I am looking forward to purchasing a car in the next few months. but first of all I need help from the s2k community !
I don't know much about cars but enough to understand some basic stuff.
First of all. this is my first time staying in united states and im located north east. which means considerable amount of snow during winter.
How bad is driving a RWD car in cold/snowy weather? From what I found out here and there, it is probably not a good idea and is real dangerous. If anyone beg to differ please enlighten me
To start off, i'll list some the purpose for my car.
I need a car to be a daily driver that can sit preferably more than 2 people. MUST have some trunk space for a few luggage to be carry around in some road trips. gas mileage is not a real problem. So far i'm looking at a few FWD cars.
My budget for the car is preferably at the 20k range(the lower the better) but could go as high as 23-24k.
Im looking at the following new cars:
07 Vw GTI (23k?)
07 Civic Si(22k?)
07 Mazdaspeed3(23k?)

and used cars:
03/04 Evo8

For now I'm leaning towards the GTI - nice interior, love the design.
as for civic si - i'm not really sure about it as I don't really like the back design.
mazdaspeed - best package for the $$ but other than that it does not hold any appeal to me. after all why buy a car that you won't like?
and for evo - bad interior but AWD and its an evo!

of course my dream car would still be an s2k (if not i wouldnt be here ) but reality wont allow it.

I need helps from people who owns those cars above (possibly some summary what u like and dont like about them) and any suggestions of other cars.

I'm just 20 I WANT at least a fun car. dont tell me some camry or similar

oh by the way. any subaru is not an options ! not a fan sorry

and i would want to avoid anything that could do with cars below yr 00 as i wont have the time to go and do some engine swap and running around looking for mechanics

 

From what I read, you have answered your own question. Your note suggests the GTI is the one you want. I'm sure there is a good GTI forum or 2 that can help you out.

Rear wheel drive in the snow is fine if you put on a good set of snow tires. I used to live in PA and drove a VW Rabbit for 6 years and never had any problems driving in snow. Good luck.

 

If you're looking for your first rwd car, I'd look at a Miata. They are great cars to drive and are rwd convertibles, but they have less power and would be good to learn on. Snow tires are needed in the winter if you are in a snowy area, so that's an extra expense for a set of steel rims and snow tires, but if you buy used in the ne, the car may already have them. Unfortunately there aren't any good rwd hatchbacks on the market anymore, so you have to go big if you want rwd and space, like a Chrysler 300.

4wd is a good choice too, especially for the north, but you still will need a set of winter tires. I'd take a used Evo or STI over a new fwd car anyday as I think fwd is the least fun driving experience. Also, if you're looking used, look for a Saab 9-2X - its a rebadged STI with a nicer interior, and they were heavily discounted when new so used prices should be reasonable.



Four door, seats four, awd, and fast - its a sleeper car, plus it caters to the more mature crowd, meaning its less likely to have been ragged on by the previous owner. You can get 05's for as little as $16k. ps - I'd get an STI over an Evo - nicer interior, bit easier to live with.

 

OK, all the cars you listed are nice, not sure (?) if I'd want to buy a USED EVO. You see these cars are owned (mostly) by young kids (for want of a better word) so it's a risky chance more so than if you were buying a used Accord (for example).

I have had RWD (s2000, Z3) FWD (Oddy, Passat, Escort, Accord, Maxima) and I have had AWD/4-WD cars (Sienna, Legacy, Trooper).

We get some snow as well as rain (etc..) Not a ton of snow like you would get way up north, but we get some. Also FWD/AWD is a bit better in rain, but IMO if you have good tires and you slow down you can get by with RWD.

But if you want to be better safe than sorry maybe it's not a bad idea to get an AWD or FWD car if it's your daily driver.

I don't prefer driving RWD in snow. If you have a RWD car, invest in a second set of wheels/tires (for snow tires). I have snow tires on the S2000 and drive it a lot in the winter and it's not bad. Don't get me wrong it's not great but it won't scare the pants off you as long as you drive slow and have snow tires on.

Lets put it this way, I have a Legacy (awd) and a Sienna (awd) and a Trooper (4-WD) and a S2000 (RWD) and if it's going to snow a foot I wouldn't drive my S2000 (even with its snow tires). But if its just a chance of snow or if it's going to be 1-2 inches well then I may take my S2000.

 

They are leasing Impreza's for $179 amonth;it's AWD just no turbo or gawdy wing

Pretty good deal if you ask me

 

I drove a GTi and a Civic (not a Si but is the same size car) and I was a lot more comfortable in the GTi front and rear. The GTi has a squared off roof so you can get some headroom in the back seat.

Now they have 4 door Si and 4-door GTi. I'd probably prefer a 4-door even more than a coupe so you can better use the rear seats, and I know the GTi costs a bit more than the Si, but it's got useful rear seats and (IMO) a useful hatchback so you can carry bulky items like a TV (etc..).

I think the MS3 or the GTi would be my picks if going FWD. I haven't driven the MS3 but it's got great reviews.

No one has mentioned the Subaru Legacy, but thats the car I just bought, I was shopping against the Camry/Accord and for the same price, I could pick up a Legacy (non-turbo) wagon which has AWD (vs the FWD of the Camry/Accord).

I didn't get the Legacy GT (LGT) which as a turbo engine, but you can get one in the mid $20s. Meaning if a GTi is $23-24K you may be able to swing a Legacy GT for another $1K or $2K.


The Legacy GT will murder any Si or GTi (stock) and you can tune it to 300hp with a simple computer flash. So the only car it's in trouble from is the MS3. I don't know how they stack up, but the LGT has AWD which (IMO) tilts the table in its favor.

The AWD does come at a cost, the gas mileage isn't as good as the GTi or Si. You pay more but get more (AWD).

I would at least look at the Subaru Legacy.

The Impreza is similar (to the Legacy) but is cheaper, Legacy is a bit larger, is a newer design and more up-scale for not that much more money, also the Legacy is rated the safest mid-size car.

I got a Legacy Wagon non-turbo with manual tranny for about $20,500 (can't remember exactly). The benifit of the non-turbo is that it takes regular gas (not super) so that's saving 25 cents/gal and I get ~27 MPG mixed driving with a heavy foot. True the non-turbo is not all that quick (its just 175hp) but for normal driving it's OK and I get up to 90 mph on the HW no problem.

 

I like the GTI in your price range. Test drove one last summer and it is a blast. Great interior.

 

Best car on your list is the GTI, but the Civic will be the most trouble-free.

Rai, was $20,500 out-the-door price on the Legacy? How are you liking it so far?

 

Of those three new choices the MS3 should easily be fastest. The GTI with DSG tranny might be more fun though. For unknown reasons, the Si leaves me cold.

 

it was $20,400 (inc delivery charge), I had to pay tax and title extra.

This is the 2.5i Wagon with MT.


I like it a lot. Now the Legacy is not my DD. I still drive the S2000 80%, the Legacy is for my au pair so I don't want turbo and didn't need it to be a quick car.

But I like it a lot, its slow, but once its up and going it will keep up with most family cars.

I does drive great on the HW and not bad on the twisties but the suspension is too soft for serious driving.