What car am I forgetting? Modern awd manual sport sedans

Future SWMBO is ready to upgrade her 2006 Audi A4 Quattro 2.0T / MT6 for something a bit newer/nicer. Has to be a real manual transmission and AWD.

No Subarus because I hate head gasket jobs, and no Nissans because we've both had transmission debacles with them. We want to stay $10k or less, 04 and up, and wagons are cool.

So there's a new A4 Quattro, and it looks like a generation change in 2011 or so that might add a little rear leg room. New gen Avant drops the 6-speed though.

The BMW 335ix etc, basically e92 chassis with inline 6, AWD, and a stick.

Volvo S60R/V70R

Mazdaspeed6

And??? I'm drawing a blank on anything else. Plenty of FWD's, autos, or old cars. 

Volvo S40/V40

I had a few minutes, so I went on Autotrader and put in your parameters: 2004+, <$10k, Manual, AWD, four doors, sedan or wagon and no Subarus or Nissans. I also included hatchbacks.

Obviously this assumes that every car on Autotrader is tagged correctly. After taking out Audi, BMW, Volvo and Mazda, I am left with the following:

• Suzuki SX4
• Mini Cooper Countryman
• Saab 9-3
• Jaguar X-type

So no, you're not forgetting anything. Carry on.

In reply to ValourUnbound :

Saab 9-3 is a Subaru under different clothing.

Of all the brands listed, I vote for Volvo or Audi.

JesseWolfe said:

In reply to ValourUnbound :

Saab 9-2 is a Subaru under different clothing

Minor correction, major difference in model. 

From 2010-2014 Acura offered the TL with 3.7L V6, awd and true 6 speed manual.  Yes, fueleconomy.gov says they offered the combo...good luck finding one.  

Also, Mitsu Evo and VW Golf R

A nationwide search on Autotrader brings up this one Acura TL awd, manual in Georgia but it is proof that they do exist (even if barely)

V50 AWD 6 spd manual.  Not easy to find as Volvo didn't import many of them, but they're out there (a friend had one before he sold it after buying a Focus RS).

Newer option - VW Golf Alltrack wagon, which is still offered with a 6 speed manual (my ex- has one of these).

How old is the golf r32? 2003?

And, if you find a Godzilla less than 10k you'd better get over your Nissan fears!

Robbie said:

And, if you find a Godzilla less than 10k you'd better get over your Nissan fears!

1st year r35s are in the 40k range.

not that i have been looking or anything

I kinda dig the ALL4 Mini Countryman.

My family has the Alltrack wagon and it's pretty great. Ticks all the boxes except it's not fast.

The Subaru Impreza since 2012 and Legacy since 2014 used the newer FB engines, which I don't believe suffered from head gasket issues. I also know that not all EJ engines did either, as my mom had a 96 outback that stayed in the family until it had over 300,000 kms with no engine trouble and her 2005 Impreza got sold with fewer miles, but still original head gaskets.

Shouldn't there also be some Porsche offerings that almost make all the checkboxes (just maybe not 10k)?

The Saab 9-3 AWD is not recommended due to the reliability of the Haldex AWD system.  Plus all the other Saab stuff.

MrChaos said:

Robbie said:

And, if you find a Godzilla less than 10k you'd better get over your Nissan fears!

1st year r35s are in the 40k range.

not that i have been looking or anything

Also not a manual.

Robbie said:

How old is the golf r32? 2003?

2004. Prices are all over the map as nice, unmodified ones can still command decent prices.  Then you can find ones that have been subjected to Vortex forum ownership... I'd consider a clean one, but I've always liked the Mk IV. Especially in the blue.  Like a nice, clean R53 MINI, a clean 1st gen R32 is bordering on becoming a collector car. 

Turbo Subarus don't have the headgasket issues of others within the EJ family. It was the single layer gasket design used in the non-turbo models that gives them the bad rep. The trick of finding a healthy turbo Subaru for under $10k remains though...

The Subaru intake plumbing is the real bitch to deal with.

You'll need to define "modern" -- how old are you willing to go?

The Infiniti G37 was available with a manual and was available with AWD, I'm not sure if you could get the two together or not though.

The B8 S4 was available with a manual up til 2015 or so.

The Genesis G70 has both available now, but again I'm not sure if you can get them together or not.

Infiniti G37 couldn't have AWD and stick. 

We went thru the same thing and settled on a 2012 Audi A4. It is a great car, but needs a timing chain at 100k miles and can use oil.  So far it has been a great car. We paid $12k but that was 2 years ago and we went with a fully loaded car.

The Focus RS is almost down there in price ;)

are Golf R or R32 in that price range yet?

I know they aren't sedans, but there aren't a lot of options in that segment.

Question: is AWD really necessary for everyday driving?  With modern tire tech a FWD rig can do 90% what an AWD rig can.

Stefan said:

The Focus RS is almost down there in price ;)

are Golf R or R32 in that price range yet?

I know they aren't sedans, but there aren't a lot of options in that segment.

Question: is AWD really necessary for everyday driving?  With modern tire tech a FWD rig can do 90% what an AWD rig can.

R32 maybe if you like ratty.  R no.

I would not want either, because I work on my own cars.

Are E46s too old?  Much better car than the E92s.  I wouldn't touch a (x)35 BMW with a ten foot pole unless someone else was paying to fix it.  Far too many ways for them to cause a burning sensation in your wallet.

There's also the 06-10 5 series (E60/E61) sedans/wagons. Sometimes the AWD variants pop up with manuals, but if it's a wagon, it'll demand a premium. Same goes for the 3 series of that gen (E90/91/92).

Cars.com can't actually bring up anything from 06-19 that's under $10k with AWD and manual. Ha.

As a Mazdaspeed6 owner I want to recommend it as compared to an Audi A4 you trade a less nice interior (assuming both are perfect, which is less likely for one than the other..) for reliability and a bunch of extra speed (stock for stock), but i feel like if you liked the audi you might not be interested in an MS6.

Wasn't the recent Buick Regal available in AWD and a nice turbo motor?  Not sure if you could get a manual with it or in AWD, need to research that.....