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<p>None of the above. For reliability in a luxurious car, consider a Lincoln MKZ or a Lexus.</p>
<p>On the other hand, many “ordinary” cars are pretty nice, like the Ford Fusion and Toyota Prius.</p>
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<p>Lexuses and Toyotas are generally tuned for ride comfort, and are best driven in straight lines rather than twisty roads.</p>
<p>Of course, if sporty is his wish, there is always something like the Mazda MX-5 Miata.</p>
<p>I’d second the Subaru Outback for a tall person.</p>
<p>Hey, I want prestige AND fit.</p>
<p>I REALLY wanted an Audi…husband said NO…and the main reason is the need for premium gasoline. He says there is absolutely no reason why their engineers can’t design a car that runs on regular. And the maintenance costs are high (but they are high on all of these luxury cars…if they need maintenance).</p>
<p>If he wants a proven chick magnet, and if you’ll give him minimum hassle, tell him to get a red Corvette convertible!</p>
<p>Personally, when I’m driving I want to sit up like a big boy and not curl up like an embryo. So all those sports cars–I had to leave that fantasy behind.</p>
<p>BMW M3 Sedan; very fast, very powerful, very comfortable. Looks almost like rest of the BMW 3 series, until you notice the front hood exhaust. My spouse loves his! In his spare time, he is a competitive driver & instructor. Lease deal was too good to pass up. </p>
<p>My car: BMW 328xi; plenty powerful, with sports package. If I want an extra boost of power, I put it in “sports mode” for that turbo feel.</p>
<p>At my age, I can get that “turbo feel” a lot cheaper just by eating a chili dog.</p>
<p>My bus passed a Ferrari on the freeway this morning, then passed it again, after picking up riders at the freeway stop. I’m glad I was not driving that Ferrari. :)</p>
<p>Hunt the interesting thing about my somewhat sporty BMW is that I really think it was designed to fit a tall man, not a 5’5" woman. There are a few issues with seatbelt and window placement and reach that just don’t seem quite right to me. I’m pretty sure I won’t be buying another car like this but I thought that just once it would be fun. It was kind of wild to transition from station wagon to two doors - I told everyone it was my mid-life crisis/empty nest car. I’ll go back to being practical next time around.</p>
<p>I have had a mercedes wagon that was perfect when the kids were little, an Audi AWD (maybe the Quatro? I remember you could make it go up and down) that I LOVED when we skiid a lot. I think I am about to trade in my four door BMW 3?? (the three series with the “good” engine; maybe the 335), great for hauling the soccer team 60 plus miles several times a week, for a two door audi I think. Can’t remember the model, but I think there is an “M” in it, and there is a little M and a number on the grill. More befitting my empty nest (and empty back seats). WAAAYYY more BMW’s than audis around here. </p>
<p>All leases, and yes, lots of money down the drain, but husbands only vice and I am greatful for that. The major hassel is in how far we have to drive for the included servicing, but they have been very reliable, a joy to drive, and have spoiled me for not so luxury cars.</p>
<p>Husband has a BMW M5 that he actaully bought (gasp!) after the lease was up.</p>
<p>Piggle</p>
<p>Live in DFW, sent you a PM.</p>
<p>“The word I’ve heard on Audis is they’re great cars–for the first 60,000 miles” </p>
<p>We have 1998 A6, bought used in 2001 with about 25,000 miles. We do love the car, and that’s part of the reason we have not bought new. It has about 140,000 miles now. I was miffed when the AC needed replacement early on ($1600), but it’s been mostly fine since then. We had a scare last year when we though the transmission was shot - didn’t want to sink too many thousands into it. But the required repair ended up being under $400. </p>
<p>The A6 has been a good car for my tall DH. And for me too… a foot shorter… since it has electric seats with memory. The 2011 A4s also fit us both well. Still dragging our feet on ordering a 2012.</p>
<p>“He wants a car with minimum hassle.”</p>
<p>I recommend a 1995 Saturn SL2. Minimum hassle. And when he’s tired of it, he can just walk away.</p>
<p>Appropriate thread. H is having a big birthday early next year and the idea is to get him a sports car as a gift. He loves driving a stick shift - so it has to be a stick shift. Any suggestions on a good, reliable stick shift sports car? He is usually a big pain about cars (his logic - it should get me from point A to point B - why do I care how it looks?) - so it doesn’t have to be fancy or super expensive. His first car was a Mazda - so we were thinking about getting him another Mazda this time around. </p>
<p>Also, any suggestions on how to do this as a surprise? S wants to do it the way of the Lexus commercials - have the car sitting in the driveway with a big bow 
But I am not too sure of the practicality of that idea! It is even feasible to think that I could strike the deal with the dealer, then take H down there to try the car and sign if everything was ok ?</p>
<p>I’ve always felt that European cars were better for manual transmissions. I don’t think that the term “stick shift” is appropriate anymore as I don’t think that cars have had literal sticks in a long time. The gear shift has been a relatively short-throw device since the 1980s.</p>
<p>In 12-18 months, I know D1 will pressure us to take my now 4yo Toyota Corolla to college, which I plan to replace it with a convertible. Currently the contenders are the BMW 328 and Chrysler 200. I would try to buy the BMW used and the Chrysler new to save a few $ and make them a comparable purchase. Any comments?</p>
<p>^ Do you need to seat more than two people? If not, take a look at the Mini Cooper convertible. My sister has one, that thing is a blast.</p>
<p>NJ mom – I bet you can get a BMW executive demo in your neck of the woods. Those can be really good deals. </p>
<p>I bought one yesterday (328ix) and drove it home last night. We were at BMW North Haven (CT) and they had a bunch. I believe that we paid about $8K under msrp, with new car warranty and financing. Car has 11K miles on it.</p>
<p>I own (not lease) Audi A4. I love it and it was very reasonably priced. I do not know about 2 others. My S. is buying only Audi’s, he has had several of them. I love how it drives and the fact that I was able to pay it off quickly. i imagine that others probably drive in similar way but are much more expensive, but this is just my speculation, never researched.</p>