First Vehicle & Best Vehicle?

That is pretty crazy! It would have been screaming for a sports car 20 years ago. I feel the speed 3 is plenty fast, and that is a mid 5 second car to 60, but pulls harder once up to speed due to being FWD. It is very fast in a highway passing situation (or at least very fast to me and my perspective).

Plus you can’t beat a smooth shifting 6 spd manual. Fun factor = 10

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It is quite fun to drive even though much faster cars exist. Something about trying to go straight, but the car insisting on going right just kinda makes it exciting. AWD would be cool, but then I am looking at Evos and WRX STI, and I just can’t justify paying at 2X more just to get AWD (cars make about the same WHP, and would be competitors if the speed 3 was AWD).

The WRX is severly underpowered these days although rumor has it the next mill will be closer to 400hp. It really needs it. It can’t even keep up with a beefed up truck these days. The Evo was better but alas cancelled a long time ago as you know.

AWD should really be reserved for more powerful cars due to the additional drivetrain loss to WHP.

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The HP in cars has gotten really crazy in the last couple decades. A V6 family sedan often is nearing 300 hp, and could keep up in a drag with a 90s lambo. My MS3 would smoke my uncles 1980 Vette (which I thought was fast 15 years ago). It would not be close in any sort of racing, the Mazda would embarrass it.

Agree. If it is a light car, then IMO it needs at least 300 hp to justify AWD. I think generally AWD looses about another 5-10% over FWD or RWD.

Edit: Looked up 90s lambos and they are faster than I thought. The diablo had a 0-60 of about 4 seconds.

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i raise you 1, 7 speed corvette hahah

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i disagree, i drove a awd mini cooper manual jon works edition i think.

Oversized super fun go kart haha

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@blshaw

Some of these toys… jeeeez! Fella what do you do for a living?

I started a commercial construction company a long time ago and its grown quite well. Some luck and a lot of hard work.

Bump.

My first vehicle. I assume it will be my most memorable, not sure if it’ll turn out to be my best.

Dream car would be something like a Buick Lesabre or some type of van, from the 80s or early 90s. Love the way they ride and look. Aunt used to have a Buick, not sure the year, and that backseat was comfortable.

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That thing has great leg room. You can throw the kids, like 70 of them, in the back and head out for a nice jaunt to the pacific northwest, or maybe Maine.

It’s a true ā€œgo anywhereā€ type vehicle.

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/bump

I’ve still got my '14 Tundra that I’ll never sell, but I finally added a daily driver that doesn’t steer like a shipping container while bouncing around on crappy Maine roads and getting horrible gas mileage.

Not counting the Tundra and it’s 10 years of flawlessness on the outstanding 5.7L V-8, my recently-purchased 2022 Toyota Avalon XLE is the best car I’ve ever owned. I got it for a steal with only 10k miles. It is a poor-mans Lexus ES 350, with the same engine and transmission as the ES along with all of the features I want in a sedan and none of the Lexus crap that is just unnecessary to me.

It pairs so well with a Tundra, which is now relegated to utility duty. I can tow my boat or anything else I’m likely to tow. I can haul stuff in the bed. I can transport filthy animals without concern and drive in the worst weather N. New England can throw at me. The Tundra does it all without complaint.

Otherwise, I’m spending most days gliding around in a pristine 301 HP sedan with all of the creature comforts I could possibly want, without being ostentatious and only being on the hook for roughly the same maintenance costs as a Camry. I love the 17 inch rims that are much cheaper than low profile, the 87 octane fuel needs and a naturally-aspirated V6 with no gimmicks but lots of power and efficiency.

I like the idea of having the last great Toyota V8 pickup and the last great front-wheel drive Toyota full-size sedan with a V6 and their outstanding 8 speed transmission. 2022 was the last year for the Avalon, and I have no plans on selling that vehicle, either. I like no-gimmick vehicles that work as advertised, which is why I’m a Toyota buyer.

I gave some thought to buying a ridiculous sports car as a daily driver, but I’m so glad I went with my poor man’s Lexus.

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I just did that. Guilty. I’m now looking for a small truck as a bad weather option. Love the Tacoma but I want something cheap since I spent the bank in my sports car and Tacomas just hold their damn value. Used ones with 100k miles are still pricey.

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Misses got herself a new car last year and in terms of performance and quality this has to be the best car we have owned.

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Hot color! Those Audi S cars are the best mix of performance and comfort.

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The colour is amazing. It’s called Ara blue crystal and was a $2k extra (previous owner paid that). It is like a pearl paint and really sparkles in the sun. We get so many comments from people about the colour.

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I finally replaced my Audi A 6, 2.6 quattro 1996 with a 2023 Toyota Corolla hybrid. The difference is huge. I purchased the corolla due to the fact I log 25 000 km per year driving mostly myself, so I needed something economic, relliable and cheap. I ve got myself a small sedan that spends like 3.5l per 100 that is around 60 mpg. The car is very agile although not that small. Its lacking on comfort but its not terrible at getting from A to B. Its still under 5000 km.

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My first car was a brand new 1971 Irish Green 914 Porsche (maybe more VW) that I paid $4,150 out the door. I loved that car.

My favorite car, while it is far from the best car, is my 1999 Yellow Plymouth Prowler that I had the 3.5L V6 bored and stroked to 4.86L and custom painted graphics. It is extremely impractical, but I love it.

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I had the same color in my last Audi. It sure popped.

I went more muted in ā€œChalkā€ with my newest ride. This one is definitely my favorite of all the toys I’ve had. @mnben87

Mad respect. I’ve always loved the Prowler and it was a shame they neutered it with that engine. Glad you did something to make the performance match the looks.

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Yer it’s one of the best for sure and looks great on that model. Everyone is going grey these days, I don’t really care for it. Nice car all the same though.

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