Help me decide on a new ride

So with my E36 soon to be gone (hopefully), my 2020 Si gone, and my kids mom finally refinancin her car in her own name and making payments on it by herself, I might splurge on something nice for myself. Im in two spots on this one - Luxury performance vs. Hot Hatch.

Basic needs: needs to fit my two kids with some extra junk and be fun/comfortable

Luxury Performance I've looked at, driven, and made the final cut:

- Lexus IS 500 F-Sport - Pros - fantastic engine/trans combo, beautiful exhaust note, great exterior looks, cool gauge cluster, amazing sound sytem. Cons: dated design, cramped interior, and it's pricey for what it is. 

Acura TLX Type S - Pros - absolutely the best looking car out of all of the ones I'm listing, amazing sound system, interior is top notch. Cons: The touchpad thing for the infotainment, it's slowwww for the category it's in, like it's as fast as a 97 Camaro Z28 but it just doesn't feel fast either, and dealer markups - "Bro you know this is a Type-S right? It's like a Type-R but one letter after" 

BMW X3M - oddball because it's an SUV but I like it better than the M3. Pros - it's an M3 SUV, great sound system, fast, great features, an actual touch screen. Cons - BMW reliability (although the S58 and ZF8 seem to be solid), it's the most expensive thing I'm looking at, long term reliability? 

M340i - Pros: basically a 4 door Supra in terms of powertrain and everything else. Fun to drive, not the high cost of the M3, same price as Supra. Cons: muted looks, not a full M-car, will likely depreciate like a brick because it's not a full M car, long term reliability

Hot Hatches: 

Veloster N - either DCT or Manual Pros: cheap entry fee, great options/settings for driving, cool exhaust, great bang for the buck. Cons: odd looks, 3 door, Hyundai stigma in my head. 

10th Gen Civic Type R - Pros: Great performance, I love the interior as a previous 10th gen owner. Cons - the looks and they are ridiculously expensive  right now

11th Gen Civic Type R - Pros: Much better looks Cons: Who knows when they'll be out, dealer mark-ups are likely going to be unavoidable and/or finding one. 

Outliers:

Honda Odyssey Elite - storage, features, and blending in. Cons: not very performance oriented

Acura MDX Type S - Pros: looks good for a Honda SUV, lots of cool features like massaging seats, sound system, etc. Cons: price, availability, and dealer markups. 

Tundra/Sequoia - Pros: toyota reliability, plenty of space/towing capacity, new gen has lots of cool features Cons: I already have a Sequoia that I'm keeping, new engine concerns, 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Why no S4?

Javelin said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Why no S4?

Honestly if I were to consider an Audi it would be an RS3. Wonder when the new one will be here 

Macan S?

Genesis 2.0/manual. Tim said it was one of the best cars hes ever driven.

Mercedes AMG GLC43 SUV or Porsche Macan S are really good contenders.

I picked up a 2022 M340i at the end of November and I'm loving it so far. Happy to answer any questions you might have. 
 

That is the most diverse list of possibilities I've ever seen.  FWD, RWD, cars, crossovers, vans, trucks...

Cars are tools to do a job. What job do you want to do?  

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

That is the most diverse list of possibilities I've ever seen.  FWD, RWD, cars, crossovers, vans, trucks...

Cars are tools to do a job. What job do you want to do?  

I don't have a narrow scope or pigeon hole myself into a specific type or brand dude.

I have a sequoia for utility/work/towing and an S2000 for that pure driving experience. I need something in between for the daily life experience of driving in middle America 

"Basic needs: needs to fit my two kids with some extra junk and be fun/comfortable"

Lexus IS 500 for the win!

That car seems awesome for a do it all kinda sport luxury car and will probably hold it's value well like the original IS-F.  The V8 sounds amazing.

mslevin said:

I picked up a 2022 M340i at the end of November and I'm loving it so far. Happy to answer any questions you might have. 
 

I'd love to hear you experience with it so far. Pros/Cons of living with it, any regrets on not going full M3? Does it suffice for daily duties? 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I'm a longtime BMW fan who for years has driven a variety of E36s/E46s/E38s on a spectrum from "very nice" to "deathtrap". I'm selling my E46 wagon and wanted a fun, reliable (relative to the E46...) daily that had all the creature comforts. My buddy ordered an M340i and it seemed great, so I leased one. It's a 2022 Portimao Blue M340i RWD with pretty mimimal options: shadowline, driver assist (basic, not pro), heated front seats, maybe a couple other small things. I've done ~3500 mi on it since Nov 30 and I'm loving it so far. No regrets on not going to the M3. What you get for sub-60k MSRP is amazing, and I've never felt like I should've paid 50% more for the M3/M4. It isn't as special or fast, but its a daily driver. 

Interestingly its been feeling very stiff lately and had started making a nasty sound from the front end. Took it to the dealer, amd I said to them, "it feels like you guys forgot to take out the shipping blocks from the suspension". They laughed and said "no way!". Turns out they forgot to remove the shipping blocks from the suspension. Anyway, now the car is even better and more comfortable, lol.

Pros:

• Faster than I need it to be, I can't image needing M3-levels of power for a daily driver. 
• The 48v mild hybrid system is awesome. Cruising on the highway with the engine off and "e-boost" torque fill are incredible.
• Looks great, aggressive, and non-offensive. Shadowline trim is a MUST on these cars IMO, the standard silver trim looks cheap on most colors.
• Very comfortable. 
• 64" x 34" of flat cargo space with the rear seats folded down
• Lots of legroom for driver/passenger. I'm very tall and I don't even move the seat back all the way.
• 8 speed ZF is very good. Comfortable shifts around town in Comfort mode, and shockingly fast shifts when in Sport. More throttle = faster shifts. Super fun.
• Enough ride height/bumper clearance to get around town and into parking lots and stuff without worrying about scraping

Cons:

• I'm a big dude (6'6" 300ish) and my ideal seating position means I need to move the steering wheels to get in or out easily
• Very easy to drive very fast in (maybe not a con lol). There's not much difference in drive comfort between 65mph and 125mph.
• iDrive system is very good but can be a bit buggy, especially with wireless CarPlay (its only wireless, you can plug a phone in for other features, but not carplay). Because its wireless there's a slight lag in pressing "next" and that song actually changing. 
• Doesn't sound very fun. The '19-20 models had louder exhaust tuning, with more burbles and crackles, but apparently recent updates have disabled that.
• No spare. I have the Pirelli "performance runflats", which are fine tires, but when I inevitably swap them for a non-runflat I'll need to make sure my AAA membership is up to date. If you DO want a spare, you lose like 4" of trunk depth. There are two batteries in the car- a small 48v in the engine bay and a large 12v battery in the trunk, which takes up the space where a spare would normally go.

Something to consider is the chip shortage affecting manufacturing. A lot of cars made in the last 3 months have various options removed. Mine didn't come with the "digital key" (don't care). Some don't come with touchscreens or power front seats! Craziness. Make sure you look at the window sticker closely if buying off the lot. If you're ordering a car, you won't know what gets removed until your car goes into production, but you do get a credit for the removed options. I think touchscreen was $500?

Let me know if you have any other questions. The G20 forums on Bimmerpost are decent and will give you an idea of what people are struggling with, and enjoying. 

mslevin said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I'm a longtime BMW fan who for years has driven a variety of E36s/E46s/E38s on a spectrum from "very nice" to "deathtrap". I'm selling my E46 wagon and wanted a fun, reliable (relative to the E46...) daily that had all the creature comforts. My buddy ordered an M340i and it seemed great, so I leased one. It's a 2022 Portimao Blue M340i RWD with pretty mimimal options: shadowline, driver assist (basic, not pro), heated front seats, maybe a couple other small things. I've done ~3500 mi on it since Nov 30 and I'm loving it so far. No regrets on not going to the M3. What you get for sub-60k MSRP is amazing, and I've never felt like I should've paid 50% more for the M3/M4. It isn't as special or fast, but its a daily driver. 

Interestingly its been feeling very stiff lately and had started making a nasty sound from the front end. Took it to the dealer, amd I said to them, "it feels like you guys forgot to take out the shipping blocks from the suspension". They laughed and said "no way!". Turns out they forgot to remove the shipping blocks from the suspension. Anyway, now the car is even better and more comfortable, lol.

Pros:

• Faster than I need it to be, I can't image needing M3-levels of power for a daily driver. 
• The 48v mild hybrid system is awesome. Cruising on the highway with the engine off and "e-boost" torque fill are incredible.
• Looks great, aggressive, and non-offensive. Shadowline trim is a MUST on these cars IMO, the standard silver trim looks cheap on most colors.
• Very comfortable. 
• 64" x 34" of flat cargo space with the rear seats folded down
• Lots of legroom for driver/passenger. I'm very tall and I don't even move the seat back all the way.
• 8 speed ZF is very good. Comfortable shifts around town in Comfort mode, and shockingly fast shifts when in Sport. More throttle = faster shifts. Super fun.
• Enough ride height/bumper clearance to get around town and into parking lots and stuff without worrying about scraping

Cons:

• I'm a big dude (6'6" 300ish) and my ideal seating position means I need to move the steering wheels to get in or out easily
• Very easy to drive very fast in (maybe not a con lol). There's not much difference in drive comfort between 65mph and 125mph.
• iDrive system is very good but can be a bit buggy, especially with wireless CarPlay (its only wireless, you can plug a phone in for other features, but not carplay). Because its wireless there's a slight lag in pressing "next" and that song actually changing. 
• Doesn't sound very fun. The '19-20 models had louder exhaust tuning, with more burbles and crackles, but apparently recent updates have disabled that.
• No spare. I have the Pirelli "performance runflats", which are fine tires, but when I inevitably swap them for a non-runflat I'll need to make sure my AAA membership is up to date. If you DO want a spare, you lose like 4" of trunk depth. There are two batteries in the car- a small 48v in the engine bay and a large 12v battery in the trunk, which takes up the space where a spare would normally go.

Something to consider is the chip shortage affecting manufacturing. A lot of cars made in the last 3 months have various options removed. Mine didn't come with the "digital key" (don't care). Some don't come with touchscreens or power front seats! Craziness. Make sure you look at the window sticker closely if buying off the lot. If you're ordering a car, you won't know what gets removed until your car goes into production, but you do get a credit for the removed options. I think touchscreen was $500?

Let me know if you have any other questions. The G20 forums on Bimmerpost are decent and will give you an idea of what people are struggling with, and enjoying. 

Awesome rundown and thank you! The two on the lot at the local dealer both have shadowline, which I agree is a great accent. Neither of them have touchscreens which is a huge turn off in both these and the TLX Type-S. The TLX version of iDrive is horrendous to use, I don't know why Honda didn't just utilize their touchscreens from every other car. 

In the grand scheme of things, I'm trying to justify the extra money for the X3M, it was an absolute blast to drive, but, is it worth the extra $15k? 

https://www.reddit.com/r/WA4x4/comments/s0dae0/for_sale_2001_suburban_2500_turnkey_overland/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
 

stupid suggestion.  
 

2500 suburban overlander with a boat. $16k  has shower. 
 

it's a really stupid suggestion. 

Alfa Giulia Ti?

Lexus or BMW would be my answer, given what you want. I don't think you'd be disappointed either way.

Although I'd probably lean toward the Lexus because of maintenance costs. 

Have you considered an ATS-V in the luxury performance category?

Or a new CT4-V?

racerfink said:

Or a new CT4-V?

So being laid off from GM twice due to their financial mismangement in the late 00s, I have serious reservations about purchasing anything brand spanking new from them. I'm not one to hold grudges but that one really irks me til this day. With that being said, the CT4-V and CT5-V are badass cars. 

In reply to racerfink :

I think the 4 cyl CT4V starts at 48 and is 60 with the 6 cylinder, but you can pick up a ATS-V for mid 40s right now. Manual is the way to go, they have a bunch of problems with the A8.

A coworker just bought one and if you have it in the air next to my SS 1LE, they are pretty much the same under the skin, except his is nicer inside and makes more power.

Out of those, knowing that you have an S2000, I would go with the Odditty. I would also look at the Kia Carnival though.

mtn said:

Out of those, knowing that you have an S2000, I would go with the Odditty. I would also look at the Kia Carnival though.

Current fleet as the E36 M3 just sold for $$$$ on CarsAndBids!:

• 1994 Honda Accord that is our Champcar/WRL/Lemons machine
• 2001 Toyota Sequoia Limited 2wd - Current DD, also just had the interior completely reupholstered, new lift kit/suspension, new LCAs, I just did the timing belt/water pump/alternator/power steering pump/radiator, and new wheels/tires as well as the big brake upgrade. It's great for race weekends, towing, camping, off-roading, etc. The kids mom loses her E36 M3 about it being so old and not having the most up-to-date safety features for car seats. 
• 2005 S2000 - Garage queen, I take it on an occasional road trip or weekend cruise. It's going to be getting some serious upgrades/restoration in the near future. 

Does it have to be a hatchback?

2022 Elantra N and 2022 Kona N have a different vibe to them over the Veloster with a ton more space to boot. You still get the cool exhaust note, the e-LSD, the track worth brakes and the better interiors of the newly designed Kona/Elantra.

 

what about a Model 3 performance?  similarly priced to the X3M & 340i fast in a straight line, cool tech, lots of usable space with the hatchback design, and admittance to the Tesla occult (I assume that's a thing based on the loyalty of their owners)

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Look at Jaguar. I love the fact that they depreciate like a cannon when new but take them from a 2 year lease and the biggest chunk of depreciation is absorbed. Yet they are remarkably well built.  
   What hurts them is the low volume.   Minor stuff like radio and HVAC, power seats. causes a great deal of aggravation even though the parts are good. Loose wire, clamps, etc. are still extremely aggravating especially when owners pay what they do. 
   I can go to a junk yard and find 40+ year old cars that are there because of a easy fix.  Mechanically they tend to be like little old ladies drove it. 
     If you do get one. Find a completely honest mechanic to service it.  Otherwise you'll get one who needs to make his boat payment on you.  
     There are little things that need attention ( and it says so in the owners manual in the glovebox.) the honest mechanic will put that drop of oil in and the crook will tell you the engine needs an overhaul. 
 Make sure he's not learning on your nickel.  Experiance really does pay.  But expect the honest guy to get the shop manual out  to confirm things.