Am I going to have fun with AWD?

Any car *can* be fun.

AWD comes in so many variants its tough to say how fun it is.  AWD in a DSM - its a hoot.  Good launches, easy donuts and power slides, robust(ish) driveline that is a proper AWD.

AWD in a minivan, A/T Subaru, or some of the others where the transfer case is weak, its primary FWD with AWD for traction only applied by a computer?  Those suck.  Just a heavy FWD.  Good in adverse conditions but thats about it.

For straight up hoonage its tough to beat RWD.  I would be the voice of dissent and tell you to get a C5 or C6 Corvette for fun.  Ratty C5s can be had for under $10k and they are so tough to beat for the money.  If you dont care about cosmetics, the drivelines and suspension and brakes are stout.  Making a ratty one perfect will cost real money, but a cam, some XS power longtubes and 3" catback, intake, and a tune and you have a bad bitch.  

In reply to codrus :

I am 7' 0" even there is noooo way I'd fit even I gutted it and put in a racing seat.

I never thought about a NC.

mitchfishman5 said:

In reply to codrus :

I am 7' 0" even there is noooo way I'd fit even I gutted it and put in a racing seat.

I never thought about a NC.

You will not fit the NC either. Check out the mustang. It’s pretty tall and can probably accommodate a giant like you especially if you mount a lower seat

You never explained why not FWD. Is it because of the stigma of 'wrong wheel drive' or something else?

I've had more RWD cars in my life than FWD and I have to admit, I've had more fun in a MK1 Ford Focus than any of the BMWs or other 'better' cars I've had.

I'm not going to recommend a car until I know what you're after

amg_rx7 said:

mitchfishman5 said:

In reply to codrus :

I am 7' 0" even there is noooo way I'd fit even I gutted it and put in a racing seat.

I never thought about a NC.

You will not fit the NC either. Check out the mustang. It’s pretty tall and can probably accommodate a giant like you especially if you mount a lower seat

Yeah, that's tall. :)

The other weirdo one to check out is a second gen MR2 (SW20).  Something about the mid-engine design makes them work really well for tall people.

At 7'0", there's only one car you'll fit in - a C5 Corvette with a carefully-selected and thin fixed back seat. 

Where are you located? I only ask because it can play into what is going to be available in your budget.

As tall as you are, you may want to consider building a GMT400 pickup truck for CAM. 

At 7' tall and then still needing room for a helmet, I too was going to suggest a pickup but even they you might require an extended cab and might require a non factory seat.  

It would not surprise me in the least if you could fit in a WRX just fine with an aftermarket seat and lower brackets.

There a guy who just built a lemons rx8 who is 6'10" and he fits with inches to spare. 

Another friend of mine, equally tall, found he fits in s197 mustangs just fine. That's a great starting platform in my eyes.

In reply to mitchfishman5 :

Depends. Big, lurid RWD powerslides have mostly lost their appeal to me, but it did take a while. Same with massive, drivetrain-shattering low-end torque. (To be fair, a lot of WRXs do have that second thing.)

I'm 6'3" and I fit fine in my RX8 R3 (no sunroof) with a helmet on, but there wasn't 9" to spare. My current 2015 WRX might fit, as there's a surprising amount of headroom.

One question though, is the $5k budget for a second car? If that's the case, maybe look for one car that can do it all? That's what I did when I sold my snow duty Focus and summer duty RX8 and got the WRX for year round driving. Having it go through winter saves money, as I have to keep it pretty tall and soft to deal with winter roads.

I am 6'6" with short legs and a tall torso.  I have no idea how you are going to fit into any BMW or Mazda with a helmet unless you budget extra money for seats and seat rails.  Cars I don't fit in include 350z, C5 Corvette, all interesting cars made by Mazda, all Toyotas with sunroofs (including the large SUVs), all BMW cars with sunroofs, and all Volvos.  That is before I put on a helmet.  The list gets longer after I put a helmet on.

For $5K you don't have many options.  I concur with the recommendations of an E36 325i/328i.  You can remove the sunroof cassette and replace it with a blanking plate.  The Corbeau Evolution X drops you about an inch and a half compared to stock seats and you don't have to buy them in pairs. A 325i with heated seats normally includes a limited slip diff which is nice to have as well.

In reply to TurboFocus :

I only dismiss fwd because i have already driven one for a few years and all it wanted to do was plow (obviously all fwd cars arent like that) it just seemed harder to slide around and only wanted to understeer.

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

I'm in metro Detroit. I never thought about a pickup. I guess your right, even tho it isnt a sports car a lot of dun can be had. I used to drive a V8 explorer and in the dirt it was fun as hell.

In reply to ProDarwin :

I actually fit in a new wrxs and old ones. Im more legs than torso. Suprisingly I fit in a lot of smaller cars, BRZ, mustangs, C6's, g37, 570s but I haven't  sat in an RX-8, my dad had an e46 M3 and hes 6' 8" and fit with a helmet as long as it didnt have a sunroof, I was younger at the time so idk how I would fit now. I was supposed to drive one this week but the lady never got back to me. I can make most things work but a miata is just wayyy too small.

Either way, you guys did convince me you can have fun in just about anything. I found a pretty good deal on a 9-2x that I am gonna look at this weekend. Its not coolest looking thing but its gonna be better on the insurance and should be a blast on the dirt roads. Whst do you guys think?

I DD a 600+hp Biturbo v8 AWD German sedan. I am the last person you should be asking for car purchasing advise. 
 

My 93 turbo wagon (Daughters ride when she is home from school) is a great little around town car. I have wanted to take it on track some time as I think it would be a ton of fun. 

mitchfishman5 said:

In reply to TurboFocus :

I only dismiss fwd because i have already driven one for a few years and all it wanted to do was plow (obviously all fwd cars arent like that) it just seemed harder to slide around and only wanted to understeer.

lol a GINORMOUS rear sway bar would help that. The Focus I mentioned rotates harder and faster than any of my RWD cars have. The same car with a tiny rear bar did plow quite a bit.

If you just want to try something new, or something that requires RWD like a sustained drift, then go for it!

mitchfishman5 said:

Either way, you guys did convince me you can have fun in just about anything. I found a pretty good deal on a 9-2x that I am gonna look at this weekend. Its not coolest looking thing but its gonna be better on the insurance and should be a blast on the dirt roads. Whst do you guys think?

I think its cool, though keep in mind you can roll up with anything and GRM is about guaranteed to support it.

In reply to TurboFocus :

It has been really cool seeing some of the unique suggestions and no-one out here dissing them. This is a super cool community. Thanks for all your help guys!