BerlinaBayRidah

So here is another thread about finding a new daily driver car. I recently found a new job that has forced me to commute approximately 100mi roundtrip daily. My current DD is a 98 Honda Accord and I am looking to upgrade to something nicer. Below are the criteria in order of greatest to least importance to me in choosing the new DD.

1. Reliability
2. Price – my approx. budget is $15k, but I may be a little bit flexible on this
3. MPG – I will be doing a ton of driving so this will be a concern
4. Must seat at least 4 people.
5. Luxurious – looking for something mid-level, basically nicer than my 98 Accord
6. Sporty

Again my approximate budget that I would like to spend for this vehicle is $15k but I may be able to stretch that a bit. I have done some initial research and I already have the following cars in mind:

1. 2004-2008 Acura TSX
2. 2004-2008 Acura TL
3. 2003-2007 Infiniti G35 (I consider the mpg on this car poor, so I probably won’t be considering any car that get worse mpg)

I would like to hear people’s opinion on the car choices I have so far and if there were any other cars I should be considering as well. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

Clemsons2k

Honestly the two main cars I was going to suggest are already in your top 3 The TL and G35 Sedan would both be cars I'd love to DD. I'd personally lean towards the G35 due to the extra oomph from the engine and RWD/AWD option.

madkimchi

acura TL or RL. tired of seeing g35 EVERYWHERE. but that's a good thing for a buyer i am sure you will be able to find a good deal on G35.

BEASTMODE

I'm in the same boat with that same budget. I've considered the same cars as well and I decided on the G35. Sure it doesnt have the same fuel economy as the Acura, but it's RWD and has decent power.

charliec225

This doesn't "fit" () all your criteria, but what about something like this? 33mpg is pretty good (especially if you're doing 500 miles a week) and if you ever need the extra space, it could be a useful car to have.

BerlinaBayRidah

The Fit was a car I was thinking about, however if I were to consider the Fit that would open the door to many other cars as well (i.e. civics, mazada 3's, compacts in general). The only reason I guess I am not considering those cars is that I am approaching 30 years old (I'm 28) and I would like more of a "grown man's car" I guess you can say. Is that pretentious of me to say that at this age I don't want to be driving around the same cars as most teenagers and younger kids?

The Fit would be great on gas mileage and "fit" most of my criteria, except for number 5.

North Star

Luxury car on a budget is hard to come by, unless it is entry level and 6 years old. Lexus IS 250's are from $15k to $20k these days, depending on mileage. Toyota reliability and an entry level luxury car. Plus, they can look good with a nice set of wheels.

fishfryer

Test drive the TL, if you can stand the torque steer it is a nice car. My 2006 was very nice, good enough on gas. Aside from the torque steer even though the air blew ice cold, it couldn't really cool down the car. Part of that was the black interior in florida I'm sure. It did cover ground nicely and the seats felt very good on long drive, Nav was great, but visibility was like driving a windowless van.

charliec225

Yeah, I totally understand. I suggested it mainly because the fuel economy. I did some rough numbers and driving 500 miles a week, 52 weeks a year, with gas at $3.65, a car getting 33mpg would save you a little over $1,000 per year compared to a car getting 24mpg. Obviously lots of variables there, but any of the non-hybrid, high efficiency vehicles will all be in that group (civics, mazda 3s, etc).

What about Lexus? ES300 or 330? Not sporty at all, but if you're driving 100 miles a day, can't get much more comfortable than that.

deepbluejh

Have you considered a VW Jetta TDI?