Re:If You’ve Got a New Car, It’s a Data Privacy Nightmare
by tristor on Saturday September 09, 2023 @07:23PM
(#37451295)
FWIW, you’ve arrived at some of the same conclusions that I have. The only cars really in the running for me now are the GR Corolla, Golf R, RS3, and at least temporarily I’m probably going to start with a Mazda3 Turbo since it’s AWD now.
2023 Toyota GR Corolla AWD
3285 LBS / 300 HP = 10.9 LBS / HP
RANGE: 25 mpg * 13.2 gallons = 330 mi
PRICE: 44k
--------------------------------------------------
2012 VW MK6 GTI (K04) FWD
3000 LBS / 330 WHP = 9.1 LBS / WHP
RANGE: 23 mpg * 14.5 gallons = 333 mi
PRICE: < 30k (to buy a used GTI and install the same mods including labor)
--------------------------------------------------
I think the GR Corolla is great, but even after 11 years it's sadly not really a convincing upgrade for me. The GR Corolla is less powerful (in both torque and horsepower), it has one less cylinder and less displacement, it weighs more, it gets essentially the same mileage and has the same range, and it costs much more. The Corolla does have AWD though.
Here's the common "upgrade" for me:
2023 VW Golf R AWD
3400 LBS / 315 HP = 10.8 LBS / HP
RANGE: 28 mpg * 14.5 gallons = 406 mi
PRICE: 47k
--------------------------------------------------
Again, the Golf R is also great, but it's also less powerful and weighs more. It gets slightly better mileage than my current car, but costs even more than the GR Corolla.
Finding something new that is "better" out of the box than my 11 year old GTI would cost me at least 56k (Toyota GR Supra RWD) or if I want AWD then it's more like 66k (Audi RS3 AWD). If I want something electric and "better" then it's at least 89k (Tesla Model S). These prices are really high to begin with; when you add in dealer markups they become insane propositions. For your money you'll also have to contend with with touch screens, capacitive buttons, and a bunch of other tech that you don't want or need. The market seems to be in a pretty sad state for car guys. Unless something changes I'll be rebuilding my engine with forged internals and continuing to drive my GTI.