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Old 02-17-2018, 09:45 PM   #1
rumatt
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Drove a bunch of cars today

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. 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?

Last edited by rumatt; 02-17-2018 at 10:24 PM.
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Old 02-17-2018, 10:16 PM   #2
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Interesting about Rs. I haven’t driven a Mark VII GTI so I can’t really comment on the delta, but I can see how one might experience the refinement as boring.

What about a Focus RS? Those are almost done; might be a nice compromise if the VW is too bland and the Subaru is too rough.
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Old 02-17-2018, 10:21 PM   #3
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Interesting about Rs. I haven’t driven a Mark VII GTI so I can’t really comment on the delta, but I can see how one might experience the refinement as boring.
It's just weird because I don't view the E46 refinement as boring. I view it as a positive.

Maybe I'm just looking for something different.

Quote:
What about a Focus RS? Those are almost done; might be a nice compromise if the VW is too bland and the Subaru is too rough.
Everything I've read says the Focus RS is stiff as hell. And the styling is a bit too much for me. But maybe I should give it a try.

Right now if you made me choose, I'd go buy a WRX w/ Performance Package, which gains you minimal actual performance - but you get Recaro's and a sunroof delete (yes!!!).
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Old 02-17-2018, 11:08 PM   #4
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I know Subaru’s improved since I owned one but I tired pretty quickly of the shit box interior of my 2004 wrx.

Your cars choices are kind of all over the place. M2 or rs3?
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Old 02-17-2018, 11:28 PM   #5
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I know Subaru’s improved since I owned one but I tired pretty quickly of the shit box interior of my 2004 wrx.
How long did you own it? I suspect I'd be fine with the interior, although it's annoying it doesn't have apple car play / android auto. The noise is the biggest question.

Quote:
Your cars choices are kind of all over the place. M2 or rs3?
For sure. But I'm mostly focused on something AWD. RS3 doesn't come in a manual.
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Old 02-17-2018, 11:46 PM   #6
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Yeah I got super tired of my WRX, too. It was just...a lot. A lot of lag, a lot of noise, a lot of understeer.

Haven’t driven one in a long time but it sounds like they haven’t improved things much.

Probably hard to find an RS to drive but I’d do that before buying a WRX. And a Golf too. You can drive mine at the mudgeons get together.
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Old 02-17-2018, 11:56 PM   #7
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Why not look at a Macan or X2/3, or the Merc gla/c (?) If you are thinking a GC is livable then any of these should blow your mind.
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Old 02-18-2018, 12:24 AM   #8
Nick M3
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The Focus RS is terrible. Don’t buy one. The ride is abominable and the engine is awful. Even ignoring the head gasket issue.

Matt might be small enough to fit comfortably in the seats, though.
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Old 02-18-2018, 08:03 AM   #9
John V
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Macan was the first thing that crossed my mind. I have to imagine it handles about as well as a WRX but does everything else better. Supposedly the handling is fairly playful as well but . You should at least go drive one.
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Old 02-18-2018, 08:44 AM   #10
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How long did you own it? I suspect I'd be fine with the interior, although it's annoying it doesn't have apple car play / android auto. The noise is the biggest question.


For sure. But I'm mostly focused on something AWD. RS3 doesn't come in a manual.
Somewhat surprisingly, you can get a new A4 Quattro in manual still.

http://www.bmwblog.com/2017/09/27/te...uattro-manual/

Edit: amazingly, my dealer's inventory shows 5 in stock.
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