Resolve a domestic discord - or - help us pick a car

Cash Davidson · **Posted:** Fri Jun 06, 2014 7:56 pm

We find ourselves struggling to get by with only 12 vehicles - okay, only 6 are registered and insured and 3 of those are motorcycles. Regardless, wifey wants a new car and I’ve learned in our 30yrs together - what is her car today, ultimately becomes my car years later. Examples?

Cars she has bought:
1986 Ford Escort - I drove from 1993 til its death in 1998.
1993 Pontiac Grandam - I drove from 2000 til its death in 2005.
2000 Ford Excursion - Ok, this was a good one and we both still love it.
2007 Subaru Outback - I drove from 2011 til its death in 2013.
2011 Ford Fusion - Our 17 & 19 year olds have taken it over.

As you can see, I have spent at least 12 years driving cars that are no fun to drive. So it seems to me, I should have some input on her next car since I will likely be driving it the last 5 years of its life.

Her must haves:
35+mpg hwy
4 doors
Automatic (or at least no clutch pedal)
Safe

Her would be nice:
AWD

My must haves:
Fun to drive

My would be nice:
Hatch or wagon
Paddle shifters

We have not driven or gone looking at anything yet, but have discussed:

Mazda3 41mpg Fun
Dodge Dart 35mpg Fun?
VW Jetta TDI 42mpg Maybe Fun?
VW Golf TDI 42mpg Maybe Fun?
Mini Cooper S 37mpg Fun
BMW 328d 45mpg So-so fun?
BMW 335d 39mpg Fun

Ruled out:
GM products
Subarus
Hybrids

So wadaya think? Did I miss an obvious one? Is there a magic car out there for us?

Thanks,
Cash

clinehall · **Posted:** Fri Jun 06, 2014 8:40 pm

Try the Mini Countryman, I'm assuming the automatic with the tiptronic is as good as the Cooper my daughter had few years ago. My wife loves her's. Lot more serviceable that a regular mine. Of course I'm a big fan of the Cooper as well.

Jason Tower · **Joined:** Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:31 pm **Posts:** 1173

golf gtd (if it makes it here). if not, the mk7 gti arrives any day, i bet the leftover mk6 models will be discounted. wish i had bought one for $WIFE a few years back instead of the mini, we'd probably still have it. might not quite get 35 mph but should be very close, and their dsg box is the best in the business.

RobLupella · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:34 am

Mazda 3. Fun, Reliable and supports a small independent brand instead of the big conglomerate companies

steve remchak · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 1:29 pm

335d

X5-35d :wink:

clinehall · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 3:05 pm

RobLupella wrote:

Mazda 3. Fun, Reliable and supports a small independent brand instead of the big conglomerate companies

Very Hippyish thought coming from a guy with a vette. :evil:

Cash Davidson · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:05 am

Cline - The Mini is her leader right now. Very interested in how the new 5-door compares to the Countryman.

Jason - Agreed, the GTd would be perfect, but I think VW has no plans to bring it to the US. The Mazda6 diesel would also be a contender, but it doesn't look like it is coming stateside either.

Rob - The Mazda3 is probably the most sensible choice and I could be happy driving it. I keep hoping for the new AWD Mazdaspeed3, but who knows when that will come.

A used 335d might be the ticket too.

Les Davis · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 2:04 pm **Posts:** 2059

You've "killed" a lot of cars in just a few years, did you crash them all?

Cash Davidson · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:55 pm

Les Davis wrote:

You've "killed" a lot of cars in just a few years, did you crash them all?

No. The Escort went 12yrs; the Pontiac went 12yrs and the POS Subaru only went 7yrs. The Escort and Pontiac died of natural causes (over 200k on these era cars is quite good). The POS Subaru developed a rod knock.

All were bought new. She tends to drive them for about 7yrs and decides she is just tired of driving them. I then drive them until their death because I feel like we haven't gotten our money out of them yet.

I'll also point out that all three cars (Escort, Pontiac & Subaru) were manuals. She says she's tired of rowing gears. :roll:

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

Have you asked her if she is tired of steering too? http://www.autoweek.com/article/2014052 ... /140529820

Pete Guthrie · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 7:20 pm

Domestic disputes,aint gonna go there brother.Golf tdi twin cam not bad.not rocket quick, but not slow either.faster much than a prius,much better.
golf handling and a tdi mileage and torque.tiptronic or whatever touch shift,could be fun.my mother has that on her 528i, automode or shift with touch.
140 hp 250 ft lbs torque, 9 seconds 60,golf handling,i love the way our golf handles.Hatch back convienence.I think the car could be good,so far, our golf has been pretty good to us.The jetta tdi twin cam cup cars, were doing pretty good speeds at vir full, years ago.you can get the same body style as the cup cars, in the jetta package.They look pretty cool, gale banks is working on tuning them too.no scr fluid either, they have trick glow plugs, that sense pressure,and no smoke because no scr fluid.there is in the passat, but jetta and golf is not.BFI can help you with repairs,Adam and me are long time freinds.that is my two cents.or 2000 bmw 528i sedan.My mother has one, touch shift auto, lotta fun,quick as hell, comfy, roomy,lots of fun.vwforum.com

i ma on there, with our golf..always asking questions.wanna stump them, ask about a air cooled vw!

Pete Guthrie · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 7:21 pm

Olds alero, 4 litre v8,fwd, roomy.gotta be worth a shot.I sorta like those cars, they could be cool.

Brett_Murphy · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:02 pm **Posts:** 355

You should be able to make any Golf product sporty and fun to drive in the aftermarket.

If you get a MkVII GTI with the performance pack, it should be refined and sporty from day one and return 30+ MPG.

That said, I'd buy a Mazda3.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:32 pm

Mazda 3 all the way from the list you provided. You are smart enough to know you don't want a d@mn German car man.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Mon Jun 09, 2014 2:09 pm

Vincent Keene wrote:

Mazda 3 all the way from the list you provided. You are smart enough to know you don't want a d@mn German car man.

335d is a torque monster............................ :twisted:

75mph to 90mph in a flash :thumbsup:

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Resolve a domestic discord - or - help us pick a car

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