I'm not sure the E91 wagon or Cayman will make it through 2018, so I drove (or attempted to drive) a bunch of cars today.
Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86
Apparently no one in the northeast buys these, so no dealers order them.
VW Golf R
Apparently everyone in the northeast buys these, so they are all have deposits before they reach the dealership
Subaru WRX
To my surprise, I kind of liked it. The 2018 model has more sound deadening so it's a little less awful in terms of NHV, but only slightly. The tire noise is still pretty bad. The clutch and shifter are also a little less awful than the previous year. It turned better than I expected. And the Recaro seats were comfortable. It's obviously still a low-rent interior.
The biggest shock was that it has the worst throttle mapping and rev hang of any car I've ever driven. Pressing the throttle 1 inch gets you 75% throttle. And on the 1-2 shift the revs don't drop! They just stick where they are for over a second. It's insane. But apparently a $695 Cobb Tune solves both these problems.
But for whatever reason, I enjoyed driving it. I just kept thinking - this is so much more fun to drive than the wagon. I worry the road noise would grow tiring, but maybe not?
VW GTI
Since no dealership had a Golf R, I asked to drive a GTI. Maybe it was just the contrast from the WRX and Cayman (which I drove around to the dealers), but I was surprised at how civil the GTI was. Clutch and shfiter much more refined and easy to drive smoothly. It turned in nicely and really hugged the road. I didn't love the engine sound - a little too lawnmower-esque. I left thinking... that was a perfectly fine car, but it was somehow boring. Maybe the R would have fixed that? Do I just a mental block against Golf's because I think they look stupid? Also, Golf R's don't have a spare tire, which just infuriates me. My wagon is a pain to put a bicycle in because there's always a goddamn wheel & tire in the way.
I wish I could learn to love a Golf R. It would simplify my garage.
2013 Golf R
The only Golf R I could find on autotrader within range was a 2013 Golf R. It was OK I guess? It was like the '18 GTI but old and beat up, a little faster, and AWD. In my experience, VW's age much worse than other cars for some reason. I left thinking, I never in a million years buy this car, but maybe a 2018 R would somehow be different.
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee - Overland
After all equ's JGC discussion I've been intrigued by these. I kind of liked it. It was more car-like than I expect for a nearly 5,000 lbs vehicle. Yeah it leaned a lot if you attempt to turn quickly, but somehow driving it wasn't bad. It was a more pleasant than a pickup truck. The 6-cylinder engine would be fine for me. I just can't see wanting to drive this on a semi-regular basis during the winter, so I can't figure out how it would make sense. I can't justify it as just a home depot truck.
Bottom line:
I have no idea.
![Laughing](images/smilies/laugh.gif)
I'm doing nothing for now and will re-asses this spring/summer. I'd love to get down to 2 cars though so if I could find a fun AWD vehicle I like that would just be lovely. Model 3?