Need Some Suggestions With Cars | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need Some Suggestions With Cars

J

Jay72

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Hey guys, this is nonbike related, so that's why I posted here in rompwr room.
Long story short I've been stuck driving vans for 17 years. We had twins, who are now 17, but a van was always so convenient but now that the boys are older I would love to ditch the van and get a car. But I am so out of the car loop I don't know where to start. Here's what I would like,
Spend around 20-25k, willing to look used. But I would like something sporty, still 4 doors but I want some half decent performance, something fun to drive. But as I said I have zero clue as to what is out there sporty wise. I don't think I can afford a BMW or Mercedes, so if you can suggest some cars I can look at that would be fantastic.
Thanks guys and I look forward to your suggestions.

Jay
 
Mazdaspeed? Don't know too much about it, might be worth a google.
 
8 or 10 years back I was in the exact same situation, I bought a Grand Prix GTP - the supercharged one. The thing was a complete riot to drive (so long as you actually used the required premium gas) but still had family hauler capabilities at the end of the day.

But that doesn't help you much today, they don't make them anymore.

Are you looking for a full sized sedan, or something small? Assuming you're still looking for the family hauler aspect and want the kids to be comfortable in the back...something like a 300C (with the hemi) would be fun. We have a regular 300 and love it (it's my wifes daily driver so just the regular 3.5, but still pretty capable and snappy), the 300C is a bit of sleeper, 360HP under the hood. If you're really adventurous and don't mind the insurance hit, the SRT version will get you 470HP and 4 second 0-60 times. ;)

If you're looking compact, well, I'm out of the loop.
 
rental car experience ...

Ford Focus with a manual transmission. Out of the common compact cars that I've had as rentals, these are the nicest to drive if you want anything remotely "sporty". Take your pick hatch or sedan (I'd take the hatch). Stay away from the automatic in these. (The rentals that I've had, have been automatic.) You can buy an ST if you like, but even the regular one has good suspension and steering.

Mazda 3, the latest one.

VW Golf (but not Jetta). Given that VW dealers have been hurting because of the diesel scandal, you should be able to get a good deal on a gas engine model. The standard 1.8 TSI engine is really good. The Jetta used to be a Golf with a trunk, but not any more; the 2011-on Jetta was considerably cheapened. The Golf is a much nicer car. (I had a 2006 Jetta TDI - pre-cheapening, and pre-diesel-scandal - for many years.) You probably don't want the 2.5 5 cylinder gas engine which is what you got up until a couple of years ago, which was thirsty and unremarkable.

What you probably don't want ... Civic (overpriced, not sporty unless SI, and those are really overpriced), Corolla (boring and overpriced for what it is), Cruze (decent car, but it's more of a boat than anything sporty), anything built by Nissan (awful steering, and CVT hell), anything built by Hyundai/Kia (unsorted suspension and steering, not sporty) except the Sonata/Optima which is actually a decent car but more of a boat than anything sporty.
 
Hey guys thanks so far, Bernie a friend of mine had the original Mazda speed protege and it was a rocket! May have to look and see if the Mazda 6 comes in that version.
I should give a bit more info, would not want a compact as the wife drive a 2015 Chev Cruz. If I had the money I would go out and buy a BMW 335, or even a 328, but even a few years old still quite pricey. So I would like mid size, would consider 2 door but 4 door would be much better, also if there was something all wheel drive, that might be interesting alao. Juat want something quick, fun and looks good. But like I said I'm so far out of the car loop.
 
Brian the van we have now is a Kia and what a hunk of junk, never again, there are some interesting choices you have mentioned. Apparently we posted at the same time so you didn't see that the wife drives a Cruz, great little city car, even not bad on the highway but even with the turbo its a dog.
 
Personally, unless I was independently wealthy...I wouldn't ever buy anything in the "cachet" brand category - BMW, Mercedes, Audi, the like. IMHO, too much money up front, often very rapid depreciation on many models, high insurance, and crazy *** insane rates for service after the fact.

BMW owners, for example, seem to think that $300 or $400 for an oil change is acceptable. God forbid you actually need anything major mechanical done on it, the old joke that BMW stands for "Bring My Wallet" holds true. Over the first 4 or 5 years, when the majority of work is covered by BMW their costs are very low, but buying used..outside that period, they quickly rise to the top of the pack in ownership costs.

I suppose if money is no object for ya, sure, go for it...but personally I just find it an insane amount of money (upfront, and ongoing) for a nameplate. With your budget in the 20-25K price range you're obviously not getting new if you're looking at the cachet category, so keep the long term ownership costs in mind.

Here's some interesting reading. You'll notice the cachet brands and their dollar figures are way up there.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm
 
My wife rents a lot of cars for her job. Chrysler 200 and 300, Hyundai Sonata, VW Jetta and Golf, Chev Malibu and Cruze, Ford Fusion and Focus etc. etc.

Out of all of them, we like the Jetta the most. The rear suspension was redesigned in 2015 and they got rid of the rear drum brakes. The 1.8L Turbo engine has a lot of pull and it handles well. A used or demo 2015 Jetta is right in your price range.

2nd choice for us is definitely the Ford Fusion. Heavier car but pulls well with the 2.0 Turbo and has a really nice interior and infotainment system. We had an AWD Fusion for an 800Km round trip and it was very comfortable.

You can try www.goodcarbadcar.net for some info on the best Canadian sellers. www.truthaboutcars.com and www.jalopnik.com also has decent info and it's from a gearhead point of view.
 
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As an Audi owner I agree with PrivatePilot. As much as I like the car unless you can do most of the maintenance and repairs yourself it would be financial seppuku to own one out of warranty. I'm sure BMW and Mercedes are the same.
 
This is going be hugely subjective, but what the heck.

To follow up on the grand prix post, I have an 04 grand prix, by no means a sporty car in terms of ride, but I like it. Actually I hope it never dies. Looks decent, and has been very solid after 12 years. The wife drivses a 2010 mazda 3, that was probably made on a monday. We have nothing but problems with it. Fun to drive? actually yes. Biggest complaint? The ford braking system in it is absolute junk. Even (gasp) had the entire brake system serviced by a licensed shop, they are still barely adequate IMO. To be fair I haven't heard of any else with the numerous issues we've had. Wouldn't buy another one.
 
Thanks for the info on the BMW they are out of my price range for sure, I wouldn't want to go too old to drop the price and I didn't do much research and didn't realize they were that expensive to maintain.
I've never really been a Ford fan but yes the fusion is right in line. I'd also be willing to look at the mustang or even a 3 yr old camero what to you guys think of them? I'm not talking the Gt or SS versions of those cars, I would think the v6 model may still be fun to drive.
 
I can give you my perspective on the VW Golf if that is something you are considering. If you are looking for something reliable, sporty , good handling, reasonable insurnance, great performance in summer and winter, good amount of usable space - hatchback, reasonable cost of ownership. Take a look at a four door VW Golf GTI or even a base model Golf. Out of all the cars I've owned (Mercedes C class, Chevy , Ford.) It's been the best so far. You get German Engineering, European handling, sporty performance , for a reasonable cost.
 
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Do you need the back seat??

A Mustang/Camaro is not in the same league as a Mazda 6 or Ford Fusion. Completely different car.

The current "regular" Mustang or Camaro with the standard V6 has more power than the V8 versions had not too many years ago - and they'll have better weight distribution than the V8 models, they just won't sound like the V8 models. I have a van with Chrysler's 3.6 V6 (roughly same power) and it hauls pretty good and that's in a vehicle that is an enormous box.

I like the way the Camaro looks, I don't like not being able to see out of it due to the mail-slot windows.

I have a buddy who has a 2008 (I think) S197 Mustang GT that has the official Roush supercharger kit on it (500+ hp) plus all the suspension bits to go with it. I've driven it. It's nuts. And it's for sale (because he bought a C7 Corvette). Winter? Don't even think about it. If you're seriously interested in a 500 hp S197 Mustang, PM me.

I haven't driven the S550 (current model) Mustang. Honestly I think the S197 looks better.
 
I'm sure that is one insane car but too much car for what I want. Lol I'd be divorced if I came home with that.
Yes I still need the back seat, not too often we have both boys back there, so space isn't too much of an issue.
I was just looking up the vw golf gti and the Subaru wrx, those both have me interested.
And I love the looks of the camaro also but did notice the tiny Windows. I grew up in St.Kitts and my dad was a 45 year employee at gm, so definitely would lean closer to a camero than a mustang.
It's funny you say your van hauls pretty good, my stupid Kia van goes like a bat out of hell, lol but it's a piece of **** otherwise.
 
Wife doesn't need to know about the supercharger; the stock hood shuts above it :D

Beware that the Subaru WRX is thirsty. But the regular Impreza is a dog. (Friend had one and sold it. Neither performance nor economy)

The Golf GTI is very good. But the price tag is getting up there unless you can find a used one that hasn't been beat on.

If you are in that price range then you are also in the price range of a Focus ST or Fiesta ST. Of the two, the Fiesta ST is supposed to be even better. I had a regular Fiesta as a rental and liked it. But this is smaller than other cars that you've been talking about. In my opinion, a fun car needs to be a small car, so I'm ok with that.
 
I personally like the Fusion (if I was to ever get a car). Looks good, drives well. But as a guy that drove minivans for 12 years, I miss it every single day. Mind you, I still have a 4 year old, and I do the Costco trips, but it always had all the space I needed.
SUVs are not being considered?

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
 
+1 for the WRX:

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The hatchback is very versatile (can carry a boatload of stuff if you need to), 4-doors, looks bitchen, AWD, performance, reliability etc. Downsides? Yes, it does consume more gas than a Corolla, uses premium and finding one that hasn't been modded or abused may be tough. (Disclaimer: I have a '10 STI and love it.) If you do check them out consider focusing on the WRX "265" -- the 2009+ model that had the 265HP engine versus the earlier 224HP engine. I prefer the STi-derived "wide body" look of the 2010+ cars; YMMV.

I'd also +1 a newer GTI. They're expensive but they're super-nice cars. I don't believe their hatch volume is as big as the WRX/STi nor does it have AWD (unless you spend big $$$ on the 'R') but their build-quality, engines and interiors are swweeeettt.
 
Straying a little from the original topic, but just curious to those that have a newer fusion (2.0T specifically), how's the gas mileage? The 2000 lb tow capacity is attractive, but I've hear the fuel consumption is rather poor under normal driving. I realize during towing the gas mileage will suffer, but I'd also be curious if anyone tows to the track with it and whether it has sufficient power for passing on the highway with ~1500 lbs behind it?
 
My sister has an Escape with the Ecoboost 1.6T, and the consumption during normal driving is in the 8 to 9 L/100 km range. It does not do as well as Ford claims it does, but even with that, 8 - 9 L/100 km is decent for something that size. Never tried towing with it. The 2.0T is a more performance oriented engine and could be thirstier.
 
Toyota Matrix XRS.
Cheap on gas and insurance, more dependable and cheaper to own then anything else listed here.
Practical as #*×=, a blast to drive and handles like its on rails.
Will also very easily haul 1500lbs around.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 
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