Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
We've had a trusty Honda Fit for 15 years, and are talking about replacing it. It works great, but is a little beat up from the bump and grind of city traffic and being parked outside for most of its life. I keep finding that anything I want to replace it with is more than I want to pay for what I get. I'm eyeing sports sedans so the kids can have usable back seats, but they're generally pricier than what I want to pay. Also, the Fit works great, but rides kinda rough with the short wheelbase and its AC leaves a lot to be desired.
An idea came to me that maybe we just keep the Fit for a while longer and I get a more basic sports coupe (I don't need crazy performance). They seem more prevalent than sports sedans, which are almost always luxury brands. The Fit would be used for hauling the kids around when I needed to, and for Home Depot runs when my wife had the RAV4, and for bad weather, but the coupe would be my daily driver, fun car, and personal road trip car. It would give us an extra car if one was in the shop, which is handy as well, and in a few years my oldest could learn to drive on the Honda.
As a 3rd car, and getting less than 5k miles per year, I wouldn't need super reliability, but average reliability with modest repair costs would be nice. The example vehicle that came to mind is a 6th Gen Camaro with a v6, or something in that ballpark (available for around 20k near me). Like I said, I don't need great power, this is just for a fun daily driver, basically. Any other vehicles that might work in the described niche? Any major issues with the plan I've described?
One exception to your idea of sports sedans being luxury brands is the Dodge Charger / Chrysler 300 series, or the Challenger if you like the coupe body style. My new Charger is a F-U-N car and it being a Charger instead of a Challenger was my concession to having a family. I test drove the R/T and it was quick enough to be fun while still taking regular fuel. My Super Bee is averaging 22 mpg in mixed driving so I'd expect an R/T under similar conditions to be getting a little more than that, probably 25 or so.Originally Posted by Bio
There's a jillion of them out there, they haven't changed appreciably since 2015 so no reason to buy new (new=2023, there aren't any more of this generation being made although showroom floors are still loaded with them), and they're based on old Mercedes underpinnings from the Daimler-Chrysler era so they ride and handle respectfully despite their size.
My car came from the factory on drag radials front and rear, and when I changed them out for a different set of OEM wheels and tires, I had the fun experience of the rear end getting loose and starting to go sideways at 80 mpg on interstate when I romped on it! Truly a magnificent drivetrain, and I couldn't imagine a need for a Hellcat.
It has probably been about seven years ago, so the era is probably correct, but I rented one for a business road trip one day, and I do not think you would be disappointed by the power. By the time I got home I was thinking it might have been the fastest rental car I ever had experienced. When I got home I looked it up and they had over 300hp, and I think 1/4mi in the low fourteens.
Obviously the Mustang, and I would want the 2.3L turbo version. Over 300hp and might flirt with 30mpg. And the rear seats fold down to get big things in the trunk.
I like and respect the Charger and Challenger, and you're right that a Charger would suit my needs pretty well. My wife doesn't love them, but depending on the situation when its time to actually pull the trigger, it's a good idea and might work for us.
Yeah, both the v6 Camaro and the Ecoboost Mustang have about double the power:weight and torque:weight as the Honda. It's a low bar, but it's what I'm used to. I expect both would be totally solid for me, performance wise, and be cheaper on gas and insurance.
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