So, 4 years ago I got an 2008 Altima Coupe 3.5 SE. It's been pretty fun to drive and reliable so far (I know, I know NMSJ comments inc!). Anyways, we had a kid 2 years ago and 2 doors just isn't cutting it anymore.

So I'm trying to find:

- 4 Doors
- Overall Length <= 184" (So it will fit in my garage bay, we have a crappy design garage)
- Decent power so I don't feel like I'm losing what the Altima has
- A "fun" vehicle to drive
- Enough space for my wife and a 2 year old
- Nice tech features like Bluetooth, Nav, push button start, etc.
- Decent gas mileage, preferably in the 23-30 range
- Around $25-28K sticker

So far I've been looking at the following new cars:

- Civic Si Sedan (looks like production is slowed b/c of tsunami fallout)
- Nissan Juke (Short supply b/c of tsunami and it's a new model vehicle)
- Mazdaspeed3
- Jetta GLI (doesn't look like it's available quite yet)

More or less these are all turbo charged 4 cylinders. I'm just trying to make sure there aren't other suggestions I'm glossing over. I'm new to this segment.

I've test driven:
- Mazdaspeed3: I really like the roar of the engine on the Speed3, but the torque steer on it was pretty hefty and was probably a bit too much power for the size of the vehicle. Interior was a little cheap feeling too.
- Juke: Was really surprised at the "fun" level of the vehicle. Good back seat space, but pretty piss poor trunk space. Enjoyed the car and actually tried to get the dealership to locate one in a color I liked with proper options, but to no avail.

What else should I be looking into?

6/6/2011 9:23:18 PM

GTI?

And poke around...there are a number of threads that compare these cars against each other

6/6/2011 9:29:01 PM

Golf GTI four door. Pretty much ticks all those boxes.

6/6/2011 10:22:12 PM

Just sold my 08. Loved it.

6/6/2011 10:36:00 PM

why get something new/nice to stick a 2 year old in to trash? grab a wagon for $cheap and keep what you got before you take new car depreciation twice in a row

6/7/2011 3:09:38 AM

The only one of those choices that can keep up with the Altima is the Speed3.

Have you thought about a WRX hatchback? (or sedan) That would be my pick. Are you looking for just a manual transmission?


And seriously, who really cares if a car has push button start?

6/7/2011 8:13:27 AM

^
I've considered the WRX, but with features they tend to stretch outside my comfortable price range unless I buy used. Otherwise, I think it would fit pretty nicely into all those categories. The VW GTI seems to be really nice as well. I've been waffling on test driving one of those, so maybe it's worth a look.

And regarding push button start, it's just a nice feature I've grown accustomed to over the past four years. Never having to take my keys out of my pocket has been very cool.

^^
I've always bought new and understand that, to a degree, I'm throwing away money by doing so. However, I've never had a mechanical issue or service time (other than standard oil changes, etc for maintenance) for any of the cars I've purchased, which I can't say for all my friends that have bought used. The peace of mind of knowing it wasn't driven to shit by someone else is worth the depreciation hit, at least at this point in my life. However, given the right circumstance, I'm not opposed to looking at something used. I just haven't seen anything that had me that motivated to consider it yet.

6/7/2011 10:16:33 AM

I agree with smoothcrim. Eventually a kid is going to trash this car.

6/7/2011 10:18:38 AM

speed 3 is awesome legacy gt (near and dear to my heart) is a lot of fun too with a stronger engine and the new wrx is a VERY capable car.

and since i don't know any 2 door altima owners to ask this question to,

WHY DID YOU BUY THIS CAR?
Its a FWD G35 or a fwd 350z with a back seat.


[Edited on June 7, 2011 at 10:28 AM. Reason : .]

6/7/2011 10:26:21 AM

With the 2 y/o I'm thinking a hatchback might be too small. Just get a pimped out used WRX wagon and be done with it can you get them certified?

Or maybe a certified a4 wagon.

6/7/2011 10:34:16 AM

+1 for mazda3 hatchback

6/7/2011 10:37:14 AM

Suzuki Sx4!!!

[Edited on June 7, 2011 at 12:11 PM. Reason : use the money you save to take your wife on a nice vacation]

6/7/2011 12:10:42 PM

new WRX gas mileage isn't all that great which is important if mpg > fun for you. on my 09 i got about 20mpg mixed highway/city, maybe 18-ish city only, and if you cruise at like 50-55 on the highway you can hit 28 mpg but step on the gas a little more and it'll drop. to me this seems low for a new hatchback, even though it technically is the most fun you can probably have at that brand new price point. too bad the STI is exponentially worse

6/7/2011 12:18:08 PM

WRX

WRX

WRX

6/7/2011 12:59:26 PM

^^ having the same engine in my LGT + a couple hundred pounds i get 22-23 mixed and 27-29 highway. and it is low... but you also have an extra 10% drivetrain loss which equates to an extra 10% more fuel being burned to establish the same whp as a FWD car.

soo... its worth it to meeeeeeeeeeeee.


[Edited on June 7, 2011 at 2:02 PM. Reason : .]

6/7/2011 1:56:45 PM

Quote :

"WHY DID YOU BUY THIS CAR? Its a FWD G35 or a fwd 350z with a back seat. "

It was also 5-10K cheaper and I had owned an earlier generation Altima, so I was comfortable with them. Again, historically I've been 100% opposed to used vehicles, though as I get older I am a little more comfortable with the idea, if the situation suits me.

----------------

Thanks for all the suggestions. It seems like I need to consider the WRX.

Also, I'm not worried at all about a kid trashing the car. My wife has a Pathfinder that we use for long trips and what not. This vehicle is so I can easily pick the kid up from day care if my wife can't. If we need to take a short trip out to the store around town. Or maybe on a shorter drive to like the zoo or something. Longer trips (beach, mountains, etc) would be done in her vehicle.

It used not to be a big deal for me not to be able to pick the kid up because her mom was keeping her at our house and I always had her vehicle to use worst case. But her mom has stage 4 pancreatic cancer now and generally is too weak to come over and babysit. So we're having to make some adjustments on the fly here.

6/7/2011 2:22:13 PM

Quote :

"Again, historically I've been 100% opposed to used vehicles,"

man, I wish I had it like you.

6/7/2011 5:37:39 PM

Toyota Matrix.

6/7/2011 5:40:56 PM

^^

I'll openly admit it's a money wasting endeavor. But it's just the way I've always done it. But I'm on that Obama tip... can always change.

6/7/2011 6:11:59 PM

What about something 1-3 years old in a Certified Pre-Owned situation? Could open up some doors for you like WRX, Audi A3 or A4 Avant, 328i sedan or wagon, etc.

[Edited on June 7, 2011 at 6:20 PM. Reason : s]

6/7/2011 6:19:59 PM

Ugly POS!!

6/7/2011 6:20:41 PM

The one I test drove didn't look quite like that, but it is... a narrow market... that will find that car attractive. However, the people that drive one will find it's a pretty fun ride.

It's certainly not the prettiest vehicle on the road, by any stretch of the imagination.

6/7/2011 6:28:47 PM

the juke grew on me.. i like it now.

6/7/2011 7:29:01 PM

The Juke reminds me of a horseshoe crab.

I don't like the aesthetics of the car, yet a part of me likes it. It's like it's so ugly but it's different and creative, which I can appreciate. I want to mistake those headlights for fogs...

6/7/2011 8:37:26 PM

Quote :

"Again, historically I've been 100% opposed to used vehicles"

6/7/2011 10:01:11 PM

Quote :

"What about something 1-3 years old in a Certified Pre-Owned situation? Could open up some doors for you like WRX, Audi A3 or A4 Avant, 328i sedan or wagon, etc."

Yep.

With the certified warranty, you don't have to worry about the way someone drove it...plus you don't really have to worry about it with most cars. Hell I got a 3.5 y/o $50k car with 34k miles for $25k. Factory warranty for 8 more months...certified warranty through 100k miles. Nothing to worry about

6/7/2011 10:04:25 PM

Ill sell you my SER

6/7/2011 10:33:57 PM

100% against a used car and then you buy something new from nissan. thats a wolfweb classic there. NMSJ.

6/8/2011 8:18:41 AM

Quote :

"the juke grew on me.. i like it now."

Unfortunately you can only get the manual transmission with the FWD drivetrain. AWD only comes with the CVT

6/8/2011 8:23:20 AM

Nissan makes some junk.

6/8/2011 9:47:32 AM

^ & ^^^

It took longer than I expected, but finally someone adds no value and essentially just says NMSJ (which I said was coming in the original post).

<--- Chit Chat is that way.

It could be my luck, but I've owned 2 Nissans, my wife has had 2 Nissans, her parents have had 3-4 Nissans, and my parents have had a couple Nissans. Not a single one has ever had a single mechanical issue, despite some serious mileage (200K+) on a few of them. They've all just had standard maintenance (oil changes, belts at the right times, etc) and have always run like a top. So you can make all the jokes you want, it would be hard to convince me they aren't good vehicles based on my first hand experience.

[Edited on June 8, 2011 at 9:51 AM. Reason : ^]

6/8/2011 9:51:34 AM

^ my soon to be father in-law daily drives and autocrosses his 350 almost every other weekend. Its approaching 100k miles and still drives like a new car.

My mom's q45 made it to 224000 miles when something punched a hole in mom's radiator and she kept driving it till it seized. (clearly not the car's fault)

I wouldn't buy a sentra or one of their "appliance cars" but the ones they care about run great.

my sister's maxima... has had weird noises and odd random power loss since day 1 (purchased new)

6/8/2011 10:54:03 AM

My friend's 350Z (2003 model) is on it's 3rd transmission. The only car I've ever seen blow it's engine at a track event was a 350Z (catastrophic failure too, took 30 minutes to clean it up).

I've always thought their interiors were low quality. I've seen several Nissans (owned by friends and my brother) with interiors more worn down looking than the inside of my 1992 Integra.

However when purchasing a car I'd still consider them b/c they've improved their interiors and their cars generally are more sporty and have more balls than the competition.

6/8/2011 11:03:02 AM

mazda3 hatch is on my short list of 5-doors (or wagons) i'm considering in the not-too-distant future...i need enough room in the back to fit two 50lb dogs, so a golf is out of the question because its trunk is pretty useless

6/8/2011 11:29:15 AM

i also like the new ford focus hatchback. I test drove a manual sometime back and it was a fun car.

6/8/2011 11:48:12 AM

arent the Mazda3 and the Focus based off the same platform?

6/8/2011 11:48:55 AM

i think the new 3 is still on the last model euro focus chassis.

the new focus is supposed to be better.

I can't wait till the eco boost models show up

6/8/2011 1:05:19 PM

I'm pretty sure the current Mazda3 is sharing a platform with the European Focus. The American Focus that was made through MY2011 used the old platform. The MY2012 American Focus now shares it's platform with the European Focus, as well as the Mazda3.


(I think that's correct )

6/8/2011 1:53:10 PM

i thought the euro focus and American focus are now the same chassis but the 3 hasn't updated the chassis yet.. but i could be wrong... that would be dumb of them.


2010 focus... old crusty chassis
2010 MS3 Newer euro chassis
2011 MS3 (same chassis as before i thought)
2012 MS3 (same chassis as before i thought)
2012 focus brand new shiney euro chassis

[Edited on June 8, 2011 at 1:57 PM. Reason : .]

6/8/2011 1:55:16 PM

Stfu. I like Nissan.

6/8/2011 2:30:43 PM

I've had more than one nissan. Some old and some new and I really haven't had the many problems out of them.

Nissan is probably the least boring car in its class(most times)

6/8/2011 10:33:02 PM

Nissan makes some junk.

6/8/2011 11:37:06 PM

Another vote for WRX wagon, though be aware of how much you might miss the torque from the V6. I had never driven a street car with anything less than a 6 before I got by WRX, and it took me a while to get used to the torque difference.

6/9/2011 12:27:51 AM

You need to go stage 2... you'll never miss the v6 again....



i mean unless you have a 2 liter... torque is pretty good

and keep in mind these are not stock zs they have airfilters etc. and yours wasn't even a Z.

[Edited on June 9, 2011 at 8:09 AM. Reason : .]

6/9/2011 8:09:05 AM

^The Z only put down 217 hp? Weren't those early models rated at 287 hp? A 25% drivetrain loss sounds huge! And you said these weren't stock, so they should have more than 287hp...wut?

[Edited on June 9, 2011 at 8:32 AM. Reason : and 23% loss for the other one.]

6/9/2011 8:31:48 AM

dyno much?

6/9/2011 8:33:00 AM

here is the most healthy "rev up" to ever hit this dyno.

6/9/2011 9:08:27 AM

^^Obviously I don't know the dyno type. And no, I don't dyno much. So why don't you explain it to me.

^Ah, yeah 12% is much better.

[Edited on June 9, 2011 at 10:51 AM. Reason : k]

6/9/2011 10:48:58 AM

its a freak though... the average on the Z vs G dyno day was well below 250.

6/9/2011 11:46:44 AM

So do the 350Zs not much that much power to the ground or something?

6/9/2011 12:07:45 PM