He has a full size pickup truck he daily drives currently, and is looking to get a second car. Pretty sure he'll daily the new ride.

Needs:

4 doors (primarily for two car seats)
Fairly newer, but after some depreciation has taken place (was thinking like 2016ish-2019ish)
He's not an enthusiast, but is looking for some HP. At same time, not as much HP as you or I might be on the market for . Definitely needs to be fun to drive but not necessarily up to enthusiast standards.
Some form of progressive curb/parking lot appeal

Nice to have:
Something not overly reliant on a rigorous maintenance schedule
He likes idea of manual, but its pretty far from a need. He'd be perfectly happy with a snappy DSG/DCT or whatever. Think piloting vs driving.
He doesn't needs like 7 series room but with kids starting point would be 3 series size

Points for non-tesla answers.

Budget: $45-$60k

8/17/2021 9:23:48 AM

5 series or an x3?

8/17/2021 9:34:09 PM

INFINITI Q50 RED SPORT 400

(400 hp)

8/18/2021 7:52:15 AM

NMSJ

8/18/2021 12:58:55 PM

I went for a drive in my co-worker's '18 GTi (auto, unmodified) the other day and I was very impressed. It had plenty of grunt and the handling was very nice. Plus I think it looks very good.

If he really wanted the luggage space, I'd go with a Golf All-road and a stage 1 tune. Basically throw a chip at the thing and you have 230hp



[Edited on August 18, 2021 at 6:09 PM. Reason : all 2018 and 2019 VWs have 80,000 powertrain warranty or something like that. Dieselgate recompense]

8/18/2021 6:07:25 PM

How about a 2019ish Genesis. Can get a lot of car, nice curb appeal, and save some cash.

I haven't actually driven a G70 but supposedly they're pretty fun and if you really want a manual, you can technically get one. But I think it may only be available on the lower powered models.

With kids, I can fully endorse the G80. I can't see myself going back to anything smaller. I've got the 2015 version with the V8 (which is a little slower than the newer turbo V6 models). There aren't any fancy transmission options though. Just a fairly quick shifting automatic with the manumatic/paddle shifter mess all the luxury brands seem to have. It is a bit of a land yacht (4500+ lbs), but is still fun to drive when I throw it into sport mode.

8/18/2021 10:55:59 PM

for 45-60k, is there a reason he wouldn't want a used model S? at that price point, you can get performance but it's coming at the cost of either space or gas mileage (presumably why he doesn't want to dd the truck). I'd go for an e63/c63/cls63 AMG - pref on e63 amg wagon

8/19/2021 8:41:26 PM

2021 Mazda6 Signature which comes with the 250-hp Turbo'd engine loaded and brand new is like $38k. I have a 2016 6 with the 200-hp motor and it is very fun to drive but comfortable hauling the teens. We just did a trip driving to Ohio and then all the northeastern states in it and it performed flawlessly.
2022 Kia Stinger with a 300-hp motor runs $45-55k locally new.
2022 Infiniti Q50 has a 300-hp motor but you can get the Red Sport with the 400-hp motor. That's going to be in the $30k range used most likely.

[Edited on August 20, 2021 at 8:15 AM. Reason : ]

8/20/2021 8:14:23 AM