Everyday Driver Car Debate Sep 2, 2025

Top 5 Hot Hatches - Most Fun Under $40K, The Soul-Killers, Don’t Ignore The Wildcard | Episode 1,010

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Car

Alpine car

Alpine is a car brand from France that makes sporty vehicles. They are known for being light and fast, often used in racing.

Concept

Formula 1

Formula 1 is a type of car racing where specially designed cars compete on tracks around the world. It's known for its fast speeds and advanced technology, and many people enjoy watching the races.

Brand

Cadillac

Cadillac is a brand of luxury cars made by General Motors. They are known for their high-quality vehicles and advanced features.

Concept

F1

F1 stands for Formula 1, which is a type of car racing that features fast cars and skilled drivers. It's a popular sport worldwide.

Car

Mercedes-AMG GTX

The Mercedes-AMG GTX is a new sports car from Mercedes-Benz that focuses on high performance and advanced technology. AMG is the performance division of Mercedes, known for making faster and more powerful versions of their cars.

Term

horsepower

Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower, the faster and stronger the car can be.

Term

kilowatt

A kilowatt is a way to measure how much electricity is being used. For electric cars, it tells you how fast the car can charge its battery.

Term

super fast public chargers

Super fast public chargers are special charging stations that can charge your electric car really quickly, much faster than regular chargers.

Car

Oldsmobile Intrigues

Concept

Nardo track

Nardo track is a special racetrack in Italy where cars are tested for their speed. It's designed to help manufacturers see how fast their cars can go.

Car

Yang Wang

Yang Wang is a brand of electric vehicles made by BYD, a well-known car company in China. They focus on creating high-end electric cars.

Brand

BYD

BYD is a big car company from China that makes electric cars and batteries. They are becoming very popular around the world.

Term

top fuel dragsters

Top Fuel dragsters are super-fast race cars that compete in straight-line races. They can go from 0 to 300 mph in just a few seconds!

Term

production car speed record

The production car speed record is the fastest speed a car that anyone can buy has ever gone. It's a big deal for car companies to break this record!

Car

Aspark Owl

The Aspark Owl is a very fast electric car that looks very modern. It's made from light materials to help it go really fast, and it's one of the quickest cars you can buy.

Car

because the news is a little bit old,

but Cadillac has announced their F1

drivers. And if you were hoping for new

names,

>> this news was old like months ago.

>> Well, but here's the thing. It It was It

was It It was old.

>> I think the problem I think the problem

is the fact that they're known drivers

that have been in and out of F1 before

is the thing that makes it feel like

older news.

>> You know what I mean? I think that has

somehow contributed

>> with the senior citizens of F1. I guess

>> look the two guys that are that have

genuinely driven very quickly in

championship winning cars

teams. Yes. Next to multi- champion

drivers. We've got Sergio Perez who's

driven with Max Versstappen and seems to

be the only one that's actually halfway

driven well against Max Versstappen as a

teammate. And Valtry Boas and his

calendar or his mullet or whatever it is

he's doing this this week. I I like

here's the thing I like about Boas. He

has reached the I don't care anymore.

>> He does have irreverence.

>> I just he has reached the place where

and he's done it differently

>> like Alonzo did.

>> But but he's done it different than

Kimmy Reichen. Kimmy Reichen was always

the Iceman where it's just like I don't

have a comment for you and everybody

laughed. Botos is just like I'm going to

be as outlandish as I want and you're

going to pay me to drive fast anyway,

which I I kind of love that. I kind of

love that. And Sergio Perez, look, he

wound up at Red Bull because he did this

amazing thing in an Alpine car coming

from like last to first in a race the

season before they hired him. And

everybody but Max has struggled with

that Red Bull car. So I I here's my

take. Well, we didn't get new blood, but

we have a new team with an all new car.

>> Yes.

>> So I think the thing is this is removing

a variable.

This is we can take out the variable of

are they just not used to an F1 car

because clearly they are.

>> Yeah, we take that variable out and I

and I don't know that either of these

guys and I have no idea. I don't know if

either of these guys are the kind of

drivers that just they're like driver

mechanics or driver engineers. There

have been some who who they can be well

you have to make this change. Maybe

maybe they aren't those kind of drivers.

I don't know that they are. But you know

that they know how an F1 car should

drive. So, it's not, well, maybe he's

just a rookie and doesn't know. That's

off the table. I wonder if this is these

are the dialin drivers. Let's dial it

in.

>> That's a great way of put

>> and bring in some new blood.

>> Yeah.

>> I wonder

>> because it's a brand new team.

>> Absolutely. Yeah.

>> With a Ferrari engine. Everybody

continues to like not mention that part.

>> True. Yeah. Yeah.

>> It's a Ferrari engine in this different

chassis. So, that it will even change

again when it does become a GM engine.

>> True. Yes. So to get the chassis right,

the balance, the way they want the team

to run,

>> they're setting the groundwork from

they're setting the culture as well.

>> It's ground zero day. So I agree with

this.

>> So this video popped on up in my YouTube

feed about this. It was from Good

Morning America. Now,

>> okay,

>> I don't watch Good Morning America. I

don't know why it populated, but it was

>> these two drivers Yeah.

>> being introduced on Good Morning

America.

>> Oh no. Oh, which is essentially it. This

is like my parents who get all of their

pop culture references from who showed

up on Dancing with the Stars. Okay, this

is the same thing. We're going to

introduce you to F1. Good Morning

America audience who's not even sure

that F1 exists by walking out the new

Cadillac drivers. I totally see I I know

the producer behind the scenes. I know

exactly what they were thinking.

>> The reason it worked is because of the

F1 movie is now in the world's

consciousness of course.

>> So that's that was that you've seen the

movie. now meet the new drivers of the

newest team. Here they are.

>> Oh god.

>> I was like, "Oh, okay." So, I clicked

and I started watching.

>> I didn't have a problem with I don't

have a problem with Good Morning

America. I don't have a problem with the

host, whoever it was interviewing. I

have a problem with whoever wrote the

questions for the host.

>> Oh, no.

>> Whether it was him or the intern or the

producer

>> because he got Sergio talking.

>> He didn't refer to him by Sergio, which

is a little strange, but just Czecho.

You know, he's also known as Czech.

Okay, so he got him talking. Hey, you're

a race winner and da da Red Bull, you

know, in your past. Hey, Valtry. Okay,

you know AMG, Mercedes in your past.

Gotcha.

>> And then, oh no,

>> he asked the question,

>> okay,

>> so what is it like to drive these cars?

And I stopped. I I clicked. I was done.

I That's it. I'm sorry if you No. If If

whoever wrote these questions and this

was off a Q card. Oh god.

>> So, what is it like to drive these

things? No, we're done. We're done.

Nope. You've done zero research. You

know nothing. I'm sorry. Whoever wrote

those questions.

>> Yeah.

>> I would love to know what's going on.

>> Which Disneyland are you going to go to?

Is it Disney World or Disneyland are you

going to go to after you win the first

race?

>> Is is it Disney World Tokyo? Where are

we going? These guys have done this for

long enough, you know, that inside their

heads they were like, "You've got to be

kidding me. This is where we are."

>> Which is the worst part. I I bet you

they wanted to say everything's gonna go

great. Cadillac F1. Yeah, we're gonna

dial in the team. The worst part is

media interviews like this one. That's

that's the part that really sucks.

>> I'm surprised Boto didn't say it. But

let's talk about other things that are

um are they more or less vaporware than

this Cadillac team? I don't know. The

Mercedes. The Mercedes. They're

vapeware, but they're not vaporware. And

I am intrigued. I'm impressed. This is

the newlyannounced AMG GTX. Are we

calling it the double XX?

>> It's cooler when you say

>> the X.

>> It's not the XX.

>> No, it's the GTX.

>> The concept AMG GTX, which generates a

peak output of over 1,000 kW. That's

more than 1360 horsepower

>> achieved by three motors. Mhm.

>> But they just set multiple records, most

notably an endurance record.

>> Yep. Yep.

>> That covered 24,91

miles in 7 days, 13 hours, and 24

minutes.

>> 17 drivers on the team, including George

Russell.

>> Including George Russell.

>> Hey George, you've got the month of

August of F1. Yeah, exactly. You're not

driving this month. You want to come

help with that contract thing we have?

Here's where you need media interviews.

You got to drive fast for a long period

of time. Does that

>> stop speeding and swimming on your

yacht? Come over here, do some laps in

the GTX. Yeah.

>> So, the this 17 driver team maintained a

constant speed of over 300 km an hour,

over 186 mph,

>> stopping only to recharge at power

levels averaging 850 kilowatt.

>> Yes. To give you a frame of reference

for those of you that are wondering

about that kilowatt figure, if you

charge from home,

>> it's roughly seven. Roughly seven

kilowatts. That's what you're doing.

Okay. If you go to a fast public

charger, 100 150. If you go to the super

fast public chargers, 350 car can handle

that.

>> Exactly. This was 850 to 900 was the

charging level. I mean, that is like,

you know, kill everyone for 100 mile

radius levels of electricity. That's a

staggering amount of power getting

thrown at this car.

>> I mean, what I like is that Mercedes has

gone after endurance records before.

endurance man and machine actually

intrigues me far more. I like longer

races especially

>> the machine has to hold up. Yeah. To

even win the machine has to come

through. And so for something like this

to achieve and sustain those high

speeds, it was at the Nardo track in

Italy.

>> Yep. Y

>> to sustain that and wait, you can't just

refuel and give give a quick splash of

gas.

>> We're talking about EV charging. So the

the technology behind it, they are oil

cooled. All many of the components are

oil cooled on this car.

>> I just can't imagine this. It's just

amazing.

>> Incredible technology. Incredible what

they have achieved, what the team has

achieved.

>> For sure.

>> I'm very impressed.

>> What I do like is that Mercedes does

things like this to eventually trickle

down to road cars.

>> Yes.

>> That's what I appreciate the most about

going after something like this and and

doing it. And

>> hey George, you're not you don't have a

race this weekend, right?

>> You can come help us out, right?

>> Dust off your race suit. It's been

sitting there for a week. I mean, the

the big question mark for me here is

when they first announced or showed this

car to the public, it looked like a

concept.

>> And then they go do this with it, which

proves it can really run and work, which

is very impressive.

>> Is this a real car? And how does it

relate to your point to actual cars

you'll be able to buy? And the question

nobody can answer right now is will the

consumer care?

Because the big thing we're seeing

across the board is and and I have

another bit of news relating to EV

records, but do do consumers care? Do

consu and this this is a weird I don't

feel like it's a weird watershed moment

in car purchasing where I feel like for

the first time and I'm not just saying

it because you and I kind of feel this

way. We've seen a lot of people that

seem to feel this way. to be a general

feeling. EVs are doing things that are

jaw-dropping like this

>> and are getting kind of a shrug like

Yeah.

>> My question is

they had to know they were going to

achieve something.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Put a little bit of time and

effort into this. Yes. Mhm.

>> What if they hadn't? What if

>> none of this had worked and they set a

few records, but let's say, you know

what, the charging didn't work and both

cars burnt to a crisp and they melted

down

>> because we didn't calculate for

>> this portion of Germany had a brow out

for a week.

>> We missed the O-rings on something or I

don't know what.

>> If it hadn't worked, they wouldn't be

quite as public about this. So to

achieve this result and therefore be

very public with the with media with

everything.

>> Holy cow. The the charge and discharge

for the batteries and the triple axial

flux motors which are very different

than normal motors. They're actually

becoming

>> I I think more investigated for EVs. So

they put them in uh they're like drone

motors.

>> Sure. Okay.

>> They're they're pancake motors

essentially and they're being

investigated more for EV use because

there are so many benefits to them.

to go down this road and to put all this

engineering effort. I mean, this is as

much or more effort as they put in to

their Formula 1 team.

>> I agree. This is this is a this is

moonshot thinking and you do it with an

EV.

>> What if they hadn't? What if like Oh,

one of them actually melted and and

that's a puddle.

>> That part of Nardo will never exist

again. It's just it's a hole to the

center of the earth just burned all the

way down.

>> Half of the records we wanted to not all

of them. So, they had to try this. But

they didn't. They did it.

>> They did it. This this amount of mileage

is the circumference of the earth. That

was the target.

>> Part of is never going to be this.

>> Exactly. Exactly. It's it's like

Chernobyl, like mini Chernobyl in that

quarter.

>> Don't drive over there for like 200

years ever. Yeah. Anyway, so there's

that. I mean, this look, this is very

impressive. And this is the next record

I want to talk about that is also EV

related. But I just do start to wonder

if we care. And I I I'm I'm asking, does

the public care?

>> Do we care? The collective we do we do

we care?

>> Yes. The the Yang Wang. This is from

BYD. Okay. This is also the same sports

car that was shown in press material a

while back jumping over a pothole.

>> That's right.

>> Like driving along at speed and like all

right. Bring bring your dreams. Build

your dreams.

>> Yes. Exactly. Build your dreams.

>> Something with your dreams.

>> Build your dreams. You can actually get

that as one of you just sent us a photo

and a discussion about you can get it as

a huge chrome list of words on the back

of your car instead of just BYD. You can

get it to just say build your dreams

across the back. Sure.

>> Which I don't think anyone wants by the

way. That's a separate thing. But this

this is the sports car.

>> Not very often chosen option.

>> Seriously, why would you do that?

>> It's a low choice.

>> Anyway, um this car has 3,000

horsepower. 3,000 horsepower. Okay,

that's staggering. Are we talking about

top fuel dragsters? You'd think

obviously it's an EV. Obviously, it has

multiple motors. But it just set a new

quote unquote production car speed

record of 293 miles an hour, beating out

Koigseg, beating out Bugatti. 293 mph at

leark Owl.

>> Don't forget the Aspark Owl.

>> Yeah,

>> this is an important car that has

changed the No, it hasn't. I I I'm so

torn on this. And may maybe look, maybe

it's just me showing a bias that I'm not

intending, but I just don't know if the

car market cares.

And that's weird because I feel like

combustion cars when when the Bugatti

Chiron broke broke 250, I feel like that

was being talked about everywhere.

>> Okay.

>> This photo and this article about this,

I had to find it.

Okay. The Bugatti Chiron and Veyron were

being discussed to your point like on

Good Morning America. Like somebody's

driven a car this fast. Okay. This car

hops potholes, has 300 horsepower, and

just 3,000 horsepower.

>> Sorry. 3,000 horsepower and just beat

the all-time speed record of nearly 300

mph. I would think that would be

everywhere.

Now, is it the fact that it's a Chinese

car? Is it the fact that it's an EV? I

I'm I'm amazed. Just like with that

Mercedes, I'm amazed that this is

possible. Mhm.

>> I just I'm starting to wonder if EVs

don't feel relatable to people and where

does the technology align and become

something that the average consumer

cares about.

>> Okay, I I agree with you. Slight

counterpoint and that is internal

combustion engines have been around long

enough where

>> mankind has really started to push the

upper limits of what an internal

combustion engine could do. Certainly,

certainly is.

>> Piston driven engine.

>> Yes.

>> Boats, aircraft, cars,

>> they've been in a lot of things.

>> Figure out what'll kill us and back it

off a little. Like the Seinfeld joke.

>> Uhhuh. Yes. For sure.

>> But this technology as it's progressing

so quickly. I guess it's not new

technology. It's just nobody knows.

>> True. True. And so I almost think yeah

it's important to push on what available

technology and what potential is that is

not uh able to be in production. It is

not for consumer use. It's it's you know

not general enough and it and it's

priced

>> stratospherically. Absolutely.

>> But still the technology exists. Let's

see what's possible from an endurance

standpoint, from a speed standpoint to

push it out there to then

>> bring it back so it's in the realm of

affordability. It's in the realm of

usability and okay, it can do that.

>> Let's bring it back to what matters to

consumers. But at least we know. I mean,

what if

>> all this potential is out there and

nobody goes and tests it? Nobody goes

and explores those upper edges of things

which they have with internal combustion

engines, I guess. I mean, so I I think

yes, go push on that. On the other hand,

yeah, that that doesn't affect anybody's

life except to read a cool headline like

that's fast.

>> I can't buy one. I I don't want a car

that goes 290 mph. I don't need one.

>> But look, I I'll spin it another way.

The guys that went out and bought the

Kunigsegs and the Bugattis because they

were the fastest cars in the world, does

this make them sign up to buy this car?

Do they want the BYD now because it has

the top speed record and I and I would

have said hard to say 15 years ago if it

was an internal combustion engine car I

would have said yes all of those

collectors will buy one with these EVs I

don't know that they will care and that

is weird to me I also don't think EVs

being pushed at these upper limits

are collectible enough I don't think

they're special enough

>> I'm very curious to see where this plays

out and and I I wanted to talk about it

jumping off of the Mercedes things

because Mercedes put a lot of tech into

their EVs. We drove a few of the EQs and

all of those cars landed with a thud. So

much of a thud that Mercedes has kind of

walked away from that thinking and

they're trying at it again with this GTX

and other things. BYD obviously is only

an electric car company.

>> So, and and a lot of China is that and

there's been a lot of subsidies and that

kind of thing to keep some of those

companies going. I'm I'm so intrigued

and I am not making any kind of

declaration of any kind. I'm just so

intrigued. What is the next 5 years of

consumer patterns for car buying?

>> I think it's amazing. Look at what these

cars can do. I'm going to go shop for

used vintage Mercedes diesel wagons.

>> That's what all the enthusiasts watching

this show are talking about, but I don't

know that that's happening.

>> They're built like tanks.

>> Yes, they are. They'll run for sure.

>> Until the earth stops spinning.

>> Yes. Till the earth stops spinning. Yes.

>> Uh-huh. Yeah. and it serves my needs and

I can pack the dog in the back and off

we go. Speaking of cars we can buy now,

our latest press car, I actually have a

POV coming up on that in the next few

weeks on test drive. I want to actually

answer a question that you I feel like

you want to know the answer to. It's not

like we're getting a ton of emails on

this question, but I feel like I need to

put it out there. We have had a near

non-existent feed of press cars for a

bit. So, that has meant that we have not

been feeding our test drive videos

channel very much. And I'm a little

bummed about that. But if we don't have

the cars, don't don't have the content.

That is about to ramp back up into about

an every week or every other week format

based on how often we get press cars. We

just got the brand new 2025 Toyota

Tundra TRD Rally version. So the TRD

Rally is a $8600

package on top of your essentially base

SR5 Tundra.

>> So it does not have the I Force Max. I I

can't say it in the other way. It

doesn't have the hybrid motor. just has

the normal I Force Max, not the I Force

Max.

>> The movie announcer voice, not the

Wrangler Jeans voice.

>> It's very different. It's completely

different. So, it's the twin turbo V6,

which still has plenty of power.

>> Mhm.

>> But I have a test drive of that that

actual POV of that coming because we've

driven the Tundra and other specs. So,

on this one, I just did a POV that is

coming soon. We'll talk about that at

length. I The reason I I transition to

it here is because you made the comment

about till the Earth Stops Turning. This

was the impression of all of the Toyota

trucks until they went turbo and hybrid.

And everybody has, you know, lit up

their torches and pulled out their

pitchforks and come for Toyota and

claimed these won't last. And the

reality is we don't know.

>> I think actually the burning question

is, did you go to the dump?

>> Oh, of course I did. I had I had a

pickup. I had to go to the dump.

>> And apparently, you know, since I'm over

the age of 35, I'm headed toward that

era in life where all I do is sit on the

porch, yell at the TV, and go to the

dump. So, you know, at some point, you

know,

>> of course he did, but the dog is

sleeping and then it just kind of looks

up and goes, "Oh, you're yelling again."

Okay. And then the dog lays back down.

That's that headed for that those years.

Yeah. Fantastic. Those are some of the

best years still coming. Yeah. It's

going to be great.

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>> Should we talk about cars? Like actual

cars people should buy.

>> We should talk about hatchbacks because

we haven't done hatchbacks in a long

time. You're right. And we do love

talking about hatchbacks. Thank you guys

for your great suggestions. We are

continuing the top five series with the

top five hatchbacks. Although I don't

think we've finally settled on a price.

Is it 40k and under? because I did about

40k and under.

>> I I did 40. Here's the thing. On this

series, we've been doing generally 50k

and under. When I think hatchbacks, I

think something that costs less than 30

grand, but the reality is most cars cost

way over 30 grand. Now, 50 grand feels

like too high. I have a I have a wild

card because it breaks the the the

rules. But the rules for me were less

than 40 grand. Yeah.

>> New or used.

>> Okay.

>> And less 20 years older or newer. Cuz

you could just go back the all-time

greatest hatchbacks. We're talking about

the 70s and 80s and 90s. Like, no, no,

no, no. Something that you would buy.

>> The Renault R5 Turbo.

>> Yes.

>> Yeah.

>> The Pujo 206. Whatever. You know what

I'm saying?

>> Launch Delta Integral.

>> Exactly. We're not doing that. The My

thinking here was you are currently

shopping.

>> Mhm.

>> You have 40 grand max. You want a really

good hatchback and you're going to drive

it all the time. Like you're going to

use it like a hatchback. Meaning it

needs to be fun to drive.

>> Yes.

>> And usable. And fun was key for me on

this. I I wanted to to pick five. And I

did. I picked five that I think anytime

I've driven these, the takeaway for me

is that is a fun vehicle to drive.

>> Also be a hatchback of course, but just

this is just fun. It just has that

electricity about it. That was my five.

I have a wild card because it's too

expensive, but generally under 40.

>> I have one wild card too and I adhered

to the same rules. The top five SUVs I

adhereed more towards new. Yes. But we

are experiencing kind of a der of hot

hatches in the market. So, I was I felt

forced to go back because there's some

greatest hits on the hothatch list that

are not very old and they're already out

of production.

>> True. Yeah, there's some great stuff.

>> I'll start us off with that very car and

that is the Hyundai Veloster N.

>> Phenomenal car.

>> So good. This is actually the car that

we drove. We took this car and did uh

drove a did a comparison against the

G86.

>> Yes, we did.

>> Lots of fun. It doesn't matter. DCT

manual. I don't care. It's quirky. It's

excellent to drive.

>> They're not new anymore. No. But this

absolutely adheres to a 40k and under.

You can find them for probably just over

30 at this point. Superb car to drive if

you've been considering one. Absolutely

a lot of fun. Worth your time.

>> It's the quirky hatchback version of the

Elantre N.

>> Everybody praise the Elantre. And this

is very much the same car in quirky

hatchback form. It's on my list, too.

It's great. It's superb. You know, I

thought this could have kept going if

they just added the door on the left

side.

>> Oh, you think they should have walked

away from the three door thing?

>> It was fun. It was an experiment. If

they had the next generation of this,

just add the door and that's your new

marketing campaign. Hey, we know that

>> it was quirky and we, you know, we

experimented and we got it out of our

system and now it's got proper four

doors. Do the next generation. And that

probably would have kept this going.

Well, but see, I actually think you're

right in that that is what they they

sold in Europe as the i30 and the i30N.

True.

>> And you could have brought the i3

hatchback here, but then they killed the

i30N in Germany, too.

>> Well, yes, but I just like the form

factor a lot better. It's not very cool.

Yes.

>> So, GTI, it's very different.

>> Really love this car. Moving on in

alphabetical order to the recent Mazda 3

Turbo that we drove.

>> Absolutely. Even though it only comes in

automatic, but every time I drive it,

it's just superb to drive. All-wheel

drive, lots of fun, great power.

>> Mazda knows what they're doing with

this.

>> Yeah, they do. They're very good.

>> And excellent space, great hatchback,

>> and 40 grand, you can just go buy one

right now.

>> Yeah, this is the the new category, so

you can get one new, newer, used, but

absolutely aderes to the 40k and under.

And then I hope you all haven't

forgotten about the Mini Cooper JCW that

we drove just three or four years ago.

>> What a fun car.

>> I laughed.

>> Oh yeah, we did.

>> Every time I let the clutch out, every

time I just stomped it in first gear at

the stoplight.

>> What a superb car to drive.

>> So much fun.

>> It is great.

>> So endearing. So quirky. Really love

this thing. They were expensive brand

new. I think this one was 44,000 or

42,000. Almost 45 grand.

>> Brand new. But now this is the play.

Especially in this color combo. It's

like Christmas all year long.

>> The Porsche Macan GTS.

>> Not just any Macan. Am I mirroring your

exact list?

>> No. You No. The thing I'm laughing about

is that you have so embraced our

discussion about the fact that these

small SUVs are hatchbacks that you just

went right to putting it in your

hatchback list. I love it. I think it's

great.

>> It's a hatchback. I am going to argue

anybody that this is a hatchback. You

could argue the Q5 and that's an SUV and

the why is the Macan, but no, it is

actually a hatchback. A little bit less

space actually than the Q5

>> and GTS only. At this point, there are

deals. I've gone back to 2017. You can

see there's actually two body styles,

two generations after this one.

>> So, to save money, go backwards to the

first gen, which is still valid. 30

grand. 33 30 to 35,000 somewhere in

there. That is your sweet spot. that

will get you a fantastic GTS. I think

that would be the right play. And then

something that I cannot leave off.

Always love driving this thing, the GR

Corolla in any trim level.

>> I haven't shot Marizos to see if they're

under 50. I looked today.

>> Are they still I looked at length on

auto collector Corolla?

>> Yes, they are still.

>> Oh, good. Well, anyway, go get yourself

a Circuit first edition. Fine. Or just a

core.

>> Get a core.

>> So much fun to drive. And now they come

with an automatic transmission. Those

are not under 40, but still you've got

your choices. Now, this is sort of the

new Veloster N, if you will. I see it.

>> You've got transmission choices. It's a

quirky car. It's allhe drive. And we

don't know how long this is going to be

around. That's true.

>> I hope the next generation continues

with a GR Corolla,

>> but we just don't know. So, maybe this

is shortlived just like the Veloster N.

>> My wild card. Moving on. Another

>> oh

>> car that I will argue is a hatchback.

And it seems like every other automotive

outlet argues this is an SUV. And I

disagree. This is a hatch. Hyundai Ionic

5N. This is an EV that's fun to drive.

We've been lamenting the fact that

there's no EVs out there that are fun to

drive. Well, Hyundai actually makes one

now just referred to as the i5N. That's

just the easy way to do it.

>> But you know what? It actually kind of

triggers some rally kind of feelings

because of the speakers in the rear

bumper. And on the inside, you can turn

on the actual engine noise and have a

bunch of fun downshifting and having the

popcorn exhaust. It's just a lot of fun.

It's It's just entertaining and

endearing. It has that quality that all

the Mitsubishi did. Just has that

endearing fun kind of thing about it.

>> I I until you mentioned that just now, I

hadn't thought about this. I think the

Ionic 5N might be as close as we get in

feel to what the Evo 10 was. If this

were a Mitsubishi,

>> if this were the Evo 11,

>> I think we'd go, "Yeah, electric Evo."

>> I think it has that kind of surprising

personality in what's supposed to be, if

you will, an everyday shape. I that's I

hadn't thought about till this minute. I

do think if this were branded that way,

this with the Mitsubishi Evo 11, there'd

be the very one various ones of us. I'd

kind of be in this camp, too, to be

like, "No, pitchforks. It's different."

But this has that similar personality.

That's That's pretty impressive. It

certainly does. Actually, it could be a

Mitsubishi because it doesn't really

match any of the styling characteristics

of anything else in the Hyundai lineup.

So, this could be if Mitsubishi drop

their weird styling and styling cues for

no reason and do something like this,

actually, that would bring the

Mitsubishi brand back, I think. But for

now, Hyundai is doing it and that has my

vote. The problem is, of course, the

price. They're nowhere close to 40K

right now.

>> 70 new. Yeah.

>> But still a lot of fun. And if you're

looking for an Eevee hatch, this is the

one you can should consider. That is my

list.

>> That's a good list. You and I have

multiple overlaps which probably won't

surprise people, but I have to start I

have slight variations and other reasons

for some of them. And I have to start

with one that is close to my heart, and

that is the R53. the first gen of the

BMW makes a mini where they had a

supercharger on them. These are you can

have these for a song now. These are

super cheap now. So this is very similar

respect to the spot the mini that I had

did many uh I did many videos on the

mini but this is the first genation is

key.

>> The the reality is the second gen were a

reliability nightmare. The first gen

were pretty good. There's certainly

stuff to do but the but the first gen

were okay. The second gen were a

reliability nightmare. They went from

the supercharged engine to a

turbocharged engine. It was constant

problems and they feel like they've as a

brand kind of climbed out since then.

And the one you brought up, the JCW is

after the climbout. They become more

reliable and better and all that kind of

stuff. But the problem is they've also

become bigger.

>> Yeah. And this hot hatch, this little

mini R53,

very much feels to me very similar to my

next pick, which is the Fiesta ST. I so

wish we had the second gen of the Fiesta

ST in the US.

>> The Fiesta ST is also fairly affordable

now. Well under this 40 uh price cap.

They're they're under 10 in many cases

as are the minis. These Fiesta ST and

the Mini Cooper, both of them, you just

can't get past the fact this is fun to

drive.

>> There it certainly has its downside. Be

it the quality of the interior, how old

they are or whatever. But I I I don't

think anybody ever drives one of these

and goes, "That was terrible." This is a

little like sitting on a bar stool while

driving, you know, pretty quickly.

>> It's an economy card. It does it.

>> It's an economy card. It is so fun to

drive, as is the Mini. And while I'm at

hot Fords, we don't get anymore. I have

to do this one, the Focus RS.

>> Focus RS.

>> These are all out there now as used

prices. So, under 40, you can get a

really good one. And they're all used.

Try to get one that is close to stock.

But this was all-wheel drive. This was

the bigger brother when they were

selling the Fiesta ST. This is the

all-wheel drive bigger brother. It is

superb to drive. It's quite stiff, but

it is superb to drive. Hopefully, your

roads are decent, otherwise you're going

to kind of hate yourself. But the last

one we drove uh was 100,000 miles on the

last one we drove, and it drove great.

>> I didn't realize you like these so much.

>> I think they're awesome. When we're

talking like when we're talking about

hot hatches, you have to bring these up.

You have to. This is a superb hot hatch.

And it is. I mean, I actually, if you if

you really said pick one or the other, I

think I'd pick Fiesta ST. I think the

Fiesta ST is that much fun and it's the

traditional front-wheel drive hatchback

model and I like lightweight. So, the

Fiesta ST wins a little bit for me. But

if you're talking about usable, modern,

do everything hothatch, you go bigger

brother RS that's way, way up there. And

I also have two others that you've

already brought up. One is the GR

Corolla. You will be pleased to know.

>> So much fun.

>> If you go on AutoTist right now, I did

it today. You look nationwide. There are

plenty of these under 40. Plenty.

Fantastic.

>> Between 30 and 40 is where all the used

ones are living right now. So, I know

when these first came out, there was a

lot of discussion, ourselves included,

where we talked about, isn't this a

little much for a Corolla, and it is,

it's a lot, but the fact that they're

below 40 now, and you can just go get

them. The other problem was the fact

nobody could find them. So, then there

was markup and all this kind of stuff.

This is similar to the Fiesta ST in that

the interior doesn't feel like what the

MSRP was. The interior feels lower rent

than that. That's where you know this is

a Corolla, but the dynamics are superb.

It's just anytime we drive one, they're

fun to drive. I can't take anything away

from it and they are in the price point.

And the last one for me is the Veloster

N, which you already brought up. It's

superb. I I this gets overlooked and I

don't know why. I guess it's cuz it's

quirky,

>> but it's so good.

>> I miss this car like crazy.

>> They're really cool.

>> Add the door and sell it as the new

version.

>> I mean, the the name is contrived. The

three doors are weird. And yet, it

doesn't matter. You drive this and it's

just fun. Yeah,

>> it's a great great car. Watch our

original piece actually that's on our

channel with this versus the 86 and

watch my dear friend and co-host Paul

struggle

>> through the entire episode about which

one he prefers. Whichever one he's

sitting in is the one he prefers. I'm

kind of ruining the piece, but that's

really what happens. He's so torn. It's

really, really good. I have one wild

card and it is entirely a wild card

because of price.

>> Okay.

>> Because I cannot ignore it. But if 40

grand is the cap, you can't touch one of

these. And that is the current gen. Yes.

>> Honda Civic Type R.

>> Yes. All day long.

>> Superb. And it is.

>> Some of the ones on my list have been

all-wheel drive. This is still

frontwheel drive only. Defiantly

frontwheel drive. It is a hatch. I like

the looks. I like the dynamics. I love

the seats. This is with the Fiesta ST,

but even more so. This is to me the

poster child of drive wheels don't

matter.

>> Absolutely.

>> I mean, I'm a guy that I want rear wheel

drive. I'd even like mid engine and rear

wheel drive if I can. But this car, it

doesn't matter. It drives so well. The

manual transmission is wonderful. It is

superb, but you are not touching one

unless you get really lucky or it's a

little bit questionable. Under $40,000.

These are all used. I'm talking now

between 40 and 45 46. So, they're above

the price cap, but they're so close and

so good. I have to call it a wild card

because that is a superb car. And

honestly, here's the gamut. If this is

just above the price point at let's say

>> Mhm. Mhm. You can get a Mini Cooper

first gen for under 10. So, what's your

budget? I've got a hatch for you. We're

making deals today.

>> I so wish that Acura took this and did

their all-wheel drive Acura thing.

>> You kind of wish the Integra Type S was

super handling all-wheel drive. I kind

of do too. I mean, look, the the Integra

is excellent.

>> It's the only car in their entire

portfolio that is, as you say, defiantly

frontwheel drive. Acura's thing is

all-wheel drive. Make that as the the

new Evo 10. Yes, the luxury Evo 10.

>> I do like it.

>> We wanted a better interior. Acura gives

us that. Yes. We wanted more space.

Good. Yes. Great engine. Make it

all-wheel drive.

>> Yeah. The Integra in all-wheel drive

would be really fascinating. The problem

is it's already 5560. It would probably

be 70 or 80 if it was all-wheel drive,

which would be a problem. It' probably

be as expensive as the TLX, and we would

all cry foul.

>> You think we'd mock them like the

Corolla Morizo?

>> Yes. We' We'd be Why is this this

expensive?

>> $50,000 Corolla. Are you

>> without a back seat? Here's the thing.

And you made it less usable.

>> You took no no it's no back seat.

>> Sorry.

>> It's $50,000. It's a Corolla. And you're

standing there with a straight face and

an MSRP label like, "Oh yeah, it's

fine."

>> No, no, it's accurate. It's luxury

allwheel drive.

>> Just buy it. Guys, thank you for your

top five lists and your ideas. Keep

those coming. We're always open to more

and many more.

>> Parsing them out a little bit too

because we've got price ranges to deal

with. We've kind of stayed middle of the

road right now and things that are

relatable and affordable, which is where

we're we need to stay in that range. But

of course, there are some SUVs that are

a little bit more money that, you know,

sometimes

>> we're going to we're going to drift out

of the

>> creeps a little bit, but we'll see.

Anyway, write to us everydaydriver

[email protected].

>> Grio's Garage is our official car care

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griogar.com.

For our first car debate, Derek G is in

Nebraska.

He says, "Help me before a Honda Cross

Tour kills my soul.

Cars have been a huge part of Derrick's

life for as long as he can remember."

His first car was a 1994 Acura Integra

LS, which kicked everything off. Since

then, he's owned two Integraas, a fifth

gen Prelude, two 2002 WRX sedans, and a

2006 WRX wagon, an E36 M3. Had to throw

a BMW in that

>> just to mix it up a little bit.

>> Japanese cars for a little bit, and then

a 2006 RSX Type S,

>> and his all-time favorites, three

different Civic SI from 89 to 91.

>> He's driven some great stuff. He's also

had the chance to drive everything from

M4s to M8s to an F-Type R Hellcats,

GT500s, thanks to time spent working at

dealerships, and a dad who loves fun

cars.

>> Love it. That's great.

>> But Derek doesn't care much for straight

line speed.

>> What he loves is a car that feels alive

in the corners. His single favorite car

memory is the two days he got to drive a

Fiesta ST from the dealership when one

of his WRXs was in the shop. A WRX is in

the shop. That's weird.

>> That's weird. Yeah. But he drove a

Fiesta ST for those two days. Yeah.

Interesting. Intoxicating.

>> He said he loved it. He said it was one

of the most favorite driving experiences

ever was this Laner Fiesta ST. By the

way, that was on my list.

>> The Loner.

>> Yeah, exactly. Perfect. Yeah.

>> Now life looks different. He's got three

young girls, all under the age of five.

>> Oh my gosh. Okay.

>> Last summer, he sold his beloved 06 WRX

wagon and inherited a 2012 Honda Cross

Tour from his grandfather,

>> which makes financial sense,

>> but it sucked all the joy out of his

driving. He's so bored.

>> It's so boring.

>> It's the right car for your needs and

the wrong car for your soul. That's

where we are right now for sure. Yeah.

>> So, his budget is about $7,000.

>> That's low. But that's from selling the

Cross Tour. And they don't want to add

any more money to the budget.

>> Okay. I see. I do see that. Yep.

>> He wants manual transmission, driving

fun, needs to fit two car seats even

though he rarely carries adults in the

back. but it doesn't have to do

everything because he his family also

has a 2018 Ford Explorer Platinum that

handles all the serious kid duty. So,

current candidates include a Honda Fit.

Remember those?

>> Yeah, for sure.

>> Or Fiesta ST, but that's out of the

budget at 10.

>> And he's going to want a nice one, even

though we have seen, we recently drove

one during our COD road trip and it had

what 113 or 120,000 miles on it.

>> That video is coming up soon. Yeah,

>> it felt great with even with high miles.

>> You can you can find them under 10. It's

going to really depend on which one did

you find and what's the what's the state

of it. Yeah, for sure.

>> His wife Becca has zero car interest,

but Becca is a dual US and UK citizen

who loves all things British. They drove

a friend's 2019 Mini Cooper S the night

that he wrote this email to us and they

both loved it.

>> Now, obviously the 2019 is out of reach

for sure.

>> But that 2005 and06 or 2011 to 2013

Coopers do fall in the budget. Yes, they

do.

>> It's the reliability that leaves him

nervous.

>> Uh, I understand that. Yeah.

>> And now you've dealt with

>> He said the Mini ticks all the boxes.

Analog feel, fun, tossable, even has the

my wife actually likes it factor,

>> which is big. It's a big thing. Yes.

>> That's like number one on the list

though, isn't it?

>> It's not always number one. It depends

on your marriage and and what debate

you're having about the car. But I will

say this, if wife hates it, that car is

probably off the list.

>> Or she looks older. She doesn't have to

love it, but if she if she hates said

vehicle, it's probably not around for

too long.

>> Becca said if two car seats fit, she's

good with the two doors, which shocked

Derek.

>> So, she has also said she'd learn manual

if that's the car they buy.

>> Wow. That I mean, apparently you need a

Mini. Okay. Onward.

>> But Dererick's not super handy. So, the

horror stories of Mini reliability have

him sweating. He doesn't want to get

something that strands them or drains

their savings. Especially if you buy a

$7,000 Mini and suddenly you got to put

three into it to fix the thing. That

>> That's rough.

>> Mhm.

>> So, is he crazy to even consider a Mini?

Should he stay the course with the fit?

>> Is there some perfect middle ground he's

not seeing?

>> He'd love to find something that gives

him back the joy of driving, fits their

family rhythm.

>> I like it. That's good.

>> That's good.

>> And keeps his wife excited about it,

too. H

>> I thought you could touch on the mini

reliability and should you buy another

mini?

>> Yes. Yes. Let's let's talk minis.

>> What your outlook on the reliability? I

mean you bought a close to 200,000 mile

mini. Spot the mini.

>> Yes, I did. Yeah.

>> It was a unique situation though.

>> It was very unique. I mean I I I do want

to speak to this but before I do I am

going to touch real quick and say Derek,

you and Becca, there's nothing wrong

with a Honda Fit. They're very reliable.

there. The manual transmission is okay.

I've got a picture up right now of

somebody autocrossing one. We know many

many people we have come across at track

days that their track car is a fit.

>> The parts are out there. You can do it.

They're fairly robust. People have won

autocrosses and fits in their in their

classes. We've seen them at Hooked on

Driving Days. We've seen fully caged

ones that are like full-on dedicated

track cars. Now, the qu now the reality

is we're talking about you'll buy one

that's cheap

>> and then you would over time be making

it more fun. That's the thing I think

that is the problem with the fit is

you're going to want it to be more fun

out of the box and what you're going to

get is going to be a cheap one that's

going to need things that are not making

it more fun. That's the downside.

>> The Jackson Racing fit.

>> Yeah, exactly.

>> So, let's talk about the R53 Mini, which

is the one that is the early uh model.

You should talk about the 0506. Again,

right after that, they did a model year

change and they were far less reliable.

Now, you've noted that by saying you're

also looking at the 11 to 13s. Notice

you skipped about five years in there.

There's a reason for that because they

were wildly unreliable. These old Mini

Coopers, these firstg supercharged ones,

they're interesting because they're they

cost you nothing. They're worth nothing.

The nicest one out there, the nicest one

you can find is seven or eight grand,

which is crazy. So, you're probably

going to be shopping under your budget

of seven with maybe a thousand or two

left over that you could do tires or

whatever it needs right away. Okay.

shopping one of these next to a Fiesta

ST, these minis are the bargain, which

is crazy and people are worried about

the reliability, but the thing about it

is everything on them is known issues

and they are super compact. So, this is

the rare car that because it is

inexpensive and because it is so tiny,

there's a part of me, and I am not a

wrench, who wants to get out the shop

manual and be like, well, let's look

>> really

>> because the the whole the whole

clamshell roof opens up and the entire

engine's just laying there. It's

slightly bigger than a dinner plate.

It's just like, well, grab me a wrench.

Let's try this. You know, I mean,

because they cost so little.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. Now, the known issues are leaks.

So, make sure the leaks are solved. It's

going to come down almost entirely to

who is the owner you're buying from.

>> That was your experience with Spot.

>> That was the the guy that I bought Spot

from had owned it since day one. It had

186,000 mi on the day I bought it, which

is crazy. That that that is a cautionary

tale that you and I would tell somebody,

"Don't buy that car." Okay,

>> we did it for YouTube. The reason the

reason I did it was because it was a

$5,000 purchase and the guy had a

spotless garage and he had told me he

had spent the winter the cold Utah

winter. He had taken the supercharger

off the car and rebuilt it just to make

sure it worked right. I was like, I'm

buying your car, dude. It's

>> like watching TV for the whole Christmas

vacation polishing.

>> That is the nicest Mini Cooper ever.

>> So, he was an extreme example. But

here's what I have also discovered. If

you find an enthusiast owner, not

somebody that bought a Mini Cooper

because they thought it was cute and

it'd be a commuter, maybe that car runs.

I'm talking an enthusiast commuter that

bought it, an enthusiast owner that

bought it because they love the way it

drives.

That one probably has been taken care

of.

>> And if you buy from an owner who has the

records, then you know exactly the

condition that it's in.

>> So, if you can find one of those two

things, I would not caution you at all.

I would say go get it. you've found a

car that you all like that can meet your

needs that within your budget. That is a

victory across the board. It's going to

come down entirely to who are you buying

from. And in this case, I would highly

recommend a private owner and not a

dealer.

>> So, you know the person that has it. You

know the kind of records they have. You

can actually see the provenence of the

car

>> and you'll know right away when's the

last time the clutch was changed. Have

you ever worked on the water pump? Are

there any leaks? and they can show you

the records and then you could at least

go in eyes open. My question is if you

buy a Mini and it lasts you three years.

Isn't that enough?

>> That's a win.

>> Yeah. Yeah. I don't Don't buy this car

expecting it to be real low miles and

you have it for the next decade. Buy it

expecting it to run two or three years.

>> It might.

>> It might. You know, it totally might. It

totally might.

>> But if it doesn't be high mile, if it's

taken care of well, you get two, three

years out of it.

>> At that point, here's the thing. all

your girls are going to be big enough,

you're going to be debating something

else anyway.

>> That's a good point.

>> I think that Mini is going to have to

work its way out of rotation in two or

three years just based on the scale of

your family. So, I think for right now,

buy the right one. And why not? Now,

while I'm here, I will say alts. Fiesta

ST is an alt, but your budget is going

to be I I don't know. $7,000 version of

the Fiesta ST might be beat on.

>> It'll definitely

>> a little questionable. I don't know

about that. Here's the thing.

>> An old autocross car.

>> Yeah. And I think the Mini is going to

feel nicer to you at under seven grand

than the Fiesta ST will. Okay, that's

one big thing there.

>> 500 a BART. You can't go wrong with the

Fiat 500.

>> You know, that's really going

>> that has a surprisingly usable back

seat. These are every bit as cheap as

the minis. I think I'm a little more

worried about the reliability of the

Fiat than I am the Mini. and and the

Mini I I think is a little bit more fun

to drive, but these have so much

personality and they're out there and

they're inexpensive and they are

surprisingly fun to drive. It's the

price point and the uniqueness that put

this on the list for me. I think both

the Fiesta and the Mini are more fun to

drive and I think the Mini is probably

the right answer, Derek, but I can't

ignore the 500 of Bart because it's it's

down here and it's worth it.

>> That's interesting. Derek Becca, I like

your choices. I like your headsp space.

The fit fits.

>> It's It does.

>> You're not going to regret it. But

Derek, I think you're going to be still

craving. You will

>> Oh, yeah. For sure.

>> You will like it. You'll be okay with

it, but your soul won't be satisfied.

You You still won't

>> Do I Do I need that? So, I do love the

Mini. I think the Mini is the top

choice. And you've heard Todd say how to

shop to, you know, what to look for.

>> I think you could find a cool one.

Really? Really?

But if I were to tell you, which are you

more afraid of, the maintenance for a

2010 GTI

>> or any Golf

>> or the maintenance for a Mini?

>> Oo.

>> Which one do we all fear more? Because

you could just go get a GTI. Here's a

2010. Doesn't even have to be. Well, it

is a GTI.

>> It should be a GTI for sure if you want.

>> Those are pretty fun.

>> Yeah. But

>> good space in the back. Decent hatch.

You've hit on something here because

know the question has another layer.

Paul, you've hit on something very good.

Which of us listening, watching, which

of us would be more nervous about a

$7,000 2005 Mini Cooper with 150,000 mi

or a $7,000

old GTI with 150,000 miles? I'd be

buying the Mini. I'd be buying the Mini

as well because the minis aren't worth

as much. The $7,000 GTI has not been

well cared for. It's just been commuted

in. It's been driven. Whereas I feel

like the mini

>> Mhm.

>> same thing applies, but there's maybe

more of an enthusiast.

>> I I think an event, I suppose.

>> The problem with the minis is they

haven't held their value. The GTI have.

You're getting more for your money with

150,000 mile, $7,000 GTI. I got to be

honest, scares the heck out of me.

>> That's my thinking, too. Your other

choice.

>> All right. And there's one more actually

that we've touched on the N version of

it, but what about the Veloster Turbo?

>> Yeah,

>> it's not as hardcore.

>> Yeah,

>> it's one step back in power. It's still

Korean. It's going to run. You could put

high miles. To me, this is like the CRX

of I guess the the

>> old Honda CRX is kind of this.

>> It's still quirky. Your girls are going

to love the door only on the right side.

>> They have their own door.

>> Exactly. Right. But it's not the end.

These are worth far less. But this is

also just going to run.

>> And this has the bones of where that end

actually was was built from. So this has

that fun thing. And you and I, we drove

this car and thought, "Oh man, it'd be

great if you did this, this, and this,

and this would really come alive." But

this is still a lot of fun. the at the

dawn of the show, we drove these bass

Velosters and we were pleasantly

surprised by them. Yeah.

>> Veloster Turbo.

>> Look at you.

>> Save some money. It's an alt. But again,

GTI or Mini, which scares you less.

>> That I hadn't thought about it like

that. Minis. That's fascinating. Minis

for everyone apparently.

>> Yeah, exactly. Derek, Becca, thank you

for writing. Happy hunting. Wishing you

all the best. Please let us know what

you get and write a write a car

conclusion to us.

Everydaydrivergmail.com.

Since you're listening to us, you'll end

up shopping for your next car very soon.

And when you do, you need

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AutoTempest is how we search for cars.

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know we sent you. Autotempest. All the

cars. One search.

>> I see the connective tissue on the car

debates here. You pick people having

soul crises.

>> Yes.

>> Yes. Kate is writing in. Kate Ella is

writing in. She needs the right car

because she bought the the car that made

sense and now she's soul sad.

>> I'm laughing. Kate, I'm sorry that

you're soul sad. I just think that term

is fantastic. She describes herself as

the regretful owner. That hurts right

there. Regretful owner of a 2025 Honda

CRV Sport Touring Hybrid. Now, we've

driven that car.

>> Mhm.

>> And you are you you have almost done a

180 on the CRV because the last gen you

hated with a white hot passion and the

new one that counts this 2025 was a

significant improvement to the point

that on our last podcast we talked about

SUVs. You put it on your list as

something to consider.

>> I'm about to eat a big plate of crow. I

don't think you were off base. I

understand why you you mentioned it.

It's just that she bought it and it's

not working for her, which is totally

fine. And you know, I thought about my

choices from the top five SUVs. And the

CRV, the new CRV is on the list.

>> But consider this. I didn't say Audi. I

didn't choose anything from Buick,

Chrysler, Dodge, Ford.

>> You were too, Hyundai, Kia, or

Volkswagen.

>> Sure. None of those car companies to my

in my opinion built anything new.

>> Yeah. New was what you really

>> 50,000 under fun.

>> And here comes this new CRV.

>> Mhm.

>> And I might have been blinded just a

little bit because I hated the fifth gen

so much that anything better is sort of

like, well, this is great. I might have

been blinded a little bit by that. But I

compared it actually to Todd's 2010

Cayenne.

>> It's the same size. We like the Cayenne

a lot. It didn't do Cayenne things, but

it was the same size and close to the

same wheelbase. I could see it was going

in that direction.

Probably why I chose it. Again, I could

have been massively blinded because of

the fifth gen sucks. The Hind so much

>> that like one one notch up is like, wow,

this is this is completely different.

It's

>> not as fun as I mean, your your choices

were excellent and fun. I went used,

>> but I was going new. And you think of

all the 10 other car companies that I

>> Audi's and Volkswagens are not on a

list. I don't think they're fun. I think

they're kind of

>> And then they blow through the price

point, too, pretty quickly when they

start to try to be fun. Yeah.

>> None of those car companies build SUVs

for under 50K that are fun.

>> Many don't build over 50K that are fun.

>> That are fun either. Yeah, fair point.

Yeah.

>> So, still to have Honda come back and I

was kind of tying it to like Mazda does.

Mazda builds great little sports cars.

>> Mhm.

>> And SUVs are good, too. Honda's kind of

the same way. Great sports car. Civic's

great, and they kind of started to push

the CRV in that direction. Now, I'm not

saying that the CRV takes all.

>> It's better than the last one, and so

much it it deserves its spot on the

list. I

>> I see that. And And Kate has a reason as

to why she has this car, and it's not

quite right. She was driving a 2008 base

Subaru Forester with 192,000 mi. It was

costing her in repairs. She had a new

job with a more than one hour commute

twice a week and finally it stranded her

at work which was the death blow like

must get out of this car. So she decided

to make what she describes as a panic

purchase. She'd been test driving for

like eventually I'll get something but

as soon but she'd been test driving a

few things. She had test driven the CRV

hybrid and as soon as that car actually

stranded her she's like forget it. I'm

getting it. I'm getting the CRV hybrid.

It's reliable, efficient all-wheel drive

for New England winners. It's going to

be great.

It's boring. And she says, I love

comments like this. She says, "The

armrest is ridiculously high. It's

killing her shoulder when she drives."

Now, Kate happens to be 5 foot three.

Her boyfriend is 6'3. I will admit, as a

6'3 person with a significantly shorter

wife, you'd be amazed how the ergonomics

of a car change when you have 3 or 4

inches worth of different height

difference. I bet that armrest for your

boyfriend is like, I don't see what the

problem is. Way down here.

>> I don't I don't have an issue. You're

It's It's hurting your shoulder and he's

going, "H, it's fine. I don't get the

deal. You want good gas mileage, touch

of luxury, and most importantly, fun.

The thing you're talking about here is

you paid a little over $40,000, about

$43,000 out the door. You have 1500

miles on it. So, your budget is whatever

you can get for the CRV plus about 5

grand. So, let's just assume here real

quick, we're still shopping at around

the same place, the low 40,000s, because

you're going to take a bit of a hit on

that CRV getting rid of it, but you

still got five grand worth of wiggle

room. So, we're in the low 40,000 range.

You've looked at BMW X1, you said sport

seats are too uncomfortable. Volvo uh

XC40, you said felt like it was a little

small, but maybe you'd consider it. But

the XC60, which we we really like in

some trims.

>> I was bummed to see that on her her no

list here.

>> What's interesting though is the XC60 is

can can be really good in some trims and

isn't very big. And your description of

it is too big and heavy. So, we we're

starting to see there's there's a limit

to how big we can get an SUV for Kate.

She wants a smaller thing. The NX Lexus,

the Lexus NX 350 felt, your words here,

air quotes, safe but slightly boring.

That is actually that should be the

tagline for the Lexus NX. Safe but

slightly boring. It is

>> I would still sell though.

>> It's my my mother-in-law has one and

that's exactly what she needs and it is

perfect for her. You've avoided some

European cars because you're worried

about maintenance. Past loves include a

2003 Toyota Echo. I just don't remember

the last I was heard that term. The

Toyota Echo. Light, peppy, comfy, great

mileage, useless in the snow.

>> It was like a fawn standing on its new

legs. It was wobbly. A little bit

wobbly, but cute.

>> So, you're trying to figure out how to

get as much money as possible and get

something that makes you smile.

>> Did you unnecessarily limit yourself by

insisting on all-wheel drive? and you're

aware of the fact that it needs to be

comfy for you at 53 and for your

boyfriend at 63 and still handles the

winter. You acknowledge no kids, no

dogs, but they have inflatable kayaks

and gear for beak and beach and bike

trips that they do occasionally. So,

there will be some outdoor activities.

She's desperate for our help. What do we

do for Kate?

>> Kate, I need to totally redeem myself

here because I did recommend the CRV as

fun and here you went and bought one and

you found it. What was it? Soul sad.

She's soul sad, Paul. She's soul sad.

That actually sounds like a band. What

is Soul Sad? What's their first single?

What is Soul Sad play anyway?

>> They were a band in the 90s.

>> They were They were a grunge band. Soul

Sad is a grunge band from the '9s. Yeah,

>> Derek and Becca were having their souls

sucked out of them because of the cross

tour.

>> Kate, I I'm going to do my best here,

but I do think I've landed on something.

I thought initially, Cayenne, why don't

you look at Cayenne's? I was really

bummed that the XC60,

>> that black edition that we had, was fun.

>> It was surprisingly good. Yes,

>> it was good, but she called it too big

and heavy.

>> Understood.

>> And then I thought, okay, you know what

you need is a Macan. Well,

>> maybe not. You said you're afraid of the

the European cars, but maybe, but what

about the X3, the M40i 2018?

>> Mhm.

>> We loved that thing. Supra engine, gobs

of power, great to drive. But if the

XC60 is too big and heavy,

>> that is a concern. Yeah,

>> this is probably going to be too big and

heavy.

>> And you know how we've been having this

mini discussion as of this podcast.

>> I have landed.

>> Oh, look at you

>> on the countryman.

>> Yeah, I see it.

>> This is the all four version.

>> This is uh 2019, I believe.

>> 2019, 2020. And so I decided to go

shopping. Kate, bad picture here. I

found you one in New York.

>> Okay.

>> With 32,000 miles on it. So, pretty low

miles.

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> For 27,000 somewhere in there.

>> She wants to get out of her CRV.

>> Yep.

>> How can she keep as much money as

possible? You're going to take a slight

hit, but still it's only got 1,500 miles

on it. It's still very new. So, you can

still charge almost close to what you

paid. Hopefully, you get max dollars out

of that. Don't spend it all again. spend

uh just about twothirds of that

>> and go get

>> something smaller. All-wheel drive.

Yeah, it will handle the inflatable

kayak. It will handle the beach trips.

>> And it there's all kinds of available

for these, too.

>> Tons of accessories. I think the Mini

Countryman

>> is what you should consider. And there's

a lot of them for sale. Autotempus.com.

>> Kate, this is excellent. I want to stop

on this one real quickly though. I do

want to give you a couple of thoughts.

First off, that is of course BMW running

gear underneath.

>> It is,

>> which is good. I I I'm not saying that's

a slight. I think it's good. The the I'm

going to I'm going to plead with you

though,

>> whether you you could sell your car to

CarMax. I don't care where you sell the

CRV, but I'm going to plead with you.

You cannot get anything from the current

Mini lineup. They have all gotten big

and ugly.

>> Yes.

>> This one that Paul's showing here is a

prior version of Countryman. They were

fairly good-looking and they looked kind

of like a Mini for a while. Now,

whatever has happened, whatever fell

down a hole and hit their head thing

happened to the BMW designers has now

worked its way over to Mini. And I think

every single one of their cars now looks

blocky and uninteresting and many of

them downright ugly.

>> The Countryman looks huge now.

>> It looks big. This is still a good

compact size.

>> And on the inside, you're going to feel

like, okay, there's four doors, there's

four seats, and you've got the cargo

space in the back, but it's it's got the

compact feel that I think you're looking

for.

>> It's good. It's really good.

>> I don't think it's a choice that you

considered before, but I think now is

the time to go shopping. First of all,

drive one.

>> Mhm.

>> Drive a few. Actually, don't drive just

one and then make your judgment on all

of the countryman's drive like this.

>> That's very good point.

>> Drive one with high miles. Drive one

with lower miles. The one that I found,

like I said, was 32,000 mi

>> for under 30 grand.

>> That's great.

>> And I want you to go used and find one

of these. The style is better. They're

smaller.

>> But I also want you to feel like you've

got a win. you've spent all this money.

Sell I we we don't know if you've paid

cash or if you've financed, but if

you've paid cash, you'll leave some

money in your pocket. You'll feel like

you walked away and that was an

experiment. It didn't work, but you'll

you're walking away with still some

money in your pocket and you still got

something fairly new and fun. That's

what I want for you.

>> It's very good. It's very good. I have a

few for you, Kate. Let me see here.

We're dealing, we think, roughly 40

grand or so. I did start at the place

that you debated, Paul, and that is you

have to look at the Porsche Macan.

>> It is the the German European car to

consider. You're gonna be looking at

slightly older ones. Don't get the

four-cylinder. At least get the six.

Don't get the very base four-cylinders,

but look into these. They there's tons

of them around. They were such a good

seller for Porsche and that means that

there's a lot of them around and you can

get a surprising deal. You're wanting to

spend around 40 grand. I think this is

this is what you wish the CRV was. I

think that's the thing you don't realize

is you you want a hot hatchback style

SUV that is truly fun and that is the

Macan. Yeah.

>> But you are going to have Porsche tax

and Porsche prices when you need parts.

In fact, I'll tell a story along those

lines while I'm here.

>> We have had one of the wiper motors

break on the Rubik Cayenne.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay. The Rubikay ju just so you know

that car before we did the stuff to it,

okay, was worth seven or 8,000.

We did four or $5,000 worth of stuff to

probably five a little over five maybe

six with tires. So, okay, we're talking

about a 134,000 car total. Okay. One of

the wipers broke. The the motor broke.

>> So, I took it in

>> to my local mechanic who's typically

very good to me.

>> They hadn't had the car very long. They

called, which is you never want that.

You never want the you want the call to

take most of the day. They'd had it

about an hour. They called

>> finding solutions.

>> Hi. Um, let's talk about this wiper

motor. And I said, sure, let's do that.

And I'm expecting, idiot me, you know,

that's going to be a $1,000 job is what

I'm expecting. I'm expecting $1,000.

It's a Porsche to get the wiper motor

fixed. I need just fix the wiper motor.

No, no, no, no, no. The part was $1,200.

The part, they haven't even done

anything to it. That That's just for the

part to show up. And I was like, I you

know what? I'm going to drive around a

little bit with a wiper that doesn't

because it's also on the passenger side,

which is a win. It's a total win. I'm

going to And it's summertime here, so

it's barely raining. I'll do it at some

point. But I was just And I'm going to

find a used part. You better believe I

am. Because the part from Porsche was

$1,200 for the wiper motor, and they

hadn't even touched it yet. It was going

to be like a $2,000 job to get the wiper

to work. And I was like, "For the wiper

on a car that might be worth seven if it

was in stock shape?" No. So, I promptly

took the car. Now, my mechanic was like,

"That's what I would say, too." So,

anyway, that's the problem. Worry about

Porsche prices.

>> You could almost buy a wrecked Cayenne

for 1,200 bucks.

>> Probably. Oh, I'm sure I could buy a

Yes. Take the wiper motors out.

>> I mean, that's the thing.

>> Leave the husk.

>> You're You're totally

>> What other parts do you want?

>> I I should buy a husk of cayenne parking

in the back of the property. That's

terrible. My wife would love that.

>> Just leave it on the back of your

property.

>> Just Just that. That's my parts Cayenne.

I'm almost to that point.

>> Family backhoe.

>> That is terrible. I have none of these

things, by the way, but we're laughing.

This one is the one I think you really

wish the CRV drove like, and that is the

RDX Acura. These are so overlooked.

>> Yeah, agreed.

>> Get one a few years old. You'll be

surprised at how what a great deal you

can get. These were above your budget

new, but used, a few years old. These

are fantastic. They drive so well.

>> Yep.

>> And they drive better than your CRV

does. I think this is the CRV in the

actual athletic suit.

>> It has the look and it has the driving

and it probably is a little more

luxurious than your CRV. I think you'd

be really shocked by how great an RDX

would be for you, Kate. So, look at one

of those. Since you kept talking about

what's too big, I'm I'm I'm a little bit

uh off in the weeds here, but I had to

bring this up. The Mazda CX30

in turbo form. That's great.

>> These are little and chuckable and fun.

>> It's a lifted Mazda 3 turbo.

>> It It It's a little I mean, it is a

Mazda hatchback with cladding. But look

at the CX30 because this is actually

smaller than your CRV.

>> Mhm. The driving engagement in these is

better than they should be. Get the

little turbo motor in. It will have a

surprising amount of power. Now, you and

your boyfriend will fit front seats

only. You will not be taking friends

anywhere. Just

>> they don't dogs anymore.

>> You're going to you're going to put the

back seats down and throw all your gear

in the back because this is a small

vehicle. But

>> since you kept talking about what was

too big, and some of the stuff that's

too big is kind of surprisingly small. I

think

>> CX30 is a bit of a wild card for me, but

I have to bring it up for you.

>> This is still small enough. I think this

is I think this is plenty smaller. I

think I my concern here is is it too

small for her? Cuz she was worried about

the XC40 being too small. I think it's

borderline too small.

>> You didn't go CX3.

>> This is still CX30. It's just a touch

bigger than the three.

>> Yeah, that I think this is an

interesting consideration here. And then

I cannot walk away without stopping on

the Genesis GV70. Look at these. This is

a little bigger than some of the other

ones we've talked about, but I actually

don't think it's any bigger than your

CRV. I think it might be about the same

size. You have to get one of those

overlay things and look at it.

>> Yeah.

>> But this is going to drive so

differently than your CRV. It is going

to be it's going to feel more luxurious

because you're buying a car that was

significantly more expensive, but you're

buying a couple years old. I've talked

about this car a couple times. Talked

about it last episode when we talked

about good SUVs. This, if you get it

with the turbo, I think you would prefer

it, the big V6 turbo. could get the

lesser motor and definitely get in your

budget, but I think you can find a used

V6 turbo of this and be shocked by how

well it drives, how luxurious it feels.

I think it's going to do all the things

that your CRV doesn't, and still give

you all-wheel drive. While I stop here,

I will just side note for you real

quick, Kate, and talk about winter.

Okay?

You don't have to have all-wheel drive.

You don't. It's helpful. It is not

necessary. Tires are more important than

drive wheels.

>> Yeah.

>> If you are really worried about weather,

get winter tires for winter. If you're

looking for versatility, go with an all-

weather, not allseason, all-weather tire

like the Verdishine Quadra Pros that I

have on my wife's Cayenne. Those have

been phenomenal in all conditions. Get

an all- weather tire. Tires matter much

more. All-wheel drive is really only

helpful truly

from stop to 10 miles an hour. It's that

initial rolling and that's where

everybody talks, well, if we're gonna

get stuck, drive better is part of it

because I mean, look, it's still

possible to get stuck. It's all-wheel

drive, front, rear, doesn't possible to

get stuck. I've done it. We've all done

it.

>> All-wheel drive is like a a just in case

thing, but generally, it's tires, tires,

tires. So, I wouldn't shop just based on

what's all-wheel drive, even though many

of the ones I've mentioned do come in

all-wheel drive. I don't think that

should be the deciding factor. Get the

right tires, Kate, and hopefully you'll

find a fun car.

>> Agreed. Well, Kate, hopefully you feel

equipped

>> to enter the battle again. Hopefully you

feel like you've got some ammunition to

go find something that you really love.

Take some time to drive a little bit of

of things. I mean, you're you're a buyer

again, but you've got choices here. Let

us know what you end up getting. Wishing

you all the best. Write to us

[email protected].

Topic Tuesdays, car conclusions, and car

debates.

On to our car conclusion number one from

Aiden T. He says it's about a year late,

but better late than never. Absolutely.

We've got people writing to us car

conclusions from early numbers, from the

low numbers of the podcast

>> from episode 100. We're like, wait a

minute, 900 ago? Are you kidding? That's

fantastic. I love it. It's great.

>> Back in the day. Well, Aiden has also

always been a car guy. Upon graduating

college, he went to the Scion dealership

wanting to buy an F FRS. He couldn't

afford it, though,

>> so he settled for a Scion TC.

>> That is settling, by the way.

>> You remember those TC? You're like,

that's uh That's But this is classic car

dealer thinking though, is it not? It

is.

>> You came in for that. You can't get

that. Get this. Yeah. Anyway,

>> fast forward 18 months. He bought a

manual F FRS. Love it.

>> It was amazing. Everything he wanted. He

took it to the track. He did light

modding like wheels, exhaust. He said

nothing crazy. He loved that car and the

experiences that he and his wife had in

it.

>> Okay.

>> After about four and a half years, with

the birth of their daughter around the

corner, Aiden traded the car in for a

more grown-up dad car.

>> Love it. Okay. He ended up with a

Volkswagen Mark 7.5 GTI. So,

>> which is the one you want. It's right

before the haptic disaster happened.

>> 7.5 is the That's the sweet spot.

>> Manual transmission, no haptics. Good

good good call. Really like it.

>> Yes.

>> What it lacked, however, was a bit of

fun. So, after a few years, when the new

GR86 came out, he put down a deposit and

got on the wait list. He only wanted the

premium, the manual transmission in that

Neptune blue.

>> So, essentially, the car we got.

>> The car we got.

>> He wanted that. Yes. Got it. But he

wasn't willing to pay markup during the

co era.

>> Yikes. So you didn't get one.

>> So that's what happened. Head didn't

happen.

>> Pulled the deposit back.

>> Now fast forward even more to 2024 and

lo and behold, his local dealership got

a lightly used GR86 with the exact

options that he wanted.

>> I love it.

>> So he got to test drive it. It's fun.

It's everything. But he looks back and

realizes even his small girls won't fit

very well back there.

>> Yes, it's true.

>> Even if his wife in the front. So he

walks away thinking not knowing what he

should do or should he just keep the

GTI.

>> But then

>> Uhhuh.

>> But then

>> story takes a really good turn. That's

in line. You've done a phenomenal job of

aligning all of these things. Sometimes

it works out. Sometimes it's really

good. It's all still in hatchbacks,

everybody. Here we go.

>> He found an almost brand new Veloster in

and manual transmission. He test drove

it. He fell in love. It was exactly what

he wanted. More raw feeling. exhaust

with personality and just enough room to

bring the whole family.

>> The girls have their own door.

So much Veloster love episode.

>> It's very good.

>> Aiden called his wife and asked her if

she wanted to keep his GTI and trade

into her boring Tiguan.

>> Oh, yours. Yes. Should be your answer.

>> Paul's going to do a happy dance. By the

way,

>> do you want to trade in your boring

Volkswagen?

>> Yes. Is your answer. So they have two

hot hatches in the family and they are

incredibly happy about it. That's really

fantastic. I love this. And it was a

comment that you made, Paul, that

actually really influenced him. Very He

calls it wise words indeed. I'm just I'm

I'm calling you out here really. He says

this conclusion was because on the

podcast a few months ago after the

Veloster Inn, you said Paul that

sometimes you have to reassess what is

fun for you at that time in your life.

And Aiden is realizing that after the

fact looking back, that's inadvertently

what he'd done. He had the F FRS. He

made a move to the GTI. He made a move

to the Veloster. His wife got rid of her

Tiguan. They have inadvertently made the

right decisions for the fun they need

that meets their life, which is exactly

the reason we do this podcast and this

car show is just we want you to have a

car that you love, that does everything

you need it to do, and is still also

fun. We don't want you to be the these

soul sucking cars we've talked about

this episode. We don't want that for you

at all. Car conclusions, debates,

>> sometimes sometimes we figure it out and

we occasionally

>> we hit on something that resonates. And

Aiden, I'm so glad that it resonated

with you. We have to redefine fun. What

is fun? What does fun mean? Don't look

up fun in the dictionary. What does fun

mean to you? What does fun mean now? Cuz

fun later might be different than fun

now.

>> Well, it's it's the people that write to

us and go, "We're going to have kids

within the next 5 years. What car do we

get now?" And I'm like, "Well, the one

that doesn't have to worry about kids.

That's the one. The one that doesn't The

ones where kids don't matter. That's the

one you get now. Fun one.

>> Yes, because when you have kids, worry

about the car for the kids when you have

the kid.

>> Anyway, sorry. Side rant that I'm all

about.

>> So funny. Never gets old. Moving on to

car conclusion number two from Isaac R,

who says, "Do not ignore the wild card

suggestions."

>> Okay.

>> Isaac was originally featured with his

wife on episode 282 while back. Got it.

>> Eightish years ago. Yep.

>> He says, "Happy wife." Oh, look at

Miata.

>> You remember Isaac and his wife, they

were wedding photographers. You remember

that episode with large dogs and kids on

the horizon like we were just talking

about?

>> Uh-huh. Dogs and kids. Here we go.

>> They ended up leasing a 2018 Outback

shortly before the episode aired. And

that Outback served it served its needs,

but it was just not what they wanted.

>> Like it. That makes sense. Got it.

>> Much fast forwarding. Lots of fast

forwarding to this entire episode.

Everybody's fast forwarding. He

purchased a manual 2006 Cayman S. Yes.

Near the end of 2020 and returned the

Outback in March of 2021. They closed

their photography business in 2019.

>> Okay.

>> Isaac Dailyaly that came in 12,000 mi a

year until September of 2023. It threw a

check engine light fouled plug due to

bore scoring.

>> It's not good.

>> Not good.

>> Their son was born in May of that year.

And while they had planned on getting a

minivan, once the Cayman was paid off,

they accelerated the plan. They were

looking at minivans not just because of

child on the way but also because they

have a 112 lb Akita that is a large dog.

So that and the child that they want to

take to parks with plenty of space for

dogs

>> years before your kid matches the weight

of the dog.

>> Seriously, the dog outweighs the child

for some serious time there. But anyway,

sliding doors help with baby stuff. So

he traded in his Cayman on a 2018

Odyssey. His wife was astonished that he

would even consider it. But he was

thinking, "All right, this is the right

thing at the right time." He said it was

cliche, dad, to take his sports car and

trade it in for a minivan once the baby

arrived. But it was good that they did

it. They found it was it was perfect in

their thinking. But then they also found

over time that it was more car than they

needed. I did that. I look, I am I am

the I am the mayor of this, okay? My

wife and I got a big old seven-seater

when we had our one child and we

realized about two years in, we have one

child. We should have we're not we're

not having any more kids,

>> you know,

>> and my wife doesn't like this car. In

fact, you may have heard this story

already. Uh my wife actually came to me

>> after we'd moved to Utah. We'd had the

Acadia a few years and she said to me,

Deadp I walked right into this. She

said, "You know that show you do about

finding people cars they love." And I

said, "Yeah." She said, "I hate my car."

I like, "Well, now now I'm stuck." That

talk about painting yourself into a

corner.

>> I thought you were going to tell the the

Acadia salesperson who told your wife

that it drove like a car.

>> Oh, yeah. That was back there like,

"Yeah, don't do that. Shut up. Don't do

that. Don't tell the truck girl it

drives like a car." That was all bad.

No, that's a separate issue. No, cuz we

actually bought that Acadia. So, that

guy succeeded. The problem was the fact

that my wife blindsided me with the fact

she hated her car and I did a whole like

career about finding people good cars.

So, we've solved that. Anyway, the point

is that's what you did. You bought the

minivan and it seemed like the right

thing and now you've realized it's just

more car than you need and neither of

you really wanted to drive it. And then

this past winter, you started getting a

brake light. The light actually blinds

lights up on the dash says break on your

wife's long running and beloved Infiniti

G37XS.

She was the original owner. She's had it

her entire photography journey. It's a

car she wanted to have forever. So you

have the minivan you don't like driving,

and the car she likes driving is now

starting to give you some weird errors.

I mean, it's more than 10 years old, so

I get it. You had the light diagnosed.

It was just low brake fluid, but it just

became one of those things where and

then you discovered in this case you

discovered the power steering rack

needed to be uh needed to be replaced

and that was going to be probably about

$5,000 all said and done on a car that's

not worth much and a front subframe

support brace rusting through.

>> Yeah.

>> Five grand worth of work with

maintenance, steering rack, the bra. Oh

my gosh.

>> Yeah. On a car that's probably not worth

a whole lot anyway.

>> So,

>> say goodbye to the Infinity. She she

agreed to consider replacing her car and

that was very difficult because she

thought it had plenty of power, handled

great, all-wheel drive, etc. Loves the

sport model seats and they're an

anti-SUV family, which is why they

bought a minivan after a sports car. I

love that. But they want a car that

handles well. So, they started looking

at new things. They wanted decent power,

all-wheel drive, seats, minus BMW,

Mercedes, which they've never actually

liked those cars, and his wife doesn't

like the seats. So, they were looking at

Alpha Julia, the Audi A3 or S3, the Audi

A5 or S5, the Genesis G70. Glad that's

on the list, the Lexus IS- 350 F-S

Sport, and a wild card of one of your

hatchbacks, Paul, the Porsche Macan.

Love it. We've talked a lot about the

Macans, too. Apparently, Isaac's wife

was surprised that she liked that IS-

350 F-S Sport because it felt so much

like her G37.

>> Interesting. All right. But then the

Audi dealer had a 2020 Macan S on their

lot, so they just took it for a drive.

>> Hey, while they're here, we may as well

drive it. Yep. She was shocked again.

She thought the power was lacking. But

despite it being an SUV, she liked the

seats enough she wanted to drive another

one to confirm the lack of power that

was apparently a check engine light on

the one they initially test drove.

>> So that was not a good one. Yes.

>> Yeah. So they found another 2021 Macan S

and a GTS at another local dealer

because they have five Porsche dealers

within an hour's drive of them. who has

>> they're like Starbucks at this point.

Like if you live in a big city, there

are multiple very nice Porsche dealers,

but some of which have Starbucks inside

them, too. It's a separate thing.

>> This is why I only recommended the GTS.

She said they really like the the S that

they had, but was over the moon with

GTS. See? Okay. They also said it's

unfair to compare them back to back.

Porsche is counting on that, by the way.

If they have an S and a GTS on the lot

or they have a base and an S on the lot,

they're going to put you in both of them

and guess which one you're going.

>> They just charge you more.

>> Yes. But she did like a CPO 2021 Macan S

with nearly all the options they wanted

in sapphire blue.

>> Wow. They So they test drove it and

after negotiating they brought it home.

>> Love it.

>> One owner 76,000 mi and the prior owner

had everything done plus the rear brake

job within the past year.

>> Bravo. That's great.

>> New tires, new PDK service. Yeah. A lot

of money, a lot of maintenance into it.

That's what you want to do.

>> Yes. Mhm.

>> They're extremely happy with it. It

doesn't drive like any SUV. That's why

we kept calling it a hatch.

>> Yes. Exactly. Yes. Uhhuh.

>> She loves the extra space, the handling,

the 14-way power seats. This the

aircooled seats are not to be ignored.

They use them so much.

>> That's cool.

>> So gone is the Odyssey. They realize

they didn't need an SUV and a minivan.

You would think that after they got rid

of the minivan and they have the Macan

that what do we do about the Infiniti?

Well, that's where it's a twist because

the Infiniti stayed. He found the

discontinued steering rack for the G37.

and he got it done a little cheaper than

they expected. So, he is driving the G37

Infiniti as his daily. And if they have

to swap cars, she likes the Infiniti. He

likes the Macan. It's win-win win-win.

>> Except for that rusty front subframe

issue.

>> I hope that I I don't know. There you

go. The The reality is the Macan is a

hatchback. We are This is what we've

learned on this podcast and apparently a

G37 Infiniti is a forever car. These are

these are things I didn't know coming

into this podcast, but now I am

convinced. Thank you for the card

conclusions. Really appreciate it. Glad

you f found something that you love. And

it might take a while, Kate. It might

take a while to to get there. And you've

started down that road, but you know

what you don't like.

>> That's true.

>> You've got options. And look at the cool

stories. Look at the cool stories people

have found.

>> That's great stuff.

>> For our last segment, moving on to

audience questions. Looks like we've got

a few here that pretty good. Uh I was

talking about cooled seats. I think it's

on Facebook. Yeah, Mike wrote in and

said, "What are manufacturers that make

genuinely good ventilated or cooled

seats?" He posed this question elsewhere

elsewhere and got a long list of

manufacturers that make bad ones. Who

actually makes good ones that will

freeze his back in the middle of summer?

Mike, I want to clarify terms here real

quick.

>> Every manufacturer that makes this

feature is going to refer to it as a

cooled seat. And that is not right.

>> There are cooled seats and there are

ventilated seats.

>> Yes. And a cooled seat is essentially it

has an extra air conditioner. You turn

it on and it blows cool air through the

holes of the seat. This is not common.

What's more common is ventilated seats.

And in many cases, what those are

actually doing is they are actually

pulling air from your back into the seat

because you're sweating against the seat

and so it is ventilating you by pulling

air in, but it's actually not blowing

cool air out. They can feel cooler.

>> Yes. But what you're looking for is

essentially an AC in your seat,

>> air conditioner in your back.

>> It exists. But the thing you have to

know is the the companies that do it and

the cars that do it well are almost

always large, expensive SUVs or minivans

because because at that point the weight

and the complexity of having an extra

air conditioner in your seats is

irrelevant to how the car drives. Yeah.

>> So I mean like Bentley has them, but you

don't have the Bentley. But you know

what? Suburbans have them, Expeditions

have them. Uh, many of the high-end

minivans have the actual I'm talking

about air conditioned cooling seats are

those cars you want to drive because

most of the time Porsche is a great

example. The cars that drive well that

have ventilated seat cooled seats quote

unquote are actually ventilated seats.

That's the difference. Daniel N says

rumors are stirring of an Infiniti sedan

coming with rear wheel drive manual and

a twin turbo V6 likely the engine from

the NISMO Z. When Daniel heard this, he

got super excited. However, poking

around on the website, he said they've

got a concept car under future plans

that resemble this.

>> Mhm.

>> He says this concept utilizes break by

wire.

>> Oo.

>> As that starts to take hold of the

automotive industry little by little,

Daniel would wager this new car could

also have it. But is he just becoming

old? And back in my day, we had

hydraulic brakes. We don't need anything

else.

>> Good. Yeah.

>> He is skeptical and nervous of break by

wire. Should he be? or is break by wire

a perfectly reasonable and innovative

system that will elevate the driving

experience and performance potentials of

performance cars.

>> Would a car with break by wire be a deal

breakaker to you when purchasing a car

that ticks every other box?

>> Well, Daniel, that depends.

>> If you're shopping Maserati MC20s,

no is the answer. I mean, no.

>> I had that on my answer for this as

well. Keep going. Yes, for sure. I would

say no because of the feel. And it's not

just I like it or I don't. It's how

you're able to extract performance and

therefore your confidence as a driver

out of the car.

>> If you don't feel like you're getting

the pressure and you can't feel what's

going on with the wheels and tires and

the attitude of the car, that's a big

problem. And I don't think that the MC20

has rectified that. We actually just

redrove the Alpha 4C in an upcoming

piece

>> and I hated the brakes. I feel like

that's where the MC20 god they went that

sucks. We should use that.

>> Wow.

>> Look, the 4C brake pedal your

telegraphics of things there. That's

very funny. Well, but actually while you

talk about Alpha though, the other one

that I had on my list besides the

Maserati MC20 was the Alpha Julia that

has brake by wire. Yes. And in both

cases, I think this really comes down,

honestly, Dan, this comes down to

calibration by the company because I

want to give you a counterpoint and and

you may have a counterpoint too, Paul.

The Alpha Julia and the Maserati MC20, I

think both of those brakes are fine if

you're track driving it where it's like,

I'm going to use all of the brakes right

now and then I'm going to come off of

it. In those kind of situations, the

brakes felt like you expected. Took a

lot of effort, but they feel like you

expected. where you struggled with it is

that kind of glide through traffic,

stopand go usability was very hard to

modulate. Now, you can own it and you

can get used to it. I'm not saying

that's not possible, okay? I've driven

the Alpha Julia enough that I would have

gotten used to it. I probably would

still buy one if I were in the market,

but the Giulia never feels quite natural

>> break by wire. Conversely, you know what

else has it and we both love?

>> The C8 is break by wire.

>> Well, I suppose I suppose Okay, love's

too strong. We neither neither of us

>> neither of us have a problem with the

braking in that car. We've used it in

every situation I can think of and it's

never been a problem. The Julia and the

MC20, I'm constantly going, "Oh, that's

right. Break by wire. Oh, that's right.

Break by wire." The C8, I never think of

it.

>> It comes down to the calibration for

sure. But do we want that? I mean, what

the car manufacturer is telling all of

us is that, hey, look, we figured out

how to make our car more cheaply. I

still come back to like you are Daniel

if it ain't broke you know and it's it's

not the get off my lawn kind of thing

but it's the tried and true just like

internal combustion engines are tried

and true there's still more to extract

not just power Corvette ZR1X but

>> actually efficiency and emissions

reductions so there's still more to be

found and I think there's still more to

be found in brake systems but notice

every car manufacturer isn't just

jumping on board Fair. I mean, there's

>> all the cars are not well with break by

wire and that,

>> but they're not always. Yeah,

>> that's fine and all, but it's got to be

done in the right situation. I'm maybe

performance cars, but I'm not sure that

>> on all the cars we need it. I think it's

best left alone for for aircraft. Let's

just leave it in the planes.

>> There's a secondary thing going on here

that we've seen in electronic power

steering and now break by wire and that

kind of stuff. When you interrupt the

signal with electronics, then you can

have the electronics give the signal in

the first place for emergency braking,

for lane keep assist. That's the other

thing going on here is that these are

being interrupted so that the computer

can sense what's going on and do it for

you, which is that's where I get in to

get off my lawn, but that's a whole

separate thing.

Kyle B also asks us, "What's our least

favorite car trend over the last 20

years?"

>> Things like squatted trucks, underglow,

widebody everything, tacky bolt-on

fender flares. It's tuning for the wrong

reasons. It comes back to tuning out of

class, but tuning just for the point of

tuning.

>> Okay.

>> And the more we do the show, we were all

about stock OEM cars

>> from the get-go. It's tuned and drives

like that for a a very good reason.

>> A little bit of R&D was done. Yeah.

>> R&D also to a price point.

>> Sure. Of course.

>> Porsche has extracted all the blood from

the turnup.

>> Still working on it.

>> Squeeze all that. the Carrera S, the

Carrera GTS, the Ford GTS that yeah,

tuning for the sake of tuning and it

fall this everything you've mentioned

falls into that category. It's just I

want to do something because I want to

spend money on my car, but I don't know

what.

>> And so we always come back to driver

upgrade, tires, brakes, forget about

power. Power is 14th on the list.

>> Yeah, I agree. I agree. I Kyle, I've got

a couple others here. And you've

actually brought up a lot of really good

ones like underglow, squatted trucks.

What are we talking about? I mean,

that's car culture at that point.

>> Yeah. But but but he's talking about

trends though. He's talking about trends

that happened in automotive widebody

everything. I'm going to stop there

because it relates to the one that bugs

me and that is when I had my first 300

ZX.

>> There was a company, I forget, that had

come out with a widebody kit for the 300

ZX that was like three or four inches

wider. It made the whole shape a little

bit more hourglass.

>> And I loved it. It was quite expensive,

but I remember uh Z1 Motorsports was

selling it at the time. They probably

still do. And the cars I ever saw it on

looked amazing. Now, you had to get

wider wheels to have them, you know, go

flush with the fenders, but it but it

was very smooth. And that relates to the

one that I find tackiest, and it is the

look of those bolt-on fenders, even if

they didn't get attached that way.

>> And it starts with the RWB Porsches. And

I know right now somebody is typing

angrily,

>> but it's that look. It's this. It's the

look that suggests that we bolted this

fender on.

>> And I've never seen it look anything but

tacky and cheap. From you did it to your

Corolla.

>> That's because it is.

>> To you did it to your RWB that that

bolted on fender looks so cheap and

tacked on. And compared to the widebody

kits and again this one for the 3 and ZX

was this way where the body panels were

new and different and they were still

smooth but the car was wider. I thought

that look was amazing. when it was done

right. It wasn't always done right. A

lot of times what happened is people did

it with like Bondo and then they left it

and didn't paint it and then it was

like, "What are you doing?" But I'll

polish it with 100 grand.

>> I I something. Yeah. But the bolt-on

fender look, you can get a body kit for

any car you can imagine right now that

has that bolt-on fender look. And they

all I mean, the only universal thing

about them is they all look bad.

>> I'm telling you, I hate them. Anyway,

other than that, they're great. A big

fan.

>> Other than that,

>> yeah,

>> thank you for all your questions. Thank

you for the ongoing the onslaught of all

the car debates that are coming in. We

really appreciate it. We apologize if we

can't get to yours, but hopefully you're

extracting something from the stories

that you're hearing that listeners are

writing to us. Thank you for watching.

Please rate and review the podcast.

Really appreciate you watching on video

now. And we are also video on Spotify,

too. So, if you'd like to consume it on

Spotify audio, Spotify video, and now

YouTube as well. So, really appreciate

it. We're still enjoying the weekly

format and the longer format. We're

hearing a lot of things from you guys

about the longer format is good. So,

please let us know what you think and

looking forward to next time as always.

Cheers everyone.

[Music]

0:00

93:46

Top 5 Hot Hatches - Most Fun Under $40K, The Soul-Killers, Don’t Ignore The Wildcard | Episode 1,010

Alpine car

Mercedes-AMG GTX

Yang Wang

Aspark Owl

About this episode

Original notes