Jaynen said:If I was going to be in your situation with the 2 car route I think I would go Mazda5 over Fit, dealing with kids is a lot easier with sliding doors
The Mazda 5 is supposed to be a rather good in-between of a minivan and a Fit. I also do love sliding doors, and think that more of the larger classes of vehicles should utilize them. But honestly, t have found that the Fit is almost always narrow enough even with the doors open that they're really a non-issue.
RX8, I have put 4 adults( 5'9" ,5'11", 6'0" and 6'4" ) in my RX8
Yes, the Mk7 GTI is very desirable. It’s at the very top of my price range though - I could only afford ones close to being out of factory warranty - and I don’t know if the stigma of VW poor quality holds true or not. I can do all basic maintenance on my own etc but major engine work I don’t want to ever have to do on my daily driver.
Jaynen said:
If I was going to be in your situation with the 2 car route I think I would go Mazda5 over Fit, dealing with kids is a lot easier with sliding doors
For about a year when our firstborn was new to us, we owned both a Mazda5 and a Fit. The sliding doors were extremely nice and the 5 was nicer on the freeway with a bit more space (not as much as you might think though) - the things that made us keep the Fit over the 5 were 1) mpg was about 10 better on the Fit, and 2) the Fit was much better in reliability and finish. The 5 had a few little and medium things go wrong with it, and 5 years later now the Fit still is chugging along eagerly.
Chevy volt + nb.
You can get CTSV's for in your price range. I have seen them in the low teens. Reliability depends on how you hammer and carful shopping of course.
CTSV.. How many miles do you drive? If mpg matters might be a no go. Speed3.. ok why not Speed6. If you need reliability and interior space.. Accord base 6spd could still be fun. If you are open to VW, remember some of the roomier VW's have that 2.0t, its not just the GTI. Matrix XRS with the 2zz? Or they made a few Corolla with 2zz also. I'm also a fan of the Mazdaa5 and sliding doors. Manual 5's are difficult to track down and the mpg isn't as hot as you would think. I hope mazda will get their skyactiv motor into the 5, but I don't know how well that model is doing. It should be a nice boost to the fuel economy if/when they do.
8valve said:I hope mazda will get their skyactiv motor into the 5, but I don't know how well that model is doing. It should be a nice boost to the fuel economy if/when they do.
That would have been awesome to get the Skyactiv motor in them here, but 2015 was the last year Mazda imported the 5 to the US...So don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.
Driven5 said:The (pre-2015) Fit is fantastic for what it is, and has served us extremely well in multiple roles, but being a frequent 2x kid hauler does not seem to 'fit' very well into "what it is" so far...With any luck though, a harness booster might be 'enough' of an improvement to at least prolong its usefulness to our family.
Update: Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for harness boosters! As hoped, it allows the driver's seat to remain in a position that is (barely) adequate, and yet also allows just enough space to climb into the harness booster. It's still less-than-ideal, but as long as kid spacing is well planned or lucky it can 'Fit' acceptably into the expanded family duties.
Appreciate all the responses, including the unexpected suggestions. That 128 looks pretty sweet, too.
I should've mentioned that we primarily takes my wife's car with the toddler, so my ride just needs to accommodate us from time to time.
Not what you are looking for, most likely another unexpected suggestion, but Jaguar XJ long wheelbase models from the Ford era are pretty reliable. I have a GIGANTIC conversion-rear-facing car seat in the back of mine, and there's several inches of room between it and the front seats. Opposed to my wife's CX5, that has a much smaller rear-facing seat and we have to move the seats several inches forward to get it to fit.
oilstain said:Not what you are looking for, most likely another unexpected suggestion, but Jaguar XJ long wheelbase models from the Ford era are pretty reliable. I have a GIGANTIC conversion-rear-facing car seat in the back of mine, and there's several inches of room between it and the front seats. Opposed to my wife's CX5, that has a much smaller rear-facing seat and we have to move the seats several inches forward to get it to fit.
You must be friends with my buddy Kevin who seems to always have at least 2 Jags at a time. (Insert Jag reliability joke here). I don’t know much about them, but happy to learn that they’re more reliable in the Ford era. This will be an autocross car, though, so something a bit smaller is probably a better choice.
One of the reasons that I ended up selling my Focus ST when we moved to the left coast was that our carseat only fit in the middle in the back - and that was the infant seat. Our primary car is an '09 Fit, and I did a bunch of research to find the smallest rear-facing convertible. We ended up with a Maxi-Cosi Pria 70, which works reasonably well in the Fit.
I've been enamored by the few sedans we've rented lately while traveling. It's a lot easier to fit the stroller and suitcases in the trunk than in the hatch area of either the Fit or the Focus. We're probably going to be shopping in the next few months and I'm thinking the Mazda 6 might be an option.
This is a long way of saying go for the 2 car solution - something like an accord for daily/kid hauling, and a Miata for autocross.
Chuckable said:Appreciate all the responses, including the unexpected suggestions. That 128 looks pretty sweet, too.
I should've mentioned that we primarily takes my wife's car with the toddler, so my ride just needs to accommodate us from time to time.
I also found out today the 128i has quite thetuning potential with headers/intake/exhaust.....like 240-250whp potential.
You can find nice, low mileage ones for well under your budget.
I loooooved my 128i. Had a six-speed, premium/sport/cold weather package with red seats and BBS rimzz. Power-to-weight wise (and size-wise, too) it's effectively a modern E36 M3, but with less broken stuff and a much nicer interior. Go 2009+ for the updated iDrive which is actually pretty good, if equipped.
You can throw on the early E90 330i (among others, E60 530i, X3 3.0si, X5 3.0i) intake manifold and retune the car for some significant power gains, but you must have one with the N52 engine. Some states got the N51 which is a SULEV engine - mine was - and while it already has the better manifold, the compression or something is different so you can't get the #gainz as easily. It's easy to check, just run the VIN through any BMW VIN decoder first.
The 128i is by far one of the best cars I've ever owned. I had a first-year Focus ST and got rid of it after just 11 months to buy the 1er, which was a better car in every single way.
If you want a FoST, just get a GTI. It's the better car.
Chuckable said:Yes, the Mk7 GTI is very desirable. It’s at the very top of my price range though - I could only afford ones close to being out of factory warranty - and I don’t know if the stigma of VW poor quality holds true or not. I can do all basic maintenance on my own etc but major engine work I don’t want to ever have to do on my daily driver.
I'm researching MK6 and 7 GTi's for a new daily/autox car. It appears that unrealiable VW's went out with the MK4, although first year models of all the generations have some teething issues. MK5's had timing belts then switched to chains with MK6. MK5's and MK6's have issues with carbon buildup on the intake that seems to have improved for MK7. DSG requires servicing every 30k miles or so. Carbon seems to be a problem with all DI engines, VW just gets most of the blame. I had a 2006 Audi A3 for a few years and loved it, sold it due to not being able to fit 2 car seats and booster in the back seat.
Since you will primarily use your wife's car for the kid and this is only occasional use, how about an NB or NC Miata? I know you said back seat for the kid, but at least some states allow rear facing car seats in the front if there are no back seats available.
In reply to tomtomgt356 :
Plus it should be appreciably easier to get the kid in and out of the rear facing seat in a MIata, than from the back of a 128i.
I'd immediately choose an E90 over anything else, but I'm biased as I've mostly owned BMW's over the past few years. RWD is an absolute must for me, I'd never buy a FWD car. AWD is okay if it can be disabled and/or if it's rear-biased like on a BMW xDrive (not front-biased like the VW's). The E90's have excellent steering, are a good size, and are decently quick too so you won't be lacking in power. The naturally aspirated E90's are quite reliable too.
What about a 6-speed G37S sedan? Fast, composed, reliable, the long wheelbase makes for a roomy cabin, a RWD sports sedan with no euro-spec oil necessary. It seems to tick a fair few boxes.
All good ideas! The G37 I’ve checked into, but not too enjoyable to drive. Kinda big and heavy. Wife says no way to a 2-seater so no Miata. My buddy has a 2009 328i and won’t stop raving about it. The MK7 GTI seems like the sensible choice, but RWD really is more fun.
Tall driver + modern rear facing car seat is a pain; I had to get rid of an E36 convertible for that reason Not sure later 3 series cars are any better at rear seat room. This seems to call for a mid sized or larger car. I like the CTS-V idea; they're a bit larger than a 3 series. Or a Chrysler LX platform car with a Hemi if you can live with an automatic. Another one that comes to mind is an Acura TL with a manual.
09-14 WRX or STi. Seems to check all those boxes, and does all of them pretty well
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