There's something I really love about the turbo bricks, ever since I got to drive my uncle and aunts 850T5R it was very fast for its time. I've always been a little bit turned off of them as an enthusiast however because I heard they balance was off and fwd is kind of a bummer
Turbo 5 cylinders can make some glorious noises tho
In reply to Jaynen :
They made RWD cars, too...
In reply to mck1117 :
745 was RWD and pretty luxurious for a volvo
Another vote for the G35. It's a cool, fun, reliable car.
If your budget stretches to $10k, you should consider a Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 as well. Should be able to find a good one for $7-9k. Prices are on the rise. Get one before they're totally out of reach.
I have a m3/4/5 in Los Angeles I have been playing with the idea of selling. I just put $1000 of stuff into it so I'm wanting to enjoy my work for a minute first but it would fit your bill
chuckles said:08-10 Cobalt turbo SS sedan. Heavy on the performance, light on the budget, a bit cramped in the back seat, I hear. Mine's a coupe.
It's my understanding that all 4-door Cobalt SS have the 2.4l.
If a stick-shift is unnecessary, drive a Q45 in addition to the G35. It's not just that it goes 170, it's that being able to go 170 requires power and control authority...
1st gen CTS-v?
Knurled said:chuckles said:08-10 Cobalt turbo SS sedan. Heavy on the performance, light on the budget, a bit cramped in the back seat, I hear. Mine's a coupe.
It's my understanding that all 4-door Cobalt SS have the 2.4l.
Test-fit your kid seats in anything you're considering. Also, decide how much safety you want. I bought a Subaru Outback XT rather than a Mazda 3 wagon just for the side impact rating.
I think a WRX would be a neat solution; turbo power is entertaining, especially with a manual transmission. But our Outback is barely big enough; test fit those child seats! And sit in front of them.
Forester XT with the manual?
My rx8 held 4 men that are 6 feet tall, in comfort.
STM317 said:Knurled said:chuckles said:08-10 Cobalt turbo SS sedan. Heavy on the performance, light on the budget, a bit cramped in the back seat, I hear. Mine's a coupe.
It's my understanding that all 4-door Cobalt SS have the 2.4l.
Interesting. Every 4-door I have ever seen was a 2.4.
Also interesting: That ad is like half the going rate for Cobalt SSs around here, when I was looking.
pilotbraden said:My rx8 held 4 men that are 6 feet tall, in comfort.
True, but have you seen how big a rear-facing car seat is? I DD'd an RX-8 for the first year of my daughter's life. The suicide doors made loading her up easy, but I had to move the front seat so far forward that my wife's knees were in the dashboard if I had to ever carry all three of us. Stick a car seat behind the driver, and there is no way I would have fit. Maybe a forward facing seat behind the driver might work....might.
That said, I really miss that car.
You said quirky, right?
another thought - little out of the parameters, but in the price range and available with 3 pedals - porsche cayenne
I'll join in just because I am all too familiar with the child seats...
In a Saab 9-3 you have to move the front seat way up, at least in my 06 wagon. Our kid hauler is an LS430, which does the job very well.
I'm looking to replace my 9-3 sometime and I'm either going with something that kid seats just don't fit in, or another huge sedan like the LS. There is a really nice looking 2003 Q45 for sale around here that is tempting. Minivan is for some reason out of the question for us, even though I know it is the answer. I'm even OK driving it as my DD, since I have other cars for the days I don't need child seats. The RX8 tempted me, but I can't see how it would make life better compared to my wagon.
Another vote for e28 BMW and Saab 9-5 Aero.
boy there's some great ideas here! Although now i feel like i have even more options and no closer to a solution 
I dig the alphas and peugeots (505 looks awesome), but fear for the availability/cost of parts, so i think they will be probably not real contenders.
With regards to car seats fitting. Child 1 is at the age to move towards forward facing, so the seat can be behind the drivers seat, and child 2 will be rear-facing behind the passenger seat. The car will never have someone in the forward passenger seat, so i think it should work with anything. It works now in my RSX with the car seat rear-facing behind the passenger seat, any time all 4 of us go anywhere we take the minivan.
RE: the RX-8
I've got a kid in front facing and another in a infant carrier. I've found that the front facing is fine and the infant carrier works. If you have nobody in the front passenger seat, you can get a rear-facing non-infant seat in the back. Putting a kid into a rear-facing seat (non-infant) in the passenger side is easiest by going from the driver side. I wouldn't want to do 2 rear-facing seats in the RX-8, and it gets really old with an infant carrier and front-facing seat.
I'll put a plug in for the first gen (or 2nd gen) CTS 3.6L V6. Not a V but still quick and fun to drive and more room in the back seat than a G35 sedan and also available with 6MT. You can upgrade some bits pretty easy with CTS-V parts like sway bars and exhaust. And besides, a Caddy with a clutch pedal is just cool. I love driving my 06.
fvsa said:
I dig the alphas and peugeots (505 looks awesome), but fear for the availability/cost of parts, so i think they will be probably not real contenders.
Neither the 505 or Milano are particularly hard to get parts for. I daily drove a Milano for years, they are actually pretty reliable and not hard to work on, and parts availability is better than most 15 year old American cars. It's about $800 for a windshield, and similar for a clutch assembly because it's sold as a complete balanced unit with the flywheel. You can just replace the disk if needed though. Other than that parts are no worse than for an e30. The main bad things are that the headlights are awful to the point its scary to drive at night, there is no real space under the car for the exhaust so it kinda hangs down below everything else and often hits stuff, and the hvac system is not very well designed or reliable. I haven't owned a 505, but I do know that they are not really for anyone over 6 feet tall unless you get a non sunroof wagon.
330i ZHP. 90% an M3 in the sedan body. Fast, fun, cheap, and easy to work on.
I have put rear facing seats in the back of a 9-5 , its not bad. A friend of mine has had rear facing seat in the back of a first and second gen CTS V and it sucks for the front passenger.
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