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Thinking about trading her in... but on what?

sanchezcruz_20

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Recently came to the realization that my Mustang is 2 years old and has only 6k miles on the clock.

It's basically sitting in the 3rd garage bay most of the time, collecting dust. Seems kind of wasteful. Add to that, a young, growing family and lack of practicality, the decision kind of became evident.

Over the pasts couple weeks, I came to the tough decision to return to stock and trade the Mustang in. But for what!?!??

Here's what I'm thinking for prerequisites for the new car...

1. Automatic? I'm tired of shifting and commuting back and forth to work is easier with an automatic (though I could certainly live with a manual, as I have most of my life). I must just be getting lazy, but the fact that modern auto tranny's are so great anymore just pushes me away from the manual.

2. AWD. One reason the Mustang has remained in such a low mileage state is the Ohio climate. I'm simply not able to drive it 365 days a year. Obviously it's not a great commuter in the snow. AWD would give me a little versatility for inclement weather while also adding a certain performance component that I desire.

3. Four doors. Just simply having a couple extra doors out back adds an enormous about of practicality. Being able to toss some crap back there or even an occasional child car seat would be convenient.

4. Sporty. Goes without saying. I'll still need something that is FUN to drive.

My current daily driver is a 2006 Infiniti G35x. Honestly, it ticks most of boxes for what I'm looking for but it's getting a little dated and I wouldn't mind an upgrade if this new vehicle is going to be my ONLY car. Background: my wife drives a Honda Odyssey that gets 99% of the family duties.

What I'm planning to do is, trade the Mustang in and either also trade the Infiniti along with the Mustang or sell it privately. Likely, the latter.

A few vehicles came to mind when I sat down to tackle this dilemma. I've recently test drove:

1. 2017 VW Golf R (very nice but a bit pricey for a Golf...?)
2. 2017 VW Golf GTI (nice but just so so on performance)
3. 2017 Ford Focus RS (Fun to drive! But only comes manual, and not quite as refined/comfy as the Golf)

Note; one thing I also tend to gravitate towards are smaller'ish cars. I like the way they drive. Not sure why, it's just a preference I guess.

Also on my short list to take a look at are the Audi S3 (basically just a more expensive Golf R?) and S4 (likely buy used). The Audi's seem to good options for me due to quattro availability and I'm drawn to their luxury appeal. I've never owned a German car, perhaps this is a good opportunity.

I briefly considered an automatic WRX, never driven one of those either. But that platform is really aging, seems as if it needs a major overhaul.

The Lexus IS line seems kind of boring... but I do love Japanese build quality.

I don't know. I'm kind of all over the place and that's why I wondered if you guys had any suggestions? What's out there that is a great ALL-AROUNDER?

I'm trying to keep the purchase price of the vehicle around $45K or less.
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Strokerswild

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Zodiac

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Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 AWD?
 
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There's nothing sporty about a Jeep Wrangler. Sorry.
 

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sanchezcruz_20

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Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 AWD?
Agreed. Wrangles are sweet and check all your boxes.
There's nothing sporty about a Jeep Wrangler. Sorry.
Lol. Yeah, I guess I kind of see their point though. Wanglers are FUN to drive. I've dabbled in the Jeep scene a bit. Definitely enjoyed the offroading component.

If I had to be more specific, I'd say I'm looking for a sporty sedan.

The Infiniti that Zodiac mentioned would be a good example. I will look into it a bit. Might be a little more than I'm wanting to spend.
 

Mike02z

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Trust me, you don't want a Focus RS as a daily driver. Probably great to use on a track but the ride is unbelievably punishing. Every slight imperfection in the road is felt. The car bounces and your a** will be sore after 1 60 minute trip.

You want 4 doors, AWD, Automatic and sporty? Nissan GTR.
 
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sanchezcruz_20

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Trust me, you don't want a Focus RS as a daily driver. Probably great to use on a track but the ride is unbelievably punishing. Every slight imperfection in the road is felt. The car bounces and your a** will be sore after 1 60 minute trip.

You want 4 doors, AWD, Automatic and sporty? Nissan GTR.
Yeah, I wasn't especially impressed with the Focus RS interior either.

GTR is a 2 door though.. right?
 

Zodiac

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Lol. Yeah, I guess I kind of see their point though. Wanglers are FUN to drive. I've dabbled in the Jeep scene a bit. Definitely enjoyed the offroading component.

If I had to be more specific, I'd say I'm looking for a sporty sedan.

The Infiniti that Zodiac mentioned would be a good example. I will look into it a bit. Might be a little more than I'm wanting to spend.
Definitely deals to be had on them. I've seen some stellar discounts and if you are open to leasing there have been some damn good deals on them.
 

speedfrk

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You could get a Charger or Challenger with the AWD... They aren't "smallish" but they drive very nicely and you can buy new with crazy rebates and discounts. The 8 sp automatic is a great transmission.
 

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NHEcoboost

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I recently came across an Evo MR, 2015, but 0 miles, under $42K...would be a fun all weather commuter!
 
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sanchezcruz_20

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I recently came across an Evo MR, 2015, but 0 miles, under $42K...would be a fun all weather commuter!
I will look into the Evo. Kind of forgot about that one!
 

Jackie Chan

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Lease an srt8 jeep and get rid of both cars
 
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sanchezcruz_20

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Lease an srt8 jeep and get rid of both cars
Funny you mention that. I tried that before. Then I traded the Jeep in on the Mustang hahaha.

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Hack

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I've looked around for AWD sporty vehicles, but in our area they seem to be overpriced for what you get. VW and Audi are pricey. Subaru is ok, but still expensive for the amount of performance. I would just buy some good snow tires for the Mustang, get rid of the extra car and drive the Mustang more.
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