My vote would be for the 2004 and up Acura TL's. Nice ride, looks great, easy maintenance schedule, great powertrain, good options, etc.

I'm going to suggest the Prius. A used one should be within his price range, and they are reliable and low maintenance. I'm at 160K, and still on original brakes. It sips regular fuel. Off-the-line performance is decent, due to the low-end power of the electric motor. It's only got 100 or so ponies, but it can still walk civics.

i dont think many ppl will enjoy driving a 100hp car around town

keep going guys. i will post a similar thread next april. I also drive a civic - and looking for the same price range/criteria :)

OP -- how about a CSX? I'm thinking of a CSX..

A CSX is the same as a Civic. Seriously. It's a tarted-up Civic... I'm not too impressed by my parents'.

Try a used Toyota Avalon. :rofl:

I would not choose the A4. Maybe a TL or TSX. There are used 2004 Mercedes E320 4Matic for around that price range as well, I just don't know about the reliability. But I bet those are comfortable!

04-08 Acura TL....best combo of reliability, styling, power, and performance.....

I agree with the 04-08 TL. A friend of mine just picked up an A-Spec, it's a great car.

TSX gets good mileage from the 4 banger. U dun need a V6 for a DD

actually better to have a V6 for DD, especially when you need to change lanes...nothing is worse than not having enough low grunt torque when changing lanes

^

amen to that

once you gone to the powerhouse side u will never look back. not able to accelerate properly and all you hear is the stupid engine noise while ur car is stuck beside a camery

lol @ audi a4 for reliability.

supaaaaa reliable yo

6th Gen Maxima (Comes with VQ35DE)
3rd Gen Altima SE-R (Also VQ35DE)

And of course the Acura TL, and what about a IS300?

IS300 is dated, slow, heavy on gas

Depends what year, mileage and how the previous owner has taken care of it. Other than regular fluid changes and replacing the coilpacks, the only other thing I've paid for is getting a new PCV valve and replace the rear diff seal.

Another car to look at is a Ford Fusion. Not the most sporty, but you can pick up an SEL model for under $20K and relatively new (2008). It's not the most exciting car, but for a DD, it's reliable, powerful and not that expensive to maintain.

Other than that, look at the TL as others have suggested or the Altima SE-R.

Lexus GS 300/400

TSX is a good car that meets all his criteria.

TSX, but only in manual. The auto can feel a bit sluggish and while a manual one may not be much faster, the shifter was so incredibly smooth that it made the car that much more enjoyable to drive.

If your buddy is used to driving/owning a civic the TL's fuel economy might be a shocker to him. The steering feel in the civic is also better. Not sure about the type-s/a spec models though. Car is very comfortable however and I managed to fit a 13000btu ac unit in the rear seat. A lot of the used ones have gps and bluetooth and both are fairly user friendly
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As said before TEST DRIVE them! I hated the IS250 when I took one out. I loved the G and the TL.....all your list though are nice :)

nah it's not bad at all in the rain, and the traction control steps in quick.

but when the snow comes down, what two cars do you see stuck the most? 3series' and G35's.

and imo since your friend is asking you for advice, it doesn't seem like they know as much or care as much about drivetrains so a FWD would just be safer.

G35 drives fine in the rain, with or without VDC.
In the snow however, I'd leave it in the garage. But this goes for ur 3 series and the IS as well.

You guys make it seem like RWD is a death trap or something...

Agreed. I thought about suggesting the IS300 to him, but for a lot of reasons I left it off my list. It just doesn't really suit his needs very well and the styling is getting a bit dated.

Thanks for the Fusion suggestion, definitely not a bad idea. Same goes for the Altima. I think both cars are a bit too big for him though - he's 23 and doesn't have any family to haul around, so he just wants something big enough to be practical (ie. Civic, TSX, 3-series, etc). Nonetheless I'll show him some pics of the Fusion and see what he says.

At this point I think the TL is out of his price range. He wants something in good condition with low mileage, and all the TL's in the sub-$20k range are pretty dodgy.

It snows what, 3-5 days a year at most? I live in Vic and there's even less snow here than there is in Van. And less hills, too.

During that month of snow in Dec '08, I only got stuck once and it was because the snow was too deep for my low-clearance BMW... not because of the RWD. Thankfully I was stuck in the middle of the road, blocking two lanes of traffic, so there were plenty of volunteers to help push me out of the ditch.

Anyway, I digress... my point is that I think RWD is just fine for daily driving here, as long as you're willing to take the bus (or the girlfriend's AWD car) the few days a year it snows.

Plus, those of us with RWD cars have more fun in the snow anyway if we can make it to a large abandoned parking lot... :joy