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Gosh, there must be some fast drivers on here.
"the Mondeo aint no sports car" - well, on public roads, with mixed surfaces, if you're going round corners faster than a fairly quick driver in a Mondeo can, you're going way too fast. Same applies to a Focus.
Bear in mind there's a reason that most day-to-day cars are FWD
Cheaper to manufacture and packaging means you get more cabin space.
Toyota Celica?
Decent size boot, good handling FWD car with a decent size boot / rear seats.
FWIW if you want a 'fun' car do it. Whatever you spend your money on there is always a compromise somewhere. HAving always wanted something a bit 'sporty' and going with a sensible option if I were in your position I'd get something a bit tasty.
I've never driven a RWD car but as you'll be driving a 'normal' car for a few months I'd just jump in and get the RWD car if thats what you want. The learning curve from FWD to RWD is unlikely to be lessened from having ingrained decades worth of FWD style driving inot you, in fact you may be in a better position to drive RWD car.
FWIW I used to love the massive torque you get in a diesel, however I've just gone back to a petrol and love the constant 'mediocre' level of torque you get out of a petrol. Petrol is far more refined, quieter and less brutal IMO.
If I was a new driver again on my shortlist would be:
Fiat Panda
Toyota Aygo
Honda Jazz
Ford Ka (old shape)
Ford Fiesta
Why? I love cheeky small cars 
Toyota Celica GT4?
Decent size boot, very rapid, good handling 4WD car with a decent size boot / rear seats.
I think it should be the law that everyones first car is a mini 1000 (the old type), great fun to drive. If by intresting you just mean faster, you have missed a very important lesson somewhere. Mini is still the most "intresting" car I've driven, despite having driven some fast ones.
I thought I'd just provide an update for any of those interested (e.g. Possibly none of you).
My first "something interesting" car was my parents 17 year old M Reg 1.4 Astra in which I covered about 9000 miles in.
I've now upgraded to a "sort of interesting" car which is a bimmer 3 serie coupe , only 2L petrol but 170bhp and it being quite light makes it interesting enough for a relative newbie driver like me!
I thought I'd just provide an update for any of those interested (e.g. Possibly none of you).My first "something interesting" car was my parents 17 year old M Reg 1.4 Astra in which I covered about 9000 miles in.
I've now upgraded to a "sort of interesting" car which is a bimmer 3 serie coupe , only 2L petrol but 170bhp and it being quite light makes it interesting enough for a relative newbie driver like me!
I found this thread (and your update) quite interesting 🙂
I just passed my test around 4 months ago at 31.
I bought a C class Merc (weak engine for the range, but pretty powerful compared to a typical 17 year old new driver car perhaps) the day after I passed my test. Done about 7,000+ miles in it, mostly on Scottish A roads with about 600m per month on a short motorway commute and the rest dodging traffic at home in the city.
Judging by the advice in this thread, I made a "bad" choice - RWD, engine bigger than a lawnmower, not got plastic trimmed hub caps for all those inevitable scrapes.
In all honesty, it's great. Can't think of one occasion where the back end has suddenly vanished (maybe I'm just not driving fast enough around all those awesome fun roundabouts in town), nor have I accidentally found myself doing 140mph on the wrong side of the road.
I'm going to hazard a guess that if you're going to drive like a muppet/idiot/blind person, then it doesn't matter whether you're in a Micra or an M3, you're still going to drive like a muppet/idiot/blind person. Most other people might just be capable of, like in everything else they do in life, adjusting to what it is they have.
Sure, i've made a few bad judgment calls along the way, fortunately nothing serious but enough to make me not do it again...but none were the "fault" of the car, totally down to me. And i'm pretty sure having a different car wouldn't have stopped me making those faults!
Drive what you want, just drive it sensibly and within the limits of your ability surely? If someone can't do that, then it doesn't matter what you put them in, they'll still get in trouble on the road.
At the end of the day, a tonne of metal is a tonne of metal - it will hurt if it hits you at 70mph. I'd rather it was a 4l RWD monster being driven by someone sensible, than a 80bhp FWD peashooter being driven by a goon.
@RopeyReignRider - yes we are interested in the update. I think you made the perfect choice, arguably a bit early to go for the BMW but take care, be sensible and have fun. It was 4 years for me in sensible cars before I got something sporty.
@peterfile - I think the key thing is your age, at 31 you're that much more sensible than a 17-21 year old. Sadly the number 1 cause of death in young women between 18-21 is their boyfriend's driving.
I stopped reading after someone suggested a MK2 MR2, possibly the most tailhappy car of all time.
Yep, perfect for a beginner.
I think the key thing is your age, at 31 you're that much more [i]sensible[/i] than a 17-21 year old.
I wish that I was sensible!
I think it's just a healthy dose of fear and awareness of my own mortality - something I definitely didn't have at 17-21!
I am an experienced driver - I've been driving for 20 years - but I was surprised at how different (and to be honest unforgiving) a RWD car can be. The dry stone wall was surprised too
Not too long after passing my test, I took my Girlfriend's Dad's M3 out when he was away on holiday. I completely lost it on a roundabout, but fortunately there was no damage. Scary car.
I'd definitely recommend taking the car down to a industrial estate (that has roundabouts) late at night to get a feel of how the back steps out with sudden throttle inputs. Do it on a damp day/night- you wont need much speed at all you'll find.
Ideal would be a track day - but the above is fine. Much better that you have your first experience of the rear out with no one around.
Mine was in a MX5- thank **** I immediately counter-steered but it still stepped out a fair bit.
What tyres do you have on the rear? Probably budgets?
GOOD car though! 8)
I'd definitely recommend taking the car down to a industrial estate (that has roundabouts) late at night to get a feel of how the back steps out with sudden throttle inputs.
This is an awesome idea.
I did the same on the "go kart" track between Glen Nevis and Polldubh. Really, really windy and hilariously tight in places, so easy to find the limits without going quick.
Did that a few times in the wet until i sunk in that you can't just bash the accelerator coming out of corners!
It's also the place I first learned that it's not always a great idea to take your foot off the accelerator mid way round a corner 😯
Watching TG's piece on Mika/Finish driving school methods again I thought 'why can't we do this here for learner drivers!'. It'd save sooooo many needless crashes a year. Once it happens to you -its like a whole flood/of education isn't it.
Drive what you want, just drive it sensibly and within the limits of your ability surely?
Everyone thinks they do that. The problem is, knowing the limits of your own ability is a problem for many people.
I think you can buy skid training sessions at purpose built facilities, can't you? This may be better than a late night industrial estate 🙂
I think you can buy skid training sessions at purpose built facilities, can't you? This may be better than a late night industrial estate
I looked into this.
Apparently skid pan training (which is widely available and relatively cheap) doesn't give you a huge amount of transferable skills.
Whereas skid [i]car[/i] training is very useful, but there are few locations which provide it and it's quite expensive.
Thankfully the bimmer has all sorts of traction control, stability control etc.
I've had a taste of what happens when you over cook it coming off a roundabout but thankfully lots of lights lit up on the dash and the magic pixies sorted it all out. I've been a bit more careful ever since.
I would definitely like to go on a track day or similar in order that I can get a proper feel for it. I don't currenty have the confidence to turn the magic pixies button off!
As for tyres - Dunlop sport something or other on rear and hankook something or other up front. To be honest in general I don't think I've been driving much quicker than in the Astra despite the feeling that the car wants me to!
I don't currenty have the confidence to turn the magic pixies button off!
After a bit of googling, I worked out how to put my Merc into "dyno mode", which basically turns off everything (not just the ESP).
Let's just say I put it back on quite quickly. it's astounding how much work the car does to keep you on the road!
That's the big problem with fast cars.
In a 950cc MKII fiesta you can drive it at 100% of its capacity and still be travelling at very reasonable speeds. In fast cars you can only drive at 10% of capacity before things start to get stupidly dangerous. This I find tremendously frustrating.
You don't have to bomb around in a car at breakneck speed to 'enjoy' driving it.
Our car has a lovely exhaust note (even on idle), tight handling, torquey engine (thanks to stage 1 remap) - even tootling along quiet country lanes at 30mph is a pleasure.
You don't have to bomb around in a car at breakneck speed to 'enjoy' driving it.
I reckon some of it depends of where you get to drive too, and what sort of driving gets you going.
My little brother spent his youth accelerating and braking between traffic lights in a city. Therefore a car with a bit of va va voom was the order of the day, making those 100m sprints that little bit more enjoyable.
I get in the car on a Friday and drive 100 miles through some beautiful scenery, on a road that you really feel like you're "driving", even at 60 it can feel too quick at times. As you said, no need for breakneck speeds.
I'm slowly becoming more aware of mpg too. Going to Manchester the other week, I sat at 70 the whole way and averaged 46. Coming back at 3am the roads were empty and I sat around 80. Despite there being a subtle difference in speed, my mpg dipped to 38. So now I trundle along at 70 on the motorway 🙂
The only thing I'd change about my car is that I can't hear the engine unless I floor it (the supercharger sounds quite cool though). And I'd like another cup holder. And cheaper maintenance bills. 🙂
You don't have to bomb around in a car at breakneck speed to 'enjoy' driving it.
True, but cruising in comfort and high performance are opposite ends of the spectrum. I love cruising along, so I buy a car that's suited to it. If I had a fast car it would be frustrating jut cruising in it, and it would not be as suited to the task. Worse MPG and a harder ride, for a start.
I have four cupholders, they're ace!
I know what you mean about mpg - mine has a little mpg-o-meter that swings wildly from over 50 to about 10 as soon as I touch the accelerator!
I did manage to get 45mpg out of mine on a long run which I thought not bad for a 2L petrol..
I've now upgraded to a "sort of interesting" car which is a bimmer 3 serie coupe , only 2L petrol but 170bhp and it being quite light makes it interesting enough for a relative newbie driver like me!
I've got the 3.0. I really like it, but I don't love it. The chassis is very capable and its pretty fast in a straight line. You can even achieve power oversteer on an empty roundabout in relative safety (if you know what you are doing!) I drove from cardiff to NW england yesterday through wales and it was fantastic, just belting past lines of traffic on the A483 and A5
But it just feels too clinical. I yearn for a porsche but can't really justify the costs and nothing in the BMW's class comes close in terms of power, economy or handling that I can thing of.
On my weekly commute to London I get about 37mpg out of it.
I have four cupholders, they're ace!
The person in charge of cup/car interface design in my car has hopefully been executed.
When you push a button on the armrest in the rear, a two cup holder emerges (proper full height job). Great. However, I'm not often sat in the rear and there's only one in the front, which means my girlfriend has to hold her coffee.
(the one time she thought it would be a good idea to store her coffee in the rear, I ended up wearing it)
/firstworldproblemrant
Actually, the biggest firstworldproblem I have with the 3 series is there is nowhere to rest your right foot when the cruise control is on
Which is annoying when you spend 8 hours a week on the motorway!
djglover - yes I noticed that on my first long run in it! It's a bit annoying!
I did fancy a 325 or 330 but couldn't justify the economy given that a lot of my driving is trundling around town (the 2L is bad enough in this respect).
However the car is a lovely place to sit and eat up the miles..
The person in charge of cup/car interface design in my car has hopefully been executed.
It seems the person who designed yours, was then executed before he could be employed to actually fit any cupholders into my car 😐
Actually, the biggest firstworldproblem I have with the 3 series is there is nowhere to rest your right foot when the cruise control is on
Have you considered screwing a furry slipper to the footwell?
Once you've put cruise control on, slip off your right shoe and put your foot into the slipper.
Not sure how well this would work in practice.
This: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/news/default.asp?storyId=26666
Or, more sensibly, this: http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/mercedes-benz/e-class/mercedes-e-class-e-320-coupe-1995/885597
Hide your IT nerdery behind some pimp-style.
my first car -
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me 1/2 an hour after passing my test -
[img] http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSnbvroCSRnb1SNALpvg7d4q-wkhuRQAvenFx5cExw_-QNFaig9Gg [/img]
me 1 hour after passing my test -
[img] 
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Lesson learned = buy something slow for your first car....
My first solo drive home, I'd borrowed a nearly new cream Mini cooper and had to park it in a multi storey carpark. No space on the ground floor, 1st floor....2nd..
My nerves were shredding with worry!
just belting past lines of traffic on the A483 and A5
So that's you is it, you ****?
The number of times I've looked to overtake and some arsehole in a BMW has been steaming up the outside forcing me to wait and miss the opportunity.... grr.. 🙁
Of course the correct answer to this question is always 'the best Golf GTI you can find within your budget', ignoring any 4-cylinder mk3 and mk4 versions (5- or 6-cylinders is OK but going to be more expensive).
Or a Porsche 944 if you want to learn how to drive a proper car properly.
Stop tempting me dorset. If I had the money i'd love a 928. STupid stupid car.
Oh, just saw the bit about the OP getting a 3-series. Fair enough.
But now *I* want a 944, bah!
Think I'm going to try the home made cruise control foot cosy holder as suggested above.
I mean, what's the worst that can happen?