What enthusiast car - Tall guy addition

I am stating to seriously think about getting something new to use for my daily driving. I am a little over 6 foot 3 inches tall (190 cm for the metrically inclined). After playing with 90's vintage Civics and Miatas for years, I have decided I want something where I don't have change seats or modify the interior to fit.

My one requirement is a manual transmission. My preferences are:
- Rear wheel drive
- An engine with some torque
- Handling good enough to be fun on an autox course or twisty roads
- Decent aftermarket support
- An off switch for electronic nannies(for recent vintage vehicles)
- I decent number of independent service places
- Gas mileage in the 20's to mid 30's.

The budget all in with taxes, fees and deferred maintenance, would be $18K.

My leading contender at this point is an E46 BMW 3 series.

I tried sitting in 986 and 987 Boxters and Caymans. My knees hit the steering wheel and head is high enough I have slouch down to really see through the windows. Those are out.

What are your suggestions?

(Edit: I took four doors off the list)

RWD CTS-V, M5, 540I 6-Speed, E46, 335i

AWD S4, WRX / STI , EVO

WRX / STi

I'm 6'4" and fit just fine.

As long as you're not holding out for the letter M, shouldn't be too much trouble finding an E46.
(can't say if you'll fit in one, I haven't found one to try out yet)
I'm currently in a very similar boat, though I'm only looking for two doors and have budgeted 20.
(6'3'' all torso, it's helpful usually, here... it sucks)

The Japanese Cayman maybe (...FR-S/BRZ - because the Cayman was the benchmark vehicle Toyota used for them) Enough room for my 6'2" frame with 34" inseam. And full engine torque level at ~2.8k rpms...

I will say though that for all the raving about the seats in the car I found them very lacking and actually painful to drive on (just like any other production car). A Recaro fixed the pain issue the stock seats were causing...

If you'd consider AWD, how about a Volvo S60R or V70R?

AWD is something I will consider. I hadn't even thought of Volvo.

Vracer111 wrote: The Japanese Cayman maybe (...FR-S/BRZ - because the Cayman was the benchmark vehicle Toyota used for them) Enough room for my 6'2" frame with 34" inseam. And full engine torque level at ~2.8k rpms... I will say though that for all the raving about the seats in the car I found them very lacking and actually painful to drive on (just like any other production car). A Recaro fixed the pain issue the stock seats were causing...

I am 6'4" and we have had this exact thread before for me.

I have a 34" inseam and the Frisbee twins are out. Look for cars without sunroofs, those help alot.

honestly a Porsche 911 works really well. I fit better in a Boxster than I do a Cayman. like you the Cayman and I had ergonomic issues. Dang Germans.

CTS-V, Mustang, BMWs you already listed. Audi TT surprisingly. Corvette, and GTO.

I know you want RWD and 2 doors but the Focus ST and the WRX also fit the dynamic qualifications, if not the structural.

Good luck

EDIT: Why not hold out for the new Type R? or find you a Polstar Volvo like you mentioned.

There is a dealer up the street that tends to keep a Polstar on the lot and that thing is NICE!

S52 M coupe

Type Q wrote: AWD is something I will consider. I hadn't even thought of Volvo.

300 hp, 295 torques...

BMW 3 series comes to mind - I'm close to your height and have no trouble fitting in them.

Alternate possibilities, if you don't have a back seat as an unwritten requirement, would be a Corvette (C4 or C5), or a second generation MR2. The second generation MR2 is the only car I've ever been able to put the seat back so far I could barely touch the pedals.

E92 328i or 335i would fit perfectly for you, just be sure to get the M package otherwise it's kinda sloppy.

There is also the 128i/135i but Idk how you would fit in one.

Maybe RX8?

In reply to Flight Service:

I know the topics has been covered before. Be don't we all get at least one personal "what car thread?

It sounds like the Frisbee seats are great some and not for others. YMMV.

Regarding Porsches, I will check out 911's in my price range. Thanks for the rest of the suggestions. There definitely are few on the thread I didn't think of.

In reply to Type Q:

Oh no, don't misunderstand. I was mentioning it as go and look there may be more suggestions there for you. Sorry for the misleading statement. I actually love these what car threads.

I talked to a guy walking home the other day, an inch shorter than me, said he barely fit in his BRz and he was sorry he bought it. A guy I work with said the same thing. (BRZ was a suggestion in my thread too) I went and sat in one again for the third time and it was cramped. No way I could put on a helmet and pass the stick test. I know alot of it has to do with how you sit. IF you sit up, no chance. If you recline alot, it is a maybe. I am in between.

There is a 2006 911 I went and sat in two weeks ago. Felt good. I fit and it had a sunroof. FWIW.

Re: the E46 3-series, I'm 6'2". In my 330ci, my head was touching the ceiling with a helmet on, and I had to resort to some creative seat angles to run HPDEs. Even without a helmet, I always felt like my forehead would slam into the A-pillar if I hit the brakes hard enough. Mine was a sunroof car, which takes away a few inches, but as far as I can tell there were no non-sunroof E46 coupes sold in the U.S.

The sedans have a taller windshield angle and perhaps slightly more headroom, and are more commonly available without a sunroof, so I'd plan on going that way if you want an E46.

So I'm 6' 1/2" but I'm all legs and arms with a 35" inseam. If I was proportional, I'd be 6'4 or 6'5"

I have to say that the FRS seats are fine if you are narrow. I'm broad as well and they were the worse things I sat in all year. Leg Room was fine though.

By far the most comfortable car I sat in recently was the 2006 911 with the I think they are called Sport Plus 14 way adjustable seats. Pure heaven from a seating prospective. If it wasn't 42K I would have totally owned that. The Cayman I drove just lacked about an inch of legroom to make me comfy. I felt wedged in.

Most BMW's for me just don't fit right. Either the seat is too short in the thighs or the shoulder wings just didn't fit me right. The last one to fit me well was the E36 M3 Vadar seats.

My G is decently comfortable but I wouldn't call it a sports car. It's more of a GT sedan.

I'll be honest, I was surprised how well the Mustang recaros fit me. I really enjoyed driving that for a week.

SN95 with a V8 and the Maximum Motorsports catalog.

I'm 6'6", 36" inseam, 38" sleeve & fit comfortably in a 128i/135i provided they don't have a sunroof. I haven't tried it with a helmet, but the room above my head suggests it will be fine. They're on my short list of next vehicles to own. There's definitely a good aftermarket & the 128i can be made nationally competitive in the SCCA's STX class. Clean unmolested ones can definitely be had for your budget.

Pretty much anything GM made with a LSx V8 and a 6 speed. C5-6 Corvette fits your description, or a CTS-V, GTO, G8. They all get shockingly good gas mileage if you keep your foot out of it, some of those T56 gearboxes have a 0.5:1 6th.

You got options

In reply to Flight Service:

There are not shortage of used Porsches or BMW's in my area. Everytime a significant tech company does an IPO or gets bought, the dealers have a very good year. I am sure I will see 918 driving around our area soon.

Turbo Miata.

No, really. Quit laughing. It meets all your criteria. I'm taller than you and the car fits me better than my RX-7 (which I've spent about 100k miles in, and about 100k in the previous one, and about 55k in the one before that...) AND better than my Volvo.

I do NOT fit nicely in E46-anything. No headroom.

In reply to Knurled:

He did specifically say no convertibles. Although I fit in a NA with the foam-ectomy (he said no mods to fit) this is a great answer.

I miss my Miata

924S/944/968. I know plenty of tall folks drive the heck out of them and there are tons of parts available to improve/repair them, but they are pretty fun out of the box.

How about a C5/C6 Corvette or a Viper?

Flight Service wrote: In reply to Knurled: He did specifically say no convertibles.

Bolt a hardtop down. Done.

The hardtop does actually add a ton of headroom relative to the soft top. You'll have to ask EvanB if a foamectomy or other "tall guy mods" were done.