Search for a new car

Ok, so it's been a long time between visits partly due to my PC being down, but mostly due to a lack of interest (or inspiration).

However, I'm embarking on a bit of an adventure into the realm of new cars, and I thought I'd share with ... err.. whoever.

So, to bring you up to speed (excuse the pun), here's where I'm at.
In March, I pay off my 2003 model Ford Focus CL. It's been a fairly reliable car with, only in the last year or so, a few gremlins starting to show their faces. For instance; when filling the tank on near empty, it'll take a few days for the needle to show full, choosing to sit near where it was when I filled it. Also, I've had small issues with the electric windows deciding not to work, and the 'pulse' feature on the wipers choosing to stop mid wipe, leaving me to have to switch them to intermittent to get them back to their rest position.

I got this car in 2004, as an ex-display model, and it had very low mileage, alloy wheels, and was red (so it goes faster than others of its type). It's also a hatch, so had excellent access to the boot which has come in handy in the past.

Also, I had chosen the Focus early on thanks to my love of Rally, and the late, great Colin McCray.

But now, with only 3 months left before I owe nothing on this car, I've started looking for a new one. This time, however, I'm planning on salary sacrificing, to assist in the payment (and saving me some $$$ in the process) with a trade-in of my old Focus. The thing is, this time around, I want something a little more exciting.

At the start of November my Father and I hired an (Holden Commodore) SV6 wagon and went on a road trip west, driving out to Charleville and back, via a zig-zag route, clocking up 2826km. The space that we had in the cabin, the power that we had under the hood (V6) and the cruise control made for an incredibly comfortable adventure, where the only thing we found uncomfortable was (at times) each others company.

I decided it was now time for a 'grown-up' car.

Finding out that my loan finishes in March, I began looking into the options. I didn't quite know what I wanted, so I decided to shop around, picking the SV6 as the yard stick for the other cars I would start to look at. Before I knew it, each car I added to my list had to fit certain prerequisites.

1. Must be fun to drive
2. Must be at least as big as my current Focus
3. Preferred a V6, but would settle for a very sporty 4
4. Must be within a similar price range
5. Must be cool
   

So, here's the reasoning.

1. Must be fun to drive
One of the best things I've done in my Focus was to drive out through the Gap, and along the winding roads to Somerset Dam. Since then, I've always enjoyed driving (at the limit) as quickly as possible, so handling is a very high point on my list.
My Focus can get to 100 reasonably quick, but I want more. In particular, at higher (legal) speeds, there's little power when it comes to overtaking. I want to be able to drop a gear and put my foot down and go.

2. Must be at least as big as my current Focus.
I don't often take passengers, but I do occasionally. This is either in the form of driving guys to skirmish (requiring a very large boot space to allow for all the equipment), or my parents to a family gathering. Currently, what my Focus looses in passenger comfort, it makes up for in boots space - being a hatch.
Having a large sedan would definitely be a move in the right direction as far as passenger space/comfort is concerned, and the larger car would mean (potentially) more boot space. The only issue could possibly be access to that space.

3. Preferred a V6, but would settle for a very sporty 4
This is partly linked to Point 1, here. I do want a fun car to drive as, what's the point of having a car you don't like to drive?
Another reason for the shift in power requirements is that of towing. I'd like to be able to hitch a (small) trailer to the back and tow a load - be it fire wood, or furniture - when I move. While I don't actually want a trailer, I want the ability to utilize one, should I need it.

4. Must be within a similar price range.
This is fairly straight forward. Whatever cars I pick, they all have to be about the same price. With next to no research, I picked a ballpark figure of $50,000 - which is extreme. Any car that falls above that would have to be pretty damn exceptional for me to consider that.

5. Must be cool.
I know there's the mentality that you don't see the outside of your car when you're driving it, but let's not forget, you do see it before you get in. First impressions are everything, and if you're looking at an ugly car, you're not getting in with a good attitude.
Let's point out that beauty isn't everything, but handling and power have already been covered here.
The coolness of the car isn't just how it looks on the outside, however. It also takes into account the inside. It's got to have the right features in the cockpit. Controls need to have that 'wow' feature - or at least inspire a quaint 'neat!'
I have to enjoy looking at, and being in this car.

So that's it. Simple guidelines by which I would go out and pick my next car.

Of course, I hadn't actually formulated those guidelines until now. They were always in the back of my head, though, when looking at what was on the market. And it's now that I can finally reveal my short-list of cars.

Since formulating this list I can honestly say that most of those cars have been at the top of my 'want' list. As I've looked into each I've found features and details that have made me want to stop my search there and then. However, at the point this list was mentally compiled, I was only working off websites, brochures, and magazines. No test drives, and not even a close inspection.

The cars are, in order of them making it onto the list:

1. Toyota Aurion ZR6 Sportivo
2. Holden Commodore SV6 Sedan
3. Ford Falcon XR6 Sedan
4. Mitsubishi Lancer Rallyart Sedan
5. Ford Focus XR5 Wagon

Two cars that get honerable mentions, and still linger invisibly at the bottom, are the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo (the beefed-up turbo version of the XR6), and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Both of these cars are on the extreme side of what I'm looking for, with the Evo being well beyond what I was intending on paying.

With both of those cars, I'll probably only really consider them if their 'younger brothers' hit the mark, and I have to choose between the cheaper version with (all the) extras, or the hard-core version.
Only time will tell.

Next time I hope to take you through my search as I look at each car and see if, on paper at least, there's a clear leader.