Best value for fun to drive and 4 doors

[FoMoJo]

He has Miata. Interior on second car matters

Too tame .

[Rich]

Since I looked into monthly rentals and realizing that yes, the $700ish price would be less than taxes on a new GTI or Mazda 3, I was and probably still am going to roll with that.

Recently I've been mysteriously losing coolant and oil at a slow rate.  (maybe .5qt of each per 500 miles).  No smoke, no stains/puddles when parked.  I don't think it's the head gasket; the oil is not like baby poo.  Has me thinking I'd like something newer also so I don't have any issues getting to work, and the ability to have something to drive if I need to tear down the Miata for a while.

I did a used car search for something less than 60,000 miles, less than $13K, Manual, newer than 2005.  Within 50 miles of Columbia the only ones to pop up were a 2016 Forte and some Focii (yuck). 

The tracks in the area all require a roll bar for convertibles (which I won't do).  Has me thinking 2nd car.

GTI w/ performance pack is a little too rich for me. Thinking Fiesta ST or plain ole Fiesta.. Maybe a 3 or Golf

If I drove home it'd be a 1,800 mile round trip, but at about $100.  Flying is ~$300 (and stuck w/ family the whole time unless I rent a car there).  I plan on spending a lot of time at home since my dad is getting older and I just want to be around them more often.  I'd probably go 3-4 times per year.  Maybe more.  Still thinking about all this, open to opinions.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Fiesta ST. I'd say get a Versa that doesn't have a rod knock, but that's impossible.
Maybe VW has some good deals, though. You can get a little 1.4 turbo now in thr base model.

[Eye of the Tiger]

It looks like the 1.4T is for the base Jetta. Golf gets a 1.8T. The base Golf will still be near Fiesta ST money, unless they have some good deals.

[Rich]

I just did a cooling system pressure test and coolant was pouring out of the front of the engine at starting at about 5psi.  I'm guessing it's the water pump

fuuuuu

[Rich]

I went to the dealerships in Sevilla since I brought my car to the Mazda dealer to have the water pump replaced (only 60k on that shitty water pump, last replaced at 80k)

I sat in the Mazda 3 and 6 back to back.  The 3 feels just a tiny bit smaller and had an actual hand brake.  These interiors at their price points are fantastic

I spent a lot of time in/around the new Miata.  The door feels very far away from me.  The center console is super tiny (lol), the top is a dream, the shifter feels worse than mine, the seats have good bolstering, but the longitudinal contours don't feel comfortable to me.  They nailed everything else.  I can't bring myself to trade mine in on one since there are things about mine that I enjoy more (storage areas, seating position, seats (the biggest issue), and mine is set up perfectly for me now).

The new S90 would be my pick just for the interior I think.  Between that and an MB if I was getting a luxo shuttle.

There was an i8 at the BMW joint.  that door handle is terrible execution.  The buttresses look like parachutes to the wind.  But that car is sexy in an artful way.

1 series (and most of the BMW/MINIs) had the extendable thigh support.  DEAR GOD this is the best thing ever.  None had power seats so I had to sit reallllyyyyy far back to get the full support in which my left elbow was at the b pillar and could no longer use the armrest.  The shifter felt sloppier than the A3's.  Otherwise it felt nice.

3 series - it felt a little bigger than an E46 (not as much as I'd been reading), and fit like a glove as far as size/sightlines.  The interiors of the BMWs didn't feel as cheap as the mags/'spin make them out to be.

i3 - The interior was different.  I liked it, the way the controls were presented it was like they were floating, or "being presented" to you by the car.  Cool to see the carbon fiber on the door sill.

MINI - again, great seats, and the interiors felt just a little better in materials than VW/Mazda in construction.  Design is a little wonky.  Windshield feels 4 miles from me.

Nissan Leaf  LOL what a shit interior.  just a giant industrial size piece of vacuum formed hard plastic.

Golf R Line - usual Veedub stuff.  size felt spot on, everything felt super nice in the interior... but then I wondered what compromises had to be made to cut costs in other places to get the interior that nice for the price.

A3 sedan - man my god the steering wheel is a gift from the heavens.  So much negative space, so many good feels on it.  The vent rings feel cheap as hell though.  Plastic on plastic sliding as you turn them, just feels gritty/ not smooth and creamy like everything else.  The shifter felt soooo nice too, positive throws and much creamier than the ND Miata. 

A4 - phenomenal interior.  It didn't feel substantially bigger than the A3

I have the Fucking fiesta as my rental while the Miata is down and out.  The Fucking Fiesta feels like a bar stool.  I sit a foot higher than the mid 2000's Mondeo.  I even sit higher than the damn Focii I drive by.  It's nice and quiet so I can fly on the highway in that thing at 160km/h/100mph.  The fucking Fiesta's interior is so much crap.  The Fucking Fiesta can land FA-18s on its dashboard.  The brakes are super grabby.  The shifter isn't bad but nothing to write home about.  I still can't get over how tall the seating position is.  I had to check 3 times to make sure that's as low as the seat could go.  It feels like I'm sitting down at a kitchen table for dinner.  Every single other car I'd sat in had a much more normal seating position/windshield relationship to driver/no barstool feel.

BUT MAN, IT'S SO NICE TO HAVE A CAR I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FALLING APART.

The Fiesta ST is out for good.  Pretty much down to a Mazda 3, 6, used BMW 3 (but then I'm back to the falling apart bit), maybe a Golf/GTI,

I need to check out Honda and Toyota too

[2o6]

A3 is auto only in the USA




Also if the Fiesta's seating position feels too high, you probably won't like any car in that class. I always thought the Fiesta's position felt low for it's size. Also, the Fiesta feels like a phonebooth and it's super narrow.

[Rich]

I think Char is going to be shitting his pants soon

[12,000 RPM]

Infiniti G seems like a really obvious choice if you are not a pathological contrarian like me

My Z was dead reliable from 160-190K... a bone stock 6MT G will serve you well. An E90 328i is a good buy as well.

[MrH]

So has anyone suggested the new Civic hatchback Sport?  It's cheap, it's light, makes good power, available with a 6-speed, has gotten really good reviews so far.  It's supposed to drive really well while also being roomy and quiet on the highway.

MSRPs for like $22k.  It's a lot of car for the money.

[Rich]

I watched a review of a black one last night. Black hides the hideousness of it. The Sport model has a body color unibrow I think too. Which is better than the chrome unibrow.

Still not a fan of the turbo DI engines. And there's no volume knob if you get the touchscreen

[Rich]

I'm still debating what to do. The car guy side me me wants to get a new BMW with a stick or pony car. The $$ side me me wants to get a 3yr old economy car

I can get 5k off a new ordered BMW

[MrH]

This is for a car to go along with the Miata when you get back to the states, right?

If that's the case, I'd probably go with the Civic.  Either that, or I would try to find a lightly used Jalopnik special 320i with a stick.  You can get those for like $20k with barely any miles.

I wouldn't spend $40k on a car that's just a touch more fun than a car that's $25k, when you have a miata in the garage too.  Just isn't worth it IMO.

[Rich]

I Spose I can try and find a 320 with the sport seats. If I get a BMW I need the sport seats. They are god like. I love the pull out thigh bolsters

[CALL_911]

I'm too lazy to read the whole thread, but used STI? If I had $40k I think I'd go for one.

[Rich]

I have 40k but if I bought one that's 20k flying right out the window

[68_427]

I have 40k but if I bought one that's 20k flying right out the window

How?  STis have some of the best resale in the business.  Drive it for 3 years and sell it for more than $30K

But I don't think it's a good suggestion.  I still think you should go more luxury oriented.  How about a current gen IS350? 

Edit just saw you want a manual.  So I guess ignore the Lexus suggestion.

[CALL_911]

Current gen IS350 would be tits. But if you must have a manual, I guess your options are few and far in between. Golf R?

[Raza]

I'm still debating what to do. The car guy side me me wants to get a new BMW with a stick or pony car. The $$ side me me wants to get a 3yr old economy car

CPO GTI. Split the difference.

[2o6]

I Spose I can try and find a 320 with the sport seats. If I get a BMW I need the sport seats. They are god like. I love the pull out thigh bolsters

do this and call it a day

[68_427]

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePage_false_0&formSourceTag=112&newSearchFromOverviewPage=true&inventorySearchWidgetType=AUTO&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d1512&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity2=&zip=14468&distance=50000&searchChanged=true&transmission=M&trimNames=320i+Sedan&modelChanged=false&filtersModified=true#listing=167833588

[Rich]

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[12,000 RPM]

5 speed Golf. They will give it to you. TSI is godly

[SJ_GTI]

You should buy my Golf R. I will give you a good deal, will include an extra set of wheels/tires so you can run dedicate winter and summer tires. Already added the spare and have worked out all the kinks. 

[Rich]

$15K in cash. April 15th

[68_427]

$15K in cash. April 15th

No give him $30k.  We want him to buy a SS

[Raza]

$15K in cash. April 15th

8K cash on August 8th!

[r0tor]

All these responses and no correct answer given.... RX8

[Rich]

I think I have narrowed this down some. In no particular order

1) Keep Miata as only car
2) trade Miata in on used ND
3) BMW 320 jalop special as second car
4) 2016+Mazda 3 as second car
5) Toyota 86 as second car
6) 2006-2009 Mustang GT as second car

[MrH]

I vote #4.