Honda Civic Honda CivicA budget of €15,000 gets you into the last-generation Honda Civic, a terrific car, albeit that comes with one major caveat. The Civic was larger, at the time, than most of its competition – the likes of the Golf, Focus, and Corolla – and that means it’s very spacious inside and has a big boot, so it’s very practical. It’s also much sharper to drive than most other family hatchbacks, so if you’re a keen driver, that’ll keep you happy. However, the lovely, revvy, 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo engine that was fitted to this Civic was one of Honda’s rare engineering missteps, and it suffers from major turbo and timing belt issues, so avoid that. Instead, go for the 1.6 diesel, which is reliable and very economical. We found a 2019 Civic Fastback Saloon, with the 1.6 D engine, for €14,950 on Carzone.ie. The Kia Picanto: it will not be the best-selling city car in Ireland, but it may well be the best 2. Kia PicantoFancy something nearly new for your €15,000 budget? Well, Kia can oblige with the small-but-mighty Picanto. It’s not the biggest nor the roomiest car around, but there’s enough space for four adults, and its 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine is revvy and enthusiastic. Being small and light means it’s actually enjoyable to drive, and we found a 2024 model on Carzone.ie for sale for €14,950, with only 56,000km on the clock. That’s a car which still has five years of its original manufacturer’s warranty left to run, so you have almost total peace of mind when it comes to buying it. Audi’s TT: the RS version is likely to hit more than 400bhp Wild card: Audi TTHey, it’s summer, so surely you were thinking of a convertible for this kind of budget? I mean, you’d be mad not to, right? Well, you can kind of have your cake and eat it with an Audi TT convertible. All glamour and Côte d’Azur up top, underneath it’s got the mechanical bits from a VW Golf, so it’s reliable and relatively affordable to run. We found a 2011 TT 1.8 Turbo (that’s the front-wheel drive model, which is actually really sweet to drive) for sale on DoneDeal.ie for just €12,950. A small price to look and feel this fabulous.