As most of you guys know, I'm in process of putting my car back to stock. I'm in serious dilemma about my choice next car. 1. Acura RDX Sporty SUV with lots of techie stuffs, and Acura's Nav system is one of best in the industry. Big enough for my two dogs in the trunk. Honda-reliable. 2. Land Rover LR2 Nearly, it can go everywhere. Adaptive bi-xenon. Smooth riding with decent acceleration. Soft leather seats. Push button start. slightly concerned about Land rover reliability. 3. Subaru STI It's STI. After spending more than 10K on wrx, I still envied STI. Plenty fast enough stock. Comparable cargo space as CUVs with seats folded. I'm scared that I will end up spending $$$ extra like my wrx. I'm going to keep it stock as long as I can. maybe.... just stage1??? Prices are all within same range even though all three are different level in refinement, performance and comfort. I'm getting ready to start family soon, and work in little bit more professional environment. Speed is not my #1 anymore, I would want little bit more comfort without losing too much "GO" factors. I wish that I can have all... but that's not my reality.
It seems you need a car that is not easily modded, lol. Also, with your job being more professional, you should lean on a simple car for a bit. Then later buy a vehicle to mod. Go with the Acura. The Land Rover is not the most reliable, lol!
The Landrover LR2 gas mileage will SUCK big time. One of my buddies has ones and complains how much he spends in gas and he hardly drives it.
335i is slightly out of my range. I would like to keep it below 37k. It doesn't look good when a staff accountant drives far better car than a manager. haha MPG wise, RDX and LR2 will be similar range. STI would be the champ in this category. but so far it wasn't too bad with my 19-20mpg WRX for commuting. honestly, i got little bored with my wrx. However, after I put back stock turbo and exhaust, I fell in love with my wrx again. It's quiet with quick response around town. That's why I ended up putting STI in my shopping list.
Have you thought of/looked at the G8? The GXP version looks amazing for the price, even the regular GT looks great. Def. in your price range as well. The STI is awesome though and I would have a hard time not getting one if I could swing it right now.
i did considered g8, but it's too big for me. haha e46 m3 would be nice, but i need extra 2 doors in the back, or a proper boot, for my 2 dogs. I'm finally done with my first part of cpa exam. I'm gonna shop around dealers and decide during labor day sales. SOG has been pretty snobby about not letting me test drive STI, so I guess I will try either classic or troncalli for test drive. before all these, I really gotta clean up my old parts and put them on for sale. hnoes:
I my boss just got an acura MDX and I have driven it quite a bit and it is by far the best suv I have driven. Not to bad on gas milage and not too slow not to mention SH-awd. If I was looking for and suv this would be my first choice...
IMHO, the only Landrover worth even considering would be the HSE Sport, Supercharged of course. With that said, whether you want to or not, you will end up spending extra money modding an STI. So, based on the choices you listed, I would go with the Acura.
The only issue with going for the Acura is I can almost promise that it will be a money losing proposition, as you will almost certainly get the itch for a fast, sporty car again soon and end up trading it in and losing all the money you paid on it, or getting a second car that you will mod the hell out of...its a freakin disease...
Update! I ended up with DGM 08 STI from Classic Subaru. I received pretty fair deal on my trade-in and under invoice on STI. hahaha so far so boring... I still have 200miles another 800 miles left to finish break in.