After nearly 10 years of beautiful miles, the time may be approaching for me to sell the old boy and find some newer wheels. As much as my heart breaks at the thought, it seems like the sensible choice for someone like me, who doesn't have the knowledge to work on the car herself, and thus is left entirely at the mercy of garages whenever anything breaks. (Today I'm forking out £700 for new brakes, and trembling at the cost of suspension works, which will likely be the next item on the list at some point in the future...)
So, if I may borrow the collective hive mind of this invaluable forum: what car would you recommend as the next one?
1. What I've loved the most is the feedback, the "butt feel" I get from the mechanical beast. I'm embodied with the car through the seat and the steering wheel. Driving modern cars with electric power steering and other fancy assistances gives me as much connection to the road as driving Mario Kart.
Is there a vehicle out there that could even remotely match that Lude butt feel, but be easier and cheaper to run and maintain?
2. While the next one doesn't need to be another 2.2l VTEC beauty, I'd still like it to have some oompf. A good balance of fuel economy VS nippiness. I don't need to leave boy racers behind at the lights anymore (though I'll miss that too
), but I also don't want to feel like I'm having to pedal the car to get it moving.3. 4WS would be a bonus, but I realise that's probably asking too much.
4. Diesel is dirty and automatics are boring, so looking for a petrol manual.
5. Spending bracket probably in the ballpark of £3-4k, but could potentially splash out a bit more for the perfect companion.
Very grateful for any suggestions and insights you may be able to offer!
