Need Help Picking my car

[watto]

Originally Posted by pfrocker

My dad hates the GTI, and doesn't want to pay the half, just because it's German and thinks it will break down.

HA! Has he ever owned a German car? They're bloody reliable! He must be confused with France.

[nomix]

Tbh, VW and its sister companies have had quite a lot of trouble with quality the later years, even tough it's steadily getting better.

[UMass]

1.HOnda-best bang for the buck, high resale.
2.VW-best driving exp. love the DSG, questionable reliablity
3. WRX-ugly, all wheel drive, turbo boxster engine.
4. Miata-chix car, but good driver's car

You can't loose whitchever car you choose.
Drive them all before you choose.

[MadCow809]

WRX, its the most powerful car out of all of them, and handles the best as well.. Actually.. the MX5 will prob out handle the WRX, but its down on power, so id still choose the WRX over the MX5 if i were you.

Also, modding a turbo'ed car is pretty easy, ECU, Exhaust system, bigger turbos.etc.. its far more easier than trying to squeeze power out of a N/A engine.

Drivetrain - sure, RWD is fun, but if you are aggressive enough, the WRX can do a much longer powerslide than the MX5, due to its power. and 4WD is extremely safe even in the wet.

The only good side of the MX5 is the fact that its a convertible, if thats what you are after.

Power : WRX > GTi > Honda > MX5

Handling : MX5 > WRX = GTi = Honda (All pretty much the same, slight safe understeer when turning in, with a strut bar and slight more aggression when you turn in, you can easily fix that)

Build Quality : Honda = GTi > MX5 > WRX

Interior : GTi > Honda > MX5 > WRX

Modding Potential : WRX > GTi > MX5 > Honda

Practicality : GTi = Honda > WRX(missing all the toys) > MX5(2 seater)

Its your call.

[avidvideo]

Originally Posted by nomix

Impreza. Easily tunable, plenty of mods, goes like stink, is practical and so on.

Oh, and AWD. I like AWD.

Add me to the "Get the Subaru" list!

[Cobol74]

Scooby Impreza - Viper has analysed it correctly. You just can't go wrong. Er I am a bit biased tho' I love 'em.

[Shawn]

I would go with the GTI (I'm actually thinking about it too), but as we found out in another thread, driving a Golf in San Francisco makes you gay.

The Civic looks bland and it's got like half the torques of the GTI... the WRX is kinda ugly and has a bad, bad interior. The Miata is, well, in a totally different category.

I love everything about the GTI... the back doesn't look as nice as the rest but it's fine. It seems like it's pretty well-built as well.

[Narcolepsy]

Yeah mad cow is really on it. But for me its the Civic.
I'm a huge Subaru fan - but on your budget I think the Civic is the way to go. I think the Subaru is better - but not 4k better. The Civic is just as practical, just as reliable, you'll spend less and you'll get most of it back at sale time.

Since this forum is pretty cosmopolitan the GTi is getting a really strong showing - but hatches depriciate like stones in the states (unlike the more coupe-like civic).

[m102486]

please get the subaru haha, its looks good. buy one now before the ugly imprezza goes on production(2008 model).

[Zuhaib]

Get a job to pay the down yourself and get a GTI.
I love RWD/AWD cars.. they are pretty much all i have driven (and all having more then 6 cylinders) so going to a FWD I4 Turbo was a big change for me. But man, the practicality of a hatchback is great. And its a fun in the bends, i am still breaking her in but she is mighty quick.
Also note, the 0-60 times are way too high as reported by VW. C&D says the DSG GTI will do that in 6sec flat. MT did not list a time for the 2 Door DSG, but for the 4 Door 6 speed they listed a time of 6.4sec.
Downside, since you are in SF, i dont know what you drive now but if your used to very comfy rides like i am, the GTI on 18in and summer tires are damn stiff. I am getting used to of it, but some people have complained (who cares, they are the ones getting a ride)

[pfrocker]

Originally Posted by Zuhaib

Get a job to pay the down yourself and get a GTI.
I love RWD/AWD cars.. they are pretty much all i have driven (and all having more then 6 cylinders) so going to a FWD I4 Turbo was a big change for me. But man, the practicality of a hatchback is great. And its a fun in the bends, i am still breaking her in but she is mighty quick.
Also note, the 0-60 times are way too high as reported by VW. C&D says the DSG GTI will do that in 6sec flat. MT did not list a time for the 2 Door DSG, but for the 4 Door 6 speed they listed a time of 6.4sec.
Downside, since you are in SF, i dont know what you drive now but if your used to very comfy rides like i am, the GTI on 18in and summer tires are damn stiff. I am getting used to of it, but some people have complained (who cares, they are the ones getting a ride)

I have a job, but I'm not rich. That's why I'm only asking my dad to pay the down payment. And dude C&D is bullshit, the acutal VW site and Top Gear magazine say 6.9 with the DSG.

And folks don't worry I don't actually live in San Francisco, I love 30 minutes away in a city called San Rafael, but since no one knows that I just SF. So no VW + gay combination.

HA! Has he ever owned a German car? They're bloody reliable! He must be confused with France.

The thing is my dad owned a 2nd generation VW Golf back in his days and hated the reliability. And now he doesn't believe that VW have improve their quality and reliability a lot more.

So far the miata and WRX are off my list. So top choices so far are the Honda and VW.

[Zuhaib]

Originally Posted by pfrocker

I have a job, but I'm not rich. That's why I'm only asking my dad to pay the down payment. And dude C&D is bullshit, the acutal VW site and Top Gear magazine say 6.9 with the DSG.

And folks don't worry I don't actually live in San Francisco, I love 30 minutes away in a city called San Rafael, but since no one knows that I just SF. So no VW + gay combination.

That would be both C&D and MT that i quoted. Yeah i know what VW site says, but i feel its on the conservative side. As for TopGear, i think they took VW word for it and did not run it on a 0-60. I have almost never seen them talk about running a car themselves for 0-60 or do there own Dyno (other then the Mustang piece). But that is what i love about TG, they talk about it like a normal person would.
As for being from San Rafael, if your from there just call it like it is man. I hate people who live in the OC and say they are from LA (at lest before the show OC came out) and the same goes for the SF vs SF Bay Area. Nothing wrong with being from the Bay Area, shit the whole Bay Area is a great place to live in and i would love to live somewhere like Los Gatos.
And the whole vw + SF = gay, man some people are little bit too worried about there manhood. I was joking when i posted a pic of my Harley up there, but i guess each to there own.

[pfrocker]

well originally I had San Rafael, and no one knew where that was. So I just SF.

I do commute to SF everyday though.

[unbreakable]

My heart says honda, but my mind and body screams Suby!! get the WRX. bang for your buck.. look much better in person than in pictures... Not a lot of people have them too when comparing it to an SI

If that SI were a Type R instead, then that would be a different story

[unbreakable]

Just to add... you might want to buy the WRX ASAP before they change it to look like this!!

[Shawn]

That design is so, so wrong. Why is the front so high?

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by pfrocker

And dude C&D is bullshit, the acutal VW site and Top Gear magazine say 6.9 with the DSG.

a stock GTI will never get a 0-100kph in 6sec.. heck, my car doesnt even do that, and i eat GTIs for breakfast everyday (lots of GTIs down in Durban). However, with a chip and a exhaust, its a totally different story though, those GTI can be mighty fast after some simple mods, since its a turbo'ed car, you dont have to spend lots of money on mods. Having said that, a WRX will be much easier to mod than a GTI.

[nomix]

He did say 6.9. And as long as the road is dry, you get the revs right, and you have the DSG in 'auto', you will do 0-60 in a very good time indeed, since the you gear very quickly, and since you don't have to react.

[MadCow809]

Originally Posted by nomix

He did say 6.9. And as long as the road is dry, you get the revs right, and you have the DSG in 'auto', you will do 0-60 in a very good time indeed, since the you gear very quickly, and since you don't have to react.

i know, that 6.0sec claim wasnt from him. i was merely backing up pfrocker's statement about the DSG box.

And btw, from what ive raced so far, it seems like the manual version GTI is slightly faster than the DSG version. Dont know why, i have no idea as well. Theoratically, the DSG should change gear faster than most avg driver, but being an auto box, launching the GTI off the line wont be as versatile as the manual version. Since drivers can adapt the clutch and throttle input according to the enviroment (wet, sandy, dry etc.) And by trial and error, the driver can eventually get the perfect launch. But then again, with the manual, it all depends on the driver's skill.

Dont under-estimate the GTI, its a very quick car. but the scooby should still eat it without a problem.

[Blind_Io]

First let me say that I love my Civic. It sounds like you are looking for a more sporty car so I recommend the Subaru. The AWD has tons of grip and it's very quick. Subaru is known for being reliable and safe, even in their sporty cars.

If you are looking for a more conventional car that you are not going to be chucking around the track the Civic is a fine choice. Mine is less powerful and only a base-model but it feels good on the road. I like having a car that is more limited actually, you can push it to the edge at lower speeds and still get that thrill. A WRX or MX-5 will take you deeper into the danger zone but you will have to go deeper to get the same thrill, at least in my experience.

No one can tell you what car to buy. We can argue about power and which wheels have power all day long. Once you have it narrowed down by price, reliability, insurance, fuel consumption and all the qualitative data you still have to pick the car that is right for you. No one but you can look at the car or drive the car and have that visceral reaction. When you find the right balance in the right car you will know, then it's just a matter of haggling over price.