CHRISTMAS is a time for giving, but what about treating yourself, too? We asked the Auto Express team what cars they would choose for themselves if they had £10,000 to spend. The answers range from super-saloons to luxury off-roaders and family runabouts, with plenty in-between.
Ford Fiesta ST-2
YEAR: 2016 REG: 16 MILEAGE: 50,000 MODEL: ST-2
THE temptation when someone offers you an imaginary budget with which to buy an imaginary car is to let your imagination run wild. That, of course, is the easy way out. If I really did have £10,000 to spend on a motor, I wouldn’t be buying some high-mileage super-saloon with a reputation for eating its own gearboxes, or an elderly sports car icon for which a new set of tyres would necessitate a second mortgage. I’d go for a Mk7 Ford Fiesta ST.
Ford has just announced the end of Fiesta production in a move that must have triggered the nostalgia glands in the literally millions of UK motorists who’ve owned or ridden in one since the late seventies. It’s been a genuine people’s car, and this particular ST model was an undoubted highlight of the Fiesta’s long run.
From my first drive of the standard car on the press launch in 2008, it was clear that Ford had a chassis with the kind of composure and suppleness that would make a great hot hatch. In 2013, that hot hatch arrived in the shape of the ST. Suspension, steering, gearbox; this model has a beautifully judged handling package bundled in with a 197bhp Ecoboost turbo petrol engine that revs high and sounds great in the process. It is huge fun yet easy-going in normal driving, is relatively economical and offers decent space in both the back seats and boot.
All in all, it’s a fantastic all-rounder, as well as one of the performance-car bargains of the century so far. How could you resist spending an imaginary £10k on a late-2015/2016 model with around 50,000 miles on the clock?
BMW 320d Touring
YEAR: 2014 REG: 14 MILEAGE: 100,000 MODEL: Touring M Sport
I’M not an expert on cars, but I’ve driven a lot of different models over the years. Some have made an impression that has lasted a long time, and the BMW 3 Series
