FAUEE

So, I recently had my first child, and will likely be taking the little man to daycare on my way to work. That means my time to drive the vettes will be far more limited. I've considered the idea of selling them and getting something that's still fun, seats 4, and looks cool. Budget would be ~50k, and would want something low mile, reliable, and prefer swoopy cars vs edgy. It needs to have enough room for a rear facing Carseat.

A few things I've considered
Boss 302 - Dad had one and it was a blast. Have gotten much rarer and they're hugely expensive now vs a few years back. Really only like them in red.
Gt350 - Pricing is high, and I hear rumblings of engine failures
STI - had a 2017, loved it, but maybe not special and fast enough. My daily tbss is about as fast as it
Challenger TA - haven't really looked into these much, but like a lot
911 - Pricing on these has gone batshit bonkers. Would love one, but they're up like 200% from a few years ago. And frankly, they're not worth it.
E92 M3 - this was a dream car in college for me, maybe a good option, haven't looked into much.
M2 - probably too small
Cla45 - possible, but a lot of money for a 4 cylinder
​​​​​​E63 or Cls63 - open to it
Rs4 - hard to find low lower miles, but another college dream car for me.
S6 with the V10 - terrified of the upkeep but maybe worth it
​​​​​​Chevy ss or charger 392 - maybe too daily driver and bland?

So, what options am I forgetting? What would you guys recommend or pick?

EVRGRN

Infiniti Q50 Red Sport. Not without faults, but in your price range for clean, low mile example.

Patsgarage

Just my .02, but forget any of the coupes if you have to get a kid in a carseat in/out.
Personally I would look for a 6mn SS or Challenger.

Gary '09 C6

Would you consider a compact SUV ? good for carting around small children & gear...
lots of choices in that segment...but most are not performance-oriented...the Mercedes GLC is worth evaluating, IMO.

(and b-t-w, congratulations on the birth of your son !)

pappy.72

Hellcat

_zebra

Porsche Cayenne
CTS-V

we were looking at S4s, but it turned out the interior ain't no bigger than a Ford Focus

Snowwolfe

SS sedan. Received more compliments on mine than any other Corvette I owned.
Fantastic daily driver if you can accept the mpg and the fact it needs 93.

TLS_Addict

13/14 GT500.

Challenger TA 5.7 or 6.4?

FAUEE

Couple of good options. Thanks for the input.

A few clarifications, my daily is a low mile TBSS, so no real need for another suv. Maybe a typhoon, lol.

Ctsv could be a nice option, always liked the 1st gen ctsv, but a 2md gen would be OK too.

FAUEE

Challenger TA would have to be a 6.4, the 5.7 wouldn't even be in the same league as everything else.

FAUEE

Thanks,! It's been a wild ride so far, and he's only 3 weeks old, haha.

The glc63 is something I've looked at as a new daily, but that's eh, 6 or 7 years out or so.

walleyfisher

I have both (TBSS and V1) used both to go on family vacations

The V1's have more interior space for child seats than a V2 IMHO

I would recomend anything LS powered proven to be bulletproof, the foreign stuff looks cool but lots of maintenance issues

TLS_Addict

I figured as much but didn't realize your TBSS was as fast as a 6.4. I couldn't remember if you had mods or not.

BluegrassMotorsport

Have you thought about the S6 with the TT V8? They're on my short list for my next daily so I've been researching them pretty heavily. 2016-2018 models have updated infotainment and a little extra power. They're selling around $40-45k right now. Very fast and can be made very fast with one of numerous tuning options. Plus, AWD for gross weather. The only major issue seems to be the oil screens for the turbos, which can be replaced or removed completely without affecting performance.

If you like CUVs, another one I've been tossing around is the Porsche Macan GTS. Everyone raves about their driving dynamics and prices are coming down unlike other Porsches.

Otherwise I'd definitely look into an SS. I would have already jumped on one of those myself but I really need something 4WD or AWD where I live to get to the office in the winter. They're incredible cars and wonderful daily drivers.

acroy

Charger 'Scat Pak' starts low 40's brand new. 6.4 hemi, 485 hp. Florida, no need for 4wd. yes they're big and old school, and a hoot Burn rubber all day long. Powertrain is very robust.

FAUEE

Oh it probably isn't... Just don't see a point in a 5.7 anything with the 6.4 existing, lol.

TLS_Addict

Agreed. The 5.7's look the part but just don't have it. They feel punchy off the line but that quickly fades to sub par performance.

SteveL2

I have a 2016 M3. Enjoyable ride. Everything nice but nothing spectacular, so a solid and easy handled daily driver but I miss the rawness of my prior three rides (supercharged c5, stroked c6, boosted CTS-V). Also can’t be boosted higher without risk of engine failure (25k risk). On the other hand when I was in your shoes I drove a minivan as a DD, so the M3 is an exotic as compared to that.

FAUEE

All the reviews I've seen or Rea about the f80 m3 said basically what you've said. It's fine, does everything well, very fast, but sort of boring and clinical. That might be ideal for a DD, but this would still be my "fun" car, so maybe less ideal there.

SteveL2

Thats about right. Truly silly is BMW pumps FAKE engine sound in through the speakers, which they claim is to help with knowing when to shift. I bought software and turned mine off out of principle. It’s still a fun car and I expect the interior leather is better than any stock GM leather I’ve had (which I upgraded on two vetted), but it’s not the visceral experience (or torque) of what I previously drove.