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Looking for recommendations on dadmobiles that also go fast

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Blizzard25

Well-Known Member
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So wife and I are having our second child in a few months. And since my biggest car is currently an Evo X, and my wife has a Kia Niro (which is barely larger than the Evo), we're getting something larger. So what SHE doesn't have to know of my requirements, I'm kind of looking for something with decent upgrade support to make it a mini sleeper....I'm not looking for a Hellcat Pacifica or anything like that, but it would be nice just to not floor it and be bored with it after putting a few parts into it. Toying with the idea of an off-road vehicle like a 4Runner but I've never really gotten into that space much. So if you've got something you've toted the kids to soccer practice in over the years and loved, I'm all ears.
 
comegetjoe
21mo + 5mo old girls.

We love our '19 Audi Q7 Prestige 3.0T supercharged V6
Plenty of room for rear facing car seats and two grown ass adults up front. Drop the 3rd row below deck and have ample room in the trunk for stuffs that need packing.

Our grand cherokee summit with the 5.7 is fun for this too, but we feel were a little cramped with the two rear facing seets currently, having to move the front seats closer than comfortable to the wheel and dash.

We're both 5'10" and my wife is alll leg. You should buy my Summit
 
David
Depends if you want something used or new and whats your budget?

I have had highlander, pathfinder, traverse and two X7. I test drove alot of SUV and I believe the X7 is the best in it's class. I currently have a 2022 X7m50i .
 
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Desert Sasqwatch said:
Offroad capabilities or not? Built in US or don't care? How many $$$ do you want to spend? These factors will help direct what vehicles may fit your wants.
Click to expand...

I'm exploring off-road but at the moment I don't care too much, it's never really been on my radar but does sound fun, don't care where it's built. Yeah budget probably would have helped my bad...looking at used vehicles only under 25k
 
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David said:
Depends if you want something used or new and whats your budget?

I have had highlander, pathfinder, traverse and two X7. I test drove alot of SUV and I believe the X7 is the best in it's class. I currently have a 2022 X7m50i .
Click to expand...

I'll have to look at the X7, you're actually the second person I've heard that recommendation from. As for the pathfinder, after working on Nissan ECMs and TCMs the last decade I'm so Nissan averse it's not even funny...probably the one manufacturer I'll never own again
 
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comegetjoe said:
21mo + 5mo old girls.

We love our '19 Audi Q7 Prestige 3.0T supercharged V6
Plenty of room for rear facing car seats and two grown ass adults up front. Drop the 3rd row below deck and have ample room in the trunk for stuffs that need packing.

Our grand cherokee summit with the 5.7 is fun for this too, but we feel were a little cramped with the two rear facing seets currently, having to move the front seats closer than comfortable to the wheel and dash.

We're both 5'10" and my wife is alll leg. You should buy my Summit
Click to expand...

If it wasn't for me being 6'5" I might have an argument to just use the Evo, it'll fit 2 car seats fairly easily but you have to move the seats up a decent amount, and as much as i love having my knees in my chin when i drive, I don't love it
 
aaronc7
VW Atlas 2.0 runs simos 18.10 and it's basically a GTI motor. 8 speed aisin slushbox I believe. Did an Audi Q3 (same drivetrain) and was kinda neat setup I thought, but the Q3 is pretty small. Neither will be super fast of course in big heavy vehicles but "tunable".

Is this for you or the wife? Anyways, we went down this a few years ago, ended up getting a Honda Odyssey and zero regrets. We both initially had a huge aversion to to minivans. We drove several 3 row SUVs, and the van and it was clear it did all the things we needed better, and it was cheaper. Lack of AWD is maybe the biggest downside, but not a showstopper where I live.

We take a couple big trips a year and there's really nothing better for hauling people and kid stuff around.... vacations, soccer/baseball tournaments, family visiting and we can all ride together etc. The honda vtak v6 actually is quite good too.

Dadmobile is Audi S3, which is hardly ideal, but in a pinch we have fit all of us (including 1 rear facing car seat). Now that they are a bit older it's fine to haul them around, but I would honestly like something a bit bigger in general once I decide to get rid of this.
 
Christopher Sanchez
I may get blasted for this suggestion, Tesla model Y performance. Can pick up a 23' for mid to high twenties. We picked up a 23' model 3 performance last year and it has been great for us! The wife really loves it, and i was interested to see what the EV life was about. We have two children with one in a car seat. It is a great ride and is very fast! (possibly faster than my turbo goblin) :eek: The used market prices made it hard for us to not consider. We paid less than half the new price for a 23' bought at the end of 24' with 12k mileage. Came with front PPF and 6k in autopilot upgrades. We both work at the same company and commute approx. 70miles per day. We plan to run this car into the ground as resell values are very bad. When my wife and I discussed the purchase of our next car last year I too had my own requirements that she was not aware of haha the Fastest reliable car for the best price. Same reason I built a goblin I wanted the fastest thing I could get for under 20k haha. We were weary about the EV thing since up until a few months ago did not have any superchargers within 120 miles. But luckily it has fit our needs perfectly it charges fully over night in the garage on 220v. IDK if you are planning on selling your evo for your next car if so that trade might tarnish your soul a bit. And be a horrible financial decision as EVO prices only go up. haha The "dad mobile" that I regret selling the most is my 2004 sti FP blue turbo as it truly was fun to whip around a small turbo car with the kids in the back.! Good luck post whatever your decide on!
 
Ross
The Model Y offers more cargo space than your Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X or your Kia Niro EV.

My wife has a 2022 model Y Long Range AWD, and at that time, it was the only Tesla slower than my supercharged Goblin.
This 2022 version was 4.8 seconds 0-60, and my goblin has done 4.1 seconds according to the Dragy.
Honestly it is hard to get my goblin to not spin on the launch, and the model Y has perfect traction control AWD, and wins 90% of the time.
The cruise control wouldn't change when towing my goblin up and down hills. Not even 1 mph. Surprising amount of torque.

You can charge at home on a regular 120 volt plug in, but it is more practical to get a 240 volt, Nema 14-50 plug in your garage.
Electricity is about 25% of the cost of gas when I charge at home, but about the same cost if I am using charging stations when on long road trips.
If you like technology, the FSD driving assistance is a game changer, even on our older version 3 hardware. Takes the stress out of driving... especially when in a new city, or in rush hour, or just the boring daily drive. The navigation will find all the charging stations, you just need to know your destination.
 
Last edited:
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Christopher Sanchez said:
I may get blasted for this suggestion, Tesla model Y performance. Can pick up a 23' for mid to high twenties. We picked up a 23' model 3 performance last year and it has been great for us! The wife really loves it, and i was interested to see what the EV life was about. We have two children with one in a car seat. It is a great ride and is very fast! (possibly faster than my turbo goblin) :eek: The used market prices made it hard for us to not consider. We paid less than half the new price for a 23' bought at the end of 24' with 12k mileage. Came with front PPF and 6k in autopilot upgrades. We both work at the same company and commute approx. 70miles per day. We plan to run this car into the ground as resell values are very bad. When my wife and I discussed the purchase of our next car last year I too had my own requirements that she was not aware of haha the Fastest reliable car for the best price. Same reason I built a goblin I wanted the fastest thing I could get for under 20k haha. We were weary about the EV thing since up until a few months ago did not have any superchargers within 120 miles. But luckily it has fit our needs perfectly it charges fully over night in the garage on 220v. IDK if you are planning on selling your evo for your next car if so that trade might tarnish your soul a bit. And be a horrible financial decision as EVO prices only go up. haha The "dad mobile" that I regret selling the most is my 2004 sti FP blue turbo as it truly was fun to whip around a small turbo car with the kids in the back.! Good luck post whatever your decide on!
Click to expand...

Oh no, my Evo will be with me until I'm long in the ground, it's not the fastest car in the world but I wanted one since I was a kid and I got one lol my wife said she was gonna drive the Niro into the ground, and I just wanna tell her the ground is coming up pretty quick now prepare for impact....

aaronc7 said:
VW Atlas 2.0 runs simos 18.10 and it's basically a GTI motor. 8 speed aisin slushbox I believe. Did an Audi Q3 (same drivetrain) and was kinda neat setup I thought, but the Q3 is pretty small. Neither will be super fast of course in big heavy vehicles but "tunable".

Is this for you or the wife? Anyways, we went down this a few years ago, ended up getting a Honda Odyssey and zero regrets. We both initially had a huge aversion to to minivans. We drove several 3 row SUVs, and the van and it was clear it did all the things we needed better, and it was cheaper. Lack of AWD is maybe the biggest downside, but not a showstopper where I live.

We take a couple big trips a year and there's really nothing better for hauling people and kid stuff around.... vacations, soccer/baseball tournaments, family visiting and we can all ride together etc. The honda vtak v6 actually is quite good too.

Dadmobile is Audi S3, which is hardly ideal, but in a pinch we have fit all of us (including 1 rear facing car seat). Now that they are a bit older it's fine to haul them around, but I would honestly like something a bit bigger in general once I decide to get rid of this.
Click to expand...

I probably have the same aversion to vans, just from growing up we had a big family and were always crammed into the back of our Ford Aerostar/Mercury Villager for so many miles all across the country. Now they're luxury cruisers basically. I don't necessarily hate the idea of driving a minivan for the style points though, but if it's gonna be something i spend the majority of the time in I also want it to be a "fun" ride
 
Robinjo
We have a Sienna minivan and for function it's amazing. Style and performance, not so much but it does its job. It's super nice on the inside. I daily a Mazda CX-50 Turbo and it is fun to drive. It also tows my Goblin with no issues. I didn't think I would like a SUV until I drove this.

There's always a Hellcat but I assume you want something that will last longer than 3-5 years. 4 doors, fast, strong aftermarket support. I was looking at WRX wagons before I got my CX-50, quick and lots of aftermarket support. Never mind the catastrophic ring land failures, that just means you get to build another engine.
 
D
My fantasy dad vehicle is an ecoboost Ford Flex. Plenty of power, plenty of room, and comfy for long trips.

We only had one child though, so we haven't needed anything larger than our Fiesta.
 
MeltedSolid
My answer would be a Golf Alltrack, and put an IS20/IS38 on it, but I'm also very biased. There were a decent number of good wagon options available in the 2015-2020 era.
 
D
MeltedSolid said:
My answer would be a Golf Alltrack, and put an IS20/IS38 on it, but I'm also very biased. There were a decent number of good wagon options available in the 2015-2020 era.
Click to expand...
In 2017 when we bought our Fiesta, we cross-shopped a Golf Sportwagen 6 speed manual
AWD. It was an awesome ride and a sweet deal at $22,800. But that was still ten grand more than the Fiesta.

That Golf would still be worth $20 grand today, though. :p
 
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