Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

That's kind of the point of posting on a forum -- to engage in a discussion and hear different perspectives. I don't think any of the comments were mean spirited

@4DRZ I actually can keep up with you! I think most of the active posters in this thread are still here because we have a lot of overlapping values in what we want in cars. You're balancing the same things a lot of us do: What do I want? What do I actually need? What can I afford? What do I want to spend?

I want a M3. Been my dream car since back in the 90s when I was a teenager drooling over the Dakar Yellow E36 at the Cleveland Auto show. Realistically, I don't need an M3 to roll 3K miles on a year -- it's performance would be lost putting around town with my kids and wife. I could afford a M3, but I don't want to spend the money on one.

Riddle me this. Lets say you love the CTR and the ride is back friendly. You're stuck in the lease till October, and this is the only CTR your dealership gets. Do you punt until 2025, or try to move the pieces around to jump ship sooner?

rotarymike

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, just gentle ribbing - no bad mojo intended.

I tend to stay in a car for at least 10 years if it doesn't grenade on me. I'm not, to be honest, seeing much reason to shop around given that nothing I can afford will be as refined as the G37 and ALSO have a stick shift. Then again, my perusal of a GT-R on track might make me reconsider if other auto trans cars are as capable about being in the gear I want when I want without the 2 second shift lag.

I had a serious sad to find out the Panameras only sold about 12 stick shift cars, all in Germany, given that they're available used in the 40K range it seems.

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

No worries guys. I was just a bit surprised no one had any input or experience with the Civic Type R. Sounds like no one has had a chance to try one yet. Maybe it is just as unique and hard to get as I think it is. I just saw comments about me changing my mind which was confusing to me because I have mentioned this car before. I thought people would be excited to hear that I had this very rare opportunity to try out, review, and quite possibly buy this car. Either way, I still plan on sharing my experiences.

@Rochester Sorry I am driving you nuts thinking out loud about my car options. At least I get to give honest reviews on a lot of cars I think you guys would be interested in. I do feel like I made up my mind 3 times last year when I got different cars, but you are right about trying to find an adequate replacement for my G37. None of those cars fit the bill and most were due to circumstances outside my control or primary interest. I had the Infiniti just the way I wanted it which makes it difficult to replace. However, this time I am looking for something that improves on the G37 in every way. Clearly not an easy task based on how modified my G37 was, but as you can see I have more than a few good options. The other difficulty is just finding cars I am interested in that are available simply so that I can try them out. I had to wait well over a year to try out a Civic Type R and well over 2 years to try out a CT4-V Blackwing 6 speed. Even then it was only on a 25 mph road for about a total of a 1/4 mile. Not ideal. I got to drive an Audi etron and it was fast and nice, but I am more interested in a stick shift car this time that handles well and sounds good. Also, I am not terribly interested in spending $140K or whatever it is to get an etron.

@lego maniac I agree that I think we all have similar car interests. That's why I keep coming back to this thread to bounce ideas off you guys and give you honest reviews on cars I think some of you would want. The M3 is a great car. I had an E46 and really liked it. I still consider E36's, E90-92's, and mostly F80's. All excellent cars in different ways. Honestly, I think I would get an ATS-V or CT4-V Blackwing over an F80, but that would only be if I decided I needed that much performance. Honestly, I don't need it by any stretch of the imagination, but it would be loads of fun. To answer your question about the Civic Type R- yes, if the ride is decent and I really like the car, I'll buy it now. I was actually supposed to meet with one of my financial advisors today to free up the money early, but it got cancelled because of the big snow storm.

@rotarymike The DCT's in a lot of cars these days are amazing at shifting. A lot of "regular" automatics in sporty cars are highly impressive as well. They are probably all faster than a stick shift variant, but I am not after specific lap times this go around. Instead, I am after the connection and feeling of driving a stick shift and I want to get at least one more before they are all gone. I didn't even know Porsche made a stick shift Panamera, but it doesn't surprise me.

ILM-NC G37S

iTrader: (3)

While searching for something totally unrelated this thing popped up on my search results:

https://www.autoworldnh.com/cars-for...manchester-nh/
For $122K+ they can keep it, but I was never a fan of Cadillac, or GM for that matter.

Only posting here as I know there are some Cadillac fans who like this thing and even more who like the 6MT.

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

It shouldn't be a surprise that the 10 or so people active in this thread don't have any real input or experience with the CTR lol. You're definitely in a unique position to get to experience cars that in other markets get snatched up at anything close to MSRP, and that certainly isn't a bad position to be in. If a bus hit my R tomorrow, the CTR would be at the top of my list, and I'd be having a mental debate with myself about the ITS being worth the extra $10K. I'd pass on the MK8 R because of the haptic buttons; the Corolla GR interior looks like something from a little tykes catalog; the WRX was beat with an ugly stick; I have 2 kids, so a Mustang or Camaro isn't a practical option; and I'd rather focus on retiring in 10 years and funding my kids college education then spending M3/CT4-V BW money.

I still miss my G


I gave up looking for 6MT ATS-V sedans. Nice to hear you might have a path to get the CTR if that is the route you decide to go. I can't think of a single bad thing I've read about it, aside from the FWD, and as long as you don't care about traction from a dig, it shouldn't matter that much.

RobC7

I hate to break it to you but the G37 was the best car you owned. Seemed like you held onto it for quite the while compared to your last few cars.

Great car heavily mispriced on the use car market. It should be listed for about 85-90l. Dealer overpaid during COVID and now is trying to find an idiot to buy it.

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

I think we are on the same page on the cars you listed. The new Golf R and GTI are good cars, but the haptic buttons, the fact that the overabundance of technology often does not work, wide pedal spacing, and sloppy shifting are not ideal. At least the last 2 are fixable. I think the GTI is still the best daily driver for me. The GR Corolla interior is such a letdown because it looks great from outside. The powerful JBL stereo also does not sound good, the ride is extremely firm, and it is not terribly fun to drive (unless I was just not revving it high enough ). The WRX is ugly and about as unimpressive inside as the GR Corolla. It's too bad because it is good to drive. There is a nice white ATS-V and one in obsession red with light gray seats available now if you like those colors. Not my favorite colors, but in a pinch those are some of the best 6spd. sedan performance values on the used market right now. I have yet to find a bad review of the CTR so I really hope it is good and rides ok.

After I spent boat loads of money in upgrades, the G37 was one of the better cars I owned, but not the best. The cars I really like I seem to keep for about 5-6 years. That was the plan with the STI Type RA until I tore the discs in my back and the nerve damage in my leg did not allow me to push the clutch in any longer. I kept telling myself that if I ever found a red 6 spd. G37S sedan or convertible I would ****** it up and tune it as more of a daily driver. Right now, both are available and I am passing on those cars because I want something different that will be better in nearly every way. The CTR could be that car and there are obviously some other contenders.

RobC7

2010sedanS

As much as I love my G and for the past 10 years it's been super reliable, I think I'm getting the itch for something different. The IS F has been on my radar for quite some time as it really checks all my boxes. The newer years are hard to come by and if they are available, they command a pretty penny. Even if I can get the newest IS F (2014), it is at best, a ten year old car. The RC F is very similar to the IS F other than it being a two door, but I think I can live with that. My daughter should be out of her car seat within a year or two so a four door is not really necessary. I'm looking at a 2017-2019 years. Anyone have any experience, good or bad, with an RC F?

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

I drove a new IS 500 F Sport Performance last year and I believe that should basically be a 4 door version of the RC F. (You can probably find my review of it in this thread if you do some digging.) From what I remember of the car I really liked the sound and performance of the engine, the smooth ride, the interior and exterior styling, relative practicality, fit/finish, and sliding gauges on the dash. I was not terribly fond of the brakes, handling, or transmission. Maybe the brake performance and pedal feel could be fixed with better fluid, pads, and a master cylinder brace. The handling could probably be greatly improved with better tires. I am not particularly fond of A/T's, but this one was not great, even when compared to other A/T's. It would probably be fine in day-to-day driving and semi-performance driving, but not great driving at the limit.

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

Hey that's a pretty good review of the Golf R. I love his friend in the background with all the signs about the lack of buttons. I can certainly relate to being brought up in older GTI's and lots of snow in the winter. The Golf R is a lot of car for the money, but for me the GTI SE is a much better value (especially since VW gives me a sizeable GTI discount, but no Golf R discount). And I am a sucker for a deal. I'm not a huge fan of leather seats, but the bigger issue I had with that car was that it was not terribly engaging to drive. It felt like there was a big filter between what I was feeling and what was actually happening. I know those things can be improved upon with mods, but for that price I feel like it should already be really good to drive.

Hopefully, the Type R gives me the feel of a better connection. Our incoming CTR is not going to arrive until next week now. Probably a good thing with all the ice still on the roads from sub-zero temps all week.

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

That is a pretty common observation. Ironically, I think that was actually VW's intent as there are certainly more 'raw' alternatives, but none that nail the daily driver aspect as well as the R.

At $45K+, it's a lot harder to justify having to mod a car to get it where you want it to be. MK7 R's frequently sold at invoice or a little less, which made dropping some money to improve things easier to justify. That review makes me glad I have a MK7

4DRZ

iTrader: (7)

You're right, I think Golf R's and even GTI's make some of the best daily drivers for enthusiasts. The MK7 R is a smoking used car deal right now too as most of them are in the low $30k range and a lot of them still have a full factory warranty. (Also makes it a ton cheaper to extend the warranty.) If the CTR does not work out for me the MK7 R is really the car I should get since it is so much car for the money. I must have weird styling tastes though because I really like the styling and especially the wheel design of the previous ('12 & '13) Golf R much better. Those first gen Golf R's ('12 & '13) are an even better deal, but no warranty on an older VW scares me a bit and the performance is not as good as an MK7. At least tuning can equal the tables a bit and I could still add an extended warranty. My best VW tech tells me the 1st gen Golf R's are very reliable, but I think all bets are off on a 10+ year old VW.

2010sedanS

I appreciate the feedback and suggestion. The is500 is nice but to me, it is not an F car. One of the main reasons I’m leaning toward an IS F or RC F is that you don’t really see them that often. If I can find the year/color I’m after with low mileage within the next six months, I’ll probably pull the trigger.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

You guys ever see the interior of the Lincoln Nautilus? Does it really look like this? Because OMG it's gorgeous.

That wrap-a-round dash, reminiscent of the old Mark VII.