Helping my lady friend shop for a new car.

Long story short - the lady I'm dating bought a 2024 WRX last year.  She loves it, and I'm convinced she could beat me in the cones with her driving.  She honestly drives back roads like a warm-up autocross run.  Downside:  She has Fibromyalgia and an old knee injury.  The clutch isn't playing nice with her left knee, and the way the accelerator is tucked in beside the tunnel is also bothering her right knee.  She keeps getting ongoing medical treatment for the knees, but the one of the honest problems if she drives the WRX for an hour, she's hurting.  She drove my Lincoln for 4 hours and felt fine.  She's decided to trade.

She's looking for something to replace the WRX.

- automatic (which we both know sucks)
- 4 drs because child seats
- real trunk as opposed to a hatchback (although I think I could sway her on this one)
- MPG is a concern, but not a huge deal.  Her previous car was a Charger with a Hemi, and she is really enjoying the fuel sipping WRX by comparison, but meh.
- new, not used.
- Budget is $35-45k
- in the same performance range of the WRX
- not picky about brand names or country of origin, as long as it's reliable.
- AWD preferred, but she doesn't seem too worried about it as long as it will be OK on snow tires

In other news... anyone looking for a super sweet WRX with only about 14k miles?

Elantra N? 

So basically a Golf R?

IMHO, dual-clutch transmissions are the way to go if you really want a manual but have to have an automatic.

With that in mind -- GTI with the DSG?  It's a hatch and FWD, but those seem somewhat negotiable points.  Alternately there are AWD variants of the same platform from Audi with normal trunks in the form of the A3/S3, but price jumps a bit.

Honestly.. the VB WRX with the CVT is sweet. Maybe it was the Recaros in the GT trim making me feel differently, but if she wants to hang on to the WRX.. it is not a bad option, imo. 

If no, I'm gonna go with codrus' line of thinking and say GLI since she wants a trunk. Plus, the backseat is huge. As in, 5 people fit if you try. 

Jetta GLI.  Super comfortable, great seats.  Good performance. with good MPGs  Sorted platform...

In addition to the great suggestions above would be a civic si 

edit:  aww crap no auto. You'd have to go for a sport 

Acura Integra is the Civic Si with an automatic available. 

Model 3 Long Range? Fast out of the gate, with the performance boost being something she can add later from her phone. AWD, no transmission to speak of, good fuel economy, but sadly, no spirited engine noises. If she's eligible for the $7,500 tax credit, they still seem to be offering that.... for reasons that are beyond me... so it could put the Performance into her range.

In reply to confuZion3 :

She's currently in the "not electric yet" camp.  Infrastructure needs to change a lot around here, and she does a good bit of long distance driving, so until charge speeds get faster, she's holding off until maybe the next car when it's more of a slam dunk.

Evo?  Should she be looking to DSM?  I've lost track of them.

Was there an automatic Evo? I thought they did a decent non-Evo Lancer with an auto near the end though.

confuZion3 said:

Was there an automatic Evo? I thought they did a decent non-Evo Lancer with an auto near the end though.

There was a flappy paddle Evo X, but I've heard mixed things about it.  Never driven one.

The title suggested to me that she wanted a new car, whereas the newest Evo is a decade old at this point.  How old is acceptable?

Does the 'normal' Caddy CT4 (AWD) have any athletic genes? It looks like the V starts a bit above the budget. 

There's aren't a lot of contenders given a 45k ceiling new.

GR Corolla is the most obvious if she can find one for mrsp.

Elantra N, Civic type r/integra S (again at mrsp), golf r

Maybe a little less sporty but worth checking out-

Acura TLX

Genesis g70

Lexus is 350 (slightly above, but probably can be had for $45k)

I suspect that transmission response is going to be super important for her. Unfortunately most of the sedans that something like a zf8 are a little more expensive. If it were me, I'd be picking up a slightly used bmw m340i....

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, new.  She is evidently under the assumption that they still make them, and I'm evidently too old to realize that they don't.

Mazda 3 is worth a look.

Old_Town said:

Does the 'normal' Caddy CT4 (AWD) have any athletic genes? It looks like the V starts a bit above the budget. 

IMO, it has zero athletic genes.  Perhaps negative genes, if that were a possibility.  Unless you want to measure transmission shift response in minutes.

I'm also a bit concerned about GM quality.  My parents are GM-only people.  Loyalty.  Their ongoing foibles:

- 08 K3500 Duramax with only 60k miles:  PCM is fried and GM stopped making them.  One-year only part number is NLA and not rebuildable means that he has a worthless $80k truck that he can't use or sell.
- 09 Caddy SRX:  Leather fell apart under warranty from my 115-lb elderly mother's bum who drove it about 6000 miles a year.  Radio stopped storing presets.  OnStar never worked, so they berated GM until they refunded her the cost of the option.  Shift position sensor replaced 4 times under warranty.
- 16 GMC Acadia:  The seat vibrators for the lane departure activate randomly.  Shift position sensor replaced, which required a complete new floor shifter assembly.  Shift issues that feel like a valve body/solenoid issue... sometimes it flares and neutralizes, other times it feels like you're getting rear-ended by a tank.  A/C sprung a leak right out of warranty, and it used that funky freon that no one had equipment to recharge, and the one place we found wanted $1600 to just evac and charge.  Bad front wheel bearing at 36k, another one at 45k.  Grinding front diff.

Dad is finally shopping for a Lexus after 78 years of being a Chevy guy.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, new.  She is evidently under the assumption that they still make them, and I'm evidently too old to realize that they don't.

New, automatic, and fun for under $45k?

GTI.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

FWIW, GTI’s rear seat seems easier to get in and out of than GR Corolla. Sounds like that could be an issue here. 

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

I'll see if I can sell her on a hatch.  She seems to be pretty against it, but unclear as to why.

I would be looking at bumping the budget a tiny bit and test drive the Lexus IS. Looks like AWD F-sport is close to the top of the budget. 

I agree with GTI.  My ladyfriend just bought a '24 GTI but with a 6 spd. (last one!).  I've driven a GTI with the DSG and it's sweet.  The hatchback is huge.  Well built, loaded with customizable gadgetry, it's a FWD BMW.  

Let her test drive one and the choice will be made!

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

I'll see if I can sell her on a hatch.  She seems to be pretty against it, but unclear as to why.

The GLI is basically the GTI drivetrain and suspension in a Jetta, so you get a trunk.

GTI or GLI with DSG. Have a q5 with the basically the same drivetrain. I am really loving this thing. Swore off of German cars awhile back but I love this motor and tranny. Also 46k trouble free miles.