Smallish stick shift well driving car (not fast)

[Throckmorton]

2015 Mustang V6 or turbo 4

 

[Insomniator]

Mini

 

[desura]

Fiat 500.

I drove one recently at a dealer. Pretty decent.

Also the dealer offered a fairly good deal on last year's model stick shift. I'm talking like a brand new car for $13k.

 

[Wreckem]

2015 Golf GTD - 180 hp, 280 lb/ft torque, pocket the gas money.

Just tossing it out as an alternate suggestion - and it depends on VW actually getting them here in time for the 2015 model year. It's coming eventually.

I like most of the suggestions though - especially the toyoburu.

The US won't see the GTD until 2016, it's a combination of having to redesign the gtd to maintain having IRS while having a uera tank. The 2015 TDI in the US has a torsion beam rear. The other reason is the VW plant in Mexico is not capable of producing the upgraded diesel engine yet and vw claims the expense would make the gtd to pricey. I find this funny because the Jeep Renegades larger engine is made in the US then shipped to Italy then the assembled jeep will be shipped by cargo ship back to the US. This all leads me to believe it's primarily because of the first issue.

You should easily be able to do a stage 1 ecu tune of the golf tdi and get similar hp and torque as the gtd. You'd get the performance just won't be able to get the performance package, dcc, and of course you wouldn't have a irs/finer tuned suspension.

As for the MKVIIs, the 2015 GTIs started hitting dealer lots today. Most are only getting two with the next shipment not until mid June.

Oh and reportedly the Golf R will be making it to dealers by years end while the Golf Sports Wagon will debut sometime in the first half of 2015. It's really unfortunate about the GTD being the last to make it to the states.

 

[_Rick_]

Well, I would have also said VW Sirocco, but you don't get those in the US, for whatever reason.
But even then, you'd probably only get the DSG-ones, because only the low end models come with manual.

 

[Railgun]

Mini JCW.