dlq04

Rob, Beside the first two I suggested, you might consider a Mazda 6 with inline 4 and 6-speed manual and its a 4-door. A site I use (truedelta.com) lists the Mazda brand just below Toyota, Honda, and Lexus for cars between 2013 and 2015. Edmunds consumer rating lists it at 4.5 out of 5. I know this is "Honda" site but I hear good reports from other car people in the Detroit area about Mazda.

Scoots, at truedelta the Audi ranks above Nissan, Volvo, VW, BMW, Acura, Ford, Chevy, etc., etc. Their data comes from actual owners reporting actual repair trips. However, any brand may have both good and bad when it comes to reliability. That's why it's best to be model specific when collecting data.

boltonblue

This is the driver you should be using everyday.

SheDrivesIt

That was Mark, not Scoots but I speak from personal experience on the Audi subject. My experience was with the A4.

S1997

Rob, I like the BRZ a lot. They have resisted upping the power except for a bit more hp, but it has enough hp and torque to be an interesting DD. I think the rwd gives it an advantage over the fw drivers, and the low center of gravity makes it a winner in the twisties. And it does have back seats. Reliability seems to be good, too.

dlq04

First look at 2017 Civic hatchback.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/h...vic-hatchback/

robb

Rob I'm going to check out new WRX's hopefully this weekend I'll let you know what kind of deals I find.

zdave87

I borrowed a friend's BRZ for a week. Hated it. Subpar interior materials, crappy manual transmission, and no way is it putting out 200hp. Backseats aren't worth anything other than a place to put your Target bags. Trunk space isn't that good- could barely get a set of golf clubs in there. The S is more convenient than the BRZ.

NNY S2k

And here: http://links.honda.m...zgwS0&mt=1&rt=0
Levi

ralper

Thank you everyone for your feedback. It’s been quite helpful. This weekend I’m going to start doing some serious looking.
Early this morning I took my BMW to the local BMW specialist because the warning light was on and I wanted him to be able to get a reading. The reading he got from his scanner was something like “Clutch Damage due to low torque application”. Neither he nor I understood it. He drove the car and agreed that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the clutch. Later in the day, while going around a very big sweeping curve I decided to go for broke. If the car breaks it breaks. I gunned the car around the curve, and to my surprise the warning light went off. Now it seems that the car is fine. I’m sure the electronics in the car are bad, but I’ve had enough. I don’t want to sell it privately even though I know it will cost me a few thousand dollars. I don’t want to stick anyone with the car. I’m going to trade it in.

Here’s where I am so far:

WRX
I had the chance to see on up close. I didn’t have time to test drive it, but, pending the test drive, I’ve liked everything that I’ve seen except:
1. The weight. The car is heavier than I like. I really would like something below 3,000 pounds but the WRX weighs in at about 3,300 lbs. It’s a bit bigger than I wanted too.
2. The price. To get what I want the car would come home at about $36,000. I didn’t want to spend quite that much.
3. The fuel economy. Being the cheap accountant that I am, I wanted a car with better mpg ratings.
4. The all wheel drive. While I think this would be great to have in the winter and during rainstorms, I’m not quite sure I want it all the time.

Still, I was really impressed with what I saw and the WRX is high on my list.

Mini
Years ago I test drove a Mini Cooper S. Liz thought I might like it and wanted me to test drive it. I did like it, but Liz found it to be a bit too claustrophobic and asked me not to buy it. That and what Emil has reported with his (Renee’s) makes me want to stay away. In terms of reliability it’s not very highly rated and I really want something that’s reliable.

Volkswagen Golf R
I’m not saying that they’re bad cars, but for some reason I’ve never liked them. I’ve also heard that they don’t rate high on the reliability charts.

Ford Focus RS
I want to look closer and test drive one. I’ve heard good things, but I don’t know much about it.

Fiat 500 Abarth
After owning 2 Fiat X-1/9s it would be almost impossible to convince me to ever buy a Fiat again. I think the new Fiat 124 is absolutely beautiful and I know it’s largely a Mazda Miata but after owning 2 Fiat X-1/9s it would be almost impossible to convince me to ever buy a Fiat again.

Cadillac ATS
Just not my style.

Acura TL or TLX
My wife has a TSX. I don’t particularly like it. It’s ok but not really what I want.

Honda Accord
I’ve owned about 5 Accords over the years, but they’ve grown too big.

Audi
I might look at one, but I’m sort of soured on German cars.

Mazda 6
I’m going to look at one. I don’t know anything about them but I want to take a look.

Subaru BRZ
I’ve never ridden in one or driven one, but I always thought I’d love to own one. It’s my kind of car. The only problem is I already have a 2 seater and I won’t get rid of the S2000. I do want to try one out, but zDave’s comments make me think twice. I’ve not eliminated the BRZ but I probably won’t buy it.

Honda Civic Hatchback.
I’ve always been a big fan of the Civic. I’m not sure I like the Hatchback so I need to see it in person. It is a possibility.

Honda Si
I had a 2006 Si (Adam has it now with 170,000 miles). I loved it. The Si is a very strong possibility. Unfortunately it won’t be out for a few months. But I might just wait.

Please keep the suggestions and comments coming.

The Raptor

Get a C7 Corvette convertible. You only live once!