Hey folks - I am in a bit of a quandry at this point on picking my next daily driver to replace my 2008 Maxima SE. In my sight I have narrowed it down to these 3 cars. I have a wife and 2 children so I and looking into the sedan market since I have a need but want the power, handling and braking to go with it!!

2010 Shelby GT500
2009/10 Cadillac CTS-V
2008/09 IS-F

Granted the Shelby is the odd man out in these 3 cars but I am a diehard ford fan and love the power and potential power the shelby can make. Not to mention the suspension updates, and interior is so much nicer now for this car.

The V I am in love with since its really a complete car that has a ton of power stock, great brakes, interiors, etc.

The F I am in love with as well. Down on power compared to the V but other then that they seem to be on equal ground with braking and handling from what I can tell. I like the interior of the F and all the goodies it comes with not to mention it will be a little cheaper price wise then the Caddy as well.


So those that have the F have you all had a chance to drive the V and compare handling and braking? How about the comfort of the seats of the F compared to the recaro's in the V?

I know this is a difficult thread to respond to but any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I will be looking to buy sometime at the end of 2009 so I figured I would start my shopping and comparing etc now.

Great site by the way, lots of good info!!

 

GT500 is the least family friendly...

the backseats are very small in the ISF....

you sure you can't get a great deal on an caddy right now?

 

my children are 4 and 7 so they will be comfy in the back seats for a few years if not longer .

Yes there is a dealer in Michigan that is offering 6k or so off sticker. The car I want with the options is around 69k without his discount.

Of course I am curious to see how this new fuel mileage process that Obama has put in will affect cars like the Caddy since it has a pretty heft gas guzzle tax.

 

I have an 06 Mustang and 08 F. No way i would want the stang for a daily driver for family.. Trust me, 4 doors is important for that. And the seats are subpar.
The V is certainly tempting, but i just cannot do it.. It's GM first and foremost, so who knows whats going to happen in the coming years, but as far as a daily driver and reliability- i wouldn't go with a forced induction car. Maybe if you're going to lease, or buy an extended warranty...
For me, the F was the right blend of performance, reliability and luxury.

 

Out of those cars I recommend the F

Why?

GT500 - 2 Door Coupe, not a family car...

CTS-V - Excellent Power/Excellent Braking, Great Size for a family.
Downside - Reliability in the long run, Gas Guzzler.

F - Excellent Power/Braking, 4 Door, back seat is a bit small, but for 4 and 7? Thats plenty of room, great gas mileage for a 400hp+ Sports Sedan, plus Lexus offers great Customer Service (at most dealers), also Toyota is known for their reliability.


I use mine as a Daily Driver and I drive about 50-75 Miles a day and I have no problem and I avg. about 24 mpg on the Interstate (80%) and City (20%)....


I just cruise going 80-85 up and down I-85 with no problems =)

 

I am in a similar boat and have been researching this for 9 months... PM me for any questions ( ALL THREE of your choices were in my final TEN)

Out of the three... EASY choice

 

Thanks folks. I will say this, my wife has an SUV and she takes the children to school etc so they only ride in my should I take them to their games, etc or to dinner..so most of the time the kiddos are in my wifes SUV.

I am still waiting to get some track times, slalom times etc for the GT500 since they should be on the streets in the next couple of weeks.

rdgdawg - what made you end up selecting the IS-F as the winner?

 

I have been in love with the GT500 since it was first being developed back in the day. I saw the new styling at the Chicago Auto Show this past year and the thing just looks so bad ***. Plus an extra 40 ponies, suspension and interior upgrades as well. I absolutely love that car. Even though it is American with the gloomy times and uncertain reliability, there is something about nice stangs that really turn my eye.

The CTS-V, from what I heard is an absolute monster. I don't think you can really go wrong bying this car. Unless you think there is a better version coming out soon after.

The ISF is a great all around ride, not to mention the cheapest.

In the end of the day, the two American cars will be much faster than the ISF if that's what you want, in a straight line atleast. Aftermarket for the American cars is already much more than the F, if that's important.

But again, all are great rides and you just need to get some seat time I think to help make your mind up. Good luck

 

One of the best Stang tuners in the country is in Alpharetta (I used to live in ATL) so I got some good insight on upcoming Shelby GT500... it will be the best handling Mustang ever but I had a 03 modified GT and know the car dimensions well... there are blower issues historically as well. And once you start modding, bye bye $$$!!!

If you look 0-10 across the board (10 being best), and your criteria includes space, reliability, mileage, performance, comfort, luxury, tech, fit, finish, SERVICE, resale, warranty, track, winter (one of mine)... I can go on... the IS-F will have more 7s to 10s then ANY other car, period.

I've researched over 100 cars, even made comparison spreadsheets on "Top 5s", at one time my paperwork stack was near 40 pages... IS-F kept coming back again and again... the only negative is somewhat harsh ride, but no worse IMO than a Z06, which came in 3rd, 2nd was a tie between S5 and M3... and tire upgrade to all-season performance corrects the ride!!! I'm switching out rims as well... the discount I'm getting will cover the costs!!

Any other questions, I'm here to share!!!

Wait a sec... did I just let the cat out of the bag???.... for CARS... IS-F all the way...

 

Motorweek recently featured the CTS-V on their program and gave that car stunningly high marks in every category. Indeed, while you did not mention it as one of your choices, Motorweek even favored the CTS-V over the M3 (which they considered the bench-mark in this category of vehicles) price-wise.

 

Gen Manager of my GM dealer has sold four, ALL FOUR have come back for electrical issues + the cars are so torqued they break loose (traction) constantly (ie ANY rough roads and watch out... I can attest!!)... he steered me away and back to the Z06... it's a beast no doubt!!!

 

get another maxima!

 

IMO, I would never pay that much for a Mustang, even if it is highly modified. The reason being that you are still getting the build quality, interior, and amenities of a regular Mustang. Also, it is priced into the next segment up, which means that you could get a C6 for almost the same price, right?

The CTS-V is a beast, so if you look at it from a performance standpoint, it will rock the F hands down. But it's also a bigger and heavier car, so it won't be as lively as the F. As said before, drawbacks are reliability and resale value. Also for me, that car is styled for an older crowd, so not my cup of tea.

So that leaves the F,which has all the benefits of a Lexus, but really none of the negatives (Unless you must have a manual).

 

are you referring to Modular Powerhouse what used to be T&J Performance? Tim and Andy Barth?

 

How is the maintenance on these cars? Meaning high costs to get things fixed for out of warranty issues? Reliability?

How do you all like the Nav system? Easy to use? Accurate? Bluetooth work good with pairing your phone?

What about the ML sound system? I listen to just about all types of music so my tastes spreads all genre's...