Depending on your travel needs (do you take long road trips?), you might consider the Tesla Model S. I’ve preordered one. It’s base price is quite a bit higher, but Tesla’s contention is lifetime costs bring it on par with things like the Lexus given costs (or lack thereof) of fuel/oil/spark plugs/exhaust/timing belts/etc.
We’re loving our Renault (Clio station wagon) and unless I’m promoted into BMW 3-series range, we’re upgrading to a slightly bigger Renault once the lease is up.
… although the new Honda Fit hybrid looks mighty nice, but with our crazy taxes that’ll probably cost as much as a BMW… and it doesn’t look that great.
This is one of the most wide-open recommendation requests we ever had! A couple of thoughts:
I’m also a Mazda fanboy, owning a Mazda 3. The 3 is only 4 cylinders but it’s a light car so the 3s is a ton of fun to drive. You should test drive the 3s Sport just for shits and giggles. Handling is great and styling is better than anything in the price-range but I do feel like the trim is a bit chintsy, at least on the baseline model which I drive.
At the other end of the spectrum, what makes you rule out Cadillacs? They are pretty amazing these days. Are you objecting to their old image or their new image?
Regarding manual vs automatic, I always go manual just because I prefer it and don’t live in a city but isn’t it the case that most automatics these days are way smarter and more responsive than most of the human operators of manual tranmissions?
The proper recommendation is the Mazdaspeed 3, although the interior trim on all of the 3s is crap.
Smarts don’t matter. As long as that auto has a torque converter instead of a clutch it’s always going to feel sloppy and loose to someone used to a manual transmission.
There is a new and expensive kind of transmission just making it’s way into higher end cars. It’s often billed as a computer controlled “automatic” transmissions but it’s really a dual-clutch transmission. These are supposed to combine all of the advantages of an automatic with all the advantages of a manual. I’ve never driven a car equipped with one so I couldn’t say but the concept excites me.
Yeah, I didn’t even realize no power locks until after I bought it. My one major gripe with the car, and a weird situation considering it has power windows.
God, I want the new S60. Too bad I bought an S40 three years ago. Still, love my S40. I’d recommend those. Volvo is phasing out the AWD model on the S40s this year or next, too. I recommend AWD; the Swedes know how to drive in the snow.
Shift6 - how about Golf GTi with DSG? (their term for dual clutch)
And to be a complete nerd, I6>V6. BMW’s have I6’s, the Lexus IS moved from I6 in the IS200 to a V6 in the IS250. Boo.
Ford did make a V4 back in the 60’s I think.
Specifically, if anyone cares, the I6 has a natural advantage over the V6 because it is one of the few common engine configurations which is inherently balanced – it needs no additional components to eliminate engine vibration. Other engine types need balance shafts, excessively large flywheels, or just “dealing with it” to counter the natural vibration they have under operation.
This allows the I6 to be lighter, cheaper to make, and capable of operating at higher speed then a V6. The V6’s primary advantage is in its compactness, which matters when you’re trying to cram it into a front wheel drive car, but BMW’s platform is still centered around God’s Own Drivetrain, which has plenty of room for the I6.
(Off the top of my head, the only other inherently balanced engine layout in common production usage is Subaru’s flat four)
What he said. V12’s are obviously balanced, as just two I6’s stuck together. But not common…
Porsche also use boxer engines, a flat 6, and Subaru’s 6 cyl is also flat/ aka boxer.
Flat engines are actually better balanced than inline engines, it’s just a royal pain in the ass to design a car around such a wide and low engine configuration. This is why Porsche and Subaru are the only companies that use boxer engines.
I’m a recent Mazda fanboy as well. I bought a used Mazdaspeed 3 from an old friend after he made me an awesome offer. That car is so fun to drive it should be illegal. Seriously. Like a 16 year old being an idiot, I smoked tires in four gears the other day just screwing around. I probably could have done more, but I was way past the speed limit and way too close to places where cops hang out.
So. Fun. To. Drive.
Zoom. Zoom.
Mine likes to wheel hop at WOT in third, so watch out for that.
Ease off the throttle then! :-) Or, look into getting stiffer motor mount inserts. What’s probably happening is that you’re getting a lot of engine torque–torque steer seems to be a common Speed 3 complaint–when the turbo kicks in. That torque twists the engine, compressing the rubber engine mounts on one side of your car, which then rebound back like a spring.
I think that weight transfer may be unloading that side of your car and causing a hop.
Yeah, the wheel hop is very common and is attributed to a crappy rear mount (and my crappy tires). Ultimately, it’s not really worth the time and money for me to put an aftermarket mount on it, especially considering that it’s easily avoidable.
As for the torque steer, I really think it’s overblown. There is a good amount of it, but not nearly what some people make it out to be.
I highly recommend that any Speed 3 owners consider putting a new intake in the car. They’re good for a sizeable bump in hp and torque, are simple to install yourself, and allow you to hear the turbo and BOV do their thing. The only real downside is that you would likely have to put the stock airbox back on if you need to take it in for any warranty work.
I want to get an engine mount insert for my GTI to handle some of the wheel hop under load but really… I’m lazy. Plus I’ve heard way too many horror stories of engine vibration shaking all your hair off afterwards.
Ford Mustang v6 '11, I like it
Will do. I think I mentioned to you that I installed that GROM Audio mod, quite nice if you use an iPod or iPhone.
As for the intake, I still have to look at that, but it certainly sounds cool. I’m just amazed at the power of the car overall.
Beautiful car, and fun too, though it feels a little loose for my tastes. What color? Convertible?