Need advise to choose a daily driver
 

I am in the market for a 4-door daily driver that I can put the infant car seat at the back (Wife is very against putting the baby in the front and I am NOT selling my Z). It needs to be a manual tran, somewhat reliable, fun to drive and below $20K. Currently, the VW MK6/MK7 GTI, 2nd gen Mazdaspeed3 and the Ford Focus ST come to my mind. I went to forums for those cars for research but they are pretty bias.

I would like to hear experience and opinion from the Z people.

Thanks.

civic si?

I used to have a MKV GTI and it was an awesome car. It put down some respectable power with a tune and a downpipe. (~280hp crank)

:rofl2:

honda Fit.. u might get lucky and find a japan built one in the 2016 model line.
dont get the previous gen Fit's right now due to airbag recalls.

also check out the versa note hatch. those are cheap and come in MT.. good mpg, etc pretty decent for the price.

I did some research on the Civic Si. The used car price is so high that the performance/$ ratio doesn't work out. Any Si owner here can chime in?

Fit and Versa are not sporty enough.

Have you thought about a Juke Nismo? My wife gets like 33mpg in hers and it's pretty fun to drive. It has potential with a tune as well...

lol... then save up and get a new STI then.

Even the plain Juke has options with a tune... :stirthepot:

Do you want to get cut? Cause that's how you get cut.

he wants something that doesn't look like a clown car. Like a Versa Note.

I own one. 2013 model. Absolute POS. Don't buy one. Nuff said. Mention it again and i'll cut you like Mishy. That's how badly they suck. Take the Z, and make it an upside down bathtub that gets stuck on dry roads and stalls out when T/C kicks on.

Seriously, a four door car that's 'sporty'? :icon14:


I wouldn't think there would be many FDSC's out there with a manual trans, by the time you get to four doors, it's no longer a 'sporty' car, it's family transportation, and they come with ATs. :stirthepot:

Sounds to me like your priorities are a little skewed; you have a sports car, now get something to haul the family in. Who cares if it's 'sporty', if your requirements are under 20k and four doors, your pool is limited.


TBH, a G35 or G37 matches your 'criteria', but they are hard to find with MT. To get under the $20k, you are probably looking at a 2010 or earlier G. :twocents:

I'd go for a WRX if I were in the same boat.

You could get a G37 Sedan and it can get the Z's hand-me-down mods. =)

Mazda 3 are nice. My wife has the grand touring but the sport model is like 17 k. used probably cheaper than that.

hang on a second dere... problem in ur case is not the car, it's da driver.. :icon17:

well u can add like this huge wing on the back and... oh wait.. :ugh:

My next car will be a boat. It'll handle better on the roads compared to my Si

:rofl2:

mk6 or mk7 gti/gli is a good choice. The mk7 gti with a tune will make 300hp at the crank, and plenty of space for hauling crap around.

Happy wife equals happy life. One sports car is pretty good (I.e. your current z) pushing for a second one is maybe over the top. Getting something that the wife likes might just keep things smooth. Just a thought.

Wife will be happy as long as it has 4 doors. She even suggested the Subaru WRX (she thinks it is safer to have AWD). I am the one who don't want to spend too much.

What bout a Nissan Xterra manual. I have one and I love it.
Great for the winter and of road, fun to drive.

juke or juke nismo!

I still want one of those , but got a 2000 s10 to carry around car parts and cart my *** to work and back.

I really like my 3 sport. Cheap, good on gas and it handles fairly well, especially on the crap tires it comes with. No urge to mod, since it's slow as balls and another 15-20 hp wouldn't change that.

Subaru Legacy GT?

Subaru Legacy GT Spec.B

Ford pinto and cheese :yum:

I've been keeping my eyes open for a lightly used WRX, but they are hard to come by! And the ones I do find (a couple years old with 30-40k+ miles) are listed for just a couple grand less than new!

You don't want a used turbo Subaru after 2005 or so. The factory tune is bad and cracks ringlands unless you tune it.

i'd easily go with a WRX

Mitsu lancer ralliart!!! Uhhh......

I had an 08 Legacy GT spec B. It was an extremely fun car, especially in Buffalo winters. I have yet to drive a car in snow I feel more planted/stable/safer in than that car. Wrx performance but at a fraction of the insurance cost. Put over 50,000 miles (40k of those on a stage 2 tune) on it in the two and a half years I had it and not one problem. Sold it with just under 100k miles on it. Awesome in the snow here in Buffalo (I woke up one morning to 13" of snow and it had no problem getting out of the driveway. I'll try to find the picture I took because it really was amazing) Plus with the Cobb stage 2 ots tune it was getting 27mpg with pretty good power. Can't say enough good things about that car.

I sold it only because I figured if I had a daily, I wanted something more relaxing (auto), wanted full leather (having a dog gets to be a pain with alcantara), was going to have to spend some decent money on it (timing belt and turbo) and more importantly, mod bug hit that car hard. I'm one that if I'm replacing an OEM part, I'm going to upgrade it. If I'm changing out the turbo, might was well put in a 16g turbo. But that then requires more fuel. More power requires a better clutch...You get my drift;) My g35x I replaced it with I don't touch whereas the Legacy I was always throwing money into modding it. And that was a problem when I already had a weekend car I loved to modify.

So with that, I would look into a Legacy GT. If you can find a Spec B under 20 which you should be able to, go for it. But the 5 speed in the GT would be better for DD because of the gearing/less shifting.

I'd say WRX but used ones are severely overpriced and for $20k you're not going to find a good one. Plus "sporty" isn't really their thing... fast, yes. But those plastic tubs will never be true sports cars.:stirthepot:

It sounds like what you really want is "fun" but not necessarily "sporty." If you already have a Z why not go a different direction for a daily driver? I gotta say my lifted/modded Grand Cherokee is (unexpectedly) tons of fun on mountain trails and will do things no Z could ever dream of. Plus I can actually drive it in 6" of snow and not worry about becoming a new hood ornament for a Peterbuilt.

My father drives a Focus ST, and says it's the easiest, fun car to drive. FWD, but it's almost as quick as a Z, much cargo and seat room too. If price is much of a worry, i'd suggest waiting for the Focus RS, which is an AWD turbo making 350 hp :P

Get a used > 2010 WRX. You have 4 doors, decent daily performance and AWD. Definitely less than 40k miles, not for under $20 but maybe $23k

My ideal daily would be a 2006-2012 Civic SI or an Acura TSX. Manual, peppy, four door, sunroof.

Are you looking used or new?

My good friend just got an MK7 golf R DSG 4door. Traded his MK6 gti coupe 6mt. Roomy cars and definitely fun to drive. As a daily of recommend auto since you still have the Z. But that's just my opinion. Good luck! Congrats on the new baby, I recently had one as well. Still have the Z but we'll see it's fate after this season

CPO Ford Fusion is a good option too. I have had a lot of different business rentals and as far as the dd 4dr sedans go, it is my favorite and roomy enough for a kid and all the kid crap that goes with it. Looks are decent too.

You are right, "fun" is a better word to describe what I want. I am currently looking for those slightly used or certified used. After being a dad, I want to have more modern safety features around my baby (btw, few years ago, I was still enjoying my 1989 MR2 Supercharged with barely working seatbelts and no airbags. A baby can really change someone's life). Also, as you said, WRXs are too pricey. Someone also mentioned about the Juke. Is that a SUV?

can't speak about the latest model Si, but haven't really heard anything good. i had an 07 Si coupe and, granted it's almost 10 years old, it was a decent car. it wasn't fast, it wasn't a POS. it was a good starter car (1st car I bought straight out of college).

the new Si and TSX share the same engine (someone correct me if im wrong). my only complaint with my 07 Si is rev-hang.