91RSImpulse wrote:
Have you thought about a 2009 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V ???? it seems to be the forgotten car of the sport compact relm... 2.5L, 200hp, 180ft lbs. torque, 6-speed, 4-door...
My wife is not a car person and she cannot drive a manual, this is the only car that we have looked at that she loved, it had way more room than anything else that we test drove, and we test drove a lot of cars... MSRP is around $21k, but I usually find them for about $19k out the door...
Huh, didn't see that one during our search and now, well, it's too late now.
I am the new co-owner of a 2010 Mazda 3s GT in Celestial Blue. We purchased our car Saturday the 19th. We, of course, bought the car from Jeff at Hiley Mazda in Arlington TX and were very happy with everything they did for us. The owner of the dealership actually contacted me a while back and the price we got for the car was spectacular. We were very well taken care of.
Anyway, I'm still getting used to the car's handling and controls. The steering is quite a bit more responsive than our old 99 Camry and way more precise than my old 73 mustang (I just kinda wiggle the wheel in the stang back and forth to go straight). We got our car with just about every option available. Really I think the only things we are missing are the ipod connector and the auto dim review mirror.
I keep reaching for the keys in the ignition and then feel dumb when I remember it's insde the remote in my pocket. My Wife, Carlene, really loves that. All she has to do is have the key then she can just walk up to the car and click the button on the door, get in, push start, and drive away without having to fumble in her purse. Pretty neat how it works. Course I'm sure it will suck if we lose one of those keys though.
Yes, I'm not going to lie, I am still wishing we got the Speed and that 263 HP. Course then I'd have to wrestle with all that HP and 280lb of torque being put down only through the front wheels. I would have loved it.
It's a whole lot easier to keep the same woman and just drive my 73 mustang when I need more power BTW.
There are mods for the engine that I could use to get more HP out of the little 2.5L. Course Carlene might beat me in the face if I start modifying the engine and violate the warranty. Maybe after she does a couple SCCA races she'll change her mind about keeping it stock. That brings me to a couple questions...
Are there any issues with autocrossing and Mazda voiding warranties?
How much would an extra set of wheel cost? (figure we should have a set to swap over for driving crazy)
Thanks for all the suggestions and your overall patience with me while I scrounged for every scrap of information on which practical 4-door family car we should buy.
I'll get some pictures posted as soon.