My newest favorite car! I drove one last night. My son Armando recommended this over the Mini Cooper S I drove last Saturday. I've been flipping between a Nissan 370Z, base model with a sport package, MSRP about $33K, a BMW 128i with sport package, also about $33K, and a Mini Cooper S, about $25K.
I really like the Nissan 370Z. It's got great looks, the strongest engine, and a definite step up from my RX-8. The new Z has 332 hp and can get to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds, that's a whole second faster than my 2004 Mazda. It's weakness was that I would be getting the base model, cloth seats, yet it was in still in my price range. I've lowered that point from the mid $40's. Originally, that's where I wanted to be, but the reality is that I should be in the $20's if I didn't want to strain the budget.
I loved the drive in the 370Z. It's powerful engine with great torque throughout it's power band. Being a two-seater is one of my concerns. I do like driving and the RX-8 always gave me the flexibility of fitting four, which was almost always enough.
Next, I loved the refined overall feel of the BMW 128i. It's inline 6 cylinder engine put out 230 hp, about 10 hp less than my RX-8. It's the smallest BMW coupe, making the back seat room less than my RX-8. For around $33K, I'd get the manual, black exterior and black leatherette interior. My only option would be the sport package, with it's tuned suspension and awesome sport seats.
The BMW 128i has another great thing going for it, it's 4 year warranty is an extra year over all the competition. Nissan, VW, and Mini all have 3 year warranties. BMW also includes free maintenance for those 4 years, including normal wear on brakes and pads. VW and Mini had maintenance packages, but it did not include any coverage for normal wear items, like brakes and wipers.
The Mini Cooper S can be had for $24,850 MSRP. It's got a 210 hp turbo 4 cylinder engine, 0-60 in about 6.7 seconds. It's got teeny back seats, but gets the most mileage, a combined 29 mpg, more than 10 mpg better than my 1985 RX-7 that I will be trading in as part of the Cash-For-Clunkers program.
Price, while always a top priority for me, has never pushed my decisions as much as this car purchase has. I have been quoted from carsdirect.com, $23,612, for a 2009 GTI with the Autobahn package, sunroof and leather sport seats, plus darkened rear tail lamps, which together have an MSRP of $26,829. The invoice cost is $24,990, so I've been quoted $1,378 UNDER invoice!! On top of that is VW's 0% financing for 6 years! Together, with my $3500 RX-7 trade-in, after tax and license, my total financed is only $22,768, that's $378.47 a month. That's a whole lot less than the $500 - $600 range I originally thought I'd be in.
Decisions, Decisions...
What do you think?
I'm in almost the same boat! (currently waiting for cars.gov to release the final rules) I was totally set on the Mini Cooper S until someone mentioned the GTI to me today. Now I have to go find one to test drive. The only negatives I saw with the Cooper were the lack of space and the road noise at high (really high) speeds. Otherwise, I haven't seen or driven anything similarly priced that is as exciting. However, the GTI gets equally glowing reviews from just about everyone so we'll see...
Please post when you make your decision!
Posted by: Danny | July 23, 2009 at 05:33 PM
Hey Danny,
I too felt the Mini's interior was too limiting for me. The other thing that bugged me was the huge speedometer in the middle of the dash. I've seen picture of original Minis and though they did have a speedo in the middle, it was not rediculusly large like the current one. The GTI, though a blast to drive, kind of fell out of my favorite list as I compared it's 3 year/36K mile warranty. That and it's reputation for less than stellar long term reliability.
Posted by: Manuel Lizarraga, Jr. | July 23, 2009 at 10:29 PM