99 K11 Micra --> 2005 E90 320i --> ??

Kintarō Hattori

The missus and I are together 10 years but only bought a car just over 3 years ago as we needed it after buying a house. Bought a K11 Micra and as it turns out it instilled a love of driving into her. We upgraded to a 2005 E90 320i just before Christmas 2013 and while that's fine it's become apparent that it's just too sluggish for her. She wants......... more power!

So, I don't intend on replacing the E90 just yet but I'm having a little fun speculating what her next car could be. Apart from anything else she wants power, some level of refinement and anything around 30MPG-ish would probably be OK. A concession could be made I suppose if the car was just brilliant to drive.

I was wondering if an E46 era M3 would be a viable option? Saying that she does have a soft spot for how the Audi A5 Coupe looks though that'd be well out of our budget.... which I hadn't even thought about. I suppose something in and around €8000. I'm not sure she'd get the same driving satisfaction from a diesel as she would a petrol. She likes gear changes so an automatic is ruled out.

Any suggestions?

colm_mcm

Get a drive in a 325d

bazz26

Alfa Romeo Brera:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Alfa-Romeo/Brera/3.2-4X4/57114037868519060/

Moneymaker

Can we swap girlfriends?

Kintarō Hattori

The 325 could be a nice option alright but the diesels seem to be crazy money. What sort of MPG does the petrol return? She'll mainly be using it on the motorway with occasional joyrides when we have time together. For sure a more powerful car along the lines of what she has is where I was thinking of heading.

The Brera I know she loves the rear of but hates the front. She'd also probably knock it on the head just for being an Alfa. I've mentioned that every true petrolhead needs an Alfa at some point but she hasn't quite bought that yet.

Would a Focus ST be a mad idea? I know it's not as refined as a 3 series but she checked out a Mk II Focus before settling on the 320 and she really liked it, so a 2.5 litre Focus would be a lot of fun.

Open to any and all suggestions.

Moneymaker

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

The 325 could be a nice option alright but the diesels seem to be crazy money. What sort of MPG does the petrol return? She'll mainly be using it on the motorway with occasional joyrides when we have time together. For sure a more powerful car along the lines of what she has is where I was thinking of heading.

The Brera I know she loves the rear of but hates the front. She'd also probably knock it on the head just for being an Alfa. I've mentioned that every true petrolhead needs an Alfa at some point but she hasn't quite bought that yet.

Would a Focus ST be a mad idea? I know it's not as refined as a 3 series but she checked out a Mk II Focus before settling on the 320 and she really liked it, so a 2.5 litre Focus would be a lot of fun.

Open to any and all suggestions.

If you can stomach the tax a focus st is a great car.

djimi

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

The Brera I know she loves the rear of but hates the front.

Id be the opposite; the front is alright but the back is fairly awful.

Kintarō Hattori

Moneymaker wrote: »

If you can stomach the tax a focus st is a great car.

Naturally I'd like to pay less tax but neither of us smoke or drink much and well feck it, she really likes driving so we'll pay it while we have it.

BdaraB

What about something like a TT suit or would a more powerful BMW suit better?

Sobanek

Get her a facelift E46 330i / 330Ci - 231hp, €1,494 tax instead of €1,809 for the M3 and still plenty of fun!

djimi

Sobanek wrote: »

Get her a facelift E46 330i / 330Ci - 231hp, €1,494 tax instead of €1,809 for the M3 and still plenty of fun!

I think Id prefer the 350bhp of the M3; especially for the sake of €300 a year in tax :pac:

Cleveland Hot Pocket

djimi wrote: »

I think Id prefer the 350bhp of the M3; especially for the sake of €300 a year in tax :pac:

+1
I think when choosing between a 330i and an m3, for the sake of less than 1 euro per day in the difference it should be an m3 any day of the week.

Kintarō Hattori

OSI wrote: »

Going from a 320i E90 to a E46 M3 seems like quite an extreme jump because the E90 is "a bit sluggish". Remember the running costs of a M3 are going to be vastly greater than that of the 320i, especially as most E46 models are going to be getting into "leggy" territory at this stage.

That's certainly true and by no means am I set on an M3, it was just an idea.

I'm really open to all suggestions. The 320i is a great car but she really enjoys driving and it's holding back her enjoyment. She's looking for more power so I'm open to all sorts of suggestions.

I know with a more powerful car comes higher running costs and I'm prepared for that. She really enjoys driving and doesn't have any hobbies as such, so it's something I/we are prepared to shell out more for.

I guess the question is, what's a good drivers car that can be bought in and around the €8k budget, is reasonably refined, manual and can return around 30MPG. All options will be looked at.

Moneymaker

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

That's certainly true and by no means am I set on an M3, it was just an idea.

I'm really open to all suggestions. The 320i is a great car but she really enjoys driving and it's holding back her enjoyment. She's looking for more power so I'm open to all sorts of suggestions.

I know with a more powerful car comes higher running costs and I'm prepared for that. She really enjoys driving and doesn't have any hobbies as such, so it's something I/we are prepared to shell out more for.

I guess the question is, what's a good drivers car that can be bought in and around the €8k budget, is reasonably refined, manual and can return around 30MPG. All options will be looked at.

I'd wager its near impossible to find such a car with a lot more power then the 320i.

If you sacrifice MPG it should be easy enough, E46 M3 or E39 M5 would fit the bill.

How about a E60 535d? 282bhp and 428lb-ft of torque.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Moneymaker wrote: »

I'd wager its near impossible to find such a car with a lot more power then the 320i.

If you sacrifice MPG it should be easy enough, E46 M3 or E39 M5 would fit the bill.

How about a E60 535d? 282bhp and 428lb-ft of torque.

e60 535d only come in automagics though..
Great car, I had one for a year.

Kintarō Hattori

Moneymaker wrote: »

I'd wager its near impossible to find such a car with a lot more power then the 320i.

If you sacrifice MPG it should be easy enough, E46 M3 or E39 M5 would fit the bill.

How about a E60 535d? 282bhp and 428lb-ft of torque.

The 320i isn't all that powerful though is it? It produces something like 140bhp I think? Don't some TT's put out 200+ bhp? The Focus ST is 200+ as well, so there must be a good few options out there?

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

e60 535d only come in automagics though..
Great car, I had one for a year.

I wanted to get an E60 instead of the E90 but she felt it was too big for her.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I wanted to get an E60 instead of the E90 but she felt it was too big for her.

I scraped mine off the wall of the house the first day I got it. She may have had a point :P
Then again, I drove a golf to the dealership and an e60 back. That's my excuse!

Idbatterim

get a 325 or 525, the 2.5L puts out 190bhp...