Skoda Octavia VRS petrol auto has a big boot or the estate if you need more space 245 bhp and more than enough poke

What you are actually looking for doesn't exist:

• a "bit of poke" and the environment don't usually sit comfortably
• safe, solid, reliable, bigger, more poke = £50k not £20k
• £20k with your wish list = 8+ years old - not reliable or cheap to fix

I wish you luck in your search!

£20k with your wish list = 8+ years old - not reliable or cheap to fix

Does not have to be.

Just done a quick search on Autotrader. and there are 31 Octavia VRS's between £18000 and £20000. The youngest is a 19 plate but the miles are a bit high. The oldest is a 16 plate which makes it 6 years old.

Personally I don't think I will be buying a used "performance" car myself. Probably all been thrashed or seen the wrong side of a hedge and the bills will always be in direct relationship to a new one.

2 colleagues had Subaru's and you are right about the cost to fix and service, eyewatering on a good day. Problem was neither cars were reliable. Brakes were an annual replacement job (they only did small mileages) and the rear diffs must have been made of cheese.

I bought a 8,000 mile eight month old 2.0R Legacy estate in 2007 and ran it for three years / 50,000 miles. I had the clutch replaced under Subaru warranty within a month of buying it, otherwise it had zero faults in that time. However, it did need new front pads at less than 25,000 miles and all my previous and subsequent vehicles have never needed pads before 70,000 miles. Maybe it was en ex-demonstrator?