New car time... opinions.

[ZS Phil]

So, after 2 years of my TD being gradually restored in the garage, my race car being not exactly a daily (or road legal) and the 45 coming off the road for winter, I've found myself with loads of cars but non I actually want to use on a daily basis for fear of ruining them.
Our cars, as much as I love them, are getting long in the tooth and require almost continuous work to keep them tip top... which is fine for a toy/ weekend car but for hassle free commuting I'm at the stage where I need to start looking at other alternatives.
I've been in this position before and ended up with a dull as dish water BMW 330d. It was fast in a straight line but other than that it was just plain boring in just about every way so it went after just 18 months and I carried on with my MG Rovers. The lesson from that was being a sheep and going for the typical German rep mobile was the wrong move for me. So that rules out any boring stuff like that.
I think I want what would be an evolution of what the ZS was. Something relatively practical with reasonable pace and most importantly, a well sorted chassis. Essentially a more modern hot hatch. That said, I'm nearly 30 and don't want anything too loud and in your face like the new civic type r for example, as good as it looks I'd feel a bit of a tool being seen in one anywhere other than outside JD Sports or McDonald's.

I've come up with a bit of a short list, what are your opinions/ experiences of these? Any other suggestions?

1. Renaultsport Megane RS250/ 265. I'm going to look at a grey 250 cup (limited slip diff and stiffer springs/ roll bars than the sport model) tomorrow. Seems a bargain compared to the rest of the list...

2. Mk3 octavia VRS estate petrol. Looks ok I think, quite subtle. Gets great reviews but strikes me as a jack of all trades compromise sort of hot hatch (estate).

3. Leon cupra 280 hatch. Again great reviews and sounds like a wolf in sheep's clothing which I like. I'm just not sure if it looks a little too plain. (I don't want a golf r because it's a golf and everybody has one, also they are over priced in my opinion compared to the seat).

4. Focus ST mk3. Again probably in estate form as I think it looks better than the hatch. Just not sure the "fast ford", baseball cap on the wrong way image is for me. I can't afford an RS...

5. Audi, BMW, Merc, yawn, grey, bland, boring, travel lodge, polyester trousers, Bluetooth tusk, traffic jam, every man and his dog, just can't see me going down that route again.

What have I missed??