You've posed a tough one. I'm quite mixed in my opinion... If you plan to keep the car for a while, I'd say go with the Ford. It's gotten rave reviews and is very popular in Europe. Might be a bit rugged on your 68-year-old bum, though.
The Mazda is a well-sorted, excellent car. I test-drove one not too long ago. Those folks KNOW how to do a performance car -- for years, they've offered 3 sports cars the M.S. 3, the MX5 and the RX8. I think it will hold value better than the Ford if you're buying new. The Hyundai looks very cool (there's a 'normal' one at work which I see daily) but are all the bugs worked out? In the Hyundai line-up, the only one I'd want would be the Genesis Coupe with the 6-cylinder. It's more Alfa-like with the rear-wheel-drive...at least most Alfas brought to the US. You may not want the R3 trim level, the Recaro seats are a bit confining. I might as well give a plug for my favorite Alfa replacement: the Mazda RX8. I've had two of them and there's nothing which handles as well in their price range. They're light and nimble and love to rev high (9K red-line!) A nice, well-equipped, late model GT would be in the same range as the cars you've listed. Lastly, try a Mini Cooper S on for size as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the one I had (and traded on my RX8 R3.) Best of luck! There are SO MANY cool cars to choose from... - Eric Hambleton, Marietta, GA Current stable: 1991 Alfa Romeo 164, 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1984 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, 2009 Mazda RX8 R3 -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
