5 place fun track/autox cars

mazdeuce - Seth said:

You should really find an 8th gen Si to drive. They're freaking fantastic.

 

All my Subaru friends are good at pulling motors. 

 I'm always nervous about "the maintenance isn't that bad" claims. 

Ok. You've convinced me on the civic.  I'll take a look. A bit of investigation shows that bolt ons with a kpro can make horsepower significantly go up. Like gain 30-40 wheel horse easy. 

I lol'd the second part. I dont have time for tons of maintenance.  I work 60 hours a week and have kids stuff to do all the time. 

The last bit about the BMW's is what scares me about them as well. 

Really good suggestions everyone.  

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

True... and that would probably knock a MINI 'vert out of the running as well.  Those can be a barrel of fun.  I used to have a Cooper 'vert (non-supercharged) and miss it dearly.  I'd honestly trade my R53 JCW for that car in a heartbeat.  While the JCW is definitely faster, the 'vert was just more fun on a back road at (almost) legal speeds. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

WRX is more  "this is rad" when it's sitting in the driveway. I personally don't like how they autocross. They can certainly be fast, but the way you have to wrestle the car isn't fun to me. I haven't driven one on track. All my Subaru friends are good at pulling motors. 

For what it's worth, I love autocrossing my WRX.  Manageable slip angle on all four corners is fun.  I kind of expected it to understeer and wrestle it as you mentioned, but it's one of the most neutral cars I've ever driven at the limit (autocross history with Integras and MR2s, so neither had even weight dist).  That said, I have an 11' so the early cars that would fit into the budget here may more prone to the behaviors mentioned.

As for pulling motors - yeah can't really argue with you there.  I would imagine a Civic is going to be a lot less risk in this price range.  

On another note, GM W bodies with the supercharged 3800 are good at the family hauler role, fit the budget, and at least have some sporting pretensions. I went with a Regal GS when I needed something with more room for the kids than my E36 convertible.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

I'm excited for just an intake and a tune. The 8th gen SING and are glorious fun.

Ian F said:

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

True... and that would probably knock a MINI 'vert out of the running as well.  Those can be a barrel of fun.

When we had 2 kids in the 8-12-year-old range we looked at a MINI ragtop for DW.  There was no way it was going to fit the 4 of us, let alone 5, or after the kids got more adult-sized.

Ya know, the best time ya chitlins will have in the back seat (as chitlins) is a bench seat, no seat belts, and daddy pretending it’s Talladega. I bounced my face off so many surfaces while giggling hysterically. 

still thinking on the civic.. needs loud exhaust.

Would then pair this with 4x4 of some type for winter/homdepot/camping stuff..

Fueled by Caffeine said:

still thinking on the civic.. needs loud exhaust.

Would then pair this with 4x4 of some type for winter/homdepot/camping stuff..

 

 

Mazdeuce can attest, they're easy to make loud, to the point it's too much. They're spinning decent RPM at freeway speeds and they will drone. 

In reply to spacecadet :

Would be not my first Honda. I did own a crx si back in the day 3800rpm at 60 ish. Iirc. 

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

You want an intake and a tune first. 

If you're an old school Honda guy, myself included, the rev hang will drive you bonkers. I've learned to deal with it, because my focus did it too. But hopping in the traccord reminded me what they can be like. You need a tune to deal with the rev hang and drop the VTEC engagement and Hondata recommends an intake to go with the this to prevent a loss of power. 

Focus?

In reply to jstein77 :

A $5k cap was discussed on page1, which puts the ST well out of range. The cheapest ones are still at the $10k mark. 

spacecadet said:

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

You want an intake and a tune first. 

If you're an old school Honda guy, myself included, the rev hang will drive you bonkers. I've learned to deal with it, because my focus did it too. But hopping in the traccord reminded me what they can be like. You need a tune to deal with the rev hang and drop the VTEC engagement and Hondata recommends an intake to go with the this to prevent a loss of power. 

 

 

this is interesting... thanks!

The problem with sport compact cars like the Focus, Fiesta, GTI, Civic Si, etc is that it's really difficult to see out of them when you're a small person in the back seat. The window line is just really high. When I take one of the kiddos out for a drive in my GTI I have to recline the front seat at a certain angle and adjust the height of the headrest so they can see out of the front of the car from the back seat.

An alternative to these that I'd like to propose is a convertible Mustang. A GT would be amazing because they make cool noises, but even an Ecoboost would be great. The belt line of the car is probably still so high that it'd be difficult for a little person to see out if, but with the top down you still give them a great motoring experience. 

Old V-6 convertible Mustangs pop up on Craigslist all the time for what you want to spend. I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to snag an old 4.6 GT for that price.

8th Gen Civic Si Sedan - hands down enough space for the kids, the 8k RPM redline will excite them also. They handle autox and track days very well. Maintenance is cheap, they are pretty easy to work on, and parts are plentiful.

2009+ Honda Fit Sport - plenty of space for 3 kids, the flat floor board in the rear is nice for a person sitting in the middle seat. Cheaper overall and an absolute blast on track or if you enjoy standing in parking lots for 8 hours on a Sunday for 3 minutes of driving time.

Any WRX you find for $5k or less is likely going to be more of a headache than it's worth.

Fiesta STs - can you find these that cheap? More power than the Fit but less spacious.

3G Acura TL as others have said

Acura TSX is another great option - a smaller accord essentially

My 4 and 6 year old for some reason love having to climb into the back of my E36 M3 Coupe. I remember hating to do that as a kid in my moms 2dr Bronco then Blazer. They won't be doing that E36 M3 anymore after I got the whole interior re-upholstered though.

You might be able to find a Mazdaspeed3 for that price range. No comment on rear seat visibility or space because I never paid attention. It will be higher mileage at that price which I also can’t comment on. The one I had was lower mileage but it just ran and ran. 

With an intake they make good choo-choo noises and my inner child loved that!