I have an IS350 as well and the front is comfy but theirs no room in the back

 

VR4. No warranty, but with your budget you could have it rebuild.

 

How about the new Taurus SHO? Good power and handling with plenty of room.

 

Acura Tl

 

Years ago I met a guy who owned a 911 and a minivan. He said it was the best of both worlds. The 911 for the driving and the minivan for the times when the 911 wouldn't do. Why a minivan? Because it's the all-purpose tool of our time.

I kinda shrugged it off at the time. Flash forward and I'm in the market for another car. I'm considering all kinds of fun stuff, debating between going back to German or buying something more reliable, when I see a beige Kia minivan with less than 30K on the clock selling for ~30% of its original cost. Long story short, I bought it and absolutely love having a minivan. It can tow, it can haul, it fits the entire family with space to spare, there's room for anything and everything.

...just tossing the option out there.

 

'11 Mustang. Plenty of room, tons of power, fun to drive. 135i if the Mustang is too big.

 

Much appreciated everyone! The CTS AWD and Taurus are interesting ideas that I will look into. Anyone with an Evo actually drive or own an SHO?

I'd love a quattroporte but that would make the E55 warranty look cheap

Glad I asked! Keep ideas coming!

 

I'm with FJF on this... get something other than another 4-door sedan. You already have one of those and filling the same niche with another car will probably not make you happy. I had my RX-8 still, and it ended up just sitting around all the time never being driven. I ended up selling it to pick up a Nissan Armada SUV. It's super comfortable, tons of room to lug stuff around, and is a good tow vehicle to trailer the Evo to the track.

 

My second vehicle is a Yukon Denali. Like the minivan it does it all but it's not a stupid minivan. Has all the legroom and head room a 6'4" guy would need. Plus all the luxury options you'd get out of a German car. Mine has 65k and only the battery and alternator have been replaced.

 

Otherwise Audi is the only way to go. A nice used A6 is super comfortable. Not fast but that's what the Evo is for. Very decent power for a mid size sedan. Audi certified warranty is 2 years and I'm sure you can get into one for 25-30k used. I'd say A4 but not enough head room for your size.

 

Definitely one of the fastest depreciating cars but I doubt it's still going to have a warranty, and (aside from a damaged one) its not in his price range.

Check out the blogs in my sig for some additional ideas, but my vote would be for a CTS-V, you may not have a warranty with your price range but who cares it's a fun car and fits in your price range. The 07's are right around your price point, you can save some money if you go older. No luck going newer than that though, I don't think there was an '08 model year and the '09's were the start of the supercharged cts-v which is still a ways out of your budget.

 

So a lot of people telling me to go a little outside the sedan box... SRT8 Cherokee?? Anyone have one? Can you speak to the driving quality, reliability, and ownership experience?

 

I was going to outright dismiss a Gen 1 CTS-V... until I checked out the two you have linked in your blog. Those are both in excellent shape at a cheap price. I always thought the lesser models had a trash interior, but perhaps the V goes significantly enough upmarket that it would not be an issue.

On another note, love the blog idea. Looks like you just started up? You have no idea for how many years my parents told me to do something like that... I research things (specifically cars) like its my job. Some other decent ideas I may look into I saw on your blog... You need a total cost of ownership section in there

 

Yeah just started up, I've been meaning to put up a thread for some thoughts/ideas from people. I like your idea and will definitely have to try and do something like that. Thanks for the input. Ideally I would like to go out and test drive some of the vehicles in used condition to write about and also intend for my next vehicle to be one of the ones on there that I can specifically document my experience with.

 

I don't have the SRT8 GC but I do have the 5.7 Hemi limited. IMO it's the better way to go b/c you still get plenty of power for a daily driver but you get a great 4WD system also. Depends on your view of winter driving though, but I've got nothing but praise for Jeep's 4WD system in the snow.