[Closed] Interesting daily driver for £3500

£3500 [...] reliable but also fun and interesting to drive.

Sounds unlikely. Unless you have vastly different ideas of 'interesting' and 'reliable' to the general population.

For that price boring and reliable is maybe just about achievable.

Smart Roadster. Can't promise reliable but you'd get a sorted one.

I assume fun and interesting to drive means driving like a prick?. Slow doon, there's enough helmets on the road, get something cheap and efficient instead.

Smart Roadster. Can’t promise reliable but you’d get a sorted one.

Should have said I need to get my bike into it too!!

Was thinking Clio 182/197??

I assume fun and interesting to drive means driving like a prick?

Thats a big assumption..... totally incorrect though.

Should have said I need to get my bike into it too!!

My bikes go in fine (one at a time).

Fabia VRS? The old diesel ones were great although may be getting a bit long in the tooth now.

I assume fun and interesting to drive means driving like a prick?

Why would you think that?

Fiat Panda 100hp. You'll get a nice one for much less than £3500 and be able to experience real life Mario Kart.

I want to say Mx5 but for 3.5k you're looking at ropey old mk2's and the bottom of the barrel mk3's.

BMW 325ti. Rear wheel drive, 6 cylinder engine, manual box and a massive hatchback boot. That's a pretty unique combination. Buy a 318 if you want to use less juice.

What happened to the Cayman?

Can you get a bike in the back of a panda 100hp.guess youd need to take both the wheels off.as regards to the clio 182 I think from looking s while ago that you would get one for 4k with 100 000 miles on it. I was reading about people getting through gearboxes and suspension bits and other stuff.they don't seem to be that well built for the power.i think theres other sporty clios that might fit the bill.

We are currently running two Skoda Octavia VRS and don’t really need two cars that big so the idea is sell mine, stick a lump in the bank and for me to buy a daily for around £3500.

I commute 42 miles a day so need something that going to be reliable but also fun and interesting to drive. If possible with a bit of poke too.

- Octavia's are not that big
- Money in the bank will generate next to no income
- £3500 is getting down into 'fix it weekly' money - and how 'reliable' does it need to be?

Why would you think that?

A previous comment that a 1.8 petrol car didn't have enough oomph for the OP.

A fast Subaru Forester or Legacy?

A previous comment that a 1.8 petrol car didn’t have enough oomph for the OP.

Still doesn't mean the OP would drive like a prick though. And it is just as easy to drive like a prick in a 65bhp car as it is in a 650bhp one.

I'll take your word for it.

EP3 Civic Type R.

Absolute riot to drive when you're in the mood whilst still being pretty sensible as a normal car. £3500 won't get you a minter but a quick scan on eBay suggests there are plenty of well-looked after ones at that price (as well as a lot of chavved up ones). Bike will fit with the rear seats down.

Suzuki swift sport.
Cheap, fun and reliable.

Suzuki swift sport.

I like them - great looking little cars.

Suzuki swift sports are great but you have to put the bike on the roof as far as I can tell not enough room in the back.cannot use a rear carrier due to boot design and wing and cannot fit a towbar due to exhaust design.i would like to think I am wrong.

And it is just as easy to drive like a prick in a 65bhp car as it is in a 650bhp one.

The latter is potentially a lot more dangerous.

Civic Type R FN2.

Reliable? Aye
Fun? Aye
Fast? Sorta alright!
£3500? Easily

It’s also like a van in the back and the seats fold totally flat so it swallows bikes with ease.

Fiat Panda 100hp

That. Really miss my 100hp Fiat 500. Great fun and reliable.

Or even the twin air engine would be fun.

The latter is potentially a lot more dangerous.

Errr. Yes. But it doesn't alter that what I said is undeniably a fact.

you already have one hot hatch, so don't get another

mx5, mk3 mr2

£3500 is getting down into ‘fix it weekly’ money

Sure it is.

For that kinda money, with bike carrying ability then as people have said, a semi decent FN2 Type R can be had for less than a semi decent EP3 now. For £3500 thats where my money would likely go. Or any number off this list:
- Clio 172/182/197
- mk5 Golf GTI
- EP3 maybe, FN2 Type R
- Polo 9N3 GTI
- R53 Mini Cooper S (a late supercharged one)
- can you pickup things like Corsa VXRs for £3500 now?
- mk1 TT? Could get a bike in/on it.

trumpton
Free Member

as regards to the clio 182 I think from looking s while ago that you would get one for 4k with 100 000 miles on it. I was reading about people getting through gearboxes and suspension bits and other stuff.they don’t seem to be that well built for the power.i think theres other sporty clios that might fit the bill.

Where'd you see that? I ran one for a few years and always faffed around on ClioSport as a result. Can only remember seeing gearboxes becoming an issue on turbos with over 300bhp and cant remember suspension ever being an issue (except for a Trophy, but then hopefulyl you'd know what you were getting into). If its rear shocks wearing out then they are around £85 each, so not an issue. They actually seem to have fewer issue that people running the likes of a 1.2 from the same era

However.....for running as a daily these aren't the cars to choose. I sold mine, with a heavy heart, when i started using it to commute. Too many niggles that need time sorting (ever the newest ones are now 15 years old) and not particularly comfy places to be. Still miss that car......

They also aren't as cheap as they used to be. Mine was £3k when it was 8 years old. Newer ones (197s and 200s) still need more money to buy and drink a LOT of fuel

By the way, SOTW on Pistonheads last week was a sub £1000 Panda 100HP. Looked pretty good... Get one of those and save another £2500.

Can you get a bike in the back of a panda 100hp

You can definitely get regular bikes in the back with both wheels off. There's a few mountain bikers in the owners group on Facebook.

My Geometron had to go on the roof. Even with both wheels off and the shock removed it wouldn't squeeze down to Panda size.

BMW Compact suggestion still stands. Massive boot.

Another option could be an early 2000s 5 series estate with a 3 litre petrol or diesel

I would say a skoda ovtavia vrs would fit the bill well. Oh.....

Errr. Yes. But it doesn’t alter that what I said is undeniably a fact.

Yes. Indeed. But unfortunately a pointless one.

A previous comment that a 1.8 petrol car didn’t have enough oomph for the OP.

I'll still stand by that comment, the car in question was a 1.8 civic with 140bhp, yes it had power but absolutely no torque so needed revving all the time to get moving. Still doesn't mean I drove it like a prick.

What happened to the Cayman?

Cayman sold before i had chance to get to look at it again.

Octavia’s are not that big
– Money in the bank will generate next to no income
– £3500 is getting down into ‘fix it weekly’ money – and how ‘reliable’ does it need to be?

They arent big but we have two and dont need that size of car each.
Money in the bank will certainly help with the current climate.

I’ll still stand by that comment, the car in question was a 1.8 civic with 140bhp, yes it had power but absolutely no torque so needed revving all the time to get moving

I had the exact same car, mibbe there was something wrong with it, as mine didn't need 'plenty revving'.

I had the exact same car, mibbe there was something wrong with it, as mine didn’t need ‘plenty revving’.

Maybe,

The point is is that we don't need two big family cars, our other Octavia we've owned from new and its an estate so would prefer to keep that one.

I would like a sport little hot hatch to get me to work and back that going to be reliable and have some poke. Doesnt mean Im going to drive it like a dick or whatever word you used previously

We've got a mk5 GTI and a mk1 TT 225 on our driveway right now. The GTI we've had for six or seven years now. Either will do what you're asking, happily.

Sounds unlikely. Unless you have vastly different ideas of ‘interesting’ and ‘reliable’ to the general population.

For that price boring and reliable is maybe just about achievable.

Username checks out.
Nonsense. Over the last 20 years i've never spent more than 2.5k on a daily, and have had a fair few fun/interesting cars (numerous mx5s, mr2, 200sx, Clio Cup etc) that have been, on the whole, pretty damn reliable and cheap to run. Granted, the same cars are more expensive now as they're older and there are less around, but their shoes will have been filled by something else.
Pertinently to this thread though, the most unreliable by far was the Clio(172 Cup) - bought the Cup chiefly as there were fewer things to go wrong... but despite buying one with a great history, something minor packed up with alarming regularity. Usually electrical. Final straw was then the clutch plates seperated from the clutch centre on the way to get the clutch looked at.

Loads of good warm hatches in that price range that will be great, just decide what you want and don't buy the first you see.
Swift Sport, Panda 100, some sort of warm Fiesta, Legacy GT, some sort of Mini, Focus ST etc etc

Audi TT ??

Can you get a bike in the back of a panda 100hp.guess youd need to take both the wheels off.as regards to the clio 182...

...you'll still need to take both wheels off. I was riding a medium Pace RC405 when I had mine and frankly that was a bit of a squeeze without taking the rear seat base out completely. And bikes haven't been getting shorter, or wheel sizes any smaller over the intervening 10 years or so. Depending on the nature of the commute, a 182 may not be a great plan anyway. The nimble handling that makes them great fun to chuck around on a track day or on twisty roads with good sight lines, makes then a bit nervous and fidgety for motorway mileage, and the gearing is pretty short too so they're a bit of a buzz box.

Yes. Indeed. But unfortunately a pointless one.

For what reason is it a pointless fact? And was your point of view a valid one?

Hopkinsgm are you referring to the panda or clio about getting your pace in

I would say a skoda ovtavia vrs would fit the bill well. Oh…..

Doesn't tick the "interesting" bit in the slightest. I had a mk2 Octavia vRS for a few years and although the engine was decent, interior was cheap, didn't handle very well and was far, far, far away from being interesting. Had the same engine in my mk5 Golf GTI and it was night and day. Far more "interesting" (fun).

What makes a car fun can be very different between people. I don't need lots of power but I do like cars that are small and light as the lack of weight is a big factor in the handling.
For me the 80's hot hatches were good for that reason as compared to todays cars they were very light but also very low powered/slow but plenty fast enough to be fun.
Other people may find a big and heavy car with masses of power more fun.

– Clio 172/182/197
– mk5 Golf GTI
– EP3 maybe, FN2 Type R
– Polo 9N3 GTI
– R53 Mini Cooper S (a late supercharged one)
– can you pickup things like Corsa VXRs for £3500 now?
– mk1 TT? Could get a bike in/on it.

I might add Fiesta ST (couple of generations old) or an MX-5, but otherwise this pretty much sums it up if you want fairly reliable and fun. Beyond this list, you can find things that may be more fun, but much less reliable potentially

BMW Z4 3.0SE

Cayman sold before i had chance to get to look at it again.

☹️

Hopkinsgm are you referring to the panda or clio about getting your pace in

Clio - I had a 182 Cup. I was just making the point that anyone ruling a Panda out on grounds of fitting bikes in the back should also rule out a Clio 172/182 for the same reason. At least the Panda has height on it's side - I used to get bikes in the back of a Yeti upright with just the front wheel off. Dunno whether a Panda would fit a bike in upside down (i.e. stood on its' saddle and bars) with wheels off. Never bothered trying it when I had the Clio, but can't see it fitting.

Note also that the Clio 182 also suffered from most of the same issues you mentioned about Suzuki Swifts:
- spoilers ruled out a tailgate mounted rack at the rear (admittedly, being a Cup mine had a bigger tailgate spoiler, but then many 182's were specified with "Cup Kit" spoilers)
- exhaust arrangement ruled exhaust towbar out

BMW Z4 3.0SE - I doubt you'll get one of those for £4k. Definitely not a coupé which is the only one worth considering (you can just about get a bike in there, apparently).

Keeping my Passat on the road has proven quite interesting*. Pretty sure you could get one for that price 🙂

* as with most cars with modern ECU systems to be fair

Never bothered trying it when I had the Clio, but can’t see it fitting

Used to be able to get a 17” Orange Five and an XL Commencal Meta AM in my 182 (at the same time). Was a pretty useful space tbh, better than the Fiesta ST that came after it

Still doesn’t make a 15+ year old Clio suitable for this thread though

Twingo RS - can fold up (or remove if needed) rear seats so easy to get a bike in the back.

Fiat Bravo T-Jet 150?

You can get a 29er with the wheels, pedals and bars off into the boot of a Z4 convertible. I have a picture somewhere. A road bike goes in with just the wheels and pedals off.

True, the coupe is more like £7k, but you’d get a decent Z4 for £3.5-£4K

The latter is potentially a lot more dangerous.

Let the dino's have there fun, they'll be fossils soon enough!

Not that soon, petrol will be available to buy for at least another 30 years. Plus, many of the electric cars are as fast/faster than the petrol equivalent...

Money in the bank will certainly help with the current climate.

And is it there as well for when your totally ragged £3.5k goes wrong ?

IMO keep the car you have unless you are paying out more money on it than you can afford.

The market is kind of skewed. £3.5k gets you not very much of a small car. Certainly not boy racer cars.

Oh and the answer is Ford Mondeo (size isn’t everything)

What makes a car fun can be very different between people. I don’t need lots of power but I do like cars that are small and light as the lack of weight is a big factor in the handling.
For me the 80’s hot hatches were good for that reason as compared to todays cars they were very light but also very low powered/slow but plenty fast enough to be fun.
Other people may find a big and heavy car with masses of power more fun.

+1

My current (and recent) BMW's are very, very good but boy can you feel the weight when pushing them on.
For example, my 320d weighs 1600kg and the 405 Mi16 I had in the early 90's weighed 1100kg. Both 5 seater saloons.

There’s quite a few a few Golf GTI’s on autotrader.  Do some googling on the mechanics and needs of a higher mileage one of those and go an grab the best one you can.

Friend of mine did the same with a Gold estate 1.8d auto for a second/bike car at 140,000 miles, has never had an issue with it in 4 years.

You could buy my fast Forester (as mentioned by yourguitarhero) for £3300 and still have £200 for petrol to drive it home to anywhere in the country?

Although I was not planning on selling it until after the winter, especially after a new mot and timing belt service yesterday, but when a stealth ad opportunity jumps out at you ...

Sounds unlikely. Unless you have vastly different ideas of ‘interesting’ and ‘reliable’ to the general population.

For that price boring and reliable is maybe just about achievable.

Don't agree at all. In more than 20 years of driving I'm yet to pay anywhere near that much for a car, and most of them have been very reliable.

There are some exceptions.

325ti

My experience is that one of these will cost you a small fortune in repairs, unless you're willing to do it yourself. And whilst they have a bit of poke and are very nice to drive, they're not exciting.

I second Panda 100hp. Fun and super cheap to run. I have one with a full MOT that I might sell simply because it's sat not doing anything. Looking at around £2200 if you're interested 😉

I just looked for some of the cars that I thought would be good for "fun" from my youth and, shiiiiiiit! When did the price of cars like the 200sx and Integra go crazy? I found an old Skyline that was 50k!

For example, my 320d weighs 1600kg and the 405 Mi16 I had in the early 90’s weighed 1100kg. Both 5 seater saloons.

whilst things have got heavier, its not that bad. a typical 320d weighs 1450kg (xdrives are more), a 405 weight to eu spec (ie with fluids and driver) is 1180kg - a 20% increase in weight isn't brilliant, but its also not aweful

mk1 TT 225

Has been seconded already and now thirded by me...

I miss mine, but we don't need two cars.

Plus, many of the electric cars are as fast/faster than the petrol equivalent…

Yep, my i3s could easily get me in more trouble than any other car I've had bar probably my first which was a AX GT made of cheese. The BMW goes like a scalded cat in sport mode.

I just looked for some of the cars that I thought would be good for “fun” from my youth and, shiiiiiiit!

Yep again. Before going electric I decided I wanted a cheap but fun car from my youth. Virtually anything you'd want is going on for decent, modern car money so practicality kicks if you're looking for a daily driver. I ended up with a Focus ST170 which was ace but not very fast, expensive to tax and drank super unleaded. Then changed for my lease electric car and reckon I'm no worse off a month.

A 3.2 Audi of some kind, A3, TT etc, will be fun if you ignore the dull handling, I own a broken one still, for a laugh see my original thread HERE Funny enough it's the gearbox that has it sitting on the drive as the mechatronic unit went in the end & I don't want to pay £2k to rectify it on a car thats done 112k & worth £4k running, but if you or anyone is after a project or after an engine for a golf etc then give me a shout 😉

Is the remaining Octavia diesel? With that length of commute I would use that for commuting and bike duties, taking the restrictions off the fun car. I'd avoid mkV GTIs the engine has all sorts of common problems making them a bit of a risk. If no bikes then mx-5 is cheap and reliable, I got mine for £1400 last Feb although I got lucky with a rust free one at that price. Has cost me nothing so far other than a timing belt change that I did myself for £60 in parts.

If bike space is a must then consider a Toyota Celica T-Sport. The boot is enormous with seats down flat, and the length of the tailgate means you can walk down the side of it to carry the bike in. Cam changeover at 6200rpm to fire towards 8200 redline was addictive. Handling had a fun balance especially when lifting off. Also cost me nothing other than a leaky radiator.

No, not this.

I chose a 3.2V6 TT as a fun car a few years ago. Nice car, suprisingly sensible for someone with two dogs, but drank fuel, as expensive to insure and depreceated like a... thing. The same car as the TFSI would have been cheaper and have more power. Would still have had poor handling because of the Haldex, but whatever.

If you want fun, by a light, RWD car, something cheap, and just thrash it. Or buy a bike. I bought a bike and it is waaaaay more fun than a car.

– mk1 TT? Could get a bike in/on it.

My mate used to just about squeeze his medium sized 26" hardtail in his old coupe with both wheels off. Road bikes not so much a problem. Modern Mountain Bikes...? Forget it!

Also, is nobody looking at this...?

I commute 42 miles a day

I'm assuming that's round trip, but even still... I got 24-25mpg out of my mk1 TT in general, 29-30mpg on a run. They are pretty thirsty for what they are! OK, I know 10k a year commuting isn't all that much, but still... It's money that could be spent on other things. Personally if I had to pay my own way when it came to getting to work and back, I'd just be looking to minimise my costs as much as possible. Something with a semi-fun hatchback chassis, small diesel engine that needs caning to get you anywhere fast (and is still stupidly economical when thrashed), and save yourself £40 per week in fuel alone...

I chose a 3.2V6 TT as a fun car a few years ago. Nice car, suprisingly sensible for someone with two dogs, but drank fuel, as expensive to insure and depreceated like a… thing. The same car as the TFSI would have been cheaper and have more power. Would still have had poor handling because of the Haldex, but whatever.

Yeah, every review I ever read about the TT said 'just get the 2.0l FWD'. The V6 (and Quattro) just added weight to what was meant to be a fun car and made it less drivable. I loved my 2.0l FWD TFSi 😉

RS Twingo 133. My bike fits fine. Great fun and surprisingly practical. My road bike goes in vertically with just the front wheel off. If I could just prise the keys out of my son's hands...

Honestly an awful lot of fun. No turbo either. Just a big 1.6 engine. Avoid the cup version.

Is one of the VRS for sale?

The BMW goes like a scalded cat in sport mode.

But only in shortish bursts before it reduces the power.

I’d avoid mkV GTIs the engine has all sorts of common problems making them a bit of a risk.

Luckily the common problems are either easily diagnosed and/or cheap to fix. Avoid anything on a 54/05/55 plate and get an 06 onwards with the different engine code and apart from routine maintenance, they're solid. I've had the 2.0 TFSI in 2 cars both of a 2006 vintage and they've been faultless.

But only in shortish bursts before it reduces the power.

Can't say I've noticed and is rapid enough in normal mode anyway. Back roads are fun!

Lots of good suggestions already. I'd probably go with a JCW Cooper or a Focus ST.

Can’t say I’ve noticed and is rapid enough in normal mode anyway. Back roads are fun!

I’ve only managed it 3 or 4 times I guess, you do have to be trying reasonably hard.

JCW Cooper

I'm sure they're fine to drive but amongst the mechanics I know the "new" Minis rank absolute rock bottom for reliability. Granted that's a total of three mechanics, but when they all tell me they wouldn't accept a free Mini there's got to be something in it.

^ JCW Cooper...

Be very cautious with these, I know as I've owned an R56 Factory JCW with the infamous N14 engine.

Factor in if it will need a decoke (you will know when it stutters under acceleration), check then if it has had a timing chain tensioner kit replaced, also check coolant thermostat housing as it will leak at some point.

You will also need to check the oil weekly as they have a tendency to use quite a bit and this is key to keeping on top of the timing chain tensioner issues arising (cold start death rattle etc)

Quick and fun car when it's working, but in my almost 2 years of ownership there was always something not quite right.