Mazda 3: about the same size as your Corolla, but heftier and more powerful. Mazdas are long-lasting cars if cared for, but here in the rust belt I see more rust on old ones than on most other makes. That may not be a factor for you.
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300 hp isnāt enough???
Thatās like 90-ish to 134 HP. Finding a new car with that little amount of power in the U.S.would be a tough task. Over here a basic family car will start at around 170 HP (126~kW) with the ābig enginedā options making around 300-340 HP (225-250~ kW). But then again our fuel taxation and insurance costs tend to be more reasonable.
Iāve driven TDI VWās the 8 valve 1.9L was pitifully slow, it was in a Jetta, it got off the line reasonably well, but beyond that initial hit of torque, thereās not much going on. The later 2 liter 16 valve TDIās are superior IMHO, you still get good grunt off the line, but you have a more of usable rev range. But generally speaking, in the U.S. we like our diesels big ( 6 to 7 liters).
Mazda 3 with the 2.5 liter engine or the Mazda 6 with turbo 2.5 will meet all of your criteria.
Non-turbo preferred, so non-turbo Mazdas are a good fit.
It appears the Accord folks have lost a potential sale due the turbo-only engine configuration. But maybe they gained it back and more from folks looking for a turbo, who knows?
I wanted to buy a V6 Accord for a long time. Finally, when I had the cash, Honda stopped making them. Civic, Accord, CR-V, RDX are not on my list anymore.
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Some in your list has Turbo I think. One additional note. I was a long time Ford customer. Kept losing my paychecks over their poor quality products and left them. I no longer buy domestic models and since then have much better quality of life without car breakdowns.
Canāt buy manual. Family members wonāt be able to drive. Cars are shared.
You just wiped four very good vehicles off your list of choices. Really , you need to drag yourself into the modern world. Many 4 cylinder engine make more power that the big V8ās of years ago and can last many years longer.
Turbo charged engines are not a recent development and I see no reason for the reluctance to buy one.