc etc. And almost all have, or have the option of, 5 doors. Easier to park and drive in cities too.

I've driven about 900 cars in the past few years, a big car is nice for fun but soon tires for its bulk when parking etc. Biggest was a Merc CLS, Range Rovers, Merc E class, DS7, Volvo XC90, Audi A7, etc and smallest Fiat 500, Vaux Adam, VW Citigo, Hyundai i10. But also driven commercials up to ~25ft Ren Master show box, recovery trucks <3.5t; Iveco Daily; and Merc and DAF 7.5t

[JPL123]

paul_c123 said:

A vague/general piece of advice I'd offer, is get the smallest car that you need, rather than the largest you want/can afford. It might be that you prioritise comfort on eg motorways, so the smallest city cars and superminis are out. But these days, a decent supermini is absolutely fine on the motorway. And it will be lighter, cheaper to tax, fuel, insure, etc etc. And almost all have, or have the option of, 5 doors. Easier to park and drive in cities too.

I've driven about 900 cars in the past few years, a big car is nice for fun but soon tires for its bulk when parking etc. Biggest was a Merc CLS, Range Rovers, Merc E class, DS7, Volvo XC90, Audi A7, etc and smallest Fiat 500, Vaux Adam, VW Citigo, Hyundai i10. But also driven commercials up to ~25ft Ren Master show box, recovery trucks <3.5t; Iveco Daily; and Merc and DAF 7.5t

Yes your advice is along my lines of thinking (in terms of maintenance and running costs) and how I came to prefer the idea of a small fun hatch. Size I’m not worried about, since I have my class 1 license and regularly drive HGVs and vans for work. It’s more just the risk of a barge in terms of bills and the higher costs to keep them running to begin with. And also me being completely undecided on whether I want something that’s really relaxing and a nice place to be or something rough, ready and fun.

[Tall_martin]

14 miles a day?

I'd ride a bike

[JPL123]

Tall_martin said:

14 miles a day?

I'd ride a bike

You’re on PH. Blasphemy!

[RS Grant]

Tall_martin said:

14 miles a day?

I'd ride a bike

I’m glad you’re so active.. but I’ve got to laugh when people bother to reply with this (and ‘I’d walk’) when a thread appears that is asking for car recommendations on a low mile daily commute.

As someone who has a similar commute to the OP but lives on the outskirts of a city in Scotland (where it rains a lot), and who doesn’t have the luxury of staff bathing/changing facilities at their work.. cycling or walking is totally out of the question for me and, I’m assuming, the OP is in the same boat since he’s asked for car recommendations.

[RS Grant]

To reply to the OP, £3k is dangerous territory and you could very easily be buying someone else’s problems at that money.. regardless of size/badge involved.

I’d honestly just stick with the Civic as it’s better the devil you know and hold off replacing it until you can throw a bit more cash into the pot for the replacement.

A barge at £3k could very easily be harbouring some juicy bills for the next owner.. so unless it was a known quantity from a friend/family member I trusted, then I’d likely rule anything big out.

[Tall_martin]

I rode 20 miles a day to and from work before I left Edinburgh. There were showers at work, I think it was me and one others person using them. I always wondered how many folk at my work, ~2000, actually knew they were there.

Currently I do 8 miles a day and just make sure I don't get a sweat on heading into work.

The op probably is looking for a car suggestion. I thought I'd add something different &#128512;

[ChrisH72]

The sensible answer is to keep the Civic. If I were looking for a £3k car an FN2 Type r would be on the list. But you're probably just wanting a change which is fine.

Depends on your financial situation. £3k could be trouble with either a big luxury car or a small sporty one. Or it could be that £3k is little enough to get out of it if things don't turn out how you want.

I like small nippy cars and have a similar commute to you. Currently in an mx5 but had a mk7.5 ST3 previously. Before that I ran a 325i coupe which was okay but didn't really suit me. It was better on motorway but I don't see much of that.

Put in an AT search for £3k and around 40 mile radius and see what comes up. I found:

R53 cooper s
Mr2
Clio 182
Mgf vvc

Jag x/s type
Merc e class
Bmw 3/5
Lexus GS/IS

Depends what you want to try.

[Frimley111R]

RS Grant said:

To reply to the OP, £3k is dangerous territory and you could very easily be buying someone else’s problems at that money.. regardless of size/badge involved.

I’d honestly just stick with the Civic as it’s better the devil you know and hold off replacing it until you can throw a bit more cash into the pot for the replacement.

A barge at £3k could very easily be harbouring some juicy bills for the next owner.. so unless it was a known quantity from a friend/family member I trusted, then I’d likely rule anything big out.

This.

[ZX10R NIN]

CLK 500 simple to maintain & a car that can be hustled at a good lick & a good cruiser too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price...

330i:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503270...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503190...

Somewhere in between

2.5T Mondeo, great handling & that sweet 2.5T:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502038...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410195...

Giulietta Veloce:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501178...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503220...

3.2 A3:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503089...

2.5 Mazda6 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503180...

Fun

208 GTI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503130...

[Mr Tidy]

I think you really need to decide which option you really want. Maybe try 1 or 2 of each?

On the wafty front I bought my E90 BMW 330i for just under £3.5K in 2019 and still have it and can't think of anything I'd rather have without spending thousands more. It's no sports car but can get moving well enough if required, but is just so relaxing on a long Motorway slog. But then I'm lucky enough to have a 2 seater for back road fun.

It may seem perverse but of the two 330is linked in the post above I'd go for the earlier one as it has the N52 engine which tends to be much less troublesome than the later N53.

Anyway good luck whatever you decide to go for.

[culpz]

I did the same thing. Went from an FN2 to an E92 325i SE Auto. It's swings and roundabouts really:

What do I miss? The fun, the practicality, the speed, the running costs.

What don't I miss? The FWD, the manual gearbox, the ride, the lack of parking sensors.

[RizzoTheRat]

RS Grant said:

I’m glad you’re so active.. but I’ve got to laugh when people bother to reply with this (and ‘I’d walk’) when a thread appears that is asking for car recommendations on a low mile daily commute.

As someone who has a similar commute to the OP but lives on the outskirts of a city in Scotland (where it rains a lot), and who doesn’t have the luxury of staff bathing/changing facilities at their work.. cycling or walking is totally out of the question for me and, I’m assuming, the OP is in the same boat since he’s asked for car recommendations.

While I know where you're coming from, an e-bike or even small electric moped, would do the commute without working up a sweat and then leaving the rest of the budget for a fun car that wouldn't be that practical for the commute.

[ChrisH72]

RizzoTheRat said:

RS Grant said:

I’m glad you’re so active.. but I’ve got to laugh when people bother to reply with this (and ‘I’d walk’) when a thread appears that is asking for car recommendations on a low mile daily commute.

As someone who has a similar commute to the OP but lives on the outskirts of a city in Scotland (where it rains a lot), and who doesn’t have the luxury of staff bathing/changing facilities at their work.. cycling or walking is totally out of the question for me and, I’m assuming, the OP is in the same boat since he’s asked for car recommendations.

While I know where you're coming from, an e-bike or even small electric moped, would do the commute without working up a sweat and then leaving the rest of the budget for a fun car that wouldn't be that practical for the commute.

There can't be many cars less practical than a bike?

I have a 2 seat convertible. I'd rather be sat in that on a cold wet morning than riding a bike.

You could just as easily argue it'd be better to take the bus.