Endless,
Theres been a lot of great suggestions and opinions set forth here - Great thread. I literally went thru the same car debate for 3 years, that you are going thru now, before I decided on my e86m. Great problem to debate. Bear in mind - I am not a track nut, i just want an excellent, somewhat exclusive car that can hold up extremely well in the northern back woods, and feels great around town, but wont be so exclusive it costs $3k to change a muffler.
Fortunately i'm able to be member of a club here in NYC that put me behind the wheel for a few days at a time, of almost every car mentioned in this thread, this includes a Gallardo, a few Ferrari's, a Vantage, a Lotus, an R8, a Z8, a GTR, many porsches and most of the M cars, and a taste of an Ariel Atom, as well as too many more to list - you name it). I joined this club to solve my personal debate.
I decided on the M coupe, the day I returned thier 2002 911 turbo and hoped right back in their '06 e86m. I INSTANTLY decided the M coupe was just a more exhilerating and exciting car to drive, and its less forgiving. The porsche was almost.... dare I say... 'boring' compared to the M.
I'm not an Audi fan at all - right with you there (buicks of germany IMO). But if I lifted my budget to 70k-90k area, I'd probably consider a used R8 or a Vantage long before any porsche. I will say, the R8 was an amazing car to drive, & it'll take almost anything you throw at it. Its a much better, modern day NSX. As well, the Vantage is awesome for different reasons although the chassis is almost stupidly stiff and it hops around a lot. Both are sexy as all get out and have a little luxury feel to them - IMO
Point is, it took a while to realize that the car I wanted all along didnt stand out until I drove other cars that cost 2-3x as much. I realized the e86m had it all for the reasons we all agree upon as owners, especially for the cost of the car. & yes its exclusive - but not because of cost. (Porsches and M3 are almost as common as taxi's around here - zzzzz ) Sure, I wish it was as 'posh' as a 911 or a Vantage or an R8, but for $28~$34k, I can live with a little spartanness inside for everything else it brings. And for that luxury feel, thats why they make those 5-series's and X5's as a good DD.
Keep searching... its half of the fun. Oh, and as for the 'woman opinion' thing... just remember a "happy wife is a happy life".
