by "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
Published 11/06/2017 at 11:51
by "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
Published 11/06/2017 at 11:51
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STARS: 1
As many of you probably know, I used to have a BMW 135is and a Grand Cherokee, and consolidated them into my current 335xi. But I often find myself hoping to once again have a comfy cruiser SUV or crossover and some other fun car, maybe the 944 Turbo, FD RX-7, or Z4 M Roadster I’ve always wanted.
Even though I chose my assorted suspension mods on my 335xi to keep the ride halfway decent, I semi-frequently feel like I’m unnecessarily getting beaten up by crumbling Wisconsin roads. There’s always some kind of road construction going on here, but it never quite keeps pace with how many roads are falling apart.
Because of this, sometimes I just want to cruise around in comfort, which gets me to thinking about diversifying my vehicular portfolio back to 2 cars. But my wife and I want to buy a house, and then we’re looking at adopting a kid(s), and having 2 cars for myself plus 1 for her is unnecessary/unreasonable/unrealistic.
My wife doesn’t drive stick, so right now if I decide I want to drive her reasonably comfy and quiet Impreza, that would leave her effectively with no car. Which led me to a bit of a light bulb moment:
What if when the lease is up on the Impreza, she gets something more comfy cruiser-y than the Impreza but still not huge, and at some point after that, I get a fun awd but automatic transmission car? I know what you’re thinking, save the manuals and all that. But you know what else I really enjoy aside from shifting for myself? A convertible.
This idea made enough sense to me that I decided to propose it to my wife in a totally hypothetical, we’re not actually buying more cars anytime soon way. She
agreed
with me
.
This isn’t anything we’re going to do anytime super soon. The lease on my wife’s Impreza is up in April 2019, so that’s the soonest we’d replace it. Same thing with my 335xi. I modified the hell out of it and I have no great desire to sell it, but we’ll see if after another couple years I’m just totally sick of the stiff ride, noise, and having to shift all the time when so much of my driving is on boring totally straight Wisconsin roads.
I actually have a pretty good idea of what this sporty awd convertible would be, and it’s something that makes sense, except for this one
little
irrational bias of mine. I want an Audi S5 convertible, even though generally speaking I hate VW and Audi.
Look at these four fashionable people traveling in a blue convertible on a blurred twisty road! This is an experience that I will probably never replicate throughout my hypothetical S5 convertible ownership.
The S5 has the 3.0T (but actually supercharged) V6 with plenty of tuning potential, and a 7-speed dual clutch transmission that shifts super fast. Options include a torque vectoring rear differential (“quattro with sport differential” in Audi-ese), adaptive suspension that I could put in a more comfy setting for tooling around town, and a comfort package that includes ventilated seats, which are a godsend on hot top-down days, and similarly handy neck-level heat vents for pushing the limits of top-down driving on cold days, what with my being in Wisconsin.
The only problem with finding a used luxury car with specific options is that of course used car listings are often less than fully comprehensive when it comes to listing out specific options. But I found this handy Audi window sticker lookup tool and played around with it.
Just for shits, I did a quick search to see if I could find an S5 convertible with relatively low miles and the options I want. And I found this one at a dealer in Chicago. This particular dealer happens to list options somewhat thoroughly, and the lead image on the listing mentions the comfort package and sport differential.
I ran the VIN through the window sticker lookup tool, and the sticker shows that this car also has the adaptive shocks.
This car is basically perfect for what I have in mind although I’d prefer a lighter upholstery color rather than black. But hey, cars with the options I want are out there, and with the window sticker lookup tool, when it gets closer to actually doing this, I’ll be able to search for something equipped exactly how I want.
It’s nice to have some certainty in my vehicle plans, even though it’s not really certainty, and there’s plenty of ways this could change between now and then.
But I think this could actually work.
"Rico" (ricorich)
11/06/2017 at 12:13, STARS: 0
As much as I like the idea of the S5 I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the seats/comfort. Maybe consider a used 4 series convertible when the time comes? It seems like the perfect evolution to your 3 series coupe and all the comfort and tuning you would want either out of the 4 banger (428) or the inline 6 (435).
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 12:37, STARS: 1
The added weight/complexity and reduced cargo room of the flippy hardtop doesn’t appeal to me. There’s also the M235i/M240i xDrive convertible but that’s more cramped inside than my car and I want something that’s better at road trips than my car.
With a quick googling, I do see people complaining online about the S5 seats but it seems to be a mix of “I hate these seats,” and “try adjusting them this other way and maybe it’ll work better for you.” Some folks seem to not be comfortable with the large bolsters on the seat bottom.
I had a coworker with an S3 and I rode in the passenger side a few times. Not sure how those seats are in relation to the S5 but I thought they were pretty comfy.
"diplodicus" (diplodicus)
11/06/2017 at 12:45, STARS: 0
Why not just teach your wife how to drive manual?
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
11/06/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 0
I’m glad it includes the interior!
my dream garage is being smacked by reality as well. Three is just...excessive. particularly since I’m moving to a city. I’m considering moving on from the 5 and the yaris (depends on how next weekend’s rallycross goes). a used mazda3 GT hatch is very nice and is a nice, comfortable, great mpg DD that’s still fun to drive. luxury and a stick!
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 0
I tried once but she got frustrated and hasn’t wanted to try again. I’ve taught plenty of other people to drive stick but she doesn’t want to mess with it. I’m not one to push the issue.
Honestly I’ve gone back and forth on whether I like stick shift for my one and only car. I ditched it a few years ago because I was sick of having to shift all day every day on the boring roads around here. I went back to it with this car and I sometimes feel the same way.
There are plenty of boring and/or bad automatic transmissions out there but I’m cool with a properly tuned modern automatic or DCT. Having a convertible and ready access to a comfy cruiser by being able to trade with my wife is worth losing a clutch pedal.
"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
11/06/2017 at 13:13, STARS: 0
Have you looked into F-Types as well?
"NojustNo" (front24200)
11/06/2017 at 13:31, STARS: 0
Here is me not helping
https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/d/mitsubishi-eclipse-gst-spyder/6338094247.html
"theloudmouth" (theloudmouth)
11/06/2017 at 13:32, STARS: 0
Are you married? Taught my wife 90% of the way, got her out on roads, she freaked out when she kept stalling it over and over again in a row and it’s been pulling teeth to get her out for another lesson.
"theloudmouth" (theloudmouth)
11/06/2017 at 13:37, STARS: 0
Think you’ll use the convertible much in Wisconsin?
I’m going through the same roller coaster with my Mk7 GTI lease ending in July (so I could early trade in in March range) and my 2011 335is paid off. I too espoused all about saving the manuals but with what sounds to be an equally soul sucking commute of go straight 8 miles, turn left, go straight 8 miles, turn left, go straight 1 Mile, work it’s just dull as can be and am thinking about joining the cult of the SUV. The roller coaster for me is the same thing of do I need 2 cars or is this just stupid. With mine paid off though it seems stupid to sell it, or is it stupid to pay the extra insurance and registration every year? Basically I either sell my 335is and go B8.5 DSG S4 or keep it and when I can trade in the GTI try out a Grand Cherokee for a few years as a daily. I love the B8.5's though and those that I’ve known that have had them have been super happy with them.
"theloudmouth" (theloudmouth)
11/06/2017 at 13:38, STARS: 1
I think if he’s happy with an E9X an F3X will be a massive letdown, that’s how I’ve felt whenever I’ve had one for a few days.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 13:45, STARS: 0
Aside from the stick shift, GST = fwd
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 14:01, STARS: 0
Speaking from my experience DD’ing a Miata for 4 years, yes, there’s plenty of opportunity to use a convertible here.
The thing is there’s a shorter season of potential convertible use, but there’s not a super hot summer where it only cools off enough to put the top down after dark. Especially with ventilated seats, most of the summer the only reason to put the top up is rain.
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
11/06/2017 at 14:12, STARS: 0
Waiiiiiit. She says 1 for her and 2 for you is unrealistic? Having nowhere to park cars is unrealistic tbh. I. Just worked with a guy who has 14 cars. Of course 2 houses but in the end his wife cares not.its his money too.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 14:28, STARS: 0
The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. A quick search says the awd convertibles aren’t even remotely close to my price range. Even if they were, I don’t want a 2-seat convertible with a bulkhead behind the seats. This will be a year-round car and a 2+2 with some spreading-out room during the winter is much more desirable. The more upright S5 is more desirable. You’re not sitting so far down in it like the F-Type and there’s more airiness with the top up.
Ideally I could find an S5 with a lighter interior color so things wouldn’t be so drab during the winter.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 14:37, STARS: 0
No, I say 2 for me is unrealistic. I came up with the idea all on my own. I’m not being dictated to, and it doesn’t have to do with parking. It’s about money.
Any of the fun toy cars I would buy would take who knows how much money to fix up and maintain, and project cars can’t be financed like regular new-ish used cars. So there’s more upfront cost and less flexibility in paying for it, plus the additional cost of a relatively new comfy cruiser SUV, and whatever we do for my wife’s car after the lease on her Impreza runs out.
If we get the comfy cruiser SUV as her car, and I get one fun car that’s relatively new, not a giant project from the start, and can be financed, it’s way more manageable for the budget and I still have the ability to swap between my fun car and her comfy car.
Cars aren’t the one and only priority in my life, and this way we can have two perfectly nice vehicles instead of 3 that would bust the budget.
"diplodicus" (diplodicus)
11/06/2017 at 14:57, STARS: 0
Haha no I’m not. That was how I was when I got my permit though, freaked out about pissing people off. I had been driving tractors and riding dirt bikes for years no issues. I could drive stick well enough on dirt roads but when I was in the city I just thought too much. Didn’t have a choice though, my first car was a hand me down stick shift. So it was either learn how to drive stick in the city or ride the bus and I hated the bus.
"diplodicus" (diplodicus)
11/06/2017 at 14:59, STARS: 0
Ya new ones aren’t bad, I still enjoy rowing through gears in most circumstances. Usually if I don’t enjoy it it’s a situation where I wouldn’t enjoy being stuck in an auto either.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 15:12, STARS: 0
I like shifting plenty but the majority of my driving around town is tedious. There’s only so much I can do with driving my car up to its capabilities before I’m being a serious asshole.
As for teaching my wife stick, yeah, that just ain’t happening. Back when we were still dating, we were planning to go on a road trip from Madison to Memphis, about 10 hours each way. She had a base model ’08 Nissan Sentra with no cruise control but automatic. I had a loaded ’06 Mazdaspeed 6, with cruise. I figured if I could get her to learn stick, we could take my car and use the cruise control. I took her in a parking lot and she got frustrated with it very quickly.
You were motivated to learn stick because you had to. Personally I wanted to and I bought a stick shift car with only a little bit of practice on a friend’s car, and I certainly wasn’t proficient at it when I bought the thing, but I taught myself and practiced at it.
My wife, she loves driving her Impreza, and she doesn’t even particularly enjoy riding in my car with the stiff ride and terrible cup holders. So she has a lot less motivation to put up with the frustration of learning.
My 135is was a DCT and it was basically always in the right gear when cruising around town, and while there’s no nailing a heel-toe downshift, it’s still fun to flap the paddles when hustling on a back road.
"AM3R, lost another burner" (am3r17)
11/06/2017 at 18:02, STARS: 0
Step down to 18's and I bet the ride will be much better in your 335xi. I had 19's for all of 2 days before I went back to my 219m’s. Now I’m running a meaty set of 513m’s off an M4. They look badass, are extremely light and wide, easy to clean, and the ride is great on them. 18's look good, especially if you are lowered.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 19:18, STARS: 0
You’re in NoVA, right? The roads there just don’t crumble to the extent that they often are here. It’s from all the precipitation we get that melts, seeps down into cracks, then re-freezes underneath. Some roads here are concrete to last longer in the winter, but they suck for comfort too because over time the edges of the slabs get chewed up and uneven with each other so it’s like kathunk slap kathunk slap kathunk slap kathunk slap.
Madison does a good job maintaining roads, for the upper midwest, but that’s the reality of the roads around here. The ride is a little better on my snow tires on my stock 18s but not so much better that I’m not feeling beat up by the roads.
"AM3R, lost another burner" (am3r17)
11/06/2017 at 20:40, STARS: 0
Yeah, in NoVa and often driving around DC. What shocks are you using? I recall you running through the suspension pretty thoroughly.
Also, I’ve always liked S5's. For some reason i’d go for an older V8 one, I think I remember reading that they were actually very reliable.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/06/2017 at 21:46, STARS: 0
I grew up in Rockville. The roads here in Madison area frequently worse than anything you’ll experience around there.
I have Koni FSD shocks. The car doesn’t ride all that badly for a performance car, and really isn’t that different from how the stock M Sport suspension on my 135is felt.
It’s just that any sporty car around here can get annoying over time. There’s a lot of straight-ahead, rough roads.
So when I’m just puttering around town there’s not much opportunity to use my car’s capabilities without being a douche, and there’s a lot of bumming around, it can wear thin. There’s a reason Buicks are popular here.
The adaptive shocks on the S5 aren’t magic but they could help. The convertible was always the supercharged V6, no V8 even on the older ones.
"AM3R, lost another burner" (am3r17)
11/06/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 0
Are you specifically looking for a convertible for the next ride?
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/07/2017 at 09:11, STARS: 0
Probably, yeah. I really enjoy convertibles and I figure if I’m going to have an automatic awd car to drive year round it might as well be a droptop, especially if whatever car we get for my wife has the practicality bases covered. But hey, the S5 actually lets you flip down the seats, even with the top down, and the trunk still has halfway decent room with the top down (although more with the top up).
"AM3R, lost another burner" (am3r17)
11/07/2017 at 10:25, STARS: 0
Wildcard.. what about a Jeep Wrangler? You can fit lots inside, take the roof (and lots of other stuff) off, and most importantly the resale is amazing. Drive it until you move to a house with a bigger garage, then you can go back to having 2 cars.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/07/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 0
Haha no a Wrangler is in another galaxy from what I would enjoy. It’s not roomy, it’s not comfy, it doesn’t handle, it’s not even that great for scooting around town in winter with the short wheelbase and lack of center differential, and flipping the top is a process .
The keeping myself to 1 car thing isn’t because of parking. If we buy a house with a 2-car garage, my hypothetical project car would live in the garage and my hypothetical comfy cruiser could be parked outside. That’s no big deal. It’s about money.
If I buy an S5 convertible for like $30k or so, sure, there will be some cost of mods, maintenance and things breaking, but it’s a (mostly) fixed cost that can be planned and budgeted for. If I did 2 cars, I’d want the comfy crossover to be a similarly (mostly) fixed expense, and to do that requires a relatively newer/lower mileage one that could easily cost $15-20k. Adding a project car on top of that where the up front cost is at least another $15k plus all the work that needs to be put into it, there’s a much higher total cost, and that cost is harder to plan for.
"theloudmouth" (theloudmouth)
11/07/2017 at 12:51, STARS: 0
I say go for it then while you still can. Otherwise you’ll be waiting years again unless it’s a second car. I know backseat room for car seats in a B8/B8.5 isn’t the best.
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
11/08/2017 at 11:06, STARS: 0
Oh true. True. In the now sense most definitely