Purchase consideration

[ESP]

Oh Mehdi...that lime green Ford RS is teh shizz........I'd tap that.

[QR25DE]

Give me 3G and I will paint my AC lime green.

[ESP]

Give me 3G and I will paint my AC lime green.

I'd thought about that when I first got the car, but I don't know how good it'd look. When we get a Cube, it'll likely go at least partially green.

[TRGTI]

While agree that the A3 looks somewhat like a station wagon. I too prefer 2-door hatchbacks to 4-door, you cannot really argue this. (From my VW forum)

MODDED A3 - One of my favs but many other AMAZING looks from these folks. http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3185845

STOCK A3 + chrome mirror caps

MY CARS - BOTH STOCK+tint on mine (2006 MKV GTI & 2010 CC- wifes)

2011 Volvo C30 R-Design (new top of list car to consider)

2010 Altima Coupe (for comparison)

So who doesn't like hatchbacks...
Modified by TRGTI at 9:28 PM 1/29/2010

[Coupes4Life]

Mazdaspeed 3 are the best price for the power and ur not gonna find anything u like better besides a gti cause it sounds like already have ur mind set on european so y consider an altima coupe.

And this 5 door hatch is sexy so r A3 , Focus RS

[mcheddadi]

more sexy station wagon

A3 whit bodykit can be soo sexy too

[TRGTI]

Mazdaspeed 3 are the best price for the power and ur not gonna find anything u like better besides a gti cause it sounds like already have ur mind set on european so y consider an altima coupe.

The MS3 is a good value but it is incomplete as far as I am concerned. One dimensional. It is fast and has good performance but it is still a $15k Mazda3. They did nothing to make it nicer but rather just faster. I would argue that a WRX is a better performance value. It is a full second faster to 60 then the MS3 and has better handling due to AWD. It is about $3k more but certainly worth it for the performance ONLY driver. Still just as incomplete from total package standpoint.

The European cars seem to offer the best combo of performance and luxury. Something the Japanese or Americans cannot match. It really just needs to be experienced. Like has been said before in this thread, they have "cache" and "panache" or that "X" factor I call it. They actually seem better then the sum of its parts where as other cars are only as good as the sum of those parts, sometimes less (Hyundai/Kia).Other companies/cars may offer more luxury (Lexus) or more performance (MS3 , WRX) but both lack the total package. A daily driver needs to, for me, satisfy the DTM (or JDM) kid in me AND the "take my boss/parents/grandma to the airport" luxury/refinement/fit & finish. The Europeans master this. The rest imitate.

Just the way I see things.

I like the Altima and it is a nice car, just not nice enough to warrant $30k. Not even close actually. It tries to be a jack of all trades but because of this masters none. It shows in the overall execution. Good performance, not the best. Good fit and finish, not the best. Good looks, not the best. Good value, not the best. Good reliability, not the best. Good gas mileage, not the best. It is a good car, not great. It is just average in EVERYTHING when compared to its peers.