[languidmandala]

Airbags. Lots of airbags and good reliability. It doesn't matter how sensible she is, she will lack the experience to anticipate other driver's bad behaviour and you don't want her breaking down on a motorway.
Oh and hands-free calling.
Have a look at the Gwent police texting video.

[bwrlane]

Thanks for all the info people. Re engine and super vs turbo, this is useful to know. Re sun roof, will check but information I've found indicates that this car was built after the underlying cause was fixed. Test driving this afternoon, will report back. The surfeit of power is actually irrelevant for my daughter. She will not use it. She screams the moment I go on quarter throttle in my F31. What's most relevant is whether it is a safe, reliable machine for my daughter to learn in, and if it can serve in the dual role of being a toy for me then so much the better.

[bwrlane]

Hi guys, tried it, loved it, put down a deposit. Thoughts: a very liveable car, does everything well. Convenient and easy to use. No worry about a (sensible) young driver in it since below 5k rpm it is just "normal". But loved the scream of that supercharger on full beans. Intoxicating. Sunroof fixed with this vintage so no worry about that.

Interesting observation from test drive: it's quick for sure but not in the same league as the 330d.

[jusdorange]

you sure have more trust in your child than I guess most parents would be

[Nick the Greek]

. Interesting observation from test drive: it's quick for sure but not in the same league as the 330d.

Until you get to a corner.........

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

you sure have more trust in your child than I guess most parents would be

Ditto

It's amazing how sensible kids are when with parents and not with x amount of mates.

Luckily with new drivers, they never panic or react by putting pedal all way down......

[davyk31]

Congrats on the purchase but the scream (whine) of the SC does become very tiring after a while.

[E60MKF]

For my wife, I got her a F20, which my 17 y/o soon used to practise before passing. Now he has passed he uses the car once every few month and the insurance is quite good. Most insurance companies said no for various reasons ranging from the car has to be a year old (which it will be next week), he's too young, the car is too powerful etc. but aviva gave a good price and were willing to having him on the policy.

I wouldn't really recommend the F20 though for anything other than cheap(ish) insurance. I would say go for a golf or an A3 as the F20 was a complete disappointment. The only benefit of the F20 compared to the A3 and golf is the insurance.