Looking for a new daily driver

AkursedX · Post by **AkursedX** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:00 am

My lease on my Jetta is up in October and I'm looking for a new daily driver. I went to the Detroit auto show and sampled a number of potential vehicles.

I am looking at vehicles under 32k at this time. I'm not really sure what type of vehicle I want yet. I could go from 2-seat sports car, to a sedan, possibly to an SUV or pick-up.

Here's a list of my front-runners right now and a few comments on each:

VW GTI- Awesome car, good power at an affordable price. Awesome interior and seats. Negs- front wheel drive, overall space. would spend alot on modding it.

VW Jetta GLI- Pretty much the same as the GTI but a little more space.

Mazdaspeed6- I'm dying to test drive on of these! AWD, 274hp 2.3 turbo! Interior is nice, but not great. Nice clean styling. Negs, not a whole lot at the moment.

Subaru STI- AWD ownz all! Negs- over the top styling, turbo lag, EVERYONE tries to race you.

Nissan 350Z- The quintessential sports car. Has everything I want in a car. Negs- 2 seats, will want to mod the piss out of it, wouldn't want to drive it in winter.

Mustang GT- RWD V-8. Great platform to work from. Retro styling. Negs- Ford quality control, cheap interior, already have one Mustang.

Honda Ridgeline- A truck with a usable trunk! Far and away the most functional of my choices. Will keep it stock so I can spend more on Mustang and Fiero. Honda quality and reliability. Negs- it's a truck, I'm not much of a truck person, gas mileage.

VW Passat 3.6 AWD- Nice full-size car. Awesome interior and ride. Looks expensive. Probably won't mod it. negs- Price, would be on the very high end of my range. styling (It doesn't look sporty enough for me)

Mazda RX-8- Best handling car out there. 4 seat sports car. High revving Negs- a little underpowered, Styling, Terrible gas mileage considering it's a 1.3l

Pontiac GTO- There are 8 new GTO's on lots in my area. 400hp, 4 seats, RWD, I like the styling. Can get a good price. negs- gas guzzler, shorted a year on warranty, lack of selection, will want to mod it.

Mazda CX-7- SUV storage capabilities, 244hp AWD turbo, I love the styling. Negs-New product, not alot known about reliability, available only in auto.

That's about it for now. Opinions? I kinda want to narrow my choices down soon because if I choose a sports car, I will almost certainly be rid of my Fiero so I can make space for something like an old truck because I am tentatively going get my 3800sc swap done and I don't know if I want to pour more money into it.

Needless to say, I have no idea what I really want to do right now, but need to make some decisions soon.

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:52 am

i like the mazdaspeed6 a lot. smooth styling with the perks of awd and boost.

as for the STI i really don't think they have that much of a lag issue. but then again i can't say i've ever driven a stock one

The Dark Side of Will · Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:46 am

I wouldn't think that any 275 HP 2.0 or 300 HP 2.5 would be any laggier than any other, technology being what it is.

Think the GTO is a gas guzzler? Don't the 400 HP ones have Displacement on Demand? Couple that with a 6 speed and you can hit 30 mpg on the highway.

That's certainly an eclectic range of cars you're looking at.

Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:09 am

my bud has a blue 6.0 GTO recently dyno'd at 400whp - it gets good highway milage.

its also a lot of fun and has a really nice exhaust note when you get on it yet i sstill quiet crusing. drove by a few cops and they didn't even look at it.

crzyone · Post by **crzyone** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:29 pm

My vote goes to the STi or GTO, both very cool cars.

THE PUNISHER · Post by **THE PUNISHER** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:55 pm

STi = Gas Pig...

Skip it , don't belive what they say it gets ,it's horrible.. Then you will get a compex like every other STi driver and think it's the greatest car ever.

I would get a lego GT over the STi and Mod it.. Lighter than the speed 6 and faster too....

Fastback86 · Post by **Fastback86** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:47 pm

The GTO drives great, and 400hp pwns. Awesome interior, too.

Screw the Ridgeline. Trucks should NOT have a transverse engine, even if it is AWD. Its also underpowered for a truck. Its just a glorified Pilot/CRV.

Unsafe At Any Speed · Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:05 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?

For $32k might even be able to find an '04 CTS-V.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:03 am

If you can find a Mazdaspeed3, those look like they would be a great amount of car for the money. Same engine as the Mazdaspeed6, 264 hp in a 2600 lb hatchback, Torque Control, Dynamic Steering. MSRP is $24,000, but $32,000 should buy you one. There is only 5000 imported to the US this year.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:51 am

Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?
For $32k might even be able to find an '04 CTS-V.

Fuck yeah. Got my ass handed to my by my friend's dad's CTS-V last weekend. Those things are fast and look sick too.

Unsafe At Any Speed · Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:39 am

Series8217 wrote:
Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?
For $32k might even be able to find an '04 CTS-V.
Fuck yeah. Got my ass handed to my by my friend's dad's CTS-V last weekend. Those things are fast and look sick too.

I plan on buying one after I graduate.

The Dark Side of Will · Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:48 pm

Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?
For $32k might even be able to find an '04 CTS-V.

NOICE. Depreciation is your friend.

Fastback86 · Post by **Fastback86** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:55 pm

Series8217 wrote:
Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?
For $32k might even be able to find an '04 CTS-V.
Fuck yeah. Got my ass handed to my by my friend's dad's CTS-V last weekend. Those things are fast and look sick too.

They handle like boats. I went to the GM Test Drive when I was in Las Vegas and drove the GTO and the CTS-V. The Goat handled great despite its size. The V felt, well, like a Cadillac. Lots of body roll. It felt like driving a large car. Given a choice between the two, I'd take the Goat, even with its yawn-inducing exterior styling. I don't know if they use the same manual trans, but the V felt more sluggish that the Goat, too.

Whatever you go with, shop around and get as many test drives as you can first. Doesn't really matter what it looks like if you hate how it drives.

Unsafe At Any Speed · Post by **Unsafe At Any Speed** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:23 pm

Fastback86 wrote:
Series8217 wrote:
Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?
For $32k might even be able to find an '04 CTS-V.
Fuck yeah. Got my ass handed to my by my friend's dad's CTS-V last weekend. Those things are fast and look sick too.
They handle like boats. I went to the GM Test Drive when I was in Las Vegas and drove the GTO and the CTS-V. The Goat handled great despite its size. The V felt, well, like a Cadillac. Lots of body roll. It felt like driving a large car. Given a choice between the two, I'd take the Goat, even with its yawn-inducing exterior styling. I don't know if they use the same manual trans, but the V felt more sluggish that the Goat, too.

Whatever you go with, shop around and get as many test drives as you can first. Doesn't really matter what it looks like if you hate how it drives.

Really? Alot of people on the V forums race them and think they handle quite well. Most of these guys have their V parked to a Z06 or similar in the garage too.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:00 pm

Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
Fastback86 wrote: They handle like boats. I went to the GM Test Drive when I was in Las Vegas and drove the GTO and the CTS-V. The Goat handled great despite its size. The V felt, well, like a Cadillac. Lots of body roll. It felt like driving a large car. Given a choice between the two, I'd take the Goat, even with its yawn-inducing exterior styling. I don't know if they use the same manual trans, but the V felt more sluggish that the Goat, too.

Whatever you go with, shop around and get as many test drives as you can first. Doesn't really matter what it looks like if you hate how it drives.
Really? Alot of people on the V forums race them and think they handle quite well. Most of these guys have their V parked to a Z06 or similar in the garage too.

Didn't Cadillac race the CTS-V in one of the major touring car classes and kick some ass? The platform is apparently good enough, perhaps the Cadillac suspension tuning just isn't so great.

Fastback86 · Post by **Fastback86** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:21 pm

Just speaking from my one experience. The one I drove on their little autocross was disappointing. It felt like driving a 400hp boat. Could've been that they messed with the suspension on that car, could be that the suspension is soft from the factory, I don't know. Definately test drive for yourself.

The Dark Side of Will · Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:32 pm

All the tests I've read say the CTS-V is pretty harsh and pretty stiff.

Fastback86 · Post by **Fastback86** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:41 pm

I may be a little biased, I also drove the GTO and the 'Vette that day. Could've tainted my impression of stiff, relative to those other cars.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 11:52 pm

Damn straight you better backpedal. You're dissing a car with an LS-series motor. That's CHEVY right thar.

Post by **eHoward** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:00 am

Stock subaru stuff isn't too laggy. It's got a turbo, really they're undersized and kick in pretty quick. If anything, most car people want a bigger turbo that's going to flow more CFM and take additional spool time.

My father's got a GTO. Gets well under 20mpg. I think the computer estimated like 14.something last time I was in it.

The Dark Side of Will wrote:I wouldn't think that any 275 HP 2.0 or 300 HP 2.5 would be any laggier than any other, technology being what it is.

Think the GTO is a gas guzzler? Don't the 400 HP ones have Displacement on Demand? Couple that with a 6 speed and you can hit 30 mpg on the highway.

That's certainly an eclectic range of cars you're looking at.

Can you get into a CTS under your price limit?