We had a lot of choices if willing to consider a low mileage used car as an option, but my wife was steadfast that she had to have a new car. She wanted another
E class MB, but agreed a new one was too much, especially with the maintenance expenses. She did not want a
C class but thought a
Cadillac might work for her. Cadillacs are not bad cars but a loaded mid size sedan with a 6 cylinder engine would go well over $50K out the door, and I knew I would not be happy with anything less. The latest safety features were also a must, not an option. I really wanted to buy a car for cash, so had set $50K OTD as a maximum and there seemed to be a lot of good choices in the $40K range.
My top pick was the
Genesis G70 3.3T, but Carol said she could not see well over the hood and a new one with all of the bells and whistles looked like it would be hard to find at $50K out the door, so it was scratched from the list. Second on my list, was the
Stinger GT. We found a new 2019
RWD GT2 in a color we could agree upon, Panthera gray with light gray interior for under $40K and this checked all of my boxes and Carol thought she could live with it, but was disappointed we bought a
Kia, after having come from a Mercedes.
I considered a Grand Touring
Honda Accord, but Carol would not even look at one. Although we had good luck with 2 Accords in the past, she wanted something different. She liked the Grand Touring
Mazda CX5 and I was interested in the
Mazda 6 Signature edition, although the latter was reported to be a bit dated since it has not been redesigned lately. My buddy has a loaded CX5 which I have driven and like, but did not think I would enjoy driving one nearly as well as the Stinger
3.3T. I have owned BMWs in the past and feel they are too expensive for what you get and also maintenance is expensive. Ditto for the Audi, so they did not make my list. I like the VWs, especially the
Golf R and GTI but Carol had no interest. I considered the
Arteon, but really wanted to avoid German cars with their high cost of parts and maintenance.
We have owned our
2019 Stinger GT2 now since January 18, 2020 and I have no regrets. Even Carol is admitting she likes the way it drives, but she thinks the styling is old fashion looking. I disagree and think it is especially well styled for a 4 door hatchback. Moreover, I love how it drives. Great handling and acceleration in a practical design, all for $43K OTD. I may have preferred the
Genesis G70 because it is shorter and may handle a tad sharper and I really like its quilted seats. But it does not have the carrying capacity of our hatchback and rear leg room is tight, so the Stinger is more practical and still our best choice, since our other car is a Corvette.
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