Looking for a new car

[fuel0707]

I'm looking at buying a new car late this year. As I've never really had a fun car to drive (my current ride is a '96 Saturn SL-2 ), I'm really looking for a sport coupe. To add to that, I'm looking at a budget of the mid-ish $20K range. I'm also concerned about reliability, as I plan to have this car as my only car for 6 years or so. Lastly, as I live in Ohio, the car will need to face some snow.

With that in mind, I think my current fave is the Mustang. I also sort of liked the 350Z but it takes premium/91 octane go-go juice, so that's a drawback, as is the Nissan's small trunk area. I thought a bit about the Acura RSX Type-S and the Mitsubishi Eclipse but both of those require the 91 octane gas.

So what do you gearheads out there have to say about those cars, particularly from mechanical standpoints? I already dig the styling of the Mustang, so no real need to comment there. But I'm trying to get a feel for all of these cars in terms of what reliability might be like.

I'm also open to suggestions for other cars to consider though ragtops are out. (Hey, we get winter here sometimes...)

Thanks in advance for the responses.

[Joe_Steeler]

Acura ++++++
Great automobiles. Great engineering.

[Crusher]

Reliability -> Honda or Toyota

[jgcable]

Suburu Legacy, WRX, Nissan Sentra SER, Toyota Corolla S, anything Acura, Mazda 3, Mazda MP3, Ford Focus SVT, Dodge Neon SRT4,
All these cars can be had used for around $20K.

Stay away from the 350Z if you plan to drive it in the winter. It will NOT work out for you. Regarding the Mustang.. its a great choice providing you can handle the fuel consumption BUT... you also can't drive it in the winter. Rear wheel drive with performance low profile tires SUCKS in the snow.

[wulfe13]

Suburu Legacy, WRX, Nissan Sentra SER, Toyota Corolla S, anything Acura, Mazda 3, Mazda MP3, Ford Focus SVT, Dodge Neon SRT4,
All these cars can be had used for around $20K.

Stay away from the 350Z if you plan to drive it in the winter. It will NOT work out for you. Regarding the Mustang.. its a great choice providing you can handle the fuel consumption BUT... you also can't drive it in the winter. Rear wheel drive with performance low profile tires SUCKS in the snow.

+1

[Donovan]

For the snow a front wheel drive like the Acura and the Mitsubishi are a plus. The acura is a better quality car. Subaru make a few 4wheel drive cars that would be great in the snow and are really sporty. WRX comes to mind. You can get a nice used BMW 328CXi for about 20 or so and have a really nice car and 4wheel drive.
I don't like mustangs but they're a fine gt if that's what you want. If you go for the V8 you will spend more on gas even if you use 89 octane then if you used 91 on the smaller motored cars. If you're used to snow driving you should be OK with anything. I have a RX7 that is my summer car but I have a 4Runner to drive to the hills and in snow.

[DonP]

1970 Challenger, 1971 Cuda, 1990 Trans Am GTA...

LOL! Those are MY cars...

(I do have a Saturn as well for my workhorse)

[zeegler]

Mazda 3

[aldog1330]

+1 on the Subaru's - I have a 2005 Legacy GT, lots of power, great handling, and Subaru's are both generally very reliable and safe. AWD, manuals available if desired. They start around 26 or 27 tho. My brother has a WRX as well, and its a little smaller, but still a nice car. Otherwise I'd say a V6 Honda Accord or a Mazda 3 (6 had some transmission issues, though I don't know if they worked them out or not). Acura's are great as well, especially resale wise. I probably would have had a TSX if it had a few more ponies under the hood. Your best bet is to drive everything you think you might like and see what you like best!

[rjohnstone]

I love my Eclipse.
But the biggest plus for me... the service. They have the best service dept hands down.
Doesn't matter how cool the car looks if getting it serviced is a holy nightmare.
And when my warranty was about to expire, they went through the entire car and replaced anything that looked like it remotely need to be replaced that was covered by the warranty.
Hell, they gave me a whole new stereo because the volume knob cracked.
The guy said they don't sell the knobs, but it looked like shit, so he wrote on the service order that the stereo was "non-functional" and ordered me a new one.
That's what I call service. FYI... I bought the car new 9 years ago and it still gets 30 MPG!

[Annah]

I am now the proud owner of a 2004 Mazda6 "M6s" (the six-cyl one) and couldn't be more thrilled with it! These cars have had great reviews and, having owned many cars (and I do my own maintenance and minor repairs, etc.) this one totally rocks! I highly recommend them.

~Annah

Here's my baby:

[AfterForever]

Buy a Japanese car.. the Subarus are great.. the 4WD makes it safer and easier to drive in snow and they are very reliable

[LouSiffer]

Agreed with all the posts above ( I was a tech for GM, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and was working on being BMW certified when I got out of it ). The only issue I have is with Mazda. Good cars, but, very reluctant to do warranty work without trying to get the customer to pay for it first.....at least in my experience. This wasn't the shop's doing....it was the bean counters from Mazda. Anytime there was a warranty claim over $600, it was like they tried to find every way to get out of it.-Lou

[horns666]

I heard that Ford is going to re-issue "The Pinto" next year...

so, I'm going to waite to see what that's all about..

[Crankdaddy]

I know you said you're looking for a new car, but here's something you may want to consider: A pre owned Audi TT hardtop.

I had one as my everyday, year-round car for 3 years. It was awesome. Incredible reliability, and the Audi commitment to service was like nothing I ever experienced.

The Quattro all wheel drive -- couple with a set of snow tires/wheels -- got me through stuff that SUVs had trouble with. No lie. And I live in Syracuse, NY -- snow capital of the world. The thing just hunkered down and drove through everything without slipping.

In good weather, there was no car more fun to drive. You'll find plenty of cars with more horsepower (mine was the turbo...had 225, I think), but the car was small enough to make use of what it had. It was an absolute blast to drive, especially with the short throw stick.

Finally, there's the looks of the thing. It never failed to get attention from passers by. And hot chicks. The interior is so well designed it's scary. Bottom line, the TT is an icon of automotive design.

I think a few years old model will fall in your price range. You'll have a blast driving it year round, and you'll never fail to turn heads. It's not a muscle car, no. But it is a sports car. And a damn good one.

I went from the TT to an Infiniti FX35. I miss the TT.