A quick Mazda site search and I found 14-16 2018 3 hatchback manuals from sport to GT within 250 of Boston. Max prices areoun $26000. There are locales in the south and Midwest with zero volume nearby. Still as a current Mazda owner some dealers will ship a car over for you.
I had a Q50 AWD as a rental car a couple of months back up in NH. Wasn’t super impressed with it TBH. Felt a bit too appliance-ish for an expensive car.
I would look into a used previous generation Mazda 3. Lots of good deals to be had with the 2019s on the lots. I just picked up a barely used 2018 GT with 8000 miles on it for 19000. Even came with the extra CPO warranty.
Tony Sestito said:On the V6 Mustangs: a friend of mine had a 2014 with the Performance Package. It blew up at around 75k, bone stock. That sorta soured my taste on those.
The recent BMW offerings don't do much for me. I watched another friend deal with all sorts of issues with his 1-series in the past few years. That said, when they are working, they are excellent driving cars. Just not for me.
I'm leaving hybrids and electrics off the list as well. Only one I've driven that I liked was the Tesla Model S P90D. That thing was nuts!
A case study does not a generalization make. 1 out of a few hundred thousand?
Just tell us what you actually want, and well tell you it's awesome. :)
How about a v6 6 speed Accord Coupe or if you want to go down Challenger ave, how about the GT with the all wheel drive?
Tony Sestito said:In reply to Klayfish :
My parents have a 2014 Q60 AWD (aka a G37 Coupe). Theirs has the 7-speed auto, which I don't hate. What I do hate is the clunky infotainment system. Those were the last ones offered with a manual transmission (RWD only), and they are extremely rare. I think 2011 was the cutoff in the sedans.
Totally agree. My G37 doesn't even have the nav package, but the screen and entertainment system are from an era long gone by. It's the one thing that drives me absolutely nuts. My 2010 base model Kia Sedona at least has an aux port so that I can plug my phone in and stream podcasts through the speakers. The G37 is completely incapable of doing this. When I'm listening to SiriusXM, the Sedona will scroll the title/artist, the G37 won't. No 3 blink signals. A few other niggles that are annoying. But the driving experience is fabulous. I believe (but not completely sure), the Q50 addressed those issues and is much more up to date. Don't know if came with a manual, but as you said the 7 speed auto isn't a bad piece.
Someone else mentioned the Accord V6 6spd coupe. If you can live with a coupe, this would be a great option too. Bullet proof, waaay faster than you'd expect, good technology, good mpg, the back seat is huge for a coupe.
The Challenger is fun as a rental. Thats about all I would give.
Ive had the base, and the hemi as a rental. I couldn't imagine doing either as a daily. Exhaust is stupid loud, suspension is rough, and the blind spots are horrible. Most 2019 vehicles provide some assistance with the blind spot. Dodge is riding a 2008 model to it's end, so you don't get 2019 features. Or 2015 features.
I want comfort in my daily. Lightly used GS350 f-sport would be the top of my list.
I loved the first gen G35 - one of the few cars I wish I had kept. I traded it on a G37 - great car; fast and capable. Never warmed to the Q50 so when the time came I traded the G37 on a 6 speed Mazda 6. The 6 was a great car as well - not the quickest (2016 pre turbo model) but very nimble and did everything well. When it came time to trade that in, I went for something completely different and bought a Charger R/T. I'm not a fan of the Challenger, but I've grown to like the Charger - even made it through a couple of central PA winters albeit with a set of 18 inch wheels and snow tires. The Charger has 65K miles on it now and has never needed anything but regular maintenance - I will likely be trading it on the same thing again shortly. For 2019 Dodge have a 'GT' model Charger that uses the Pentastar V6 and RWD - a little over your budget, but possibly close with the right incentives and discounts.
On the Challenger thing...
I've been borderline obsessed with these since the concept debuted in the mid-2000's. I don't particularly like the 2008-2014 cars as much anymore, but the 2015+ cars are really nice. I've had seat time in two of them: a Challenger GT with the Pentastar and AWD, and a Scat Pack Widebody.
The GT was just ok. It drove fine and had decent power and tons of nice tech (great stereo, heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheel, etc), but it just felt wrong without the V8. It's the only one out of the pony cars that I think can't cut it without a V8 between the fenders.
The Scat Pack, on the other hand... holy crap. This one had the base interior with two cloth front seats and no rears. It was an automatic and I didn't even care. Power was available all the time, and even if you mashed it at 65mph, it took all the safety nannies to keep the car pointed straight! It drove amazing, handled way better than you would think, felt nice enough inside, and is probably my favorite car that I've driven to date. I'd pick one over a Hellcat.
I figure a R/T would be a happy medium between those two cars. Yes, the chassis is ancient at this point, but they really aren't bad cars.
Everyone skipped over talking about the Fusion Sport. I was looking forward to hearing the hive’s thoughts on it. I have test driven one before. The car felt really good. Power was right there when needed. Has all the creature comforts you are wanting. I have read of people putting a 93 octane unleashed tune and running low 13’s, high 12’s in the 1/4. The only dislike I have for it is the tranny. Just like my 2.0 EcoBoost fusion, the tranny just doesn’t shift right especially the 2-3 shift. The tune is supposed to help that quite a bit though.
What does your current 3 need? Can you continue to use it as a train station car? I cringe at the thought of taking something nice and new to the train station only to have it dinged up. Then again, I'd hope your station parking lots are better than the ones around here!
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Again, this will lap & gap that piece of E36 M3 even in “scat” trim. Throw a pulley or two and a tune on it and waste hellcats, too. Yes, I’m jaded and prejudiced.
In reply to dj06482 :
Right now, it needs an A/C condenser and a radiator, both of which are on order. In the near future, it will likely need a clutch and maybe more. I am going to milk this thing as long as I can, but it can go south at a moment's notice. That's what this exploratory thread is for!
In reply to poopshovel again :
I love those CTS V's, but they are still all $30k+ around here. They carry the "GM Performance Tax". Are they faster than a Challenger R/T? Of course.
Also, the Challenger looks better.
(Ducks)
I’ve had several hemi challengers as rental cars and am a big fan. Every time I rent one I end up trolling CL for a used hellcat. Here is my latest rental, it was brand new with only 4 miles on the odometer when I picked it up:
In reply to jrflying :
When we bought DW’s S60 18 months ago, we test drove a Fusion Sport.
It was nice enough but just didn’t grab us. It didn’t seem that fast, though it made plenty of power. It just wasn’t... interesting? enough.
The Fusion starts in the low 20s and even though it can be optioned up to the mid 40s, the basic price point kind of shows.
maisgelb said:Unless you can't get past the looks (and even if you think you can't) you may want to give the 2017+ BMW i3 a try. Every car I owned prior to my 2017 i3 BEV was a manual, but now I'll take the i3 over my S2000 (my previous DD) almost every time. Here are the things it checks on your list: 2017+ (with the bigger battery) starts in the low $20s, fun to drive, plenty of room in front (not so much in back), not a vert, creature comforts, low/no maintenance, LED headlights, dealer network (although this could also be a negative). Snow in Ohio isn't like Mass, but running Blizzaks on the i3 I've never had any problem in the snow. The motor is over the rear wheels so there's plenty of traction. Good luck with your DD search!
Not to thread jack, but are you running the winter tires on the same rims or aftermarket?
And what tire / spec is it?
I was pretty unhappy with the i3 this winter on the stock no-seasons.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
No accounting for bad taste, I suppose. 
Tony Sestito said:In reply to John Welsh :
The Accord Sport is an honorable mention. I like the way the new ones look, and they have favorable reviews, but I'm stuck with the 1.5 car in my price range. The 2.0 cars are around $30k. I think that 1.5L drivetrain would be more fun in the Civic Si, and the Civic has heated seats where the Accord can't have them unless you get the bigger engine.
Has anyone driven the 2.0 Accord? Is it a detuned version of the Type R engine? My 178hp LX Accord was a lot of fun to drive - is this good?
My DD may have a stay of execution for now, but that hasn't stopped me from looking at potential future suitors! 
Another car that I completely forgot existed is the Hyundai Genesis (sedan, not the coupe). I remember them hitting the market, and I know they offered them in a few different configurations, including the swanky Equus model, but I never heard much about them. I know they upgraded from a 4.6L V8 to a 400+hp 5.0L V8 at some point, and they refreshed it around 2015. I spotted a 2015+ model on the road recently and was like "oh yeah, they made those!".
Specs on paper sound great, and they look nice enough. They run the 1/4 in 13.6 and do 0-60 in 5.0 seconds. The interiors are really nice, and offer everything I've been looking for and then some. They are right in my wheelhouse price-wise, with slightly used ones with the V8 available for under $25k. Anyone have experience with these?
poopshovel again said:
...and stick the other $10k in the bank. Or buy 2! Or buy my V2 for $20k, so I can buy a THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR FOCUS lol. Either way you’ll gap & lap the berkeley out of every other car you posted, including that piece of E36 M3 dodge that every brotato and his cousin drives...from the comfort of your heated leather seat...with the kids waving out the back windows.
Im gonna message you about your V
I've only heard nice things about the Genesis. I recall it winning car of the year somewhere.
I like the Civic Si in coupe format, the big rear grills on the sedan are an eyesore. If you can get past that, from what I've read you can turn the horsepower up on them and still get fantastic mileage. The other turbo 4s seem to have a hard time retaining the good highway mileage.
Personally I'd suggest the Ford Focust ST, 15+ I think. Hatchback space, nice seats, manual, LSD, turbo power, affordable, reliable.
A Q50S sounds like the move here. Reliable, quick, comfy and the aftermarket is huge. Bolt-ons and a tune get it to mid-to-high 300s at the tires and coilovers and sway bars really help to make the suspension feel less luxury-focused.
I went to CarMax to look at a volt as a replacement DD, they where busy so I walked around looking at cars. I stopped when I sat in a unknown to me Q50....
G_Body_Man said:A Q50S sounds like the move here. Reliable, quick, comfy and the aftermarket is huge. Bolt-ons and a tune get it to mid-to-high 300s at the tires and coilovers and sway bars really help to make the suspension feel less luxury-focused.
Serious question.
Why buy a luxury car only to make it less luxurious?
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