1st "What Car" thread: RWD, fun, semi-practical

I've had my Mazda3 for a little over 6 years. It's been a great car, but I'm getting restless. When I bought my 3, I worked for an electrical products company, my daily commute was 55 miles round trip. I was also 26, divorced, and in need of something practical. I could have stretched my new car budget at that time and bought a Mazdaspeed, but the insurance was twice as much.

6 years later, I am back working at the same place (different job), but driving half the distance. I'm now 33, married, and my car insurance is cheap.

I really miss having RWD. I want something with at least a little more power than the 160hp of my "mighty" 2.3. At this point, I know y'all are yelling MIATAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! inside your heads. While I accept that it's always the answer, I do have to be modestly practical about things. So here's my list of needs:

• Seating for 4. 911s and XK8s don't count (sadly). Coupes and convertibles are ok, as long as an adult could sit in the back (if you have photos of adults sitting comfortably in the back of a 911, please include them).
• I like wagons and hatchbacks, but I'm not married to those body styles.
• RWD
• Manual shift, but I might give this up if a car is cool enough and wasn't offered that way.
• Fuel economy isn't a huge concern, but If I could get at least 16 city, and 25 highway, it would be nice.
• Relatively easy to maintain. I'm mostly thinking of crazy electronic stuff that's pricey and failure prone. Like HVAC systems or seats that require an internship with NASA just to understand the wiring diagram. -I'd like something with less than 60k miles, if I could find something under 50k that would be ideal.
• I'd like to spend less than $12,000, but I could stretch it a bit if needed.

Basically, I want something fun that I can drive everyday.

GTO

RX8, will just meet your fuel economy requirements.

rx8! He said 16/25 would be nice. Not absolutely necessary.

JXF001,

A buddy of mine just bought an '05 GTO, and it's pretty cool. That's something that got me thinking about this.

bgkast,

I test drove an RX-8 when shopping for my 3. I loved it, but the mileage made it a no-go back then. It would be acceptable now. I've heard a lot about the problems that some years had (flooding, limp modes, oil consumption, etc.), are there any years that are particularly good?

mw,

If it clears the city MPG, that's the big hurdle. Half of my commute is highway, the other half is getting to the highway.

2005+ mustang gt, pick your bmw, maybe a magnum with a v8? Not rwd, but how about a wrx.

I am thoroughly berkeleying enjoying my V1 CTS-V. Weird: 1st tank (filled up with about 1/2 tank left) 17.7 mpg. Filled up today (full tank) 17.7 on_the_button. 90% hwy, 80 miles/day, 4 "hit or miss" traffic lights. Was hoping for mileage in the 20's in 6th gear with cruise set at 75mph, but fuggit. No regrets.

E36.

IS300 sportwagon
G35 sedan CTS

How about a G8 instead of a GTO? There's just something cool about that lovely engine sound coming from a pedestrian looking 4 dr. Not sure about manual trans though, I know next to nothing about these cars.

it's a shame you want a back seat.. or Miata would be the answer.

g35 sounds like like a good idea.

sethmeister4 wrote: How about a G8 instead of a GTO? There's just something cool about that lovely engine sound coming from a pedestrian looking 4 dr. Not sure about manual trans though, I know next to nothing about these cars.

I think the gxp comes in manual

I came in to say any of a whole bunch of BMW's or an Infinity M or G 35, but I had completely forgotten about the GTO!

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/living-with-a-non-m/75663/page1/

RX8, GTO, Cadillac CTS or CTSV, Infiniti G35 would be my picks.

The only wagon option that I know of is a BMW but they aren't as reliable as any of the above.

BAMF wrote: I test drove an RX-8 when shopping for my 3. I loved it, but the mileage made it a no-go back then. It would be acceptable now. I've heard a lot about the problems that some years had (flooding, limp modes, oil consumption, etc.), are there any years that are particularly good?

If you find a really good deal you can probably get a 2009 RX-8 for ~$12k. That's the "second generation" car and has a lot of good revisions from the factory. I don't think you'll have any significant engine/transmission issues with an '09 until you start getting high miles (I'd guess 150k+).

My girlfriend has an '06 and it had the engine replaced under warranty at 50k miles or so. I've also had to tear apart the transmission to replace a bent shift fork... and they say '06 was an improvement from the '04'05 cars. However, I think those issues were almost entirely resolved in '09+.

The GF gets 17-18 mpg city and she's a spirited driver, so that's not too bad. It's pretty terrible on the highway though (like 24 mpg, IIRC at 75-78 mph). Also, if you use a lot of full-throttle it will guzzle gas like crazy, I would compare it to a turbo engine in that regard.

AE86 corolla with an F20C motor swap.

midniteson wrote: AE86 corolla with an F20C motor swap.

Or even a nice stock one... full interior... still used daily... and a lot cheaper than $12000 (under $7000)

Oregon here.... send me an email if you want more info....

G8/Charger/300c

You will never find the unicorn G8 GXP for anything resembling reasonable money.

Alfa Milano Verde. /thread

I vote 07 and up RX-8. Second choice is GTO. Surprisingly the gas mileage is pretty similar in my personal experience.

I kinda want something similar, and the AE86 checks a lot of boxes, but they are so ridiculously priced that I could get a Mustang with less miles for similar prices and have a better highway cruiser.

lol we're going off the wall here so... '88 Nissan Silvia from Canada or Japan.

https://www.jdmlegends.com/?p=5512

03-04 Infiniti M45

volvo 240 wagon with an ls swap