New Contenders Enter The Fray: More Car Ramblings

"Snuze: Needs another Swede" (markg) 11/05/2020 at 17:56 • Filed to: None

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The other day I mused about Volvo V60s and other cars I might be interested in to replace my Cruze. The short list was Mustang GT350, Camaro SS 1LE, ATS 2.0T, V60 CC, Colorado, and some generic econobox (Gen 2 Cruze, Civic, Corolla, etc.).

Well, I’ve given it some thought and come up with some more contenders. In no particular order, here are other things I would consider:

Chevy Volt: It’s all electric range is perfect for my daily commute, but I often drive enough on the weekends that an cheap EV (Bolt, Leaf) would be pushing it. The Volt would be a perfect compromise in that regard. Cost of entry is pretty low, and recurring costs are very low. It’s, for my usage case, the logical end of the “buy a generic econobox” line of thinking. It’s also pretty unexciting. But my neighbor does love his.

Toyobaru: I wanted one of these when they were first announced, but in an unexpected twist the Slobalt got totaled and I needed a car mere months before these hit the market, so I wound up with the Snuze. This could be a chance to reclaim that lost opportunity. The pros are that they are cheap, and feel like a better value proposition in terms of real, daily usable performance vs a Camaro or Mustang. I’m not sure what the cons are, maybe that it’s not actually a pony car? Also I’d probably want to mod the hell out of it. Or there’s a new one coming out soonish . Maybe I sh ould wait for that?

Now, onto a tangentially related subject since I mentioned modding. How much or little would I modify my DD? Sometimes I pick a car because I think its perfect. For example, I don’t think think I’d do anything at all to a GT350, nor to the Camaro, at least not for several years. I think either would keep me happy for a long time even at stock levels. But what about something like the ATS? I’d want to do a tune, for sure, and if I’m going to do that, why not a downpipe and maybe intercooler. You know, some basic performance mods to open up what’s already there?

Then there’s the Volvo V60 CC. What caught my eye on that car was the “rally stance”, and boy would I want to lean into that, hard . I’m already envisioning one with some multi-spoke 17" wheels in a contrasting color, a slightly chunkier tire to give it that gravel look. And then lights and moose stickers! Can’t forget about performance though , so it needs a tune and cat back, maybe a bigger intercooler, and some suspension bits like a bigger rear swaybar to dial out some of the (apparently massive) understeer. Perfek t! (that’s Swedish for perfect)

And then we come to the truck. I said it before, but I’m not a huge truck guy. I’d have to make it bearable. But how? Well, one idea is to make a little street truck out of it! Does anyone even do that anymore? I hate how the ass end sits up so high in the air - it looks like a duck about to mate. But the only way to lower it is a flip kit which puts the leaf springs under the axle and drops it 4". So then I’d have to drop the front 3" to get it level. Sinc e we’re going low, might as well get some bigger rims off a Suburban or Escalade or something (they all use GMs 6 lug pattern). I’d lose some utility, but it might be kind of cool.

Another interesting thing is these trucks use the 2.5L Ecotec in a RWD configuration. It may be possible to swap in a RWD 2.0L turbo Ecotec out of a Camaro or Cadillac. It c ouldn’t be that hard...

The opposite tack is raise the front end to get it level . This, then, gets me thinking about 2wd Pre-runners ... so fender flares, wide wheels and tires, trim down the front bumper. But at this point I’m coming into something like a much less capable ZR2. So then I thought why not get a ZR2? But a used one is Camaro SS money, and if I’m spending that kind of coin, I think I just want the Camaro, usefulness be damned .

Then I think about all this and go “maybe I shouldn’t get something I’m going to mess with.” I’ve got the 240 wagon to mess with, and I barely have time to do that as is, when am I going to do all this stuff to my main car? I just need to be an adult and get a reliable daily driver. I should probably just stop all this nonsense and get something sensible like an Accord. But they do make that 2.0 sport turbo variant with the Type R engine...

Save me from myself Oppo!!!

Shoop > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 18:09

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* Veloster n pops and crackles in the distance*

MUSASHI66 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 18:12

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I have a bit of a process when it comes to buying cars for myself.

Step 1 is always the budget. I could buy a 911 right now, but then rapid house payoff or savings would suffer. So, I decide how much I can spend and that limits my choices.

Step 2 is WWJD, or in my scenario, what would I do and how would I use the car? Daily, summ er or winter or both, do I need to haul? My last purchase - I have a truck with a topper and 4x4, so I am covered for dog transportation and winter driving. That opened up a lot of options, but I wanted to stick to under 25k (see step 1). We knew wife was getting a reliable, comfortable street car good for road trips (Acura RDX), so I was able to go not-practical, not ideal for snow, and BAM! FIAT 500 Abarth 5sp manual. Other contenders were a Miata/Fiata (too small, no shoulder space and both me and my wife stare at the top of the windshield), Golf GTI (new ones were just under 30k and I could have stretched but shitty dealers...), Alfa Romeo Giulia ($25-30k gets you a nice used low mileage example but horrible reliability ratings and no manual), and most other cars I considered with a manual had too many miles for comfort. I didn’t really even consider non manual cars for me.

Step 3 is finding what I want from my short list. Test drove a 124 and hated it, tried buying a VW GTI and couldn’t stomach the dealers, and when a 750 mile example of a loaded Abarth 500 in Rosso popped up, it was just meant to be.

In short, buy one of the Fresh Breeze twins.

jeepoftheseus > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 18:40

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I support your decision tree. You should buy a Corvair and swap in an STI engine. 

DasWauto > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 19:20

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These musings are almost eerily similar to my own wandering thoughts on replacing the WRX. I’ve test driven all of the following and nearly bought a few: Outback XT, Grand Cherokee, Tacoma TRD sport 6-speed, RCSB F150 (because street truck), Frontier Pro-4X, STI, Colorado ZR2 and I’m probably forgetting a few.

I came reeeeally close to buying an Orange Crush ZR2 but the dealer lowballed the hell out of my WRX to the point that I walked out after showing them previous trade appraisals that were $2500+ higher had no effect. I slightly regret not swallowing that cost, but on the other hand fuck that, I like the car too much to take a bath on trading it in.

Of course now I’m looking at full on rally suspension for the car to hold me over until something else appealing comes on the market (new WRX/STI, Corolla GRMN, Frontier, Bronco are all good potential candidates).

I know your dilemma all too well but unfortunately can’t offer any help because I’ve got the  same conundrum. :)

shop-teacher > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 19:47

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Its tough to decide, when you're likes are so diverse. For what it's worth, I've yet to meet a Volt owner who didn't love it.

4cyl > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 20:45

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I bought a 2013 FR-S last year and have been using it as a daily. My only complaint is that there is minimal sound insulation, so it’s very loud at highway speeds. Other than that, it’s been very good

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Shoop 11/05/2020 at 21:06

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To quote the youths:

Society: You are a 36 year old career man living in suburbia, you have to drive a reasonable car

Me: HAHA EXHAUST GO *BANG* *POP*

I like Veloster N, I just wish it was a bit bigger. If I could get an Elantra hatch with the N drivetrain, Id be into it.

perryair52 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/05/2020 at 21:26

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i owned a brz limited. they’re nice, fun and fairly inexpensive, but a few things:

- engine honestly does sound like youre driving a tractor or something

- it doesn’t ride very well (damping-wise)

- seating position is SUPER low and the wife hated riding in it

- i needed to put high flow exhaust and tune in it to make it feel like it could get out of its own way.

- you’ll hear rattles and the paint quality is piss poor, chips galore at anything.

- stock wheel and tire combo is way too sunken in and high, so you’ll need either coilovers or springs at minimum with new wheels and tires

even though that list was long, i still think its worth it as a ride if you can get around all that though!

wafflesnfalafel > Shoop 11/05/2020 at 22:45

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One of those got on the freeway in front of me several months ago and I watched him stand on it down the on ramp and damn it that thing didn’t pop/crackle with each shift.  

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/06/2020 at 00:19

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I love my V60CC except for the missing pedal. Super comfy, quick, surprisingly tossable for its size. Good AWD system. Also that depreciation, it was quite affordable at 38k miles. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > perryair52 11/06/2020 at 07:36

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Mrs Snuze rode in one with me years ago and hated it. Though as my daily 99% of the time Id be driving it solo and we can take her Terrain if we go somewhere together. Still, wife approval is important, so this one may be a tougher sell since she didn't like it previously.  But I'm in no rush to buy so I've got time to convince her. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > jeepoftheseus 11/06/2020 at 07:37

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This is not a bad idea, but I do already have a project car that will eventually getting a motor swap. 

50ford500 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/06/2020 at 08:31

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Put me firmly in the camp of don’t mod your daily too too much if any at all. Cosmetics, small things like exhausts or even maybe a tune sure but not engine and hard part swaps. Brings up too many possibilities for issues you don’t want in a DD

Snuze: Needs another Swede > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 11/06/2020 at 09:09

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Thats what caught my eye, its a good looking car and a couple year old example with low miles is very reasonable. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > shop-teacher 11/06/2020 at 09:11

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My father in law h as a Gen 1 and loves it, if I were to get one I'd spring for the Gen 2. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > 50ford500 11/06/2020 at 09:12

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Yeah, I know what you mean.  That's the smart way to do it, but sometimes I just can help myself...

Snuze: Needs another Swede > DasWauto 11/06/2020 at 09:13

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Sounds like we are in the same boat. I'm sure I'll rant and rave on here some more before this process is done, but I'll keep Oppo posted. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > MUSASHI66 11/06/2020 at 09:16

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I have a spreadsheet to compare metrics (size, power to weight, fuel economy, etc). Its very useful for comparing similar cars - it was very useful for narrowing down CUV choices for my wife’s car. But in this case my choices are pretty varied. I’d love to have about 5-6 cars - wife's car, project car, economy car for daily, fun sports car for the weekend, maybe an offroad rig, and a truck for truck stuff. But in reality, based on space, 3 is about my limit, so wife's car, project car, and one for me. 

MUSASHI66 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/06/2020 at 10:23

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Life is too short to drive a Volt when all the other cars you listed exist. 

50ford500 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/06/2020 at 10:40

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Lol totally understand. I realize my answer was probably the least oppo answer I’ve ever given but sometimes I am guilty of mea culpas 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > 50ford500 11/06/2020 at 11:25

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No, its not a bad answer at all. Theres something to be said for having reliable daily transportation. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > MUSASHI66 11/06/2020 at 11:29

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Agreed. The only reason its even in consideration is the relative cheapness allows me to put money towards other things, like my 240 wagon.  

MUSASHI66 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/06/2020 at 11:48

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Look at it this way - old project which might or might not work and a very not-exciting daily, or an exciting daily and an old project which might or might not work?

Fun, reliable DD that you like - especially if wife has a car you can take as needed - is the best option imho. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/06/2020 at 12:14

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I’m really hoping the next BRZ is great. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > MUSASHI66 11/06/2020 at 12:17

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Agreed, and I will probably won’t end up with a Volt, or something similar. I’ll get something at least reasonably fun and exciting, even if it’s something like a V60 or Cadillac ATS.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/06/2020 at 12:19

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I do too!