Car Shopping - "Fun Daily Driver"

[n2oinferno]

I'm gonna add two suggestions to your list. Used CTS-V or a G8 GXP.

[Guff]

If the BRZ is too small, then a WRX/STi would certainly be a good choice. They are a little pricier, but certainly are more practical... Obviously, they wouldn't be able to satiate your drifting desires, but I suppose there are few 4 Door cars that can...

[diirk]

Sounds like a fun list for test driving.

[ichitaka05]

Add to the test drive list

IS300

[JoeBoxer]

BMW 3 series
Infinity G37
new Caddy ATS?

[BlueLeader]

Originally Posted by Toyota86Fan

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.

Your requirements have described the frs and brz. Only the family back up car sounds iffy. Although its definitely possible to use it in case of emergencies.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

[Toyota86Fan]

Originally Posted by JoeBoxer

BMW 3 series
Infinity G37
new Caddy ATS?

I took a look at that Infiniti G37 - I have to wonder - why do so many of the "sport edition" of these vehicles include a moonroof as a standard option?

The base models are "close" to my range but I am trying to keep under that $35k cap including all options added on to the car.

Also - an update on my test driving! Thanks to arucard77's tip I was able to confirm that a local dealership has one of the twins for me to test drive this weekend!

[JoeBoxer]

Yeah the G37 and 3 series would probably have to be certified pre-owned to get a nice one under 35k. I know when the G35 first came out you could actually even get cloth interior, i drove one back in like 03. Infiniti is bad now you can't get the sport package without the premium package which together is a lot of money.

[Toyota86Fan]

Originally Posted by JoeBoxer

Yeah the G37 and 3 series would probably have to be certified pre-owned to get a nice one under 35k. I know when the G35 first came out you could actually even get cloth interior, i drove one back in like 03. Infiniti is bad now you can't get the sport package without the premium package which together is a lot of money.

This is one thing that definitely changed in the 12 years since I bought my current car. I picked out every option by hand and had it delivered...there wasn't really a concept of "packages". It drives me crazy to find a car that I like but I have to pick up all or nothing - especially when it automagically includes these crazy new LCD head units with GPS, Nav, and tons of blinking distractions in a dark cabin driving at night.

[Toyota86Fan]

Originally Posted by einzlr

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

The WRX test went quite well tonight - I now see why it has so many fans. That Subie-style AWD combined with the horsepower and turbo is pretty incredible.

Here's a running tally of cars driven in the order of like/dislike.

Sporty Cars

1. Subaru WRX
2. Scion tC

Family Cars

1. Toyota Camry SE
2. Subaru Forester
3. Subaru Legacy
4. Toyota Corolla

[serialk11r]

Hmmm aren't the WRXs still on EJ engines? The FA replacements are supposed to be much much better or something :O

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by Toyota86Fan

This is one thing that definitely changed in the 12 years since I bought my current car. I picked out every option by hand and had it delivered...there wasn't really a concept of "packages". It drives me crazy to find a car that I like but I have to pick up all or nothing - especially when it automagically includes these crazy new LCD head units with GPS, Nav, and tons of blinking distractions in a dark cabin driving at night.

Haha that drives us all nuts. I'm not sure whether it's primarily to make us buy stuff we don't want or to reduce assembly costs. I suspect it's some of both.

Originally Posted by Toyota86Fan

The WRX test went quite well tonight - I now see why it has so many fans. That Subie-style AWD combined with the horsepower and turbo is pretty incredible.
[/LIST]

Hehe that's their specialty, alright!

Since you've got the Camry on your list, and at the top of your family-car list no less, you'll want to also test drive an Accord. It's very comparable in terms of price point, roominess, practicality etc, but it's a notch or two more exciting to drive. Plus I keep hearing ads saying they're currently doing a clearance.

[Toyota86Fan]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Hmmm aren't the WRXs still on EJ engines? The FA replacements are supposed to be much much better or something :O

Hmm - reading around online it looks like that new FA engine is supposed to be 2.0 Liters and the current WRX is 2.5 Liters.

I wonder - if the WRX stays the #1 choice would I even have the willpower to wait another whole year before the FA model comes out?

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Toyota86Fan

Hmm - reading around online it looks like that new FA engine is supposed to be 2.0 Liters and the current WRX is 2.5 Liters.

I wonder - if the WRX stays the #1 choice would I even have the willpower to wait another whole year before the FA model comes out?

Yea, but it seems like everyone thinks the EJ25 sucks or something. The FA will get much much better gas mileage though, that's for sure (FB20 was like a 29% decrease in friction or something from the EJ despite the much longer stroke? lol).

Dunno, it can't be too long before it comes out...