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Get Sporty With These Athletic Rides

Roll ito fall with four very different vehicles that can handle all of your equipment…
 
Some cars are made for luxury and others for labour, but the ones that are most fun are created for love – or, at least, love of sports. As summer becomes autumn, we look at four sporty vehicles that are a mix of toys and toys with which to haul those toys. All four are icons and daily-drivable, but will look as good at the lake as they do at the football field. Have at your favorite endeavour, and enjoy.
 
VW Golf GTI
Boxy is beautiful when it’s bred for going fast and hauling your sports gear for years of fun. Flip open the hatch, throw down the seats and load all of your gear. Slide in to enjoy 400 watts of Fender audio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and navigation. Choose the tartan cloth seats for a nod to tradition. A 220-horsepower 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine twirls underfoot. It’s only front-drive, but that enhances fuel economy – whether shifting power through a six-speed manual or Tiptronic automatic transmission. Lane keep assist, adaptive cruise, autonomous front braking and automatic parallel parking add safety and convenience.
Base price: $30,595
 
Ford Shelby GT350
The snake in the grille and Shelby in the name means this is the ultimate track-ready Mustang. With sexy curves and bulging fenders, it cuts quite a swath with 19-inch wheels and a jumbo rear spoiler. Grippy Recaro seats, soft suede accents and a thumping 12-speaker B&O audio system encourage long aggressive driving. The real snakes in the grass are a 526-horsepower 5.2-litre V8 engine, Brembo brakes and performance tires to kick this rocket down the road…or track. Fuel economy is rated 17.2/11.3 L/100 km city/highway with the six-speed manual transmission, but you’ll never see that while hammering the throttle.
Base price: $74,388
 
Subaru WRX
A sexy little two-seat sports car is perfect for California, but not so great during Canadian winters and over broken pavement. That’s where the WRX comes in. Torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive handles snow as well as it attacks twisty back roads. Acceleration is delivered by the 268-horsepower 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four engine connected to a continuously variable or six-speed manual transmission. Fuel economy is rated 11.3/8.5 L/100 km. A compliant suspension absorbs the rough stuff. Check options for Recaro seats, moonroof, suede steering wheel and EyeSight crash avoidance system. Get the rear wing too. All that, and the practicality of any other compact.
Base price: $29,995
 
Toyota Tacoma
When you need something to haul and pull all of your sporty toys, this is your truck. It’s been cool since Marty McFly drove one in Back to the Future, but now it’s about as high-tech as the time-travelling DeLorean. Choose four-door Doublecab if you plan to take friends on your adventures, and load up with heated leather seats, navigation, JBL audio and wireless phone charging. Safety is enhanced by available blind spot and rear cross path detection. Choose a 159-horsepower four-cylinder or 278-horsepower V6 engine. Definitely choose 4×4 to get away from civilization and enjoy autumn.
Base price: $31,090
 

 
CASEY WILLIAMS is a contributing writer for Gaywheels.com. He contributes to the New York-based LGBT magazine Metrosource and the Chicago Tribune. He and his husband live in Indianapolis, where Williams contributes videos and reviews to wfyi.org, the area’s PBS/NPR station.
 

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