What Car? Fun Daily/Highway Bomber

Long highway trips are a pretty consistent part of my life- to see family, friends, or attend events. We currently do not have a good vehicle for doing this without a trailer, since the tow rig barely gets 15mpg unloaded and the 318ti is buzzy and unpleasant at 85mph.

What would make a fun occasional DD and an excellent highway vehicle? Let's cap the price at $5k, and set a 20mpg minimum. I like old Japanese stuff, so the older Supra and various Datsun/Nissan ZX cars come to mind, but I'm interested to see what the hive comes up with.

This also seems like a fun idea.

A Japanese Wangan runner, like a Mk3 Supra (not good for much else) or 300ZX(TT). They can make those long highway stretches disappear real fast, and in comfort!

GameboyRMH wrote: A Japanese Wangan runner, like a Mk3 Supra (not good for much else) or 300ZX(TT). They can make those long highway stretches disappear real fast, and in comfort!

I was also going to suggest these 2. They are pretty good GT cars that can soak up the miles at speed, and personally both of them are great looking

How bout those v8 rwd lexuses guys are always talking about on here?

In reply to gearheadmb:

Maybe, although I strongly prefer a manual transmission. It looks like swapping them isn't impossible, though.

I have a Buick Regal with the 3800 Supercharged motor - long highway trips are what it does best, and it's not bad in town. $5000 should get you the cleanest example of a supercharged W-body out there. No factory stick shift option, although I've seen swaps.

C4 Corvettes have surprisingly good highway legs - as long as you're on smooth pavement. Ice cracked Northern roads might be unpleasant. And you can get them with a ZF 6 speed.

Another potentially interesting domestic choice would be an MN12 Thunderbird, Cougar, or Mk VIII. Kind of like a modern interpretation of a malaise era personal luxury coupe, with a V8 up front driving the rear wheels - only with fully independent suspension, EFI, and other more modern touches. Just saw the manual requirement - to get one of these with a factory stick shift, you'd need to get the supercharged V6.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: This also seems like a fun idea.

Swedish brick will not get 20 mpgs I dont think, they do look fun though.....

What about the 240/260/280ZX? I've always loved the looks, but I'm not sure if parts availability is good enough to keep one going at this point.

SC300/IS300?

java230 wrote:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: This also seems like a fun idea.

Swedish brick will not get 20 mpgs I dont think, they do look fun though.....

no, but a manual transmission 850 will.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: This also seems like a fun idea.

Damn... I want that.

mad_machine wrote:

java230 wrote:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: This also seems like a fun idea.

Swedish brick will not get 20 mpgs I dont think, they do look fun though.....

no, but a manual transmission 850 will.

Barely. Assuming a manual gets better MPG than an automatic. It is a comfortably cruising car, tho.

I think this could be a good place for an Accord Coupe with manual. 4cyl or 6cyl.

The coupes seem to sell much cheaper than the sedan.

Ian F wrote:

mad_machine wrote:

java230 wrote:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: This also seems like a fun idea.

Swedish brick will not get 20 mpgs I dont think, they do look fun though.....

no, but a manual transmission 850 will.

Barely. Assuming a manual gets better MPG than an automatic. It is a comfortably cruising car, tho.

My auto 850 Turbo got well over 20mpg on long trips. Short mixed city/highway like my 7 mile commute it was more like 19mpg, but on highway trips like OP is describing it was around 25-27mpg.

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

What you need for long highway trips is stealth. Since you mentioned Japanese, buy the nicest Accord, Maxima, Altima, or whatever Lexus/Infinity you can find within your budget and enjoy the drive - you might even get lucky and find one with a manual.

2nd-generation Acura Legend. Available in 2 and 4-door form, punchy 3.2L with available manual transmission. The C35 from the RL is also a bolt in swap and really makes them a tire-burner. Plenty of room, every luxury option available, and not a bad looker.

e39 540i 6-speed

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes, this. See recent v6 accord coupe thread. 5k should get a you a higher mileage, but well taken care of v6 manual coupe

While I appreciate the suggestions of Accords and 850s, I think we have different definitions of the word "fun"

If I want to go non-fun, and get something that isn't all that enjoyable on my 30 mile twisty backroad commute, then I can probably cut the budget way down and get a Roadmaster that just sits when it isn't roadtripping.

P71 hasn't been mentioned yet?

You can add Anime stickers to get that Japanese-look!

Sounds to me like a job for the G series infiniti. Mine eats up the highway miles with ease but will bomb corners pretty good. The bonus is in 65K miles I've only done maintenance items.

ebonyandivory wrote: P71 hasn't been mentioned yet? You can add Anime stickers to get that Japanese-look!

I was going to say Marauder. There was an '03 for sale near me not too long ago for around $5k. I was sorely tempted. I think the EPA rating for MPG was 17/23. Slightly de-tuned Cobra engine...

A manual transmission is just a junkyard away, but the 4R75W is no slouch.

I do lots of highway trips like you do, and my choice was a 1998 GS400 - not manual, but when I'm driving 600 miles in a day on a trip I really don't care too much. The comfort and quiet (and decent power of the V8) offsets the whole auto thing. The car does DD duty a few times a month, but the rest of the time I take the NA Miata or the motorcycle for the fun factor.

I'm loving my 2001 Lexus GS430. Yeah, it's an automatic, but it's the best highway cruiser I've owned (better than my old MN12 T-Bird). It's not bad in the curves, at least not for its size. Growing up driving 70's RWD GM cars, it is weird that I had to go Japanese in order to get a midsize RWD V8 sedan.