Dean,
Rather than add a pointless sarcastic reply such as that of Dave, I would prefer to be more constructive in my reply, although a bit jumbled up and short, as I'm sadly pushed for time.
The 2.5k bracket can be quite a tricky one, that falls in a kind of no mans land in respect of spec. Also at that price bracket you would be looking at a crank drive system, rather than hub drive, and that might not necessarily be what could be considered best for your needs.
Perhaps you could expand upon or think about what you want from a bike, and where you intend to ride. This would open up options for people to advise you.
Are you just going to be riding on smooth off road surfaces, such as found on say somewhere like the South Downs, many bridleways, cycle tracks etc. Or are you intending to venturing into the realms of drops, jumps, and perhaps even riding up mountains. A hub drive system will perform brilliantly in the former, but could potentially struggle with the latter. I personally enjoy both systems, and both have their plus and minus points. Sadly Youtube channels such as the EMBN one don't show hub drives in a favourable light, and that is a real shame.
You also need to think about whether you would like full suspension, or just front suspension as in a hardtail. So much can be said about both options.
Wheel size and even tyre size factor into a purchase.
Have you also considered buying conversion kit and fitting it to an existing mountain bike. There are certainly reputable companies out there that can help with that option.
Are your health levels fairly good? A crank drive will flatter a healthy rider more than that of a rider that has health issues, who can't perhaps ride at a respectable cadence.
Other considerations are things such as envisaged ride length, which could dictate battery size, or whether you might even require a spare.
Then you have dealer location and support to think about as well.
I'll try to add more a little later, but hopefully it is enough to get you started.