Don't Know what to do(Car related)

The AWD is more for the traction part, not the braking. I would have no issue driving 2WD but she won't so the AWD is the compromise. I will say, AWD has saved my ass in a sliding situation where I was able to correct with throttle and bring the rear around.
Do not want to mod the fusion. The 6F35 is such a slow shifting auto and I would prefer not tearing into the transmission to make it better. The valves in the valve body in the AWD Fusion are not sufficient for the extra weight hence why there was always a really slow 2-3 shift in these things.
Plus, if I were to do that, I would just get a Sport. But even with the magnetic shocks, just wasn't fun to drive.

I want something engaging to drive again. I feel the SHO would be nothing but straight line. I was something I can corner carve if its going to be my daily. I live right by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, work by the Bedford Reservation and near the Brecksville Reservation all which have some decent runs for being near a city.

I looked at the S3 but the rear room seemed less than the RS and no hatch, just a small trunk. Fun car though.
I worked worked for Mitsubishi for 5 years. No thanks on the Evo. Fun car but almost no trunk space and the interior is god awful.

If we were not planning on another child, I would keep the Mustang or just pick up a newer one and keep my Fusion. But i know a 2 door part time car summer car would sit once number 2 comes along. Here is the Mustang for reference.
IMG_2999 by Carl Lemmerman, on Flickr

STi still possible as trunk is big enough.

Whatever I get, I at least want to be a 2016.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I will keep mulling it over. If the Mustang doesn't sell, it doesn't matter anyways haha.

not sure why it triple posted.

Not sure why it triple posted

Lemmiwinks said:

AWD does not make your car stop any faster in snow.
I see a lot of people with this mentality here in Sweden and honestly in my opinion AWD less safe than 2wd in my honest opinion.
Why? In snow, with AWD which just plows on, you're given a false sense of security believing that "it's not that bad". But once you need to brake, it does not matter at all what wheel drive you have. It will slow down in the same manner anyways, and with false sense of security given by AWD you're often in situations in higher speeds than said 2WD.

Just my 2 cents but hey, I spend only 6 months a year in snowy and icy conditions.

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This. It opens FWD on a TON of vehicles that are seriously fun. Grab a setup from DTD of winter tires/wheels and just take it easy in the snow. I never had a problem in both my Fiesta and Elantra. 15" set of steel wheels with some winter tires is under a grand at DTD or Tire Rack. Swap them out twice a year.

My thoughts on the available "will it baby" FWD performance cars:
Focus ST
Elantra N-Line(2019+) w/ 6 speed
GTI w/ Performance Pack
Civic Si (not a hatch back but still a lovely car with a good amount of room)
Mazda 3(AWD is optional)
Kia Soul GT Line Turbo w/ 6 speed


My pick would be the Elantra N-line. 100k warranty, 6 speed, turbo and interior space that rivals/beats a GTI. Can easily "baby" and has enough room in the hatch for anything needed. Fun and lively car too with the new suspension tuning they did. Check the reviews out.

Agreed with a few of the recent posts. A good all weather tire, or a dedicated set of snow tires will fix most winter driving woes. And traction control/stability control just keeps getting better with these new cars.

We had a hemi 300 rwd and my wife loved driving it, even in the shitty snow weather. Just gotta have a good tire and realize that you may have to change your driving habits a little to account for the weather.

But some women don't know any better and just want to be able to drive the same regardless of the weather and think AWD will allow them to do that. That's a difficult mind to change, and happy wife=happy life, so I get it.

Good luck

[QUOTE="That's a difficult mind to change, and happy wife=happy life, so I get it.

Good luck[/QUOTE]

Yeah, my wife had a bad accident in the winter a few years back(had to crawl out of the sunroof) so anything that's not AWD, I know she will not drive in the winter.

All those previous things said, ill jump on the bandwagon. My GF DD's our Fost, we swap a set of snows on it in the winter and it is totally unstoppable. It goes up steep hills as well as my 4x4 ranger to be honest. Awd really isnt the answer for snow. Id say its more stable having 2 anchor wheels (non spinning) than an awd car although with modern electronics im sure the RS is stable as well

When I don't know what to do about a big purchase, I don't do anything, and bank more money for awhile. The answer will come to me sooner or later.

Coiled03 said:

When I don't know what to do about a big purchase, I don't do anything, and bank more money for awhile. The answer will come to me sooner or later.

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Same. Big purchases always find a way to tell me what is right and you will know it when it happens.

evo

How much you want for 03 GT?

Out of curiousity, how is the tire rules in the US?
Is it mandatory to have winter tires in the northern states? Are you allowed to have any studded tires?
I myself refuse to drive anything other than studded tires, Nokian Hakkapelitta has worked great for me so I run them exclusively on my cars.

Lemmiwinks said:

Out of curiousity, how is the tire rules in the US?
Is it mandatory to have winter tires in the northern states? Are you allowed to have any studded tires?
I myself refuse to drive anything other than studded tires, Nokian Hakkapelitta has worked great for me so I run them exclusively on my cars.

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Here in the mid-atlantic we are not allowed to use studded tires. I can say for sure though that the average user here in this area has no clue about winter tires. You see SUVs and trucks here with some bald all-seasons thinking they are god on heavy snow days. People have no connection to their vehicles and are a constant hazard around here.

For me at a minimum on my car/truck it will have the option of swapping to an snowflake rated all season or a straight winter setup.

Audi S6

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Alright....so I am taking a really hard look at the S3....Doing some reading and watching some videos of it and its honestly got me very very intrigued. I would need to drive one and give it the car seat test. From what I read about that, its a little tight but very doable.

Lemmiwinks said:

Out of curiousity, how is the tire rules in the US?
Is it mandatory to have winter tires in the northern states? Are you allowed to have any studded tires?
I myself refuse to drive anything other than studded tires, Nokian Hakkapelitta has worked great for me so I run them exclusively on my cars.

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with heavy snow 2wd cars/suvs = mandatory chains

Crazycarl said:

Alright....so I am taking a really hard look at the S3....Doing some reading and watching some videos of it and its honestly got me very very intrigued. I would need to drive one and give it the car seat test. From what I read about that, its a little tight but very doable.

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audi = unreliable, expensive, POS ....oh, and doesn't hold value worth a shit

Audi s3 or golf R 10/10 times over focus RS.

I had a 2015 golf GTI and that was one of the best “check all the boxes” car I’ve ever owned.

Golf R would be even better.


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Get a comfortable AWD daily driver family car that meets your budget and forget about performance. A daily should be reliable, cheap to own, comfortable for all passengers and get OK gas mileage.

Then twin turbo the mustang and your fun meter will be pegged.

nxhappy said:

audi = unreliable, expensive, POS ....oh, and doesn't hold value worth a shit

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You could say the same for basically any non-Japanese import. Even some of the Jap cars aren't so great.