Budget Performance Sedan

[Dusten]

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.

That wasn't directed at you. That said, I have 3 kids, ranging from 14 to 5. So I've done this a few times. Read my comment on umbrella strollers. I said once they sit up. I don't disagree with the pack and play but there are options to avoid the high chair. We vacation frequently, travel both by car and plane. I'm well versed in travel with kids. I also agree a fusion is barely big enough.

 

[2KBlackGT]

12+ 300SRT8. the merican AMG.

I did not realize how affordable these were til I just looked them up. OP could definitely get a 2012 for 25k with around 50k miles. I like those better than the 2011-2014 Charger looks wise too. Plus it has the 392 so it'll still run near door to door with the new Scat Packs/SRTs. Easy as hell to work on yourself too!

 

[DHG1078]

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.

That wasn't directed at you. That said, I have 3 kids, ranging from 14 to 5. So I've done this a few times. Read my comment on umbrella strollers. I said once they sit up. I don't disagree with the pack and play but there are options to avoid the high chair. We vacation frequently, travel both by car and plane. I'm well versed in travel with kids. I also agree a fusion is barely big enough.

I didn't see that part. My daughter is 2, but she wouldn't do well in an umbrella stroller. She really does like one of our bigger strollers in particular. It has a large sun shade that still lets her see out of the stroller. She is way more well behaved in it than the others. Only time we don't have room for it in our explorer is if our Great Dane is traveling with us lol. Or it we are using all 7 seats.

 

[KilledbyKenne]

Added another option.

I didn't even think of the 300srt. Honestly I would switch the 300 and the Charger then. I personally like the looks of the 300 better.

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.

It is annoying how close I have to be to the steering wheel in our '13 Sport because the rear facing car seat is behind me. But like you said, they need tons of room. Doesn't help that I'm 6' 7" either.

12+ 300SRT8. the merican AMG.

THIS

I did not realize how affordable these were til I just looked them up. OP could definitely get a 2012 for 25k with around 50k miles. I like those better than the 2011-2014 Charger looks wise too. Plus it has the 392 so it'll still run near door to door with the new Scat Packs/SRTs. Easy as hell to work on yourself too!

Agreed!

 

[DHG1078]

It is annoying how close I have to be to the steering wheel in our '13 Sport because the rear facing car seat is behind me. But like you said, they need tons of room. Doesn't help that I'm 6' 7" either.

Why not put it on the passenger side? I can't imagine how cramped you must feel. It was starting to be restrictive for me, and i'm nowhere near as tall as you are lol.

 

[ibleedblue65]

300 srt isnt a bad choice. Only a couple issues i know of with them is the fake carbon fiber stuff on the dash likes to peel up on pretty much all of them and the motors are really weak if you ever plan to boost it.

 

[Parenbizvegasa]

WRX. Simple, reliable, plenty of room. But I'm bias, as I had 12 WRX and 14 STI before GT500. You can have brand new WRX in both manual and auto for around $25K.

 

[KilledbyKenne]

Why not put it on the passenger side? I can't imagine how cramped you must feel. It was starting to be restrictive for me, and i'm nowhere near as tall as you are lol.

We have a 4 year old as well and often transport my niece and nephew so I needed quick easy access to the 3rd row since that is where the 4 year old's car seat is. The seat behind the passenger is the one that folds just the one seat forward. Sometimes I wish we had the captain chairs in the middle instead of the bench. Would be easier for sure.

Only way I am able to bear it is that I don't drive it daily. It is my wife's daily. I only drive it when we all go somewhere.

 

[ON D BIT]

The best sports sedan on sale today is the Giulia Quad....having said this most people keep referring to big boat sedan as performance. Now if all you want is big power go for one of them.

Handling/Braking/Good Power
ATS/CTS V
335/535/M5
S4/S6
C63/E63
ISF

Big power
SHO
SRT8/HC
SS

For me, my first choice would be a certified S4 manual then the ISF.
If all I wanted was a highway cruiser I'd take the 6.4 charger.

 

[offroadkarter]

As much as i love the mercury marauder these cars are starting to show their age with wear and tear. And the bigger problem is they are PAINFULLY slow. Stock they wont even break rubber and if im not mistaken 1/4mi times in the mid 15sec realm. You would easily get bested by a camry. Shame on ford for not putting the terminator engine in this car. Biggest fail in the last 20yrs.

If only you knew what was coming down the pipeline had Elena Ford not put her foot down and said "Mercury is aiming to be a female brand, I don't want this car distracting the husbands of female customers in the showroom"

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/eaton-swap-on-my-03-marauder.733876/#post-10580905

/hijack over

and no I wouldn't buy one of these as a reliable family transport. Most of them went to philly and were driven into the ground. Second hand SHO/MKS Ecoboost and Charger R/T's are pretty economically viable.

 

[DiB14-SAFD]

I didn't even think of the 300srt. Honestly I would switch the 300 and the Charger then. I personally like the looks of the 300 better.



It is annoying how close I have to be to the steering wheel in our '13 Sport because the rear facing car seat is behind me. But like you said, they need tons of room. Doesn't help that I'm 6' 7" either.



THIS



Agreed!

The SRT8 300 is nice but I am not sure I like it over the SHO or Charger. If I came across one at the right price though it would be worth a look.

Why not put it on the passenger side? I can't imagine how cramped you must feel. It was starting to be restrictive for me, and i'm nowhere near as tall as you are lol.

For just one rear facing infant seat the "ideal" spot is the center position. I am curious if the seat design on the Charger would conflict with that. It is flat in the center but slopes down into the seat on the sides. The SHO on the other hand looks to have a nice flat back seat that would not pose an issue.

WRX. Simple, reliable, plenty of room. But I'm bias, as I had 12 WRX and 14 STI before GT500. You can have brand new WRX in both manual and auto for around $25K.

I do like the WRX I am just worried about fitting the rear facing seat in there and maintaining some leg room. I am not overly tall but at 6'1" I do need a little bit of space.

 

[KilledbyKenne]

I did not realize how affordable these were til I just looked them up. OP could definitely get a 2012 for 25k with around 50k miles. I like those better than the 2011-2014 Charger looks wise too. Plus it has the 392 so it'll still run near door to door with the new Scat Packs/SRTs. Easy as hell to work on yourself too!

Damn you. This post made me look at the local classifieds and I found one that I really want. Gonna take me weeks to get it out of my mind! lol

 

[DHG1078]

We have a 4 year old as well and often transport my niece and nephew so I needed quick easy access to the 3rd row since that is where the 4 year old's car seat is. The seat behind the passenger is the one that folds just the one seat forward. Sometimes I wish we had the captain chairs in the middle instead of the bench. Would be easier for sure.

Only way I am able to bear it is that I don't drive it daily. It is my wife's daily. I only drive it when we all go somewhere.

We put ours behind the passenger seat. I don't really find it to be an issue to fold the larger seat section, but we don't use it constantly either.

For just one rear facing infant seat the "ideal" spot is the center position. I am curious if the seat design on the Charger would conflict with that. It is flat in the center but slopes down into the seat on the sides. The SHO on the other hand looks to have a nice flat back seat that would not pose an issue.

That is the ideal spot, but we didn't like how the car seat "sat" in the middle of the seat in our explorer, so we moved it to the passenger side.

 

[VenomVeins]

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.

I'd say most of your post is correct, except for the 'great vehicle in your opinion' portion.

It isn't just my opinion. Its the stone cold truth. I wish the big 3 would catch up to the build quality of Lexus, since I do love a few of GM's and Ford's offerings and grew up owning mustangs and a few vettes, but they definitely aren't there yet.

The build quality by Lexus is FAR superior to that of Ford, GM, or Chrysler (FCA) and is among the best in the world. There is no debate about that.


Personally, I would rather get a truck/suv in OP's situation....but like I said in my first post, if he MUST have a sedan, why not have something that is decently quick, will literally be rock solid with no issues past 200K, and be very luxurious with great creature comforts too? A total package, if you will.

 

[Steve@TF]

I didn't even think of the 300srt. Honestly I would switch the 300 and the Charger then. I personally like the looks of the 300 better.



It is annoying how close I have to be to the steering wheel in our '13 Sport because the rear facing car seat is behind me. But like you said, they need tons of room. Doesn't help that I'm 6' 7" either.



THIS



Agreed!

6'7"? you practically need a school bus!
we have the rear facing seat behind the driver as well for the same reason. my 5 year old likes to sit in the way back and my 16 year old in 2nd row. its far easier folding down just the small single part of the 2nd row than larger part. kinda think ford got that part backwards lol. they actually had a new Sport with buckets for the 2nd row when we were at the dealership. i was surprised. i bet they rarely sell one of those. theyre kinda cool but much less practical. you're buying a 3rd row for a reason. anywho, OP isnt interested in an explorer. though you should be. if you can find one in the price range. theyre basically big SHOs. it handles and drives more like a car than an suv. even with this monster, when we take our two small kids and stroller to costco, we end up cramming stuff into it. with the lexus, forget it. stroller takes up the whole trunk. barely enough room for the $300+ worth of groceries. they end up in the back seat, on the floor, on laps etc.. i cant even imagine with a smaller car.

we use the umbrella strollers as well but only when they get to a certain age. they can easily fall out, especially when theyre sleeping. the bigger stroller can hold stuff underneath. we actually have two strollers for the car seat. the BIG one which we hardly ever use and the medium size universal frame one. basically just a metal frame the car seat sits on and straps down to. with a basket underneath. folds pretty flat. this is the one im referring to in my posts actually. the big stroller would be much worse. thats not really until theyre out of the basket car seat but too small for umbrella.

this is cheap and a life saver. we actually scored a clean one on Offer Up for $20
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Trend-Snap-N-Go-EX-Universal/20711230

 

[Steve@TF]

I'd say most of your post is correct, except for the 'great vehicle in your opinion' portion.

It isn't just my opinion. Its the stone cold truth. I wish the big 3 would catch up to the build quality of Lexus, since I do love a few of GM's and Ford's offerings and grew up owning mustangs and a few vettes, but they definitely aren't there yet.

The build quality by Lexus is FAR superior to that of Ford, GM, or Chrysler (FCA) and is among the best in the world. There is no debate about that.


Personally, I would rather get a truck/suv in OP's situation....but like I said in my first post, if he MUST have a sedan, why not have something that is decently quick, will literally be rock solid with no issues past 200K, and be very luxurious with great creature comforts too? A total package, if you will.

i agree with you. Lexus has incredible quality and reliability. as i posted above, my wife has put a shit ton of miles on hers and all we've had to do is replace brakes, tires, battery. oh yeah, starter too, which was an easy job i did myself. and ridiculously comfortable. when i drove any of our other vehicles i end up comparing the ride and turn into an old man and hate them lol. its perfect for her sitting in traffic an hour each way. im sure the newer ones have even more goodies than our 2010. and its surprisingly quick. and gets an average of 28mpg.
IS is just too small for a family with a baby imo. its doable of course but tight. i mean, people make do with a 2 door wrangler and a baby but i wouldnt want to lol. and lexus has high resale so getting something recent that you like, like a GS, can be too much $. we got our CPO ES with 25 on the odo for $25k. felt like the best $ i ever spent on a car.

we almost bought a cts, that probably would have been a disaster and long gone by now.

 

[Steve@TF]

12+ 300SRT8. the merican AMG.

didnt even think of those. i prefer the 300 over the charger once the body styles changed. im not a big fan of the change and the latest version of the charger looks like a large dart imo. the front end kills it for me. the 300 on the other hand though, looks the business. and i agree, the interiors of the latest mopars are much better than before.

 

[ON D BIT]

E39 M5. Done and done!!

 

[Steve@TF]

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.

last year i test drove a 335is convertible. then went and test drove a mustang convertible (premium). i dont know if it was because it was a convertible but the bmws interior did not impress, at all. the mustang was better in pretty much every aspect except handling. the bmw did have great handling. but that's about it. the mustang had nicer interior and more power. my wife was all set on the bmw but had to agree with me on the comparison. she still wanted the bmw though lol, because bmw /rolleyes.

then we got some news, and got an explorer...

thanks baby.

lexus does have killer interiors (latest cars). i was at a shop where the owner had an IS350 fsport. parked next to it was a customers brand new Maserati Ghibli (first year). the interior of the IS was far nicer than the Maserati. the dash layout. the electronic gauages ala LFA. better looking. cost less and probably worth more now lol.

besides, buying an italian luxury/sports car is like dating a super model who takes 3 different meds and goes bananas when she forgets.

 

[AustinSN]

last year i test drove a 335is convertible. then went and test drove a mustang convertible (premium). i dont know if it was because it was a convertible but the bmws interior did not impress, at all. the mustang was better in pretty much every aspect except handling. the bmw did have great handling. but that's about it. the mustang had nicer interior and more power. my wife was all set on the bmw but had to agree with me on the comparison. she still wanted the bmw though lol, because bmw /rolleyes.

then we got some news, and got an explorer...

thanks baby.

lexus does have killer interiors (latest cars). i was at a shop where the owner had an IS350 fsport. parked next to it was a customers brand new Maserati Ghibli (first year). the interior of the IS was far nicer than the Maserati. the dash layout. the electronic gauages ala LFA. better looking. cost less and probably worth more now lol.

besides, buying an italian luxury/sports car is like dating a super model who takes 3 different meds and goes bananas when she forgets.

Not taking away from Lexus because they are great quality cars with nice interiors but besting the Ghibli interior isn't a difficult task. I got the opportunity to sit in one and I was really taken back at how cheap everything was. The paddle shifters are cheap plastic and had horrible haptics.