Test drove a bunch of cars this weekend

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
go test drive the following cars.

Chevy Impala
Buick Lucerne
Hyundai Sonata
Dodge Charger
Dodge magnum
Ford 500-lincoln/mercury "clones" as well.

I rented one of these and hated it. It rides like a big boat with no road feel whatsoever which I've found is typical of GM cars. I wouldn't even bother looking at it.

I rented a Ford 500 also and while it is okay, better than the Lucerne anyway, I wouldn't buy one. The interior is definitely el-cheapo, the engine is underpowered and that CVT transmission is horrible.

you probably wouldnt buy a Cadillac STS-V if it poped out in front of you for $30k.

 

[CellarDoor]

Seriously, go out and try the Sonata. It seems to fit your needs very well, and can be had for less than most of the other cars mentioned. It also reviewed very well.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Maverick

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Have you considered a Mazda or a Subaru? The Subaru Forrester with the 2.5l turbo engine is a pretty sweet car. So is the Legacy with that engine.

I considered the Legacy but the price was a little out of my range. Also the AWD would go to waste for me since I don't have to deal with snow in Texas.

Hmm, they should have some decent incentives on those. You could always send out some internet requests and see what you get back in quotes.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Maverick

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Have you considered a Mazda or a Subaru? The Subaru Forrester with the 2.5l turbo engine is a pretty sweet car. So is the Legacy with that engine.

I considered the Legacy but the price was a little out of my range. Also the AWD would go to waste for me since I don't have to deal with snow in Texas.

Out of your range? The Legacy GT 2.5 Limited (turbo 250HP 19/25MPG) generally goes for around $26K after negotiation, the 2.5i Limited around $21-22K.

 

[GTaudiophile]

What about a Subaru Legacy GT?

Bad ass car!

 

[Mr N8]

Originally posted by: Maverick

Originally posted by: Asharus
But out of all the cars you mentioned, I would go for the Camry

I felt most comfortable with the Camry...but my sales experience was just bad. Its surprising that for the #1 car in America they'd have such issues with something simple like obtaining an SE V6.

Go somewhere else. Some Toyota dealerships jerk people around like that to make a false demand for the car, thus leaving you no room to negotiate on price. When I was looking last fall I was testing Corolla, Matrix, Civic, Elantra, and Sentra. Out of the 3 Toyota dealerships, I only found one that I was able to reason with on price. I ended up with a Civic, though, since Honda was clearing out the '05 to make room for the '06 that was being released a couple of days later.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
go test drive the following cars.

Chevy Impala
Buick Lucerne
Hyundai Sonata
Dodge Charger
Dodge magnum
Ford 500-lincoln/mercury "clones" as well.

I rented one of these and hated it. It rides like a big boat with no road feel whatsoever which I've found is typical of GM cars. I wouldn't even bother looking at it.

I rented a Ford 500 also and while it is okay, better than the Lucerne anyway, I wouldn't buy one. The interior is definitely el-cheapo, the engine is underpowered and that CVT transmission is horrible.

you probably wouldnt buy a Cadillac STS-V if it poped out in front of you for $30k.

In all honestly, I haven't driven any of the recent Cadillacs. The CTS-V would probably be a pretty nice ride but I think it is overpriced and the design doesn't do much for me either. I'd much rather have an Infiniti M45 for that price.

 

[Asharus]

Why not a 4 cyl Camry? I thought you wanted miles per gallon. Oh, and I'm not sure how much the Chrysler 300s are, but they are hot! I'm sure a non-hemi will be in your price range.

 

[Asharus]

BTW, the hemi Chrysler 300 uses an mercedes benz tranny. I'm not sure if the V6 ones do though. I'm a german car enthusiast, but I wouldn't mind driving a 300.

 

[Asharus]

Oh, and I'm pushing for my girl to trader her 92 525i in for a new Camry.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Asharus
Why not a 4 cyl Camry? I thought you wanted miles per gallon. Oh, and I'm not sure how much the Chrysler 300s are, but they are hot! I'm sure a non-hemi will be in your price range.

I rented one of those in Maui a couple years ago. It's not a bad car but I didn't like the seats or the high door sills. Outward vision was pretty bad to the rear also. Out of the big American boatlike sedans this is probably the one I would choose if I were going to buy an American car.

 

[SamurAchzar]

VW Golf GTI. Looks good, goes like the devil, DSG gearbox is a technological marvel.
At the least, go drive one before you commit yourself to a bland Camry.

Glad to be of any help.

 

[gsellis]

A WRX has 4 doors and even a Wagon option :evil:

 

[randomlinh]

heh, i'd say mazda 6 but you already have stated against it. but yeah, the legacy should be w/in range... i'd at least take it for a spin to see if you like it or not. I personally am not a fan of subie's interior, but would definitely take one for auto-x (well, i'd rather have an mx5 for that, but that's besides the point)

 

[Dr. Detroit]

The OP is complaining about bland interiors and boring styling......... yet he refuses to test drive anything from the ZoomZoom family or any American car which may actually have some personality.

Go buy your uninspiring Japanese car:roll:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: SamurAchzar
VW Golf GTI. Looks good, goes like the devil, DSG gearbox is a technological marvel.
At the least, go drive one before you commit yourself to a bland Camry.

Glad to be of any help.

I bet it's a technological nightmare as well.

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
go test drive the following cars.

Chevy Impala
Buick Lucerne
Hyundai Sonata
Dodge Charger
Dodge magnum
Ford 500-lincoln/mercury "clones" as well.

I rented one of these and hated it. It rides like a big boat with no road feel whatsoever which I've found is typical of GM cars. I wouldn't even bother looking at it.

I rented a Ford 500 also and while it is okay, better than the Lucerne anyway, I wouldn't buy one. The interior is definitely el-cheapo, the engine is underpowered and that CVT transmission is horrible.

you probably wouldnt buy a Cadillac STS-V if it poped out in front of you for $30k.

WHERE?? GIMME NOW!

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
go test drive the following cars.

Chevy Impala
Buick Lucerne
Hyundai Sonata
Dodge Charger
Dodge magnum
Ford 500-lincoln/mercury "clones" as well.

I rented one of these and hated it. It rides like a big boat with no road feel whatsoever which I've found is typical of GM cars. I wouldn't even bother looking at it.

I rented a Ford 500 also and while it is okay, better than the Lucerne anyway, I wouldn't buy one. The interior is definitely el-cheapo, the engine is underpowered and that CVT transmission is horrible.

you probably wouldnt buy a Cadillac STS-V if it poped out in front of you for $30k.

In all honestly, I haven't driven any of the recent Cadillacs. The CTS-V would probably be a pretty nice ride but I think it is overpriced and the design doesn't do much for me either. I'd much rather have an Infiniti M45 for that price.

The CTS-V suffers from a lot of depreciation, which means used ones are extremely cheap for what you get.

 

[Maverick]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: Maverick

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Have you considered a Mazda or a Subaru? The Subaru Forrester with the 2.5l turbo engine is a pretty sweet car. So is the Legacy with that engine.

I considered the Legacy but the price was a little out of my range. Also the AWD would go to waste for me since I don't have to deal with snow in Texas.

Out of your range? The Legacy GT 2.5 Limited (turbo 250HP 19/25MPG) generally goes for around $26K after negotiation, the 2.5i Limited around $21-22K.

I'm gonna look into this now...earlier I was seeing the starting at $28K price on the website and instantly turned away.

Now it seems like they're in a model year end clearance on these so I might be able to get one more in my range. Also hopefully they give me more for my trade.

I'll update this thread after I test drive one tonight

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: Strk

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
go test drive the following cars.

Chevy Impala
Buick Lucerne
Hyundai Sonata
Dodge Charger
Dodge magnum
Ford 500-lincoln/mercury "clones" as well.

I rented one of these and hated it. It rides like a big boat with no road feel whatsoever which I've found is typical of GM cars. I wouldn't even bother looking at it.

I rented a Ford 500 also and while it is okay, better than the Lucerne anyway, I wouldn't buy one. The interior is definitely el-cheapo, the engine is underpowered and that CVT transmission is horrible.

you probably wouldnt buy a Cadillac STS-V if it poped out in front of you for $30k.

In all honestly, I haven't driven any of the recent Cadillacs. The CTS-V would probably be a pretty nice ride but I think it is overpriced and the design doesn't do much for me either. I'd much rather have an Infiniti M45 for that price.

The CTS-V suffers from a lot of depreciation, which means used ones are extremely cheap for what you get.

i would so buy a V if i had the money, 4 door caddy that does 60 in high 4 sec

 

[Blazin Trav]

Go with Subaru.

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: Doboji
You skipped a few others too...

Hyundai Sonata
Mazda 6

A mazda6 V6 or MazdaSpeed6 will do yah great. Theres always the RX8 option too...it tries to have 4 doors.

My 1999 Mazda 626 V6 (which is basically the Mazda 6 they just shortened the name) is a blast to drive...try to get a stick though...I got to testdrive two--one without and one with...I bought the one with the stick and couldn't be happier.

Also, have you considered dealer pre-owned? An 04 or 05 would drop the price substantially, and wouldn't really take away from reliability when dealing with Mazda, Honda or Toyota.

 

[Maverick]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
The OP is complaining about bland interiors and boring styling......... yet he refuses to test drive anything from the ZoomZoom family or any American car which may actually have some personality.
Go buy your uninspiring Japanese car:roll:

I also care about reliability/quality. I'm sorry, but I just don't see that Mazdas or most American cars in my price range meet my standards for reliability.

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: Maverick
I've tossed around the idea of getting a Mazda 6...but the reliability seems below that of Nissan and more on par with Volkswagen. For the price, I'd rather get a Volkswagen.

The reliablity issues that faced that car were mainly seen in the Mazdaspeed version...and were more performance related than reliability. If I'm not mistaken, they've fixed the sudden power loss problem present in the magority of the 04 MazdaSpeed 6's.

 

[thecritic]

Do you need a Navi or Non-Navi vehicle?

The Acura TSX is a good car for about $25K plus TTL. It has a 2.4L, 200HP I-4, but power is a non-issue. It comes fully loaded, only option is Navi which adds around $2000. Though it stickers at $27K, people have been buying them for much less than that if you try hard enough. AcuraZine is a great forum for acuras.