what appeals is a light car, new enough not to be too rusty, ideally not needing to have the crap revved out if it for fun
I know you say “new” but given the rest you could do a lot worse than a mk2 MR2. £2k will get you a pristine n/a with no rust. They are almost bombproof and the engine is superb. I had 2 over a 4 year period, and the only issue I ever had was the rear brake calipers seizing after I left one parked up for about 6 weeks. Replacement parts seemed very reasonable, so not a bank-buster to keep in good nick. Space-wise I got my mountain bike in the passenger seat/footwell, but there’s a bike rack that fits over the boot as well if you ever need to carry more than one. The boot is very useable – suitcases for 2 for two weeks away fit fine – plus there’s a bit more room under the bonnet. Tin top would be preferable to the T-bar as the seals do not age well and consequently leak, although I believe it’s a quick fix with some bathroom silicon. They do still look good too, despite being a 25 year old design.
I’ll sing the praises of the Panda 100hp all day, my wife has one. Not that fast, but such great handling. Half the fun of it is keeping speed up, barely need to brake anyhow.
Ours had some damper bits and the usual tyres/servicing, but pretty good otherwise. Had an intermittent electrical fault that cleared once we realised the scuttle drain was blocked and half full of rain.
Micra K11 1.4, a bit quicker than people think and a hoot to drive, the engine is super smooth all the way up to 8000rpm 🙄
Got mine off ebay for £800, looks like it just came out of the showroom.
