Time for a new car

[HybridSquirrel]

Well technically its for the mrs....We need something that can be used daily, tracked frequently (5 or 6 times a season), which also means it has to have cheap-ish consumables (tires, brakes, ect), gas mileage doesn't matter too much, anything over 25 is sufficient enough, and most importantly it has to get her to the ski slopes in the winter when i'm not driving. The cheaper the better, we want to keep it under 20k since I just bought the STi last December

We were eyeing a used Mini Cooper S, new Focus (ST maybe), used Mazda Speed 3, or a Civic Si....should we be looking at anything else? We like mini's, especially if you take the seat out of the rear, but it is a little small for around here.

We sorta looked at a used Forester XT, but we really wouldn't use the extra space on the inside since we already have ski racks and I would probably end up taking whatever car she had to an AutoX or track day at some point this summer. We also looked at a used 300xi but all the ones we found had stupidly high mileage, more than i'd want to buy for the prices people are asking.


There aren't a whole lot of options are there?

tl;dr Need a cheap, sub-20k, DD/track/ski car

 

[ballmode]

trade my WRX for your STI? with cash on top from me?

 

[iamwiz82]

The new JCW GP will do the 'ring in 8min 19sec, weeeee 😀

 

[thedarkwolf]

miata + snow tires = perfect 🙂
They actually aren't bad in the snow

 

[brainhulk]

my vote goes to the civic si.

fwd for snow
no turbo for less headache at the track
cheap

 

[hans007]

the new impreza?

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Mazdaspeed 3.

 

[mmntech]

Civic or Mazda. I was actually quite unimpressed with Focus. It looks new but drives just like the last gen. Not necessarily a bad thing but it handled a lot heavier and more sluggish than I expected.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

my vote goes to the civic si.

fwd for snow
no turbo for less headache at the track
cheap

We're leaning that way, its really easy to drive too. we test drove a few. and its tame enough around town that she won't get overwhelmed with the power

miata + snow tires = perfect 🙂
They actually aren't bad in the snow

I can't put skis on it.

trade my WRX for your STI? with cash on top from me?

I'm keeping the STI for now. We are just going to replace her car first since it decided to blow a head gasket and I don't feel like fixing it. I'll let you know though lol

 

[thedarkwolf]

We're leaning that way, its really easy to drive too. we test drove a few. and its tame enough around town that she won't get overwhelmed with the power


(miata)
I can't put skis on it.

Sure you can. There are hitch mount ski racks. If you google miata ski rack you will see lots of creative options 🙂.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Sure you can. There are hitch mount ski racks. If you google miata ski rack you will see lots of creative options 🙂.

skis for 4 people 😉

 

[xSkyDrAx]

+1 for the speed3

If you're leaning towards the Si definitely take a look at the speed3 before choosing.

Depending where you live the Speed3 can probably be had for less (more easily) than the Si because of branding.

The suspension is a bit stiffer on the Speed3 than the Si and despite the power it's not much of a handful. For city driving I would say it's similar to the Si. The power comes on smoothly and there's plenty of torque on the low end.

Also there's noticeably less body roll in the speed3 than the Si but just make sure to test drive both.

 

[PricklyPete]

GTI

 

[Zivic]

focus ST all the way.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

+1 for the speed3

If you're leaning towards the Si definitely take a look at the speed3 before choosing.

Depending where you live the Speed3 can probably be had for less (more easily) than the Si because of branding.

The suspension is a bit stiffer on the Speed3 than the Si and despite the power it's not much of a handful. For city driving I would say it's similar to the Si. The power comes on smoothly and there's plenty of torque on the low end.

Also there's noticeably less body roll in the speed3 than the Si but just make sure to test drive both.

We didn't like the speed3, at least she didn't. The SI is far easier for her to drive around town since you don't have to worry about accidently hitting boost (yes, accidently). It also felt over powered for a fwd car for me, and she hated torque steer in it. SI's are way cheaper than MS3's here too, because everyone is on the MS3 band wagon now days (same goes for WRX's)

We found an 08 Si Sedan with 50k miles for less than 15k. A similar MS3 was 2k more. Although now we might just get her an 07 Civic DX Sedan since its dirt cheap.

 

[jlee]

You can autocross a Forester..you just might want to put WRX suspension in it first. 😛

 

[xSkyDrAx]

We didn't like the speed3, at least she didn't. The SI is far easier for her to drive around town since you don't have to worry about accidently hitting boost (yes, accidently). It also felt over powered for a fwd car for me, and she hated torque steer in it. SI's are way cheaper than MS3's here too, because everyone is on the MS3 band wagon now days (same goes for WRX's)

We found an 08 Si Sedan with 50k miles for less than 15k. A similar MS3 was 2k more. Although now we might just get her an 07 Civic DX Sedan since its dirt cheap.

Ah yea, in Cali the demand for Honda's are absurd and people rarely get good prices on them.

Also I thought you were talking about the 2012 Si's since they bumped up the torque this year. Still a good deal less than the MS3 but it's still a nice jump for the Civic (170 ft/lbs).

 

[HybridSquirrel]

You can autocross a Forester..you just might want to put WRX suspension in it first. 😛

=D i've been pushing for a fozzy xt but she hates them with a passion.

Ah yea, in Cali the demand for Honda's are absurd and people rarely get good prices on them.

Also I thought you were talking about the 2012 Si's since they bumped up the torque this year. Still a good deal less than the MS3 but it's still a nice jump for the Civic (170 ft/lbs).

I should've made the title a newused car 🙂

 

[thedarkwolf]

skis for 4 people 😉

Yes 6 actually for the hitch racks. I'm sure the roof racks people have rigged up can hold 4 too but being a 2 seater none of the pics had more than 2.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

we got a used civic DX in automatic...booo. couldn't talk her into anything with some zip.

 

[manimal]

we got a used civic DX in automatic...booo. couldn't talk her into anything with some zip.

When mommas happy everyone is happy right?

I gave up trying to understand wemon. My wife made me get the g35 for her over the 335i I wanted at the time and then says she prefers the mini van and never drove it.

 

[Insomniator]

You're going to track an automatic civic DX? The budget was under 20k, what did this cost you 5k?

 

[HybridSquirrel]

You're going to track an automatic civic DX? The budget was under 20k, what did this cost you 5k?

No. If you read my post, I couldn't talk her into getting a better car for the track because we just got my STI in December and "we don't need two track cars"

 

[foghorn67]

Civic or Mazda. I was actually quite unimpressed with Focus. It looks new but drives just like the last gen. Not necessarily a bad thing but it handled a lot heavier and more sluggish than I expected.

Lolwut?

Anyway, back on topic.
The Cooper. Only because the ST isn't out yet, and you don't like the Mazdaspeed 3.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Lolwut?

Anyway, back on topic.
The Cooper. Only because the ST isn't out yet, and you don't like the Mazdaspeed 3.

Or we bought a Civic DX Sedan because she's an old lady....