Car Shopping - "Fun Daily Driver"
 

It's an exciting time in my household - we are shopping for a new car and my wife has agreed to let me purchase a "fun to drive" daily driver!

My brother-in-law got me interested in working on cars and autocross; he is very active in the enthusiast community up north. My wife and I agree that I should find a car that is fun in stock form; I have never driven this type of car and there is going to be a learning curve to make sure I can handle it safely. It also doesn't hurt that it gives me time to understand how the mods I eventually make will change the handling and performance!

I was hoping to recapture the "magic" of my driver's education car - the sedan I drive now and the traditional American sports cars such as the Camaro just don't do it for me. My mom recently confirmed that the car I learned in was a Corolla GT-S. That's how I eventually ended up here.

The 86 seems like a good fit but I haven't yet found one locally to test drive. I need to determine what other cars I should consider but it seems that this price range is pretty lacking in lightweight FR-style cars. I tried a tC since so many of you seem to have enjoyed yours; I'm also considering used cars such as the Mazda RX-7/RX-8.

What other cars should I be considering? Do you guys think I have realistic expectations about the sports car experience and making the transition from "spectator" to car enthusiast?

Again - cheers to you all - even if I don't end up in an FR-S this community is absolutely awesome and I have learned a lot just by reading along!

Here are the rankings as they get test driven. Sometimes a car isn't on our "test drive" list but looks pretty interesting in person so it gets driven and added to this list.

Sporty Cars

1. Subaru WRX | Scion FR-S
2. Civic Si
3. Honda Fit
4. Dodge Dart
5. Scion tC
6. Mustang (My Wife Protests - she liked it for the horsepower)
7. Camaro
8. Nissan 370z (Disqualified, no back seat.)
9. Hyundai Genesis Coupe (Not Just No, HELL no.)

Family Cars

1. Toyota Camry SE
2. Ford Fusion (But It Won't be the Same in 2013...)
3. Subaru Forester
4. Subaru Legacy
5. Toyota Corolla
6. Honda Civic EX

This is the original list - moving cars from here up into the rankings as we test drive them all.

Sports Car Test Drive List

• Subaru BRZ
• Mini-Cooper S
• Subaru WRX STI
• Mitsubishi Lancer EVO
• BMW 3-Series (Maybe?)

Family Car Test Drive List

• Honda Accord (Forum Member Suggested based on Camry ranking)
• Mazda 5 (We test drove one years ago and enjoyed as a family car)

I wouldn't consider an Rx7 or an Rx8. I love both cars, but not as a daily driver.

Since you're considering used cars as well, I would look at an S2000, Porsche Cayman, BMW 1-series, Genesis coupe, etc. It really all boils down to what your priorities for a vehicle are.

If I were to consider a car for around $25k, my 3 choices would be the FR-S/BRZ, used Cayman, or used Elise. But hey, you're talking to a guy who has cubbies for "trunk space."

Mx5, s2k, E36, 350/370Z, Supra, Corvette, Evo, STI, Z4, GC, Elise, MRS, Rx7/8, 240sx, 300z, 240z, Viper, NSX, & lists just goes on & on...

If you want some car that will keep you entertained & learn how to drive, go get Mx5. Cheap, can find a ton of mod options, & won't cry every time you/someone dent it

I was looking for something similar and this is where I ended up. You really can't go wrong with a BRZ/FRS.

With that said, I think my 2nd choice would be a Mini Cooper S. There's a ton of goodies and they do well for track/autocross. Also are probably a little more practical then the Twins. In my case the Mini was eliminated because I specifically wanted a RWD.

To OP are you looking for a specific type of config ig RWD or NA vs turbo? Is price a factor?

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Supra.

Fun, decently practical, super reliable, sexy, and it's legendary.

You should be able to find a decent mileage 6-Spd TT for low 20s if you look hard enough. Supraforums would be the place to do so.


I'm biased though... :D

If you dont mind fwd, the new focus ST is supposed to be very good.

There is only one model of an automobile that I ever bought more than one of and that is the Mazda Miata. I bought a new one in '99 and I bought a used '02 in '06. If you are a driving enthusiast you will appreciate what the Miata does. It's been compared more than just a few times to the handling characteristics of the Toyobaru twins. It also has a very good track record for reliability.

It was actually the Miata that set the bar. The comparison is often expressed as "finally someone has made a coupe version of the Miata".

The thing I enjoyed most when driving that AE86 in high school was tossing the thing around and really playing with controlling it. It looks like, based on what I have read, that such behavior would be facilitated by a RWD setup. The main difference is that now I'm older and wiser and know to practice such things away from traffic and main thoroughfares.

As far as Turbo - I'm slightly leery of it as a friend with a Mini-Cooper S claims that every time the turbo kicks she almost gets tossed off the road from the loss of control. This type of behavior was also mentioned by the host of the recent review of the Mazda RX-7 Spirit "R".

I don't mind FWD - other than 6 months of driver's ed my 18 years on the road have been in a FWD vehicle. The only complaint I have against that Ford is that it is the "snub hatch" for lack of the right term. I'm not a fan of the chopped off station wagon look - the tC was okay as a hatchback because of how its hatch was set up.

I wouldn't be averse - I'll look around and see what's available.

Here's a look into what's going through my mind as I search - hopefully this is all fairly reasonable and will clarify a few of the other questions you guys have posed. The most I'm comfortable paying is ~$35k

Required

• Four Seater (In case the Familymobile goes kaput...)
• Enough fuel economy under normal conditions that it won't become a point of contention in the family budget (EG: at least 20 mpg)
• Rational total ownership cost (ruling out the Lotus even though I LOVE how it looks)
• Already has a good community around the car (I'm a novice and it would be good to be able to have a community resource for DIY articles and assistance if I run into something I can't figure out on my own)

Wants

• Can be drifted once I master the car under normal driving conditions
• Lighter weight vehicle so it doesn't have a total "boat" feel
• My preference is a NEW car. I am open to used if I can find one that's reasonably priced and in reasonable condition.

Hmmm... an STI would cover both of these lists quite nicely.

Novice question here - from what I have read AWD is very difficult to use for drifting and would incur a lot more wear/tear on the car than using a RWD setup.

I can break free in my FWD but it never feels like the car really likes doing it; I've never figured out if it's because I'm "doing it wrong" or if it's because I drive a heavy family sedan that is 100% stock.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Havng owned one and a WRX before that.

It takes a lot of HP to get an AWD to drift. But if you hit a track day, you will love it. The WRX or STI go where you want them too. They start sliding in a corner just feed it more gas and it hooks up. It's really a ton of fun.

Looking over your list, the only thing I think the BRZ/FRS will be lacking is in seating for 4. Unless all of you are 5' tall, there's pretty much no way to get some in the back seat comfortably. It's possible, but not for any length of time.

I'd suggest going to drive a WRX or STI, a Mini a BRZ/FRS and Maybe a Mustang. Just to cover all the bases.

We spent about 45 minutes looking at a BRZ over at Mastro Subaru in Tampa last weekend and my wife commented to me later that it looked like the back would be a tight fit even though our little guy is still under 4' tall. (We didn't test out sitting in it because the BRZ belonged to the owner.) I think what my wife wants is something that will work in a pinch if the Alero has to be in the shop for a few days and we have some emergency pop up. It may come down to getting my little guy into the back seat of a BRZ or FR-S and seeing just how tight it is for him back there. (Best Quote Ever about dealing with Kids in the Twins - "It takes acts of contortion worthy of a seedy Thai novelty stripper act to get the toddler into the seat.")

The only problem I will have in test driving some of these suggestions is that I don't know how to drive a manual transmission yet. The sales guy we talked to said he'd be glad to teach me; I'm still slightly in shock and can see why you guys gave Mastro such great reviews in the Southeast regional boards. I'll find out more when I go back for the test drive appointment I scheduled.

Worst case - my brother-in-law has offered to sacrifice his 1992 Honda Accord when I'm up there visiting early next year. (This is the family joke - he's taught my sister, his son, and a few nieces and nephews to drive stick in this car and it's still going even though the odometer broke at 270k miles 6+ years ago...)

So the "test drive" list as it stands now:

• Toyobaru FR-S / BRZ
• Ford Mustang (The little guy's first choice)
• Chevy Camaro (I last drove one a few years ago - my wife thinks I should try it again now and see how I feel about it.)
• Mini-Cooper S
• Subaru WRX
• Subaru WRX STI
• Mitsubishi Lancer EVO
• Hyundai Genesis Coupe
• Nissan 370z
• BMW 3-Series (Maybe?)
• Scion tC (driven - liked it but seemed sluggish - going to drive it again when the 2013 model is available)

Glad I'm not looking to get into this car until March; I can already tell that I'm going to be spending a lot of weekends test driving!