Very sporting handling on normal roads, and comfort on bumpy B roads isn't going to happen.

Very sporting handling on normal roads will mean a horribly hard, jarring ride on the bumpy bits.

Or comfort on the bumpy bits will mean a softer, wallowy ride (and thus no 'sporty' handling) the rest of the time.

Choose one. Because you can't have both, and trying to have both will only leave you disappointed.

A Skoda Yeti might be worth a look, the 4wd ones handle surprisingly well, particularly on bumpy roads. Might not meet the economy target though, as you'll only get about 40mpg.

A SEAT Leon 1.4TSI like the one Skidpan has just sold would tick most of your boxes, or a similarly-powered Skoda Octavia if you need more room. I loved my three Octavias - all vRSs - great performance but you might find the ride on the firm side.

Heated seats are, I would say, more of a 'nice to have' than a necessity, as a car with a decent air heating system and fabric seats won't have seats that are freezing. Better (if anything) to have a heated steering wheel and a decent vent/heater/AC [climate control] system that heats the car and demists/unfreezes the windows quickly.

I woold also advocate the use of higher profile tyres of at least 55 profile to 65 profile, which for many cars give a good balance between road handling and comfort. Lower profile tyres make only a small difference in grip, mainly at the absolute limit, which most people would find it very hard to do, given they'd be either breaking the speed limit or taking their life (litterally) in their hands driving like a racer on the road.

You'll also find that with many second hand cars of £10k, say a Focus-sized car that's about 2-3 years old, that the nice compliant ride when new has 'worn off' a bit, whereby you do feel the bumps a bit more, hence why the choice of tyre and car generally is important.

You'll find it difficult, if not impossible to satisfy all of your criteria - as others have said, you'll need to compromise on something, at least a bit. The Mazda3 SE-L 2 ltr petrol does score well, as does the Leon 1.4 FR (3 or 5 dr), though probably more firm a ride on the bad road but better on the performance front. About the same handling-wise, the Mazda doing better on the reliability front (petrol only) and Leon on exterior looks. The Golf would've been there if it weren't overpriced. A Focus might fit the bill if you can find a 1.5T petrol model without low profile tyres and that 's been looked after (not an auto - too many problems, similarly for the Leon/Golf).

Also bear in mind any 'performance cars' like Beemers, Subarus etc would be alot older, so reliability isn't assured, and would be far more expensive to insure and run, even if they were fault-free. A £10k budget sounds like you're not awash with cash, so better to find a car that is as new as possible rather than flashy. Many offers at the moment with all the pre-regged 17 plate cars coming to market, probably keeping prices of 2 & 3 yo. cars down for a few weeks/month or so.

Best of luck.

You really need to drive some of these cars V4 Heaven. Most mainsteam car makers do a mildly sporty car that ticks most of your boxes but in reality are very different to drive, some you will like some you will not, and none of them you would call unreliable.

Diesels give better power / fuel economy but do not feel sporty, they are better than before but nothing compares to a high reving petrol engine to put a grin on your face. Out and out power is not needed to enjoy driving twisty roads in fact it can work against it. A slick precision gear change and quick accurate steering with good feel add more than extra power. Quick and sporty are not the same. Some newer cars have a bit of their egerness knocked back to meet emission standards

We all have our favouits and will never agree which is best but for me I would be looking at Mazda 3 and Golf. Mazda in particular found a magic formula with their MX5 that they have rolled out to other models and the Golf is also very good but in a more restained conservative sort of way. There are plenty of other as well.

It can be great fun looking for a car. Interested to know what your thoughs are.

Edited by Stanb Sevento on 14/03/2017 at 10:45