So I'm parting out the 2000 Track Miata that has been my daily driver while my s2k sits in the garage during the week except for Fridays and autocross days. The Miata is being sold for another project and I'm in need of a daily driver. What does everyone here drive daily? I'm down here in Texas so I don't have to worry about snow. I would prefer a RWD daily but I've come to terms with the limited selection of cars and have been considering AWD and FWD cars too. I've driven RWD for the past 8 years so it's going to be hard going back to FWD but I guess it's just a daily driver.

Budget is around $8-$12k and back seats are preferred for the girlfriend's kiddos in case I need to take them places; we have a truck otherwise.

Cars I've looked in to
03-06 RSX Type-S (Seems like the best choice so far, just have to search for an unmolested one)
06'ish Civic Si Sedan (styling is meh, same for fwd but it has LSD, decent gas milage)
05-06 Corolla XRS (Celica GT-S motor) (interesting car, dependable, but you have to ring it out past 6700 rpm for fun)
2002-2004 WRX (non-STi) (awd but gas mileage is meh and mileage would be high, they're usually molested by teenagers)
Subaru Legacy 2.5i (non-turbo, awd, a bit floaty in the suspension)

Good gas mileage but meh @ fwd & styling
Honda Fit (gas mileage isn't as good as reported)
Ford Fiesta (girlfriend used to have one, was ok, couldn't heel-toe downshift well due to center console)
Mazda 2


I can't drive a boring daily drive. Despite the commute it still has to be fun when I run errands around town. Thoughts?

 

Rsx is a perfect choice IMo ...a lot of nice ones still to be had ...and for under 10k ...its a steal for such a fun DD

 

RSX-S is the car I'd want the most on that list.

 

I DD my S2K, except on days like today when there is snow on the road, or the salt and sand they put on the raod is still a mess. For those days I have an AWD Audi (with 213K miles) to use.

You DD a Miata, but you can't DD an S2K? Maybe your S2K is too nice to DD, you want to keep the miles low, etc. So get another one, older, cheaper, stock, etc, and DD that.

 

Yep, it's completely set up for STR class in autocross with some high-dollar shocks so I'd like to keep the miles down on them if I can. Also, the drivers here are idiots and I consider myself very fortunate to have not gotten hit in the s2k yet (*knock on wood*) after 4 years of ownership. I would get another s2k but I'm currently paying $116/mo for full coverage insurance on the s2k and I'm currently paying $53/mo on the Miata; I'd like to keep the daily driver insurance payment low. Most of the cars I listed are $70-$80/mo for insurance.

 

I had a RSX-S as my last car and it was a fun daily. I drove it 60 miles a day with coilovers, rpf1s, intake, and exhaust and I never had any problems.

 

Awesome, glad to hear. What kind of mileage were you getting with it?

 

I DD a Lincoln Town Car and love it. It comfy as hell, RWD and for a v8 gets good gas mileage if you don't lead foot it. The other upside is the motor and trans will do 400K miles with no problems.

 

What about GTI? WRX is cheap fun though. I had a 2003 bugeye. Now I have a 2012 GTI to complement the S2000. Plus the minivan for everything else.

 

What about GTI? WRX is cheap fun though. I had a 2003 bugeye. Now I have a 2012 GTI to complement the S2000. Plus the minivan for everything else.