Carson wrote: Toyota Cressida with a 5 speed and a turbo. Well under $4k for a N/A automatic with plenty of money left over for Supra bolt on bits. Awesome sleeper.
THIS.
You can easily find cars with the 7mge and 5speed swap already done in your price range.
Added bonus is that they WERE available as wagons. Mmmmmmm... tasty.
A lot of good suggestions here. Having lived with a e36 4-door for a while, it is pretty hard to beat as a compromise between sporty and practical. Plus they are pretty common and dirt cheap these days. RWD Volvo turbos are all 20+ years old, which isn't the end of the world, but older cars tend to get fussy as daily drivers. Of the two, I prefer the BMW.
Sofa King wrote: I hate making compromises in my vehicles! A sporty car is never really a "sports car", and a sport wagon isn't a roomy family hauler. If you want performance and room for kids...keep the MR2 and use the $2k to buy a beater minivan! (or turbo Volvo or subie or P71). If you want the best of both worlds, have one of each!
I tend to agree with you. But I also have a Nissan Frontier for a DD, and it doesn't have a back seat either. Ideally I would ditch that, but everybody that owns property needs a truck. Double cab trucks are still big bucks (by my vehicle budget) and aren't fun....a horrible combination.
So then I end up in the scenario where I need 4 cars for two people.
A Legacy wagon with a 5spd would be nice, but there aren't a lot of them and people don't turn loose of them until they're beat. Beat wouldn't be horrible, as the long term plan would be to swap an EJ20/25, but it would need to be sound enough to go for a while as-is, or cheap enough to buy it and let it sit for a while.
Damn...this could be a lot easier with free money. :)
Only 4 cars? With 2 people? How can you get by with only 4 cars and 2 people?
Dr. Hess wrote: Only 4 cars? With 2 people? How can you get by with only 4 cars and 2 people?
Word.
I'll sell you my 323 GTX.
It's a 2 door, so its a little tight getting in and out of the back seat, but the sleeper quotient is VERY high!
Ooo- I've also got a Dodge Spirit RT that I'd sell.
Now THAT's a sleeper- WITH 4 doors!
Nobody said my favorite choice in this category- A 1st gen Subaru Forester.
Boxy hatch, 4 doors, sporty handling, right price range, and all the STI tidbits will bolt up. 
Unfortunately, I can't sell you one of those, because I don't have one. Come to think of it if I did have one, I couldn't sell it to you either, because I'd keep it! 
In reply to SVreX:
I just sent you an email. /off topic.
back to normally scheduled programming.
The answer is always
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POLARA!!!
Carson wrote: In reply to SVreX: I just sent you an email. /off topic. back to normally scheduled programming.
Emailed you back!
540i sport would the I would look at (I have already looked at them). the problem is the 4k.
Dr. Hess wrote: Only 4 cars? With 2 people? How can you get by with only 4 cars and 2 people?
You should always maintain at least a 5:1 car to driver ratio.
Tyler H wrote: Requirements: <=$4500 (or partial trade for the MR2) Can accept two child seats safely. Interesting enough to replace my 'fun' car (doesn't have to be fast, but can't be merely 'pedestrian.') Coupes with 'real' back seats aren't out of the question.
Here is another choice that actually can be found within your price range with about 100k miles.
Easily accepts kid seats
Interesting, unusual but reliable and actually quite fast.
Unfortunately only automatic but RWD with torque to make up for it.
Infiniti Q45
250hp, $4200, 2 car seats AND they can't get out of the back seat!
Turbo Brick - they go, they handle, they look great. I toasted a Mustang GT yesterday at the 1/8th mile drags with my 940 wagon. Way safer than anything else from that era too. Tons of backseat room, I have only one carseat, but there is room for fat people on either side. Two kids can go in the fold up rear facing seat as well. Awesome car.
E34 540 touring
tuna55 wrote: Turbo Brick - they go, they handle, they look great. I toasted a Mustang GT yesterday at the 1/8th mile drags with my 940 wagon. Way safer than anything else from that era too. Tons of backseat room, I have only one carseat, but there is room for fat people on either side. Two kids can go in the fold up rear facing seat as well. Awesome car.
+ELEVENTYBILLION!
Thats my old car hes talking about btw. Missed it enough that I bought a ratty 745t this week for $500.
$2000-$3000 gets you either a near showroom stocker or a nice driver with some mods already done and still cash in the budget to make it your own.Turbo Bricks FTW!
I just scored what you're looking for - Saturn SW2 5-speed for $400. No, I didn't forget a zero - four hundred bucks. That leaves a lot of money in your budget for suspension and forced induction mods... 
92-95 Taurus SHO?
Will wrote: 92-95 Taurus SHO?
Would need a Taurus wagon for the swap, but would be cool. Could possibly get both vehicles for under 2k.
keep your MR2 or you'll regret it for years. I still miss my Miata. Sold it when the kiddie came and got a 318is, never really worked out the way i wanted and now I have the BMW under cover and never get to drive it while I drive my two mazda hatches around. I could have just kept my nice miata under cover and waited it out.
This is my 11th MR2 and certainly won't be the last. 
I'm trying to make it to 13.
Your budget is approaching early WRX wagon price.
This is what I am looking at
http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/1442543766.html
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