Any 86 like fun to drive vehicles that are more utility friendly?

[Sasquachulator]

Short story:
I have been finding myself in more situations lately where the size and shape of the 86 is showing its limitations, i may need to get a bigger car sooner than i expected. Would likely have to give up the stick, but if a stick shift car is available, would consider. Premium brands if possible.

Long story:
I have a 2 car household with me the sole driver of the 86 and the wife's car being the BMW X1. Its pretty much set up as the X1 being the utility car and mine being the sports car that can carry people if need. Wife doesnt drive stick, and i have a 2.5 year old son.
3 people in the 86 is fine, but the 2 door configuration is getting a bit.....annoying. I mean my son can mostly climb into the back himself, but hes still small, still needs to be in the front facing child seat and i still need to squeeze inside (and prop the front seat forward) to buckle him in. We can create enough space for front passenger (wife is short so that helps) but she still needs to squeeze into the front because the kid still needs legroom.

Lately i have been tasked with a few trips having to drive my mom and dad to the hospital (dad getting cancer treatment). I have the carseat in place on the passenger side and i have to remove it every time its my turn to drive them. A bit annoying but nothing i cant deal with. Mom would sit in the back seat, dad sits in the front (mom's shorter). Lets just say...they're not young and dropping in/climbing out of a small sports car isnt an ideal transportation method for 70+ year old people. I considered making space behind me (driver) for mom to get in to avoid having to reattach the child seat but i dont think it makes a huge difference .

All of this isnt a HUGE deal breaker, as its mostly short term and i can deal with the workarounds....but as im getting older im starting to find that I dont want to deal with inconveniences all that much. Especially since we plan on having a second kid. No, i dont need a monster Suburban sized behemoth.....i hate big cars....i likely wont consider a midsize car cuz i find them too big for my taste.

Now i DONT want to get rid of the 86, its the car ive always wanted and now that i have it i plan on driving it until i HAVE to change or it self destructs.

So i am just brainstorming a list of cars in my head that would be an alternative if it comes down to it.

Ideally my vehicular options was going to be a Lexus IS500 and then after that an EV (cuz thats where the markets going). But that thing's expensive and I MAY consider an IS350 AWD (because i like the IS and having AWD is a plus)...but that eliminates the charm and reason for an IS500 (the V8) and then the competition is a bit more i suppose modern or "better". Plus this route i'd have to give up stick...which i guess im fine with.

I thought of (would like keep within premium and up brands, as at this stage in life i feel like ive "graduated" from the mainstream brands....yes i know the 86 is Toyota/Subaru....but I bought it cuz its Sports Car):

-Lexus IS350/IS500 (500 RWD or 350 AWD......)
-BMW 4series gran coupe (Wife side of the family is all BMW...so this would be keeping within the "fam")
-Thought maybe a volvo of some kind.

-Are there any stick options around? I actually recently though of the Mini Countryman S/JCW (F60? generation...the one based off the BMW X1 architecture...so its infinitely more reliable than the previous gen...which kind of makes it a MINI-ature X1)
-Acura Integra (maybe A spec, probably not a Type S....not a huge fan of Acura so this might only be a list filler)

any suggestions?

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I'm going through a similar dilemma (kids are growing up and starting to complain more and more about lack of space). My biggest must-have is RWD which limits options a lot.

My contenders (more or less in order) are:

• Alfa Romeo Giuliua (non QV)
• BMW 3 series (F30 LCI (2015-2019) or G20, probably 330i)
• Cadillac CT4-V (non Blackwing)
• Genesis G70

Most of your list is fairly boring, which is fine, but you did ask about "fun to drive", and the closest utility Twin-equivalent I can think of are RWD "sport sedans". FWD/AWD for me would be a complete buzzkill (and I would rather buy a separate daily and leave my BRZ).

Another consideration - do you track your 86? If you throw tracking into the mix it gets even harder as most non-performance variants (not the QV, M, Blackwing, etc.) just don't lend themselves well to track work (no way to turn off nannies, not enough alignment adjustability, lack of brake options (or having to go BBK even for light track duty)).

[Sasquachulator]

Well i live in Canada and almost everything up here that has RWD and AWD options are almost exclusively comes with AWD by default. I dont know if I'd opt for RWD anyways, especially if i end up with something in an Automatic.
AWD is just easier to deal with in the winter. Again like i said in my post, the older I get, the more i favour "easier".

I forgot about the Alfa. I've always been keen on giving them a try, but I have no idea which model i'd be into.

I dont track my car...i'd like to go on a run a few times but its a fairly expensive hobby. The trackday cost at the nearby racetrack is pretty steep for me so im reluctant to drop the coin for it. So for me, its mostly going to be spirited drives on curvy roads in the area whenever i get to do it.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Sasquachulator

Again like i said in my post, the older I get, the more i favour "easier".

Fair enough.

Originally Posted by Sasquachulator

I forgot about the Alfa. I've always been keen on giving them a try, but I have no idea which model i'd be into.

Not too hard of a choice - they only sell two models right now (Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV), with a smaller SUV (Tonale) coming up.

[DarkPira7e]

GF8 Chassis Impreza. Refresh the suspension and repair the rust holes (Or don't!) and you have a monster in any situation. You can even swap the engine and driveline if you become thirsty for more.

[dpfarr]

A v60 with even the polestar tune are nice. I had a 2020 xc40 with switchable tune that was fun.

What about a Mazda 3 2.5t awd? Wish they made that in manual but you know the score…

Disregard the kid’s college education and by pass the debt of an IS500, go all in. https://www.audiusa.com/us/web/en/mo.../overview.html

[WolfpackS2k]

Keep your GR86 and just buy a used Honda Fit. With snow tires it'll handle the snow just fine (unless you live somewhere very hilly and/or the roads regularly have mor than 8 inches of snow on them. Or tell your wife to learn how to drive stick.

[pope]

Use your parents’ vehicle to drive them to the hospital. No other changes needed. Your offspring will become more capable and less needing of special seats over time. And, you can always use the spouse’s behemoth of a vehicle when the three of you need to go someplace.

[Stephen W.]

The Toyota Fanboys will rip me over this one but, I have the perfect car sitting in my driveway right now and it's for sale!
2016 STi. It's not as small or light as my 2006 STi was but what is these days? It checks all your boxes. To bad I'm in Ontario.

[Dadhawk]

@Sasquachulator you mention some good choices, but you didn't mention price range or new/used specifically. What I'm suggesting is an add to your list.

First, I have to say I personally would never, ever, not even once buy a BMW. Lot of (bad) history there among friends and family. I've never known anyone that owned one that kept it near 100K miles.

I'm with @Ohio Enthusiast on saying not to overlook the Cadillac CT4 or CT5 (if you need a little bigger). Neither are huge cars, and they come in both RWD and AWD. If you don't want the power, the Non-V versions are decent cars. You can get them with a manual, but that means the Blackwing. The CT4-VB starts at $60K versus $47K for the none Blackwing CT4-V. They also have the option of SuperCruise in some configurations. I've driven all 3 levels (CT4, CT4-V, CT4-VB) and the middle option really seems to fit what you want.

Same with the CT5 (all 3 levels). The Ct5-V is a great car for the money. The Blackwing is a fantastic car, but way more than I would ever spend since I could never use it to it's full potential.

[tiger1964]

Originally Posted by dpfarr

What about a Mazda 3 2.5t awd? Wish they made that in manual but you know the score…

A few weeks ago had a discussion with the wife about getting closer to buying (or trying to?) a BRZ and, while reconciled to limited space inside, wondered about alternatives, and the Mazda3 5-door has some positive features -- and negative ones. Too tall and too heavy, and too many doors, but a hatch and more room, and Mazdas are often entertaining to drive. It would be the least-sporting car for her in almost 40 years.

And they have a nice crimson metallic paint she likes, and a cream/taupe-looking interior (she hates black interiors), and there's a manual transmission. Alas, you cannot get all three on the same car. That's just too many compromises to make, so back to the BRZ...

[Sasquachulator]

I saw and took a look at a 2019 BMW 440i Gran Coupe out for a spin. I think this definitely fits the bill for me. Comparisons are with my 2017 X1 and 2020 86:

-Cockpit felt snug, like in a Lexus IS ive sat in before, and the 86. X1 feels more roomy (well duh, its an SUV/CUV and set up like one lol).
-Rear seat space is quite good except for headroom , that's a bit tight. I didn't have to tilt my head or anything but my head was almost touching the headliner. its obviously due to the sloping rear roofline. Plenty of legroom and shoulder space, very sedan-like and not just coupe space with easier access to back seats. The seats were actually quite comfortable (they looked kind of hard and flat in pictures). I'm only 5'-7" so that helps with space. I think taller people would have to slouch a bit for headroom.
-That hatchback though, huge opening. One of the main selling points for me. The space itself doesn't seem to be rated all that much different than the sedan trunk with the seats up but drop the seats...much space can be had
-Interior is almost identical to the X1 (everything looks and is in the same locations), and this one has some newer tech. The turn signals stalks actually stay in the left/right positions and don't retract to neutral. I knew BMW changed back to these "normal" stalks but i thought it was with the generation of cars after this one. Stalk still feels flimsy and cheap though. The 86 stalk feels chunkier, and the X1 'retract to neutral all the time' stalk actually feels solid.
-The screen is a touchscreen unlike in our X1. I think the screens is in the same spot as on the X1, but because of the lower seating position its actually a bit of a reach to touch it.
-That B58 motor is a monster. I was just pulling out of the dealership on the test drive so didn't even give it the beans yet and i could FEEL that power under my foot and it was ready to go at any moment. When i did get a chance to open it up it just pulls HARD. there was some turbo lag though even in sport+. the B48 in the X1 (228hp) is alot tamer in comparison (doesnt pull as hard obviously). And the 86 just has a completely different feel (N/A high revver, though it does pull after the torque dip, obviously not as hard but you're already going pretty quick by then)
And this is the earlier variant so it only has about 320hp or so. Its hard to imagine how much more "pinned to your seat" feeling you can get with more powers.....I let off after like 2 seconds cuz it was surpassing speeding levels so quickly.
-Car handled well, was flat, and well sorted. It just felt solid. Quieter than the 86 (and the X1 i felt) and not as bouncy (the 86 firmness makes it a bit bouncy on the rough stuff, but not uncomfortably so mind you, unlike what i heard about the pre-refresh cars) Obvious build quality differences (no surprise there, ones built to a economy car standard, one's built to a luxury car standard). The car didn't feel that heavy probably due to the power it possesses. Steering had some heft but felt somewhat artificial.

Ill go test drive a few more options (of which my options are kind of all over the place... stick options include Mini Countryman, Subaru WRX, GR Corolla, etc & auto options like IS, Alfa Guilia, etc) But I'm almost certain I'll end up with a 430 or 440 sometime in the future. I like the car and it checks all the boxes im looking for in a 4 door car.