Thinking of trading in the 350Z...

JBark said:
It's too bad you weren't looking a couple months ago, the Saab 9-2x Aero might have been worth looking at. Based on the wrx wagon, but with lots of little upgrades you couldn't get with the wrx. And with the GM employee pricing and Saab discounts, the 5 speed Aero was only $20k. Not bad for a 230HP AWD vehicle. :)
It's not 350z fast, but it gets you were you need to go quick enough.
Well with a very few modifications a wrx is Z fast :)

And a sti is already past that.

Anyway what differnt little upgrades do they have? I am curious b/c I bet some of them would be swappable between them, wow those look very similar.
 
Sxotty said:
Well with a very few modifications a wrx is Z fast :)
Yes, on a straight, dry road, not counting the start. Otherwise the WRX is always faster. ;-)

With AWD you have no wheelspin and very neutral cornering.
 
Y'know what? "Z fast" is actually more than enough for me, mebbe even a little too much.

I'm happy with "Pathfinder fast", my little SE can pull her own weight around quite nicely.

I just want a good work cruiser for the wife for winter, or something I can use to take the kids the 1/2 mile to school and she can take my Pathfinder on bad days.
 
heh yeah mini does have a cult following... but since they havent been imported here for quite some time the new mini's are all reaching new customers who drive them because, aside from looking cool, they're hella fun! It's like driving a go-cart!
 
Mize said:
I didn't read the whole thread (sorry), but the new AWD Lexus IS is the shit.

Edit: just read that it's underpowered - never mind.

It's a LEXUS. It's got the juice but typically a Lexus is not sport-tuned quite the same way as others. Heck my brothers LS was a dream to drive and power was pretty good but it was a flippin boat when it came to corners and overall feedback.
 
digitalwanderer said:
Y'know what? "Z fast" is actually more than enough for me, mebbe even a little too much.

I'm happy with "Pathfinder fast", my little SE can pull her own weight around quite nicely.

I just want a good work cruiser for the wife for winter, or something I can use to take the kids the 1/2 mile to school and she can take my Pathfinder on bad days.

The new Xterra has a longer wheelbase and larger cabin, is also quieter.
 
Sazar said:
The new Xterra has a longer wheelbase and larger cabin, is also quieter.
I like the new Xterras a lot better than the new Pathfinders, I hate what they did to the Pathfinder. :???:

Me and my wife did/are considering an Xterra, they can be decked out pretty nice and are right in our pricerange.
 
digitalwanderer said:
I like the new Xterras a lot better than the new Pathfinders, I hate what they did to the Pathfinder. :???:

Me and my wife did/are considering an Xterra, they can be decked out pretty nice and are right in our pricerange.

I had to get my thermostat replaced a coupla weeks ago, got to try out the new xterra. It still has a rocky ride compared to the pathfinder but its pleasant enough :D

You don't like the new pathfinder? When I tested it, was roomier and more refined than the old one. I like the QX4 body styling better than the stock pathfinder, mind you, but I am not a huge fan of SUV's per se, unless it happens to be an FX :D
 
digitalwanderer said:
We promised ourselves that this time we would at least stop in at a GM/Chevy dealer and give them a chance to sell us something, but most of the vehicles we like there don't come in manual. (That's a big problem with most american made cars anymore, manual is a biatch to find)

But with all their financial troubles lately we figure they should be rather desperate to sell cars so we could probably find a good deal, we'll see.

I really like the Mazda Speed6. The touring model has all the options I want, (leather, power heated seats & mirrors, moonroof), and is still in our pricerange. It looks nice without being really flashy, and it looks like it's fun to drive and very safe. :)

Mazda has always been good to me. Drove a 323 from -83 and it was a spiffy little car with a reliable engine (as long as it wasn't cold and damp at the same time, then it wouldn't start ;).)
I wouldn't mind owning one of the new 6's but they're still out of my price range. Anyway, if you can't find a good AWD for safe winterdriving you might want to try out a SAAB. Very safe cars with good winterqualities and fun to drive as well.

As always, if you don't have snowtires on the best car in the world will suck compared to a Fiat Punto properly equipped.
 
Sage said:
we dont have fiats here...
We used to. My family actually owned a '79 Fiat Strada.

"DaVinci Green" was the name of the color, but it was glow-in-the-dark freaking neon green to me. Nothing but a POS, but my Mom loved it 'cause it was "cute". :rolleyes:
 
Sazar said:
It's a LEXUS. It's got the juice but typically a Lexus is not sport-tuned quite the same way as others. Heck my brothers LS was a dream to drive and power was pretty good but it was a flippin boat when it came to corners and overall feedback.

You cannot compare the LS to the IS. The Lexus IS series were designed to compete with the BMW 3 Series in handling and driving feel and it does an excellent job at it. The new IS 350 has 304 hp but that engine only comes with RWD. That car is faster than the new 300hp Infiniti G35Coupe. Unfortunately the IS 250 AWD only comes with the underpowered 204hp powerplant. The LS will always handle like a boat because it's huge and heavy and is designed primarly as a large luxury sedan.
 
the new IS still does not feel like a 3-series. there's a pretty big difference if you drive them back-to-back.
 
Sage said:
the new IS still does not feel like a 3-series. there's a pretty big difference if you drive them back-to-back.

Yeah it's probably quieter. ;)

Also you need to drive the model with sport suspension.
 
And as an interesting reminder I had this morning, 4 wheel drive does NOT help you stop any better one tiny little bit. :???:

I took off from my house, went 10 feet and started to brake for the stopsign, turned sideways and stopped centimeters from the bumper of the caddy in front of me. :oops:

GOTTA take it easy in the winter.
 
PC-Engine said:
Yeah it's probably quieter. ;)

Also you need to drive the model with sport suspension.

Car and Driver said:
And yet the IS350 doesn't become an extension of your legs and forearms, as the BMW or even the G35 does. Editors wrote of a twitchy, overly zealous response to steering inputs by an overdamped suspension that was annoyingly busy on the freeway. Scrub data through the electrically assisted steering rack get muted, and the weighting seems typically Lexus light and artificial. Meanwhile, the tires lack the bite to control understeer, contributing to a last-place lane-change speed.

...
 
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