Learn Me: Fun Autos - Possible or Blasphemous?

Unfortunately I recently sold my 5spd 944. While it checked all the boxes for me, small, lightweight, great handling and somewhat communicative, though I would prefer a car that was even more raw. It still wasn't the ideal DD for me, right now anyway, with the looming maintenance that was approaching and severe lack of power.

So I'm back in the market and decided I would actually like to get an affordable automatic that's also sporty and fun to drive. I would like that to serve as my DD and temporary track toy. Eventually when I'm able I'm going to get a second car, most likely a cheap Miata (manual) that will be for weekends and track use. Until then, I'd like to find an auto that can do it all. If that's even possible at my budget.

It seems like my options are pretty slim. Budget is less than 16k and the lower the better. M3 with SMGII would fit, but I don't want to get into another potential money pit. GTI would also make a lot of sense, but again bad reliability reps with high miles and I'd prefer rwd. Any other proper DCT or automated manual I believe would be out of my budget.

Here's a few I'm considering:

e46 330i - I'm afraid might be too numb.

128i - Heard good and bad about the car.

FR-S - Test drove one already and they're amazing, but not sure if I'd be happy with the power after DD a 944. I'd like something a little faster now.

Boxster - Great cars, not a huge fan of the 986 styling though.

I'm super picky and greatly limiting myself with what I'm after here

Any thoughts on those or additional suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

What about a Chrysler 300C SRT8? The autostick function isn't very fast, but then again, do you really care with 425 horsepower under your right foot?

AMG M-B? High maintenance, of course, but only offered in autos, so you won't feel like you're getting the short end of the stick.

Think that autos and fun without compromise = luxury sport/grand tourers. You can get an early Lexus SC430 w/ less than 75k miles. Think that their styling has aged pretty well... Maybe because it hasn't changed.

Or, if stonewashed-Jean tuxedos are your style, you could get the country's cheapest Ram SRT-10

Or, any of the cars generally coveted by people that want the manual version, except you get to buy the slightly cheaper, more common automatic car. Think IS300 sportcross, Subarus, Challengers, or Porsche anything.

Also:

E55 AMG

Did the Pontiac GTO come in auto?

Something turbocharged. Nonturbo engines need revs for power, and that means you need to shift a lot, so it is easy to be in the wrong gear.

Turbos and automatics synergize very well, the torque converter keeps you from falling below the boost threshold if they are well matched (2 liter Subarus are not well matched from the factory, for example) and since power is more a function of boost than engine speed, it doesn't matter if the trans shifts or not, the turbo spins up and away you go.

So like everything else, there must be harmony between the components.

DaewooOfDeath wrote: Did the Pontiac GTO come in auto?

Yes. 4L65E-equipped

Knurled wrote: Something turbocharged. Nonturbo engines need revs for power, and that means you need to shift a lot, so it is easy to be in the wrong gear.

Not necessarily. Something with some big displacement doesn't need to rev. To OP, Anything V8/auto-equipped is a riot. Try looking at Camaros or Mustangs or the sort. Plenty of power and a great soundtrack and usually pretty tough, moddable transmissions.

Corvette. Tons of automatics out there.

Don't forget about the Jag XKRs as well. Supercharged v8 only in auto trim.

Pontiac g8

There are a lot of really nice G8's in that price range.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5607895215.html

Lexus IS300 for the win! Hands-down. All the goodness of a BMW with none of the unreliability. The automatic doesn't suck, either.

The trick is to find an auto that will survive on track if you're actually going to drive it in track. Sonic's CLS63 survived the three lap sessions of One Lap, but a friends newer CLS63 burned the fluid in two 20 minute sessions. More than a few modern autos are fine to drive but won't tolerate being beaten upon without melting down.
As a general philosophical rule, the more power you have, the more acceptable an automatic is.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Probably the best rule of thumb for tracking any auto is add a cooler, a big one

Any auto that doesn't shift like mush, knows when to shift (or responds well to being shifted manually in hard driving) and is behind a torquey motor that doesn't need to be kept in a narrow powerband tends to feel alright.

Other than first gear being way too tall, I like the auto in the Jeep. It's firm, it's fairly unintrusive and it doesn't give a E36 M3 or get confused if you shift it yourself, even when you start blipping the throttle to rev-match the downshifts.

I'll agree with the cooling thing. If you want to run an auto hard, add as much cooling as you can. And add a temp gauge that reads pan temp if possible, as that'll tell you if you're pushing it too hard.

corvette? are you a risk taker? how about a 996 tippy?

C5 vette or CTS-V if any of the 1st gens have gotten that cheap. The 4l6xEs are notorious for being buildable and to "out fun" the clunky and somewhat lethargic t56.

The Lexus IS300 is something I hadn't considered previously and sounds like it would be up my alley. I'll have to travel pretty far to test drive one though. Can anyone compare it to the FR-S in terms of handling and how it feels?

oldtin wrote: corvette? are you a risk taker? how about a 996 tippy?

I would love a 996, but I don't have a garage which is one of the reasons I got rid of the 944. I'd hate having to keep a 996 outside with the weather we get here.

penultimeta wrote: C5 vette or CTS-V if any of the 1st gens have gotten that cheap. The 4l6xEs are notorious for being buildable and to "out fun" the clunky and somewhat lethargic t56.

1st gen CTS-V can only be had with a manual. The IS300 is suffering from the one-two punch of a nostalgia halo coupled with low prices. In reality they were pretty terrible "sports" cars. Slow, numb, terrible gas mileage. Certainly more reliable than a Porsche but so is a Camry. Aside from having a backseat, the FR-S/BR-Z are infinitely more engaging cars.

@OP personally I'd go large displacement with a traditional slushbox. Given your budget, every DCT\DSG\Dwhatever is going to be a timebomb waiting to go off.

I had an 986s tip and a w210 e55 at the same time and both have pretty good transmissions. Not sure how they would be for track time but the time I auto-X the 986 it was pretty good with the flappy paddles.

FWIW, I drive my 996 year round. Europeans drive theirs year round and its a good all arounder.

IMO I'd hate to drive a big American v8, auto or manual. Just as boring as a Camry. What ever you get will be a compromise. Maybe an e46 330 auto and do preventive maintenance.

The 128i autos are horrible. Its a crappy programmed slow to respond GM auto trans.

The 135i autos are excellent... Even the up-to 2010 cars(N54 with normal auto trans) have super fast programming, the manual mode is a joy to use. They're ZF transmissions.

The 2011+ N55 with the DCT auto are even faster.

Also look at Infiniti G37s with sport package. They are also very good and reliable cars.

NickD wrote: Not necessarily. Something with some big displacement doesn't need to rev.

With great displacement comes horrible engine feel. YMMV of course.

In reply to Tac1:

sorry I think your out of luck because automatic and fun do not go together