Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Small Car recommendations...

A lot of good choices out there, for myself looking at value and fun I keep going back to the 350z, my brother in law owns one and it's a fun ride, with surprisingly more space in the rear than it seems.

I officially spit out my coffee laughing at that one Tom!!

Yeah, you need to be a gluten-free vegan to even claim a credit -- and even then they'll likely deny you.

That was quite an amusing review Michael. I seem to rember him doing a review of an open frame 2 seater built in Britain a couple of years ago that he described as the most fun you could ever buy for $50K. THAT was a sports car.

Tom, was that you that was driving that gorgeous black MX-5 GT near Milam Mazda last night?

I've enjoyed my 2001 Maxima - runs like new at 109,000 miles - and can imagine that the 350Z would be a lot of fun. At 6'4", I fit (snugly) into one in the showroom a few years back. Didn't drive it, and visibility is not as good as I'd like, but you get that with a bunch of the roadsters when their tops are up. Also, as far as Nissan/Infiniti goes, I'm surprised you didn't fit better into the G35/G37.

A friend just got a 2008 Volvo C70 - the hardtop convertible - for $2k under book value. Only had 13k miles on it. It would stretch your budget a little into the upper $20s. He also got an extension on the warranty, paid $1000 or so for 6 years/100k bumper-to-bumper protection. I've had that one on my radar since it came out.

Good luck with the pondering. I hope to give this thread a bump myself in a year or two. I had a 1997 Z3 that was a lot of fun despite numbers that are positively anemic by today's performance standards. I had the 1.9L, 138 HP, 0-60 in 8 seconds model. It handled great and was torquey enough for me. I would love to get the M roadster version of that car.

If you're not shifting, you're not driving, IMHO.

Very good, John. Yes, that was me.

JP, I just needed a little more headroom in the G35 and 350Z coupes. The 350Z convertible was really sweet, but I really thought the interior materials were kind of cheap and clunky. Still on the list, though.

Yes, I looked at the C70. I don't love the way it looks with the top down, but I'll bet it would be wonderful. It is yet another car that theoretically was built with a manual transmission, although none of them seem to be on the market.

I need to go drive some more candidates.

Tom, did you say you tried the Infinity G37? I'm too lazy to look. If not, the G37 has a "Sport" option in either sedan or coupe or convertible. The sport version comes with a manual six speed, 320 plus HP and some pretty slick wheels / tires. The convertible is actually a retractable hard top, which might just be the thing you need where you live. I have not driven one, but Infinity has always impressed me overall. New, they're about 35K, so you should be able to find one a year or two old in your price range with warranty. Just another thought....

Agreed, Michael, the G convertible seems like a winner. I was hoping they'd come out with one for the longest time. I'm surprised that I've never actually seen one on the road, or at least not with the top down. I'd have thought they'd have sold a ton of them, but no.