Family cars with some spunk.

[Kenrik]

What? It's got two back seats.

lol, great way to like like you're 18...

[Kenrik]

Offtopic: WHEN DID YOU GET MARRIED? .... I missed that one..

[Dattebayo]

Offtopic: WHEN DID YOU GET MARRIED? .... I missed that one..

lol That's a big can of worms to open again...

[Kenrik]

188hp..

Or possibly if they put in the turbo 1.6 from the junk.. err juke.. in a highend model of the new Versa.. That would be a HOT Hatch...

[driverdriver]

2002-2008 Saab 9-5 aero with 4 cylinder inline B235R, engine. In wagon form its a sleeper. I have one. The 5 speed sentronic has 0to60 mph time of 7.3 seconds. the manual is slighly faster. There are plenty of bolt on performance mods and support available from Nordic tuning, Swedespeed and BSR to make it more faster and more fuel efficient. In combined city/highway I get around 30MPG in stock form.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Volvo S40? Just thought of that one too.

They're a decent size, not too big, handle well, and have the dead nuts reliable T-5. Good performance and good gas mileage. I think a 5 speed was offered as well. Probably not too common though.

[bundy26]

How about a 2011 KIA OPTIMA SX Turbo.

[Kompresshun]

I'm a big fan of the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan/Mazda 6, I'd recommend the Milan right now for the money. They've come down quite a bit since Mercury is no more, they're about $1,500-3,000 cheaper than the Fusion and 6 here. I've driven all of them and I love the platform personally, every one I've driven has impressed me greatly for it being a Ford.

I also like the Acura TSX and TL, which has already been mentioned. My only complaint about them is head room in the earlier TL, I'm tall and lack of headroom in a luxury sedan really irritates me.

The Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima are impressive cars too, I haven't driven one yet but I would highly consider one myself.

Out of all the cars mentioned though, I highly recommend the Infiniti G, I've driven the sedan and absolutely adore it over anything else I've driven so far. The power is perfect in my opinion and the look of the car is excellent. I would buy one over a comparable Audi or BMW hands down, without question. I love BMWs too, but I have no interest in owning one personally.

[orangeNblue]

Something that may be a little more rare to find but is a quick fuel efficient car is the Taurus SHO. Much different drive and feel than the regular Taurus

[jdansmith]

97-04 Regal ls 3.8 8 sec. 0 to 60 and 30mpg hwy.
97-04 Regal GS 3.8 Supercharged 6.6 0-60 and 27 mpg hwy. With a smaller supercharger pulley and free flowing exhaust I've seen 6.2 0to 60 times.

[IBCoupe]

Something that may be a little more rare to find but is a quick fuel efficient car is the Taurus SHO. Much different drive and feel than the regular Taurus

They brought it back as a twin-turbo'd V6, didn't they?

[Bubba1]

Something that may be a little more rare to find but is a quick fuel efficient car is the Taurus SHO. Much different drive and feel than the regular Taurus

They brought it back as a twin-turbo'd V6, didn't they?

Yes, the new SHO's are big, tall, heavy (something like 4400 lbs) AWD, and not attractive (imo). The first two generation SHO;s would be a very nice choice, despite being FWDers. The trick is finding a clean one. Hard to believe how old they are now.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, new SHO is failtastic. TT 3.5 liter V6 gives you less torque AND less fuel economy than a V8 in the real world. The curb weight of the SHO is ASTOUNDING, the AWD system is NOT performance-oriented, the car is auto-only, and not that great looking.

They brought it back as a twin-turbo'd V6, didn't they?

Yeah, a TTv6 that weighs as much as a Crown Vic and guzzles more gas than either of my V8 performance cars or even the Crown Vic itself. It's a joke. And, more importantly, the exact opposite of the original SHO. The first 3 generations were basic cars with more power, just like classic musclecars. Third-gen even had a very small Yamaha V8 under the hood (which sounded marvelous). Just a taurus with some suspension work and more power. NOT an overcomplex mess of weight, virtually pointless AWD system, and unnecessary turbos.

The Taurus' AWD system VERY RARELY ever puts any power rearward. It's a bad-weather AWD system and doesn't come into play during everyday driving, let alone performance-oriented driving. It feels, behaves, and provides dry-weather traction just like a FWD car, but with lots of extra weight and stuff to break. This isn't an Audi, or HICAS, or even Subaru. It's just a mess.

I know I'm a cynic and dislike a lot of cars, but the SHO just feels like a big ball of trying too hard.

At any rate, the Flex is basically the same car (same chassis, SHO powertrain available) but with much improved practicality, interior space, visibility, and (arguably) looks. Then again, the Flex weighs in at a seriously gobsmacking 4900lb, which is simply inexcusable for any FWD car. Not even the effing DeVille weighs that much!

[IBCoupe]

The flex looks like it would be happier as a station wagon than as an SUV.

[Bubba1]

The flex looks like it would be happier as a station wagon than as an SUV.

I have a good friend looking at buying a Flex for his wife. She's upgrading from an Odyssey. I rode in an AWD Flex at a Winter driving school. I was impressed with it and I'm not big Ford fan, so my expectations were low. Very roomy and comfortable. But the Flex does not fit OPs requirements..

[MinisterofDOOM]

The flex looks like it would be happier as a station wagon than as an SUV.

The Flex IS a stationwagon, and is not an SUV. It's not even a crossover. It is literally the Taurus wagon. It just has squared off sheetmetal. Crossovers, SUVs, minivans all have flat floors with raised seats. The Flex has footwells, like a sedan, because it is one, only with a liftgate.

Freestyle > Taurus X > Flex : All basically the same car, all Tauruses.

[Kompresshun]

Yeah, new SHO is failtastic. TT 3.5 liter V6 gives you less torque AND less fuel economy than a V8 in the real world. The curb weight of the SHO is ASTOUNDING, the AWD system is NOT performance-oriented, the car is auto-only, and not that great looking...

I wouldn't go anywhere near that land yacht, even though it's not a bad looking car, it's ridiculously heavy and Ford claiming that it gets in the 20's for fuel mileage, when it's lucky to get mid teens, just pisses me off more. It "replacing" the Crown Vic is a complete joke to me, even though I believe the Crown Vic was way overdue for replacement or a complete redesign.

What was really amusing to me is when I worked for a Lincoln/Mercury dealership, they had the Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego, which took the place of the Taurus/Sable when they were discontinued. They decide that since the Five Hundred/Montego weren't selling as well as they had hoped, "HEY! Let's re-badge them as a Taurus/Sable again and say we're bringing them back, that'll increase sales!", after closing down the Ford Plant in Atlanta

Personally I liked the Five Hundred/Montego better than the new Taurus, but that's just me. The trunks in them are HUGE too, perfect for dea... I mean hiding hookers, it could easily hold 5 if stacked properly

Now Ford does have a lot of good vehicles, but the Taurus is definitely not what it should be. I'd put my money on a Fusion if I were buying a Ford.

[Looneybomber]

I'm a big fan of the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan/Mazda 6, I'd recommend the Milan right now for the money.

I told my wife about them and she likes the looks of them. According to autotrader, there's quite a few around her area at dealerships, '08-'10 with nice low mileage. I might have to take a look at these.

[Kenrik]

WHEN DID YOU GET A WIFE>>>>>> ?

20 replies later I'm still waiting for an answer.

[Kompresshun]

I'm a big fan of the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan/Mazda 6, I'd recommend the Milan right now for the money.

I told my wife about them and she likes the looks of them. According to autotrader, there's quite a few around her area at dealerships, '08-'10 with nice low mileage. I might have to take a look at these.

They're nice cars, especially the current generation. I prefer the Fusion or Milan personally, I like the interiors in them better, but underneath they're the same cars pretty much. I drove an '07 Fusion SEL a few months ago for the day and absolutely loved it, had excellent power for a V6 and loved the interior layout. Now i'm comparing it to my I30, but they handle excellent IMHO, the hug the corners very well for what they are. I've driven numerous different variations of the 3 though, i'd say the Mazdaspeed6 and the Mercury Milan Premier V6 have been my personal favorites out of the bunch.

[zacmil]

the Crown Vic was way overdue for replacement or a complete redesign.

This is what I think they should have done. IMO, a big premium sedan just needs to be rwd. Plus, there's just something iconic about the crown vicky/LTD; I mean, they've been our nations police cars and taxis for like two decades.

Personally, I think a Fusion/Milan would be a great choice. While I haven't actually owned a Fusion, myself/my family has owned a ton of Fords throughout the years and they've all been great cars.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I used to make the transmission components for the Fusion/Escape/Milan (and possibly a few others) at my last job, and spent some time in an 09 or 2010 Fusion this past weekend. Its definitely a lot of car for the money, and I think the dude that owned it said he gets between 29 and 33mpg (v6). Very smooth power delivery... I didn't really notice any torque steer. Not a slouch, but then again, its no S2000.

During a road trip with Torry's G37, we really didn't see much above 23 or 24mpg (all highway).

[gwoods]

On a biz trip last week I had a Kia Soul as a rental and really enjoyed it! It supposedly does 0-60 in 7.8 seconds and gets 24city 30 hwy if you get the 2.0l 4. I experienced 19.36 mpg and put 145 miles on this car in less then 24 hours all within Texas town. So figure worst case scenario your going to get 19 mpg. If you don't drive like me you could get 30!

The car torque steered enough under WOT to let you know it had some guts and up until about 40 ish it felt FAST. Transmission shifts were firm and 'quick'. I liked all the utility.

The problem with your parameters are you want speed and mileage and room for 4. Very hard to get all three. Pick the 2 post important and live with the 3rd.

[Looneybomber]

WHEN DID YOU GET A WIFE>>>>>> ?

20 replies later I'm still waiting for an answer.

After I joined the Air National Guard, but before I had kid #2, so that puts it in Nov '09. Am I not supposed to be married?

[Kenrik]

WHEN DID YOU GET A WIFE>>>>>> ?

20 replies later I'm still waiting for an answer.

After I joined the Air National Guard, but before I had kid #2, so that puts it in Nov '09. Am I not supposed to be married?

You never struck me as the "type" can't fit a family on the back of a sportbike.. lol

[IBCoupe]

The flex looks like it would be happier as a station wagon than as an SUV.

The Flex IS a stationwagon, and is not an SUV. It's not even a crossover. It is literally the Taurus wagon. It just has squared off sheetmetal. Crossovers, SUVs, minivans all have flat floors with raised seats. The Flex has footwells, like a sedan, because it is one, only with a liftgate.

Freestyle > Taurus X > Flex : All basically the same car, all Tauruses.

Really? It seemed a lot bigger than that. Maybe I'm just underestimating the size of the Taurus.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Maybe I'm just underestimating the size of the Taurus.

Very likely. New Tauruses are HUGE. Really, really big. Bigger than a Chrysler 300. It's even bigger than a Crown Vic as far as width and height go, though the CV is still a big 10'' longer.

[IBCoupe]

Sounds horrible.

[Bubba1]

Sounds horrible.

Well, they're not THAT horrible, they got bigger, taller, and heavier which seems to be the opposite direction of the industry given much higher gas prices.

I'm guessing Ford grew the Taurus in size to replace the departing aged Crown Vic as their next police/taxi fleet offering.

[IBCoupe]

That seems plausible. They seem to have lost the taxi battle, though.