My furby 2 vRS is coming up for 3 years old in a few months and I am looking at changing to something different as it hasn't really delivered what I was after and I want a manual again rather than a DSG. I can't justify anything new so am looking at a 2-3 year old car. I am currently interested in a Leon Cupra R, Renaultsport Megane 265 or a Mazda 3 MPS (outsider but comes loaded with extras and is not obvious). The Golf is a bit too common for my liking and I am not sure about the Focus ST (RS would be nice but seems out of the price range). My main desire is something with good handling and good performance as it will probably be my last chance before getting something stupidly sensible when the kids need taught to drive!

I am probably most keen on the Megane (Sorry!) as it gets great write ups but just not sure about how good it would be as a daily drive. My commute is not very far but I do need reasonable reliability but we generally use the wife's car for any long distance runs.

Any advice gratefully received. Thanks

Edited 3 July, 201411 yr by Moist Von Lipwig

Go a bit older and get a beemer? 330ci maybe, manual is a bit rarer on the bigger lumps. For reliability concerns you could probably haggle an extended warranty or just factor one into your budget

You'd probably get a bit more out of a rwd car anyway.

Maybe even look at Mini Cooper S

Someone on the site even went for a Vectra VXR and likes it. Bit of a straight line hooligans car.

 

Older Octy VRS and spend some money on mods?

 

Personally having had a French car I wouldn't go back there.

Thanks for the tips.  Looking more into it the Megane seems too track focused and the Mazda 3 is potentially expensive to run and handling is dubious.

 

I hadn't really considered the BMW as I really don't know much about them but having looked into it I am now quite interested.  A thread on the Octy 3 forum seems to rave about them if you can live with the limited space.  I have never had a rwd (other than bikes) so quite fancy a change.

Looking more into the 330d I am getting quite interested but wary of having DPF issues as my normal commute is quite short and annual mileage similarly low. Anyone got experience/knowledge about it?

If you've a short commute steer clear of diesel, just not worth the hassle.

 

SWMBO's petrol beemer has emission issues at MOT time because of her short journeys so even with the petrol it'll need taken out and ragged every so often.

 

I drove an older 330d (a 204hp) and was mildly disappointed. Really didn't feel that fast. Might have been deceptive. BMWs also seem get through suspension components especially wishbones for some reason.

 

Allegely there is a hidden menu in the menu system that can tell you the expected remaining life on the DPF. They seem to last about 100-120k miles but BMW class them as consumables. I was looking at 525d, 530d for a while but the dpf issue put me off since I would have been looking at higher mileage cars.

Edited 11 July, 201411 yr by Aspman

If you've a short commute steer clear of diesel, just not worth the hassle.

 

SWMBO's petrol beemer has emission issues at MOT time because of her short journeys so even with the petrol it'll need taken out and ragged every so often.

 

I drove an older 330d (a 204hp) and was mildly disappointed. Really didn't feel that fast. Might have been deceptive. BMWs also seem get through suspension components especially wishbones for some reason.

 

Allegely there is a hidden menu in the menu system that can tell you the expected remaining life on the DPF. They seem to last about 100-120k miles but BMW class them as consumables. I was looking at 525d, 530d for a while but the dpf issue put me off since I would have been looking at higher mileage cars.

That's what I was thinking when I started to look at it more logically rather than just wanting a powerful rwd motor.  Still not going to insist on going down a sensible car route as I would like a bit of fun so may well be back to the Focus ST or Leon Cupra.

I'd look at the Focus ST, nice cars and great handling

ST is one of the main cars I'm considering. The estate offers a bit more practicallity and there doesn't seem to be any reduction in handling frothe reviews I have read.