Boring vs Fun Daily Driver?

[FormulaDz92]

Hey guys and presumably some gals. My question to you all is given your vast car experience, is it better to have a fun daily driver which will cost more up front, cost more to maintain, require more maintenance and therefore take money away from my '89 S13 Hatch OR a boring daily and save money across the board and also make the Nissan feel more 'special'. What sort of dailys have you had? Did you regret any them?

Possible Fun Dailys: 2003-2006 WRX, Forester XT or Mazdaspeed 3

Possibly Boring Dailys: 2000-2007 Impreza/Forester/Legacy/Outback or Mazda3


Contributing Factors:

-Budget: 8k max
-Area: NYC's NJ Suburbs
-Age: 24 (so not much money but finances improving)
-Past DDs: (all very slow) '98 Volvo 850 Wagon, '97 Mitsu Eclipse N/T, '05 Honda Civic EX Coupe, '89 Nissan 240sx, '94 Jeep Cherokee XJ (Current)
-Body Style: Anything easy to load unload Hatchback, Wagon, Small SUVs even small Pickups. Basically no sedans.
-Gas Milage: Just nothing worse than my lifted Jeep Cherokee's Measured 21 MPG average.
-Manual or die.
-Not RWD (all other cars in the family are RWD)
-Must be pre 2008. I don't want too much refinement... I don't like feeling isolated in the cabin.
-I like my XJ but will probably stay away from Trucks/Jeeps due to handling

Thanks!

*If there is another thread out there like this I apologize. I tried searching.

[simmode1]

I feel that you can find a vehicle that challenges your definition of 'Fun' for a daily driver. In my case, I think a daily should give you all the utility you're going to need in everyday life. Support vehicle for your fun car, people mover, haul crap for DIY home/car projects, not completely bore you to death when you drive it. Something that will be perfectly fine stock or only lightly modded.

For $8k, I'd get a truck with fun potential like a lowered manual transmission 6 cylinder Frontier or Tacoma.



I went with a lower budget and snagged a 5spd Honda Element. Surprisingly fun car with decent aftermarket support. (Not my car)


I really dig my Element. But I do have a number of trucks drawing my interest almost constantly.

[Almighty So]

When I search for a daily driver I'm generally looking for comfortablity, reliability, and low maintenance costs.
Not saying daily drivers can't be fun, but it's not high on my check list.
Anyways, in my opinion, the whole reason for needing a daily driver is because you already have a car that's fun.
If you spread yourself too thin you either end up selling the original "fun" car or just sitting on two projects where neither can be built to your standards.

[Future240]

Get a two door honda accord. Plenty of aftermarket and you can easily make it fun.

[drift freaq]

Honestly Maxda 3's handle exceptionally well. The only rival to it in its class is its old sibling the Ford Focus. Which is actually a really fun daily as well. The manual gear box Focus is a dream to shift . The Auto's are good but suffer reputation wise from people's lack of understanding how a dual clutch car works and a manufacture grounding issues that is easily corrected. Once done the car is completely reliable and can be had cheaper than the Mazda due to the whole Japanese is better mindset. Which use to be true but of late is not completely.

[Koukiii]

With that price range i'd get a boring reliable daily but thats coming from a guy who dailies a prius lol.

Do you want to wake up everyday and hope that your car will start and take you to work? I don't

[exitspeed]

4th Gen Subaru Legacy Wagon GT 5MT.

Haha. JK. That's impossible.

Or go ahead and try and torture yourself.

[spooled240]

I had a 5MT IS300 that was a great daily. The mileage kinda sucks(19/25ish) and they are pretty slow though.

[KiLLeR2001]

Save enough money to get something that would suit your definition of "fun", for example, 06/07 WRX STi.

[LoneStarSilvia]

E36 M3 sedan, 5MT ofcourse. Surprisingly affordable, and it doesn't go full on BMW in terms of maintenance costs.

[Almighty So]

Originally Posted by LoneStarSilvia

E36 M3 sedan

I wholeheartedly agree with this if it's within your budget. The only bimmer I've ever owned was terribly unreliable and quite expensive, but looked real cool in the process lol

[JrDarknes]

I suggest 2000-2001 Audi A4

**My Opinions

-Leather Seats
-Heated Seats
-Sunroof
-AWD
-Turbo is optional engine
-Pretty fun to drive **
-Can look nice modified **
-Luxury Feel**
-Can be bought a reasonable price





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[!Zar!]

Being as how you live in NY, you should probably get something AWD.

A Subaru is your best bet.

[FormulaDz92]

Wow, it's great to see all the responses. I'll have to read through everything thoroughly when I get home but there is one main thing I'd like to add; I'm really looking primarily at hatchbacks, wagons and possibly small suvs as I want a car with a lift back of that style for ease of carrying mulch, snow boards, hockey gear etc. This pretty strongly rules out sedans. Thanks again for all the responses. I'll address them as much as I can later.

[tb13]

I vote boring daily. I drive a 17 WRX as a daily and its a ton of fun, but I wish I would have just picked up a base hatch back so I could move shit around when necessary, save on insurance and keep out of trouble... I've also had an itch to modify it which isn't the greatest thing to do to your daily.

Save you money for a fun car that isn't you daily.

[feito]

my rb'ed kouki makes the heck of a DD. Prior to upgrading my turbo I had the a/c working. Now it's just a matter of bridging a few wires on my new harness, just havent got to it.
Now it also has a rollbar, which makes the rear seats (full interior) useless.
Other than that, my kouki is a perfect DD. Love driving my car everyday. I look forward to it everyday when I wake up :-P
Fast, fun, comfortable (not slammed, hate that shit), plactical (plenty of space in trunk), this car can do it all! And whenever something's too big for it, I just get my f150...

[RB25GUY]

Im in NY and my P10 neo VVL B14 SE lowered all year around and had no problem with snow at all, really depends on your tires.

All in all im in about 3800 with swap and the ad22vf calipers, full bolt ons blisten springs and kyb shocks, energy suspension bushing kit, jim wolfe ecu, msd window switch, Apexi WS2, Short throw, i know im missing a few things but made about 168whp, Gets 27 mpg if im not romping on it and 19-22mpg if im on it...

Super sleeper cops dont even look my way lol lost to a new gen civic with bolt ons by a fender. Gonna do N1 cams soon and a one piece header should get to 200whp but again its a DD so im not trying to dump money into it!

[spooled240]

Originally Posted by RB25GUY

Im in NY and my P10 neo VVL B14 SE lowered all year around and had no problem with snow at all, really depends on your tires.

All in all im in about 3800 with swap and the ad22vf calipers, full bolt ons blisten springs and kyb shocks, energy suspension bushing kit, jim wolfe ecu, msd window switch, Apexi WS2, Short throw, i know im missing a few things but made about 168whp, Gets 27 mpg if im not romping on it and 19-22mpg if im on it...

Super sleeper cops dont even look my way lol lost to a new gen civic with bolt ons by a fender. Gonna do N1 cams soon and a one piece header should get to 200whp but again its a DD so im not trying to dump money into it!

+1 a properly built s14 can be a good daily. My ka-t s14 has full interior, a/c, heat, softer coils at a manageable ride height. Its fast, reliable and gets decent mileage. I take it to go snowboarding, get groceries and the track once in a while lol

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[!Zar!]

OP doesn't want an ancient car.

A newer awd wagon like a Subaru Legacy Turbo would be dope.

[Almighty So]

Originally Posted by RB25GUY

P10 neo VVL B14 SE

This thing is radical

[FormulaDz92]

All right, time to address some suggestions and questions.

simmode1 lowered trucks may be on the menu as they can be fun to drive, are cheap, make great support vehicles and can have 4 doors. 4WD would be preferred though as like I said I want to have something in the family that isn’t RWD. I like the pic of the frontier with the dirt bike. The element is also pretty cool but just isn’t my style. Are they fun to drive at all?

Almighty So I am leaning more towards this idea. Keep it cheap, simple, slow and functional.

Future240 I really want something that is easy to unload with a lift gate like a wagon, hatchback, not a sedan. I neglected to say that in my initial post.

drift freaq I do like the Mazda 3 and have also considered the focus and have heard very good things. When you say that Japanese cars used to be more reliable than US cars are you referring to GEN I Mazda 3’s?

Koukiii No I definitely do not want to wake up wondering that. I have a small bit of that with my Cherokee XJ right now but not too bad. I see your point though hence this post.

exitspeed 4th Gen Subaru LGT 5MT haha maybe. I’ve heard they shift like pigs though. My mom has a 2010 Impreza with 5MT and among the many things I hate about it is how it shifts.

spooled240 IS300... hmm Sedan or do those come in wagon too?

KiLLeR2001 I am a big saver overall but love to travel and my price range that I described in my first post take that all into account. It’s not a simple question of ‘save more’. An ’07-ish STI would set me back around $13,000 for a good one and they have exceptionally high insurance rates. Not to mention, it would be so much better than my mostly stock 240x track car is would be ridiculous haha.

LoneStarSilvia, E36 M3 is cool but is RWD and does not have the lift gate I am looking for. Additionally it’s front engine RWD layout is too similar to the S13 so I’d like more diversity.

JrDarknes Audi A4 while it is AWD and 4 door but, I’m not looking for that sedan body style and have heard that they are both expensive to maintain and reasonably unreliable. Correct me if I’ve been misinformed.

!Zar! I’ve had FWD open diff in 2 feet of snow and been fine however it is nicer and a bit more fun to have AWD, especially with around 50/50 power distribution and full time.

Thanks for all of the relies. I’ll try to address the rest later. I didn’t expect so much so fast. It seems like there’s a lot of people on each side of the issue.

[BOROSUN]

ms3 with a thick rear swaybar.
or
super sleeper ms6 awd

same motor as the focus rs 2.3 ecoboost. not sure if has the same problem with cyl head bolt cracking on 1/2 cylinder.

[mechanicalmoron]

I have an 88 rt4wd civic wagon.

It's fantastic. It can go places that many things with "jeep" badges mistakenly attached to them (at the factory) couldn't, it can carry a huge amount of stuff, it's got a very small outside footprint, it's a tallboy with excellent visibility, parts are plentiful and cheap, build quality is exceptional, work is easy, it never needs it anyway, it could take a cheap 2wd civic driveline if it had any issues with the basket case 4wd, it can take a longblock from a later d16, it spins more tires than your 240.

It's also about the world's slowest car. And it commands somewhat less respect than a yugo.

[LoneStarSilvia]

If you're looking for a hatchback then, I'd suggest a 1st gen Mazda 3 hatchback with a manual, non-Mazdaspeed version. I have one and it's not powerful by any means but it does have very nice usable torque for daily driving. It has great steering feel for a very basic car. Low maintenance, great gas mileage, and still a nice aftermarket support out their for it.

[FormulaDz92]

ms3 with a thick rear swaybar.
or
super sleeper ms6 awd

same motor as the focus rs 2.3 ecoboost. not sure if has the same problem with cyl head bolt cracking on 1/2 cylinder.

MS3 Gen 1 is nice and checks all of the boxes. I do worry about reliability though, mainly due to previous owners. AWD would also be nice but in a hatchback configuration.

I have an 88 rt4wd civic wagon.

It's fantastic. It can go places that many things with "jeep" badges mistakenly attached to them (at the factory) couldn't, it can carry a huge amount of stuff, it's got a very small outside footprint, it's a tallboy with excellent visibility, parts are plentiful and cheap, build quality is exceptional, work is easy, it never needs it anyway, it could take a cheap 2wd civic driveline if it had any issues with the basket case 4wd, it can take a longblock from a later d16, it spins more tires than your 240.

It's also about the world's slowest car. And it commands somewhat less respect than a yugo.

Sounds like an awesome daily but with a car that age I would always be worrying about reliability and corrosion. Not to mention finding one in nice condition wouldn't be easy.

If you're looking for a hatchback then, I'd suggest a 1st gen Mazda 3 hatchback with a manual, non-Mazdaspeed version. I have one and it's not powerful by any means but it does have very nice usable torque for daily driving. It has great steering feel for a very basic car. Low maintenance, great gas mileage, and still a nice aftermarket support out their for it.

That's good to hear. That's why I have it listed as a top contender. Is yours a 2.0L or 2.3L? Do you think there is that much of a difference between the two?

So far I like the idea of the Frontier, Mazda 3, MS3, Subaru Impreza/Forester and Legacy (but not GT) !Zar! is right I'm not looking for anything that old and the idea of driving a decent 240sx in the salty area I live in would kill me inside. I don't want to rust out another s chassis and I would always be wasting time trying to clean it. If I lived in the south it would be a different story.

[drift freaq]

Earlier generations of the Mazda 3 had reliability as did the Fords they were sister cars. The thing is if your talking daily you are probably considering mileage and the previous gen 3 to the latest did not get nearly as good as mileage as current gen. Of course you can't get a Speed 3 now but if you really want that the Focus ST kicks butt and looks better. Lol

Though honestly if you are talking Hot hatch the king of the pile right now outside of the Focus RS is FiST aka Fiesta ST it's downright awesome in handling and feel and is not underpowered due to gobs of TQ 200ftlbs coming out of a rev happy 1.6.

It's rated above the Focus ST as well. Gets great mileage for a Turbo. Can be had with warranty even used used. There are Certified Pre Owned's floating around out there.

As for the person speaking up about the E36 M3 sedan they never came with SMT you have to put that trans in yourself and the conversion is not cheap unless you were trying to type out 5 speed manual.... Though with BMW SMT usually signifies the newer 6'spoed trans .

As for people talking about reliability of the M cars . I can speak personally about them. While they can be reliable that requires planned matinence. If you buy a car without the headgasket already done? You will replace it sooner or later. It does not come cheap either even if you do it yourself.
Do they drive great and are awesome? Yes, but the trade off is regular matinence and costs that come with it and that does cost more.
The myth that German cars are reliable to the point of saving money is just that a myth. Plus it will get ok gas mileage for a car of its stature but not fantastic.
City mileage actually bites on it. Freeway is about equal to 240sx mileage maybe a mile or 2 below.

In the end for what the OP is looking for it would not fit the bill in any way shape or form.

[FormulaDz92]

drift freaq Yes if cost of any kind was no object I would get a Focus RS. Since 8k is my absolute ceiling then the RS along with the ST and Fiesta ST are out. There's no way they are that cheap even used.

[future]

If they were not all beat I'd be in the market for a MSP 6

[LoneStarSilvia]

Originally Posted by FormulaDz92

That's good to hear. That's why I have it listed as a top contender. Is yours a 2.0L or 2.3L? Do you think there is that much of a difference between the two?

I've go the 2.3L. It's a 16hp and 18ft/lbs of difference. Not huge by any means, but it's a fairly compact and light car, so any difference would definitely help. I had no problems getting off the line and ahead of traffic, like I mentioned, the usable day-to-day torque is there. However making overtake on 2 lane roads does take some forward planning and momentum depending on the situation.

I'm actually selling mine (shameless plug), I'm downsizing from 3 vehicles to 2 in the household.

[LoneStarSilvia]

Originally Posted by drift freaq

As for the person speaking up about the E36 M3 sedan they never came with SMT you have to put that trans in yourself and the conversion is not cheap unless you were trying to type out 5 speed manual.... Though with BMW SMT usually signifies the newer 6'spoed trans .

If you're referring to me, I definitely put 5MT. And by SMT if you meant SMG, I would never recommend that ticking time bomb