2011+ CTS-V, buy one from a old dude that never drove it hard. Looking at $30k max and then slap an exhaust on it to get that bitch rumbling.

Friend's bro has a mazda 6 sport - he loves it, and it's like 1/3rd the price of the CT4.

-Mcoy

nah all set w/ that, looking to buy new

if im going CPO its gonna be a M3 competition

Yeah I have had good experiences with subaru so far. Im a big fan of boxer engines but i LOATHE cvt transmissions...thats my only gripe with subaru...although i gotta say they make a pretty good one. I had a 2020 Legacy before, My wife wrecked it though sadly...
I loved that car. Mainly because I hate driving and it was semi autonomous so it really took a lot of stress off of driving for me.
With my 3 kids getting older tho the trunk isn't near as useful as the hatch.
So even tho I want a sedan and not a "wagon" it just made the most sense.
I also was heavily considering a Toyota Camry and Honda Accord...but I eliminated the accord pretty quickly because it doesn't have awd or a real automatic transmission and I live in a climate that really benefits from it. The camry got eliminated when I decided I needed a hatchback...
But this is the last year to get the v6 and real 8 speed automatic in a camry...so I'm almost tempted to get one just for that reason. There is a blacked out TRD that just rolled into a dealership nearby for 32k which is just a little higher than my price range but it lacks features (no heated seats! No backseat USB ports for the kids! No awd!) And the camry XSE with awd and all the features tends to be 35k+ which is wayyy higher than my price range rn.

do you need AWD?

Mazda 3 is a solid car too. In that price range its between mazda and toyota for awd. Honda accord no awd i dont think

Subies are notorious for motor / tranny issues. Its a cult like Jeep owners.

If you can find a BMW 3 series certified preowned that could be an option too. Much nicer driving experience than the japs.

I probably don’t -need- awd…but it is quite nice living out in the Wyoming countryside.
If I go FWD I’d just need to get snow tires and I’d probably be ok.
I like the Mazdas I’ve driven, but the 3 might be too small for my family.
I’ve always liked BMW but I’ve heard they’re a nightmare to maintain?
And I get the Subaru cult following lol. Once you drive one it really is difficult to drive something else. The sound of the boxer + that awd system is quite the treat. I hear the engine issues are behind Subaru but the cvt is still questionable. Especially when I saw someone’s bill to replace it and it was 11k! Yikesss

Sounds like AWD is basically a must-have tho.

Does it have to be a sedan? The market is so saturated with small / mid SUVs...little more ground clearance, lots of AWD, etc.

Just a thought.

Don’t Subarus and Toyotas share a lot of components these days? I read subaru is going to adopt Toyota hybrid powertrains in some of their vehicles soon

I say this because I’d be surprised to learn they’re unreliable. I agree that CVTs are loathsome.

I have a strong distaste for SUVs. They all look boring af and 90% of the road is filled with them. Like you said, the market is saturated with them.
So I'm just really uninspired to drive or own one. I'd rather drive an ugly wagon or even a minivan over an SUV at this point.

With that said, I do like a few of them (like the 23 and on Honda Pilot) but they're outside of my price range.

What about the corolla cross?

https://www.toyota.com/configurator/...0-2d04b0fefdfe

AWD, looks kinda like a Subie, but with Toyota's bulletproof reliability

pick a trim based on budget and go from there

honda's HR-V is prob the competitor to that