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Recommend me a "Young Professionals" Car

post #1 of 73
11/9/07 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
As the wife no longer likes the GTI for not apparant reason...


We have a few options:
As I am truly a gear head by nature, I must have a sense of sportiness with refinement and quality

I have narrowed my search down to:

Volvo C30 2.0 T5 (Same platform and power as the European playboy Ford Focus ST)
*Pros - Love the look, the power of the T5 and the interior styling
*Cons - Handling is good, just not as good as my GTI

Audi S3 - Pretty pretty and basically an extended R32
*Pros - AWD with a nice V6 power plant... Audi styling (masculine front end) and quite a luxurious interior
*Cons - in Canada it's 47K!!!! 47K (of which our dollar is quite strong right now) and is basically just that for a Golf platform R32 UGH

BMW - 335
*PRO - Amazing power delivery and handsome styling with the coupe. Handles with the best of them
*Cons - Costs (56K CAD) and RWD for our winters is grueling work

Audi A4 - Advant
*Pros - A more mature platform of which doesn't look like a extended golf with again the handsome audi styling
*Cons - Great power plant, but the 2.0L is anemic for the weight/size of the car. Costs -- 50K

Subaru WRX
*PRO - Decently powerful 2.0L turbo with AWD and handles nicely
Price is very attractive at being only 34K CAD
*Cons - Feel of cheapness in what I would say is typical of alot of "Japanese" cars... not that the materials are bad, but when it comes down to the sound dampening and other details that it misses... is likely the cost differences between it and a A3/S3
Cons -- Styling has become more contemporaneity, yet still screams a bit of a rice rocket
IF I HAD A CHOICE, I'D BUY THE STI! BUT I DON'T


On the flip side of everything... If I had wanted a functional toy... i'd buy these:
1. STI
2. Own GTI
3. Mazdaspeed 3 or Ford Focus ST (Eurospec Orange hatch)
4. Civic Type R (4dr japanese spec in Japanese racing white)
5. Volvo C30 2.0 T5
6. Nissan Sentra Spec-V 200hp\Civic SI
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post #2 of 73
11/9/07 at 5:37pm
the real question is, how much are you willing to spend?
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post #3 of 73
11/9/07 at 5:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by r3cc0s View Post
As the wife no longer likes the GTI for not apparant reason...


We have a few options:
As I am truly a gear head by nature, I must have a sense of sportiness with refinement and quality

I have narrowed my search down to:

Volvo C30 2.0 T5 (Same platform and power as the European playboy Ford Focus ST)
*Pros - Love the look, the power of the T5 and the interior styling
*Cons - Handling is good, just not as good as my GTI

Audi S3 - Pretty pretty and basically an extended R32
*Pros - AWD with a nice V6 power plant... Audi styling (masculine front end) and quite a luxurious interior
*Cons - in Canada it's 47K!!!! 47K (of which our dollar is quite strong right now) and is basically just that for a Golf platform R32 UGH

BMW - 335
*PRO - Amazing power delivery and handsome styling with the coupe. Handles with the best of them
*Cons - Costs (56K CAD) and RWD for our winters is grueling work

Audi A4 - Advant
*Pros - A more mature platform of which doesn't look like a extended golf with again the handsome audi styling
*Cons - Great power plant, but the 2.0L is anemic for the weight/size of the car. Costs -- 50K

Subaru WRX
*PRO - Decently powerful 2.0L turbo with AWD and handles nicely
Price is very attractive at being only 34K CAD
*Cons - Feel of cheapness in what I would say is typical of alot of "Japanese" cars... not that the materials are bad, but when it comes down to the sound dampening and other details that it misses... is likely the cost differences between it and a A3/S3
Cons -- Styling has become more contemporaneity, yet still screams a bit of a rice rocket
IF I HAD A CHOICE, I'D BUY THE STI! BUT I DON'T


On the flip side of everything... If I had wanted a functional toy... i'd buy these:
1. STI
2. Own GTI
3. Mazdaspeed 3 or Ford Focus ST (Eurospec Orange hatch)
4. Civic Type R (4dr japanese spec in Japanese racing white)
5. Volvo C30 2.0 T5
6. Nissan Sentra Spec-V 200hp\Civic SI

What do you mean by "young professional"? If it's a job where you have to give superiors rides to lunch, or you have to pick up customers from airports, I'd go with something like the Volvo, Audi or Bimmer. I love the look of the new C30's, so I'd suggest that one. Oh, and if you get the T5, it's 2.5, not 2.0 liters . Sorry, I know tons of random crap about cars. I wish I was in your predicament, though.

"0 noes! Wich awesome car to chooz?!"

Buy whichever one makes you happy, that's my motto.
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post #4 of 73
11/9/07 at 5:47pm
BMW 135i

or

3-5 yr old BMW 540i
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post #5 of 73
11/9/07 at 5:49pm
my favorite new refined but fun car is definitely the audi A5 (S5 if you can afford it). It has the new audi chassis and better weight distribution than the last gen A4, and it looks amazing. If you don't want a coupe though, I think most of the cars on your list are good. Imo the 335 is like the AKG K701, awesome on paper does everything so well but just doesn't seem special at all. The character of the car is blah to me, that's just imo of course. For some reason I just feel like they are really similiar it's wierd heh. You could also wait for the 135, will be 335 but smaller, 200 lbs lighter, and cheaper but it does have bad proportions. If your looking at the subaru wrx I recommend looking at the legacy instead. It is just as fast for the most part handling is slightly worse but it is fun, bigger, and more refined. It also doesn't look like a pig...
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post #6 of 73
11/9/07 at 5:52pm
I'd personally go for the STI, however the "young professional" look you're going for would lead me to the BMW 3 series.

EDIT: 335xi is AWD if it's offered in your location.

Another car I might consider in your price range is the Cadillac CTS-V, a very handsome car with a 6 liter V8 and 400 HP would be quite nice, although possibly a little heavy for your tastes.
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post #7 of 73
11/9/07 at 6:00pm
I thought " Professionals " drove a Capri or an RS2000.

Sorry an old English TV show. I could not resist.

Older UK head-fiers will get it !!!!!!!
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post #8 of 73
11/9/07 at 6:01pm
Acura TL-Type S
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post #9 of 73
11/9/07 at 6:02pm
Acura TL or RL
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post #10 of 73
11/9/07 at 6:03pm
I you like the GTI keep it.
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post #11 of 73
11/9/07 at 6:17pm
What, no Passat GLI?
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post #12 of 73
11/9/07 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhirnigs113 View Post
Acura TL-Type S
BINGO we have a winner
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post #13 of 73
11/9/07 at 7:05pm
one more reco for the Acura TL. Excellent car

I would also consider the Infiniti G35. great car.
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post #14 of 73
11/9/07 at 7:12pm
if you like the qualities of the wrx, but want more refinement, go Legacy GT - easy choice (given your criteria)

for value, if you consider used, a low mileage 540i would serve well
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post #15 of 73
11/9/07 at 7:35pm
You can read up on the "The $40,000 question" thread in Gear-Fi. Your chocies in AWD mid-sized luxury marquee are:

BMW 328/335xi
Mercedes C300/C350 4matic
Audi A4 quattro
Lexus IS250
Infiniti G35x
Acura RL
Cadillac CTS (which is really a full sized car, but its cheap)
Lincoln MKZ

Equipped with similar options (auto, leather, xenon, nav, sat radio, moonroof) they are all in the $39,000 - $46,000 range.

If you have children who are older than 9 or need to put adults in the back seat regularly you'll want to look into AWD fullsize luxury marquee (5 series, e class, etc etc)
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