Subaru powered Toyota FT-86 Concept

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

I look at this from a different perspective. I have my Z. It's not going anyway.

I have my daily driver Mazda 3, but the love is wearing off. The Z is a no-go as a daily driver -- for various reasons including gridlock every morning.

What cars are out there that will be fun as a DD, sporty, more or less cheap to run and maintain, and, oh ... by the way ... I'm sick of FWD and 4 doors.

My choices are basically the FRS, MX-5, or the BRZ. For my purposes, the BRZ looks like a solid deal -- better interior than the MX-5 and FRS. More practical than the MX-5 (plus I already have a convertible so a used s2000 is out as well). I looked at the BMW 1 series, but those are starting to get up there in price and the 128 doesn't have much better performance than the BRZ for about 8K more ...

Did I leave anything out? What other RWD coupes around 28K or under are there that get better mileage than an SUV (to rule out the RX-8 which I would pick up in a heartbeat if they got better gas mileage and their rear seals didn't blow in the Texas heat).

Originally Posted by Lug

Mazdaspeed 3 is worth a look for a DD. I'm gonna peek in on a 2012 when the 2013's are anounced and see if I can pull one for around 22K.

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

It's got two strikes on it (not counting the change in styling that happened in 2010 )

1. It's FWD
2. It has 4 doors

I'm specifically looking for a 2 door RWD coupe. Overall there ain't much choice under 30K

Originally Posted by Lug

A Mustang fits your bill better than anything else.

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

Shhh. Don't tell that to the logical side of my brain. Actually, I did think of the V6 mustang, but they're a dime a dozen around here. More importantly, they are too big. I like the idea of a small car -- a very small car. I'd get a Kei car if they imported them into the US. I can almost forgive the FWD of the Cooper S, but I can't forgive the ungodly instrument cluster in the center of the dash -- ugh!

Originally Posted by Lug

OK, I won't tell you I recently got a quote for a new 2012 Mustang GT non-premium with the brembo package for under $27,000. I won't mention it. WILD HORSES couldn't drag that info out of me!

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

.... I won't go to the dark side -- a Mustang is too big ... I won't go to the dark side -- a Mustang is too big ... I won't go .........

Seriously, I don't want anything that is more or less in the same class as my Z. I'm keeping my Z so I'm not looking for a replacement for my performance vehicle.