What car, £25k?

[deeen]

Not sure how to word this, so...

Imagine you just found £25k down the back of the sofa, and you want to buy a car in the next few weeks.

You want it to be RWD, petrol and manual. You want it to feel a bit special, and a proper LSD would be nice! Where would you be looking?
You might spend it all on the ideal car, or spend a lot less and have a fund for upgrades (and bork) to make it "yours"?

Any thoughts?

[ScoobyChris]

M140i and a trip to Birds?

Chris

[Gad-Westy]

Caterham R400.

[deeen]

ScoobyChris said:

M140i and a trip to Birds?

Chris

I actually thought about an M2, but not sure how special it feels inside, compared to my 3 series? I'm sure the driving experience would be an upgrade, but the dash and interior on a normal 2 series feels like a step down?

Obviously, as this is PH, I haven't actually driven most of the cars I'm expressing opinions about... interested to see if the "hive mind" throws up something I haven't thought of!

[ScoobyChris]

deeen said:

I actually thought about an M2, but not sure how special it feels inside, compared to my 3 series? I'm sure the driving experience would be an upgrade, but the dash and interior on a normal 2 series feels like a step down?

How something feels is quite personal do I can’t tell you that. For me, the M2 was very familiar to my M140i, albeit the seats in the M were a bit better. The ride in the M2 was still quite crashy though and I would have preferred something a bit more supple to cope with U.K. roads.

[ChrisH72]

My thoughts are I want your sofa!

Depends if you're after a 2 seat sports car, a coupe or a hot hatch.

I'd go with a 981 Boxster.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025082357...

But actually, last year I did spend 20k of my own money on a sports car. Ended up with a 20 plate MX5 ND2 RF with just 4k miles on it. The only thing it lacks is the 'special' feeling. My heart said Boxster but I wanted day to day reliability and low running costs. No real regrets.

For a coupe with rear seats I'd perhaps stretch the budget for a GR86.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025012182...

And for a hot hatch an i30N

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025072848...

[FL5 Type R]

Guess it would depend if it’s a weekend toy, or something you’d use more often.

TVR (if reliability isn’t a factor), Monaro/VXR8, Caterham, Lotus, or something a bit more wallet busting, such a Vantage V8.

Immediately thought of M2 though.

[Neilbolts.]

Lotus Elise would feel very special, not sure this is what your after and totally impractical as a daily, but as a driving machine I reckon it’s hard to beat , my 25k would go here I’ve got a vx220turbo and I’ve owned it longer than any of my previous 37 cars , I’m still not bored

[deeen]

FL5 Type R said:

Guess it would depend if it’s a weekend toy, or something you’d use more often.

TVR (if reliability isn’t a factor), Monaro/VXR8, Caterham, Lotus, or something a bit more wallet busting, such a Vantage V8.

Immediately thought of M2 though.

Well I was originally thinking of a "do-it-all" car, but now wondering about keeping the 3 series and adding something for the weekend!

I've had 2 TVRs, not convinced about going back to them now they're older, but still think some of them look great! Monaro/ VXR8/Camaro/ Corvette seem fun, but a bit thin on the ground? Aston - I like the DB9, but out of reach, really. Also considered Maserati, but again thin on the ground - am I looking in the wrong places, or are there fewer interesting cars for sale than there used to be?

Caterham etc probably too hardcore for me, must admit my thoughts are going round in circles, hence this thread!

[Deep Thought]

M2

[MissChief]

You'd get a V8 Mustang for that price. Same with a VXR8, Lexus ISF and just scraping into a very early Giulia Quad.

[RichFN2]

M4...

[macron]

I'm ignoring the manual bit. That just means TVR or Lotus at this price. Until you help us by defining special.

Any Merc 63 is special. Small

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025062538...

To large

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025081855...



Any 4-banger with a blower is... A different type of special.

[FourGears]

In no particular order

S2000
VX220
Monaro
VXR8
DB7
Z3M

[Ryyy]

E46 m3 or s15 siivia,modified

[Belle427]

Jaguar F Type.

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Definitely 981 Boxster (and I’ve had numerous Elises/Caterhams/M3/M2/911s etc).

[Gad-Westy]

Not many 911’s or boxsters with an LSD though. Not Elise’s for that matter.

[deeen]

RichFN2 said:

M4...

There is one I like just a few miles from me... I wonder, is a proper M car too specialised for everyday use, would an F type make a better "do-it-all" car?

[Ry.Clarke]

deeen said:

ScoobyChris said:

M140i and a trip to Birds?

Chris

I actually thought about an M2, but not sure how special it feels inside, compared to my 3 series? I'm sure the driving experience would be an upgrade, but the dash and interior on a normal 2 series feels like a step down?

Obviously, as this is PH, I haven't actually driven most of the cars I'm expressing opinions about... interested to see if the "hive mind" throws up something I haven't thought of!

BMW interiors have been copy and paste for at least the last decade, and they haven’t felt particularly premium for the last 5. It won’t feel any different