Fiat 500, VW GTI or Mini Cooper S??

GTi if it has a warranty and a 6 speed.

 

I had a MKV GTI and loved it (with the exception of it being wrong wheel drive.)

Easily over 300 crank HP with under $2K of work. Very, very quick cars, decent handling, great brakes, and awesome interior.

 

as a former GTI owner, I'd get the Mini.

 

Minis are everywhere.
GTIs are about as reliable as Charlie Sheen.

I'd go with the Fiat, Abarth version if possible.

 

it's a sad state of affairs when the Italian car is the reliable, dependable choice.

 

I was in the same boat as you about a year ago. Needed a fun, yet reliable daily driver that got decent mileage. Just bought the wife a new Infiniti the year before and I have a Camaro that is my weekend money pit. So I wanted it to be out the door for less then 30K.

The GTI was going to be my choice with the DSG. But, two huge issues with that car. One, underpowered to me (I don't want to add power adders due to the long powertrain warranty I want), and two the reliability is not so good. So that was out....I looked at the WRX, nice power, but the interior was junk. The Mini is just too small, and I see it as a chick car, so I passed on that. The 500 is cool, but not in the same class. More of a economy car if you ask me. Plus it wasn't out yet when I was looking.

So I did some research, and test drove some other cars. I ended up with a Mazdaspeed3. Nice power, 6-speed, gets 26 mpg's at 80 mph, handles better then any FWD car I've ever driven, has big brakes, and the best steering in any car I've driven in the past 5 years. Comes pretty well loaded, and I got it OTD for about 24K. Just rolled 12K, not one issue and I have no regrets. I've just done a few things like tint, HID's, lowering springs, audio upgrades, hardwired radar, intake and full synthetics. Take a look at one, I like it a lot, and this is coming from a 481 WHP, RWD Camaro owner.

 

You can have a 5-speed manual in the Fiat 500 Sport and Pop models.

 

I'm confused as to why people think the GTI is unreliable. The MKIV was a piece of crap, but the MKV and MKVI have been rock solid.

 

Do you need 4 seats?

If not,... Used porsche boxster.

 

Until the Abarth 500 version comes out the clear winner is the Mini S.

 

Except they haven't been rock solid.
Paging Dr. Incognito...

 

He's a doctor now?!

I'd go with the Mini, lots of modification possibilities and it looks good, the Fiat to me has some odd proportions (it seems to tall).

 

As a former MINI salesman, if you're buying preowned be sure to get 2008 or newer.

 

Outside of the cars you list in the poll, I would go with a WRX first and a Mazdaspeed3 second.

 

Mini Cooper S. R53 '05 to '06 if you plan to buy pre owned.

 

Fiat. The Pop is available with the 5 speed and all the models (here) share the same 1.4 motor. Lots of them on the dealer lots, but if you want a special combination it's taking a while to get the car in. My Pop is $17,800 out the door including TT&L.

<waiting. impatiently.>

 

Because I know three people with them, and they spend way too much time in the dealer.

 

That is what I thought until I sat in the WRX. The interior is taxi cab like. The Speed3 has a nice quality interior and is cheaper. Plus if I recall the WRX is only a 5-speed, the Speed3 is a 6-speed.

 

VW=Junk by far the most expensive cars I have owned. Never again.

 

the doctor is in the house....

I've owned a MkIV Jetta and a MkV GTI. Between the two they racked up $12-15k in warranty work during the time I owned them (combined 6 years, 70k miles). I don't know how many days in the shop but easily 60.

The GTI had a bizarre heat soak issue that three dealers couldn't solve (I sold the car when a) it was out of warranty and b) it left me stranded in west Texas on a 100 degree day; I had to sit around for six hours for the car to complete cool down before it would run again). it would chew through tires like a puppy eats your shoes. The dsg costs ten cents a mile to maintain just on its own. seriously, my 997s have been cheaper to run.

Nice cars when they're working properly, but that's not often enough to bring me back. I'll probably never own another VW or Audi.

 

How about a 2012 VW Golf R? Turbocharged inline-4 engine with 266 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque with Haldex 4Motion all-wheel drive. Also you might wanna checkout the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.

 

Me too.