Budget Performance Sedan

[DHG1078]

I wouldn't get anything smaller than a fusion. Even that can feel inadequate at times. Rear facing seats take up a ton of space. The rear facing seat in the back of my focus makes the front seat unusable. We have to drive my wifes explorer everywhere as a result.

I don't know what we would do without the explorer. New born babies, infants, and even toddlers require so much stuff. Car seat, pack and play for sleeping, high chairs, tons of clothing, diapers, etc. God forbid you need to take a stroller anywhere with all that other stuff.

 

[black99lightnin]

If you're dead set on a sedan/car, then I have to ask why a lexus is350 (not 250) or is200t (turbo version that can be boosted more) isn't on your list? A 350 will curb stomp most other sedans out there including BMW's and they are 10 times more RELIABLE past 200K miles.

They're 4 doors, look bitchin', and they come with tons of great standard luxury items like air cooled/heated seats, sunroof, ect. The interiors are well thought out with cubbies and spaces all over, and the leather is buttery and luxurious, not to mention the ride.

Personally, I wouldn't touch anything made by GM and Chrysler. Their quality control leaves a lot to be desired and their interiors are laughably bad compared to lexus/bmw/infinity/audi.

Good luck in your search.

Have you actually been in an IS? They're tiny. Might as well suggest a 6th gen Camaro.

 

[DHG1078]

I don't know if you have bought a car seat yet, but when you do take it the the car dealership and do a test fit for a rear facing seat. The last thing you want is to find out you can't use your fiesta to even drive your baby across town for 2+ years.

Set it up properly for the different age/weight ranges. Remember the car seat can't touch the seat in front of it, and you may need to prop up the seat to "level" it correctly. Even the front passenger seat in our '13 explorer is limited in how far back it can move before hitting the car seat.

Well, in CA its mandatory rear facing for 2 years, but all the safety experts recommend for much longer than that. Honest to god, if you do research on crash safety for infants, its terrifying. Front facing kids, especially under 2-3 years, have a "high" likely hood of internal decapitation in a moderate/major accident. Their necks just flat out can't support their heads in an accident.

 

[Grabber]

Charger SRT8 hands down.

Lexus IS350? Runs high 13's.

Charger SRT8 - 12 second car

SHO - Mid-high 13's

335I - Low 13's

Just a brief comparison between those few cars the OP listed as possible options.

 

[VenomVeins]

Have you actually been in an IS? They're tiny. Might as well suggest a 6th gen Camaro.

Yes, i have. I own one, and its a killer daily driver. Pretty much the best all around combination in regards to HP, ride comfort, creature comforts, technology, reliability, and the ability to seat 4 and look cool doing it. I love that car.

To compare it to the dumpster fire that is the camaro is laughably bad. It isnt close.

OP, i'll suggest the ES350 lexus sedan. Bigger and equipped with the 300 plus hp drivetrain. Interior is epic as well.

 

[VenomVeins]

Charger SRT8 hands down.

Lexus IS350? Runs high 13's.

Charger SRT8 - 12 second car

SHO - Mid-high 13's

335I - Low 13's

Just a brief comparison between those few cars the OP listed as possible options.

Interior:

Lexus: 10

335i: 9

Charger SRT8: 6

SHO: 7

Reliabilty:

Lexus: 10


The list should end with the reliability and interior factir alone. Lexus Resale value is excellent too.

 

[Grabber]

Interior:

Lexus: 10

335i: 9

Charger SRT8: 6

SHO: 7

Reliabilty:

Lexus: 10


The list should end with the reliability and interior factir alone. Lexus Resale value is excellent too.

If that's how you feel, sure.

Dodge's have come a long way as well as the Ford's.

OP did say he wants a "performance" sedan, and I don't see a Lexus IS350 as being one. Camry's are comparable to a Lexus in terms of speed, but, look like crap in comparison.

The IS350 would also be at the very top of the budget and be right around 50K miles or more as well.

 

[Steve@TF]

we have a lexsus es350 (fancy camry). she wanted that over the SHO (smh!). its mostly her DD but she does cart around the infant and 5 year old as well. the stroller practically takes up the whole trunk. its barely big enough imo.

keep in mind, you may have the jeep as the main family vehicle but what if it goes down or has to go in for work. we recently had to send the explorer to the dealer for warranty work and they had it for about 5 days (holiday weekend to boot). so we had to use the lexus for the week. kind of a pain since i have an infant, 5 year old and a 16 year old. talk about crammed lol. and that's not a tiny car. if we had a 3 series or similar we'd probably have to take two vehicles to go places.

 

[Steve@TF]

granted she has put over 100k on the lexus in the few years we've owned it (80 miles a day minimum) and it has only needed tires and brakes. car has about 140k on it now and drives like new. nothing has gone wrong on this car (knocks on wood) and we plan to keep it till 200k at least. pretty good power with great mpg. and super comfy. not sure id feel comfortable keeping a SHO that long lol. i plan to get rid of the explorer just before the 100k warranty is up. just too much shit going on, plus FORD, to keep without a warranty.

 

[Dusten]

I wouldn't get anything smaller than a fusion. Even that can feel inadequate at times. Rear facing seats take up a ton of space. The rear facing seat in the back of my focus makes the front seat unusable. We have to drive my wifes explorer everywhere as a result.

I don't know what we would do without the explorer. New born babies, infants, and even toddlers require so much stuff. Car seat, pack and play for sleeping, high chairs, tons of clothing, diapers, etc. God forbid you need to take a stroller anywhere with all that other stuff.

Once the kids during up just buy an umbrella stroller. Those big cumbersome strollers are the worst. We bought one with my oldest and never again. Pack and plays are nice, but instead of a high chair just buy those little seats that strap into a normal chair.

Some if you guys complaining about how much stuff a kid needs sound like rookies lol. You think it's bad now, wait till sports

 

[black99lightnin]

Yes, i have. I own one, and its a killer daily driver. Pretty much the best all around combination in regards to HP, ride comfort, creature comforts, technology, reliability, and the ability to seat 4 and look cool doing it. I love that car.

To compare it to the dumpster fire that is the camaro is laughably bad. It isnt close.

OP, i'll suggest the ES350 lexus sedan. Bigger and equipped with the 300 plus hp drivetrain. Interior is epic as well.

so since you own an IS, you'd agree it is by far the smallest/tightest interior of any of the cars he suggested? Baby seat will be rubbing the back of the pass front seat, and in later years the baby will be easily kicking the seat. It may be a great vehicle in your opinion, but clearly is too small for his needs.

For the $$$'s spent it's hard to beat the value the SHO represents. OP could easily find a mid mileage 10-12 for less than $20K, then do tune, tstat, 3bar, downpipes and be mid 12's are better depending if he found a PP car. Also I'd look for one with massaging seats.

 

[black99lightnin]

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...chRadius=500&makeCode1=FORD&modelCode1=TAURUS

this one has massaging seats. You can tell by the 4th button on the seat control pack.
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...chRadius=500&makeCode1=FORD&modelCode1=TAURUS

 

[DiB14-SAFD]

I prefer the look of the 10-12 SHO's over the 13+ or MKS's.

And the 15+ Chargers have the 8spd and facelift, worth the extra money over an older model.

I do love the look of the 15+ chargers and would definitely buy an srt392 if it was in budget but the r/t just doesn't do it for me.

If you're dead set on a sedan/car, then I have to ask why a lexus is350 (not 250) or is200t (turbo version that can be boosted more) isn't on your list? A 350 will curb stomp most other sedans out there including BMW's and they are 10 times more RELIABLE past 200K miles.

They're 4 doors, look bitchin', and they come with tons of great standard luxury items like air cooled/heated seats, sunroof, ect. The interiors are well thought out with cubbies and spaces all over, and the leather is buttery and luxurious, not to mention the ride.

Personally, I wouldn't touch anything made by GM and Chrysler. Their quality control leaves a lot to be desired and their interiors are laughably bad compared to lexus/bmw/infinity/audi.

Good luck in your search.

I haven't considered Lexus very much because I don't really have any experience with them. Plus without looking at the rear badging they all look about the same to me. I had briefly considered the G37 Infiniti but the styling is just so bland on it.

I wouldn't get anything smaller than a fusion. Even that can feel inadequate at times. Rear facing seats take up a ton of space. The rear facing seat in the back of my focus makes the front seat unusable. We have to drive my wifes explorer everywhere as a result.

I don't know what we would do without the explorer. New born babies, infants, and even toddlers require so much stuff. Car seat, pack and play for sleeping, high chairs, tons of clothing, diapers, etc. God forbid you need to take a stroller anywhere with all that other stuff.

Good info. I will keep it in mind.

I don't know if you have bought a car seat yet, but when you do take it the the car dealership and do a test fit for a rear facing seat. The last thing you want is to find out you can't use your fiesta to even drive your baby across town for 2+ years.

Set it up properly for the different age/weight ranges. Remember the car seat can't touch the seat in front of it, and you may need to prop up the seat to "level" it correctly. Even the front passenger seat in our '13 explorer is limited in how far back it can move before hitting the car seat.

Well, in CA its mandatory rear facing for 2 years, but all the safety experts recommend for much longer than that. Honest to god, if you do research on crash safety for infants, its terrifying. Front facing kids, especially under 2-3 years, have a "high" likely hood of internal decapitation in a moderate/major accident. Their necks just flat out can't support their heads in an accident.

Haven't bought the car seat just yet but I will take a tape measure with me when looking at vehicles so I can see what works.

we have a lexsus es350 (fancy camry). she wanted that over the SHO (smh!). its mostly her DD but she does cart around the infant and 5 year old as well. the stroller practically takes up the whole trunk. its barely big enough imo.

keep in mind, you may have the jeep as the main family vehicle but what if it goes down or has to go in for work. we recently had to send the explorer to the dealer for warranty work and they had it for about 5 days (holiday weekend to boot). so we had to use the lexus for the week. kind of a pain since i have an infant, 5 year old and a 16 year old. talk about crammed lol. and that's not a tiny car. if we had a 3 series or similar we'd probably have to take two vehicles to go places.

Wasn't really thinking about that much I guess. It is a Jeep after all, so odds are it will see some shop time.

 

[DHG1078]

Once the kids during up just buy an umbrella stroller. Those big cumbersome strollers are the worst. We bought one with my oldest and never again. Pack and plays are nice, but instead of a high chair just buy those little seats that strap into a normal chair.

Some if you guys complaining about how much stuff a kid needs sound like rookies lol. You think it's bad now, wait till sports

We have the ones that strap into chairs. They take up a lot of space. We go on a lot of 5 or so day long trips. Our daughter has to sleep somewhere, needs a high chair to eat in, and when we use our stroller we often load it up with water bottles or jackets or whatever we need. Not to mention an umbrella stroller isn't exactly great for a newborn/infant. Its incredibly convenient to have a stroller that was designed to work with an infant car seat.

Point is, something like a focus/fiesta isn't big enough, hence why I said a fusion at minimum. I have a focus, and had a fusion. For family duties, the fusion was 100x better.

 

[DiB14-SAFD]

so since you own an IS, you'd agree it is by far the smallest/tightest interior of any of the cars he suggested? Baby seat will be rubbing the back of the pass front seat, and in later years the baby will be easily kicking the seat. It may be a great vehicle in your opinion, but clearly is too small for his needs.

For the $$$'s spent it's hard to beat the value the SHO represents. OP could easily find a mid mileage 10-12 for less than $20K, then do tune, tstat, 3bar, downpipes and be mid 12's are better depending if he found a PP car. Also I'd look for one with massaging seats.

So far the SHO and the Charger seem to be leading the pack. Harder to find a good deal on the Charger while sub 25k low mileage SHO's are fairly easy. As far as the SHO goes it doesn't seem like there are to many differences between 2010-2015 besides some cosmetic and package changes. I can't seem to find an easy way to see if it has the PP or not though without either researching the vin or looking at the car in person to see if it has a spare.

 

[black99lightnin]

So far the SHO and the Charger seem to be leading the pack. Harder to find a good deal on the Charger while sub 25k low mileage SHO's are fairly easy. As far as the SHO goes it doesn't seem like there are to many differences between 2010-2015 besides some cosmetic and package changes. I can't seem to find an easy way to see if it has the PP or not though without either researching the vin or looking at the car in person to see if it has a spare.

it's difficult to tell PP or not. Originally the silver luster split 5 spokes on the 10-12 indicated PP. And the black flower power wheels indicated PP on 13+. But both wheels could be optioned on the non PP cars. I still plan to pick up a SHO with massaging seats, just a matter of time. I'm not going to DD the HC for too long.

 

[HEMI LOL]

12+ 300SRT8. the merican AMG.

 

[2KBlackGT]

it's difficult to tell PP or not. Originally the silver luster split 5 spokes on the 10-12 indicated PP. And the black flower power wheels indicated PP on 13+. But both wheels could be optioned on the non PP cars. I still plan to pick up a SHO with massaging seats, just a matter of time. I'm not going to DD the HC for too long.

Dang, the 392 got replaced by a Hellcat already? Nice!

 

[black99lightnin]

Dang, the 392 got replaced by a Hellcat already? Nice!

Couldn't resist. The 392 was a great performance sedan, but the HC is just an entirely different animal.

 

[Steve@TF]

So far the SHO and the Charger seem to be leading the pack. Harder to find a good deal on the Charger while sub 25k low mileage SHO's are fairly easy. As far as the SHO goes it doesn't seem like there are to many differences between 2010-2015 besides some cosmetic and package changes. I can't seem to find an easy way to see if it has the PP or not though without either researching the vin or looking at the car in person to see if it has a spare.

i havent read much up on SHOs but did see some issues online when my explorer broke and i was doing some research. theyre pretty complex with the awd system, twin turbos, direct injection etc.. fancy electronics. i paid extra to get ford bumper to bumper warranty for 7 years for 100k. but i dont plan to keep it past that. i dont want to deal with complex shit breaking on me out of warranty. i dont know how much you drive but if you buy one with 50k right out of the gate, youre a lot closer to that end game. id recommend getting a warranty on one.
on a dodge too. not because complex, because dodge.