Hello there! I'm a long time lurker on forums such as this (lots of time spent on forums dedicated to other performance cars) but never have I been so compelled to write a message to you all as I am now, because I've never been so severely torn on a subject as I am when it comes to this.
I am strongly considering ordering myself a new Cadillac performance sedan. GM in general (and their other domestic rivals such as Ford but that's neither here nor there) have made astounding leaps and bounds in overall quality, reliability, and performance across the board for a number of models. I've only ever really driven Japanese sports cars in my life.
I'm currently stepping away from a 2003 Lancer Evolution with some go-fast goodies installed on it for a couple of reasons; the biggest two being comfort/space, especially now that I am a brand new dad, and heat from local police, because I'm rapidly losing the "boy racer" appeal of these cars, and other brands such as Infiniti simply no longer carry what I seek.
I've extensively cross-shopped other performance-luxury names such as BMW (I almost pulled the trigger on a 335i), Lexus, and Infiniti. For one reason or another, each other company has fallen short of my appeal, whether it be the deeply questioned reliability of EUDM cars in general (specially VW hehe) or the lack of a genuinely enthusiast-oriented car (both big name JDM lux-sport brands axed the manual transmission!) but in light of this, domestic manufacturers are seemingly scrambling the opportunity to fill the void, such as the Focus RS planned to be released just as the Evo left the market.
Obviously the model of vehicle I'm particularly eyeballing is the ATS. I prefer compact sedans and I feel the dimensions are similar enough to the evo that it'll be familiar but still more functional than my little rice rocket. Where my dilemma comes into play, is when trim levels are brought into the equation.
I still want to drive a high performance car. I'm interested in potentially taking it to the track every so often when weather allows it (**** you, Chicago) but this will be a daily driven vehicle. As much as I would love to sit myself inside of an ATS-V when they become available, I'm just not sure if it's a wise decision. Conversely, if I go with the base 2.0t (has to be a stick!) I already know damn well that I'm gonna catch the mod bug, something that I'm fairly certain will be held at bay if the car is making ~450hp in OEM form.
If I start modding the base ATS, I'm certain the price will start to linger around a base, stripped V MSRP. Not only that, I'd void the warranty, guaranteeing that I'd be paying out of pocket if the engine or transmission decide to die on me, whereas a stock V will have its warranty intact for most of its life.
TL;DR: If you could afford either, in your opinion, what is the better deal?
2.0t pros/cons:
+Much cheaper
+Has a budding aftermarket
+Incognito to most law enforcement
+e85 tune available. This is big, e85 is insanely cheap here and that stuff is like budget race gas, e85 is amazing!
-Smallest engine is only engine with 6-speed
-Still a pretty small aftermarket
-Lots of piston failures on modded cars? Has the spark plug recall fixed this issue?
V pros/cons:
+450hp v6 goodness
+stock power, suspension, etc are more than plenty, which means...
+I can keep my warranty
+Still lower key than my evo
-much higher MSRP (this would be offset pretty hard by modding the base ATS)
-I'm fairly certain a car of this caliber will take more costly repairs unless I did some of it on my own
-AFAIK it's not available until spring
I know the decision is ultimately up to me but I'd love to hear some opinions from educated owners who have dealt with these cars for a while. I may post this thread in the general ATS forum and the ATS-V forum while I'm at it, to acquire a broader appeal.
Thanks a whole hell of a lot to anyone who reads through this. It's a lot of money I'm about to spend and I appreciate anyone who helps me figure out the way.
I am strongly considering ordering myself a new Cadillac performance sedan. GM in general (and their other domestic rivals such as Ford but that's neither here nor there) have made astounding leaps and bounds in overall quality, reliability, and performance across the board for a number of models. I've only ever really driven Japanese sports cars in my life.
I'm currently stepping away from a 2003 Lancer Evolution with some go-fast goodies installed on it for a couple of reasons; the biggest two being comfort/space, especially now that I am a brand new dad, and heat from local police, because I'm rapidly losing the "boy racer" appeal of these cars, and other brands such as Infiniti simply no longer carry what I seek.
I've extensively cross-shopped other performance-luxury names such as BMW (I almost pulled the trigger on a 335i), Lexus, and Infiniti. For one reason or another, each other company has fallen short of my appeal, whether it be the deeply questioned reliability of EUDM cars in general (specially VW hehe) or the lack of a genuinely enthusiast-oriented car (both big name JDM lux-sport brands axed the manual transmission!) but in light of this, domestic manufacturers are seemingly scrambling the opportunity to fill the void, such as the Focus RS planned to be released just as the Evo left the market.
Obviously the model of vehicle I'm particularly eyeballing is the ATS. I prefer compact sedans and I feel the dimensions are similar enough to the evo that it'll be familiar but still more functional than my little rice rocket. Where my dilemma comes into play, is when trim levels are brought into the equation.
I still want to drive a high performance car. I'm interested in potentially taking it to the track every so often when weather allows it (**** you, Chicago) but this will be a daily driven vehicle. As much as I would love to sit myself inside of an ATS-V when they become available, I'm just not sure if it's a wise decision. Conversely, if I go with the base 2.0t (has to be a stick!) I already know damn well that I'm gonna catch the mod bug, something that I'm fairly certain will be held at bay if the car is making ~450hp in OEM form.
If I start modding the base ATS, I'm certain the price will start to linger around a base, stripped V MSRP. Not only that, I'd void the warranty, guaranteeing that I'd be paying out of pocket if the engine or transmission decide to die on me, whereas a stock V will have its warranty intact for most of its life.
TL;DR: If you could afford either, in your opinion, what is the better deal?
2.0t pros/cons:
+Much cheaper
+Has a budding aftermarket
+Incognito to most law enforcement
+e85 tune available. This is big, e85 is insanely cheap here and that stuff is like budget race gas, e85 is amazing!
-Smallest engine is only engine with 6-speed
-Still a pretty small aftermarket
-Lots of piston failures on modded cars? Has the spark plug recall fixed this issue?
V pros/cons:
+450hp v6 goodness
+stock power, suspension, etc are more than plenty, which means...
+I can keep my warranty
+Still lower key than my evo
-much higher MSRP (this would be offset pretty hard by modding the base ATS)
-I'm fairly certain a car of this caliber will take more costly repairs unless I did some of it on my own
-AFAIK it's not available until spring
I know the decision is ultimately up to me but I'd love to hear some opinions from educated owners who have dealt with these cars for a while. I may post this thread in the general ATS forum and the ATS-V forum while I'm at it, to acquire a broader appeal.
Thanks a whole hell of a lot to anyone who reads through this. It's a lot of money I'm about to spend and I appreciate anyone who helps me figure out the way.