Thomas lives in Denver Colorado, and really loves his 1993 Mazda RX-7. Unfortunately, the rotary-powered sports car is not ideal for running errands with two kids in car seats. He wants something a bit more practical, but doesn’t want to give up the enjoyment. With a budget up to $50,000, what car should he buy?
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Here is the scenario.
I have the classic dad conundrum, with a twist.
I have 2 young kids, oldest is 4, and I’m looking for something fun to drive that can handle a family of 4 (and hopefully 5, to future-proof). Here’s the twist – I currently have a ’93 RX-7 that I able to take the 4 year old in a front-facing car seat, and I’ve had this car for 19 years. It’s required very little maintenance, believe it or not, and at 70k miles feels like there’s still a good bit of life in it, albeit slightly more rattly than it once was. I know the obvious answer is to keep the Mazda and take twice as many fun drives, but that’s not feasible for things like picking kids up from daycare. I can’t pick up one, leave him home alone, and then go pick up the other one.
So I’m looking for something that can handle 2 car seats, and preferably 2+ a booster, in case there’s a third kid in the future. The biggest requirement is that I don’t want to regret trading it out for the RX-7 TOO MUCH. Here I’m thinking something like a BRZ/FRS/86 would just make me depressed because it’s kind of in the same vein, but will never measure up. I’m also looking for it not to obviously stand out, but at the same time, not be completely anonymous in a relatively well-off suburb. Yes, the RX-7 screams different to us here at Jalopnik, but most people just think it’s some Corvette they don’t remember (depressing but absolutely true statement, I’ve been asked on many occasions what year my Corvette was) until they read the emblems. So for someone who knows what it is, they’re interested, but for those who don’t, it more or less blends in with the C7 that’s probably within view in some direction. So something like a WRX, GTI, FiST, Tesla that are everywhere on one side, and something like a Citroen DS, GTR, i8 where you can’t leave the house without someone bothering you on the other I’m not particularly interested in.
My other cars are a GLS550 and a Grand Cherokee, so this one doesn’t need to handle any adverse weather, be a daily driver, or anything like that, but it would be great if it could do both of those things. As for budget, I’d love to stay closer to $30k, but I could go up to $50,000.
I’m in no hurry to make the change, because I know the trade is likely going to be rough for me, and RX-7 prices seem to be moving up, so I’m unlikely to lose money sitting on it longer. Is there anything you’d recommend, even if it’s not for sale now, that I can keep an eye out for and make a move sometime in the next 18 or so months? New or used doesn’t particularly matter, but I’d probably lean toward used, just in case it is something that I decide I don’t like and end up being a person that switches cars every 6 or 12 months chasing the dragon, and don’t get killed on depreciation.
Needs: 2 car seats, fun to drive, reasonably quiet on interstate (85-90mph) for potentially sleeping kids
Wants: 3 rear seats, unusual but not too much, low maintenance, car form factor – no truck/SUV/CUV, small enough to fit in a third garage bay with 2 SUVs while having space for all the other garage stuff
Bonus points: AWD/4WD, convertible, could hold a running stroller and/or bags for a weekend trip with people, automatic (so wife can also drive)
Quick Facts:
Budget: ideally near $30,000 could go up to $50,000
Location: Denver, Colorado
Daily Driver: Sort of
Wants: Fun, room for car seats, reasonably sized
Doesn’t want: Something over the top that attracts attention
