The Other Car - Best Family Car w / Prestige and Performance

[Coral Red Syd]

Hi All,
I've carved out my section of the garage with a nice vintage 911.
Now its time for the rest of the family.
I need to find a family friendly car of higher performance.
We just got back from mercedes and the only thing with pump was the AMG.
Great, but too pricy for this application.
Need V6 power or greater. And sound to match.
All wheel disc brakes and I mean the 4 - 6 pin type not the tiny ones on the back of like an accord.
Manual transmission and not tiptronic. I can eat a tip in a week - so can my other half.
Looking at the BMW 5 series V8 6 speed in the $40K maximum range.
Could upgrade the brakes to a larger caliper.
Or are we getting into the, dare I say chayanne (sp?) territory?
Cheers
all input welcome and appreciated.

[onewhippedpuppy]

BMW, enough said.

[scottmandue]

Check out a Infinity G35

[Moneyguy1]

Anything that makes you happy, is affordable and will not strand you on a regular basis.

I have no one but myself to please, so I drive a white Taurus. No prestige there!!!!

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

I have no one but myself to please, so I drive a white Taurus. there!!!!

Does it have a turbo?

[Moneyguy1]

I wish.......

But I gotta say the damned engine is pretty near bulletproof!!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

A Ferrari 355 would be nice.

[Z-man]

Mercedes E350. Or if you want something a little smaller, then the C350 will do. (The C's available with a manual tranny, the E's not.)

I recently drove an Acura TL on an evaluation -- pretty nice and great bang for the buck.

-Z

[trj911]

M5

[Dixie]

You need to further define your requirements.

• New car family hauler of higher performance? Hands down winner is the BMW 335i. I'd buy one tomorrow if I wasn't trying to build some net worth.
• Used wife pleasin' hauler of higher performance? Jag XJ8. Used Jag prices scream "buy me"! Beware, parts are in the Porsche-parts price range. But then again, Momma's happy. The bride loves the "Big Cat" much more than she did here BMW. (why, I do not know.)

[Paul K]

My wife wants a Dodge Charger SRT-8.

I'm not sure...no prestige whatsoever, and it'll probably depreciate like a rock. That said, it does look kinda neat. The R/T is available in AWD, which would be nice. Maybe I'll go drive one and see how it handles...

[Jeff Alton]

Only look to BMW 5 series if it is on warranty.......

Lots of good choices out there, pick one YOU like to drive that fits your family needs and live happily ever after.

Cheers

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Check out a Infinity G35

or an infinity M

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

Anything that makes you happy, is affordable and will not strand you on a regular basis.

I have no one but myself to please, so I drive a white Taurus. No prestige there!!!!

+1 I like the attitude. Change Taurus to Ford Ranger. For a daily driver, it's whatever works good for you.
Nice to know I'm not the only guy here who doesn't care what strangers driving near me think as I go about my routine driving chores.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

+1 I like the attitude. Change Taurus to Ford Ranger. For a daily driver, it's whatever works good for you.
Nice to know I'm not the only guy here who doesn't care what strangers driving near me think as I go about my routine driving chores.

+2

I drive my 2000 Toyota Tacoma every day...it will be my son's car in a few years. I will then plow my F150 though the day.

But I also drive a Targa, so...

However, drive what you want. It is better that way. But, when you see a white Tacoma, think Targa.