Sold the BRZ for a wild ride!
 

Had to sell the BRZ today. It was sad, but I still have it for a few more weeks. The new car...drum roll...2016 Mazda CX-9 Signature in "Machine Gray". Lol it's actually pretty nice for a big honking SUV. Turbo 4 with 310 ft lbs tq. Anyways it's going to be my wife's car as we just found out we have a 3rd child on the way. I'm going to take her 2014 Accord Touring for 8 months and then pick up something fun for myself. Big question now is what to get! I honestly don't have the kind of budget anymore for something like the new "Supra" that's coming, but most likely something in the $35-50k range. I was thinking maybe an S3...I don't know. Any suggestions? Open to anything...sporty...luxury...combo of both...hatch, sedan, CUV, SUV.

I'm sorry for your loss.

I'll ask the obvious question: why didn't you sell the Accord?

Oh yeah, congratulations on kid 3.

Thanks! And it's leased. The BRZ is paid off so it made sense.

Umm no lol. Done with the twins for this generation.

Traitor!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PvaC8eRNFW...+Angry+Mob.jpg

My wife and I had our third child a little over a year ago and luckily we were in a position to add a third car, two we could all fit in, and keep the BRZ. I am driving the older car and have also been looking for a replacement in a year or two. Focus RS or even Mazda 3 five door if they end up putting the new 2.5L turbo form the new CX-9 in it.

Oh, and congratulations.

I could have kept it and had 3 cars as well but I sorta got the itch for new car shopping again when we were looking for the CX9. I'm looking forward to taking the next few months to decide on something for myself (while driving a super boring car). The new 2.5 turbo from the CX9 really is pretty awesome. It will be fantastic if Mazda puts in the 3 or even an upscale CX5 (maybe a Signature edition of that). I got to test drive the new Miata. Really nice interior (like all of the new Mazda's IMO) but I would never have traded the BRZ for it.

Golf R? By all accounts it handles better and is more involving to drive than the S3. And in Canada it's priced decently, several thousand less than the Focus RS. Hard to overlook those boxy lines though....

Curious - who buys a car and then lets someone else drive it for a few weeks before taking possession? Dealer? Close friend/relative?

Under most circumstances if I was the buyer I'd record the mileage and then have it stored until I picked it up.

WRX. That's my daily driver now. I love it like no other car I've owned.

Congratulations on the baby!

I came from a 2011 GTi before the BRZ. I know the new GTI and R are completely different animals, but I wanted to move away from the VW (don't mind staying in the family though I.e Audi). Plus hitting just under $50k taxes in for a Golf (I know I know it's not just a Golf) is a hard pill to swallow.

Dealers. They do it on almost every trade in unless they have the vehicle you ordered in inventory. It's the risk they take.

Trade your baby for the BRZ

hah kidding congrats :)

Ford Focus RS? You'd have to live with terrible fuel economy and being an early adopter, though.

You could also opt for a Mazda 3 hatchback. Great interior. Good handling. Pretty damn good fuel economy. Price is right. Looks great with the appearance package. Practical. The higher output engine model also comes with a proper 6sp manual now.

http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minka...t=6a87c7551064

The sedan version of it is pretty sweet, too, though it loses some of the utility of the hatch:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...smallsmall.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...430391b25a.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...54a50619dc.jpg

And then, when you can't resist the urge to mod anymore, you can be the envy of all the Mazda fanboys stateside by spending dat serious coin to import an AutoExe body kit:
http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/a...0&d=1399565562

Obviously on a Mazda kick here...

I've heard of Golf Rs being sold for more than S3s, and VW dealers refusing to let anyone test drive the R as well.

Congrats on the 3rd child. Sounds like you're making the right financial decisions.

Why not wait a little longer, save up and consider the Supra. That is what I am doing.

The Supra is still a couple of years out. Plenty of time to save up. :)

I'm hoping they drop the supra fall of next year. Following that vehicle closely.

I'm scheduled to do some track laps in a friend's S3 in a few weeks. I'll let you know how it compares to the FR-S if you haven't made a decision by then. His is modded though (APR stage 3 turbo, H&R springs on OEM magnetic dampers, Stoptech BBK, Hankook RS3, etc.)

Thanks! But with 3 kids I don't think I even want to venture into the $60k+ car market (not now anyways). They are still young so I've got lots of colleges to save up for as well. I think $40-50k is generous enough of a budget to find something I really like.

mazda really stepped their game up...i drove a 2016 cx-5 grand touring awd

put it in sport mode and it goes

click bait

I agree. The CX-9 Signature edition we got is on par with luxury large SUV's like the Acura MDX and the Infiniti QX60. Test drove both and aside from the Mazda badge, you wouldn't have known you were comparing different price points.

Very comfortable and well done interior as well.

http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sit...9-interior.jpg

the interior on the upper trims did remind me of lexus, infiniti, etc...very high quality..even has than fancy control center knob in the center console and the parking brake is a little button/lever

Start a 529 college savings plan. You'll thank me later.

Congrats on the 3rd child.

If you're looking for something practical yet sporty, get a used 2015+ STI. Resale value is superb. If you're looking for something fun, wait for 2017 Miata ND after their tranny issue is sorted out. I would never recommend a German car, but if you don't care, check out the R.

Unlike MDX and some other premium SUVs, CX-9 Signature has soft Napa leather, real aluminum trim and real wood. MDX is nice, but for 55K, you get not-so-intuitive infotainment system, fake wood and fake aluminum.

I know it's sort of backwards right? I couldn't believe that the center console was real wood from Japan. I've always liked Mazda but hopefully what they are doing with quality and design will start to push other manufacturers to up their's as well.

It's called something different in Canada but I started that 6 years ago when my 1st daughter was born :)

APR is quite an impressive company. They make the VAG 2 liter into whatever level beast you can afford. Stage 3 is good for 10 second quarter miles and the 2 APR test mules (Golf R and S3) are on stock internals. Just a stage 1 tune puts you into the sub 4 second 0-60 club.


Given the OP's circumstances, I think a lightly used S3 hits the bulls eye. Now if you want to spend a little more then an RS3 sedan is just about a year away from US availability.



http://i68.tinypic.com/hv1644.jpg

The only thing I can't stand about the Mazda lineup is how their radio looks like a stick on afterthought. I don't know why they're doing it across the lineup, but it is enough to sway me from future mazda products.


We got lucky with the 16 CX-5 and it being a traditional, nice, integrated head unit.


I know there is some science behind their placement, but to me it is horrid.

Yeah I've always respected how APR does a lot of track testing with their products. I've seen them at a few track days bringing out their cars and putting down some fast laps without overheating or breaking anything. They're also involved in some professional level race builds from what I understand.

I actually love the tablet look. It allows them to lower the dash and makes the inside seem much more modern in my opinion. I've always hated how tall the center console needs to be when you have an integrated nav screen. The 6 just made this change and I think it looks great as well.

2015 vs 2016 Mazda 6 interior comparison:

https://store.donanimhaber.com/0c/0b...28610008e3.jpg

https://di-uploads-pod1.s3.amazonaws...6-1024x576.jpg

It looks pretty cheesy, lol. The tablet design seems out dated to me already. It is even worse in vehicles like the MX-5 and 3, but in a premium trim level product, I'd expect a premium design.

lol okay well if you don't like the pop up tablet look in general (Audi, BMW, etc.) that's a whole other thing. I think Mazda makes it look better than how Audi executes (especially on the S3), but BMW does it better in my opinion.


The only cool thing about the Audi one is that it goes up and down.


http://fourtitude.com/wp-content/upl...ype-8v-102.jpg

Yeah, if it retracts I think It would be better, but its still just an oddball design. Hopefully it is an experimental phase and they do something better in the future across all the "tablet" designs.

http://static.usnews.rankingsandrevi..._dashboard.jpg

Actually I think this looks better than that audi interior!! Mazda has come along way for sure.

S3 is DSG only in Canada, that's a deal breaker for me. Otherwise it looks like a great option.