Alternative to Seat Leon Cupra

probably over budget now but a mk2 5 door cavalier with a c20xe conversion wouldve come pretty close
5 doors
about as much room as you could ever want in a h/b
150bhp(ish)
should fit in garage easily

or more modern and in budget mk1 Vectra sri150 find a good one and look after it, not sure if it would fit in garage though.

how about getting a mk3 tdci mondeo get a half decent one for daily duties around £500 with high mileage then you got £1,500(ish) to buy something cool and retro to keep in the garage and for the weekends

Octavia vRS.....although that might be a bit the same haha.

My actual reccomendation would be a B5 A4. Either 2.8 or 1.8t Quattro. Preferably an Avant, although thats just my preference. They're well screwed together comfortable and make good progress especially with a remap of the 20vT.

Are you wanting something to still fit in the garage? Only asking because everyone has suggested saloons so far!

Yep, parking is limited and the Vitara is a pain to get in the garage (have to weigh it down or lower the tyre pressures!).

Wanting to stay away from the VAG platform as the "common" faults are becoming all to annoying, and ive sort of "been there, done it" now with the Leon.

Was thinking about an E36, but not sure if the MPG will be as good. Wiki says the Leon has a length of 4183mm, so the compact may just about fit (4209mm). May have to actually measure the Leon as with the Cupra kit it may actually be a bit longer then wiki suggests?

Bit modern and if you don't get one made before a certain date then the tax is horrendous, would love one though

E46 compacts are pretty cheap, my Dad sold his 325ti earlier this year for only £1k with a years MOT and it was a tidy car. As with most BMW's need to keep an eye on the cooling system and and rear bushes.
My Mum had a 316ti at the same time with only 20k miles on but it ended with a running problem where it just wouldn't idle and nobody could fix it so it was part exchanged a couple of years ago.

To be honest I had a Leon Cupra at the same time my Mrs has the 325ti which my Dad had after us, I preferred the Leon if i'm honest

If he's after a change from the Leon, I doubt the MkIV Golf would cut it as a replacement. Y'know, since they're the same car.

Problem is, although the mk4 platform has its faults, everything directly compatible from other manufacturers is worse.

For 2k I think the clever money would be on a large engined e30 at the moment. Buy the best you can find in a good colour, keep it tidy and watch it appreciate in value.

What are those Saab's based on? What sort of average MPG do you get?