Re: Advice on a sports car purchase (celica, eclipse, rsx, and tib)

Could be he is looking for a classic pre '85 Celica? They were proper cars back then with RWD. Just a shame the last UK model only had a

21R 2.0 SOHC with a single carb, 20bhp would have made all the difference.

I suggest none of the above. Get a 240SX fastback and put a 205bhp SR20DET in it - like the 180SX fastback had in Japan till 98.

'best girls car' so you may need a RB26DETT (from a Skyline GT-R)or a V6 VG30DET (from a 300ZX) or 3 stage NO2 to make a man's car outof it. You don't have to be mad but it helps.

-- Peter Hill

Can of worms - what every fisherman wants. Can of worms - what every PC owner gets!

"The RSX is a very nice "sporty" front drive car, I love mine (base 5 speed). "

yeah, my sister has one (rsx-s) and it is a fine car but the wife's wrx crushes it in every respect.

FWD/sports car is an oxymoron! Drive and get a 'drive home' price of those on your list then do the same with the best selling sports car in the US, the Mustang, then decide. ;)

mike hunt

Andrew wrote:

mustang sucks

compared to what? it's a rear drive that benefits from HUGE aftermarket support. killmore, are you a riceboy? let's hear your blah,blah,blah....i bet your a sticker tooner with one of those big muffler-thingies.

Go test drive an Eclipse and I'm pretty sure you'll eliminate that one right away.

The Tiburon drives pretty nice, and its a pretty solid car.

You are correct the Mustang GT sucks..... the doors off Toyota Celica, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Acura RSA and the Hyundai Tiburon, in particular. Except for the Hyundai Tiburon, a lot less money to drive home to boot LOL

mike hunt

Killmore wrote:

At least the Tiburon has a V6, standard.

mike hunt

noway wrote:

Since when is a Mustang a sports car??

Your net ID is just perfect.

Or go buy yourself a 1988 Toyota MR2 Supercharged (good luck FINDING one!).

You won't regret it!

Yeah, Right! tell that to the owner of that Mustang GT that I dusted this afternoon in my Eclipse GT. Seems the gentleman couldn't drive the piece of iron (i.e. doorstop) in anything less than a short, straight line. Put him on a road course and he just couldn't keep up. BTW, both cars were showroom stock, no tricks, add-ons etc. Oh well.

Kestrel

FireFighter extraordinaire! Put the wet stuff on the red stuff, I THINK! Always remember: DON'T use Purple K on CART cars!!!!!!! !

The Tiburon is in the same class handling class as the Mustang - they can't handle the turns. In the Tiburon's case the suspension is way too soft to be considered a sport car. In the Mustang's case, it has too much power for the average driver, they will lose it in the turns if they push it too far. In the hands of a trained/experienced driver it could be a lot of fun, but most of the people I know with that level of skill drive BMWs. These people could take advantage of the power and loose rear end to do stunts like J turns and sliding in backwards into a parking space. They also have enough sense to know when to slow down.

And no mentioned what you do with a Mustang when it snows. It would be a great car to teach someone how to handle loss of traction at really low speeds in an empty snow covered parking. Getting up a snow covered hill can become quite a challenge.

If you want to be forced to become a better driver, get the Mustang. If you like be>

Kestrel, the 3G eclipse is a piece of crap. just because you ran don knotts on the street doesn't change this.

Now we are comparing a 4 cylinder car to a V8? Mike, I hope it sucks the doors off the Celica. How would it do against the little 6 cylinder TT Supra?

The only 2 cars I would consider in that list are the RSX and the Celica. The Eclipse and Tiburon both weigh WAY too much for a sporty car. The Hyundai is a Hyundai, and no matter what people say about their turnaround as far as reliability, the resale value on a Hyundai will be bad. The Eclipse is also underpowered for how much the car weighs.

I would add the Subaru WRX to your list, I think they can be had for about the same cash as an RSX.

I've found my Celica to be a little rattle-prone. I also had to replace the rear brake discs after only 26000 miles because they were scored, which the dealer wouldn't cover under warranty. I am about to take it in to have the accessory belt tensioner replaced, which is a known problem with these cars (mine's a 2001 GTS, I don't know if they fixed this in more recent model years)

It does have a very limited amount of viewable area in the rear window. Just don't get the spoiler. Blind spots are a little problem, but with good mirror adjustment and a little neck craning, you should be OK. See below about the power.

GT has less horsepower, but its power is more accessible, coming at lower RPM. GTS has VVTLI, which is Toyota's variable valve timing and lift scheme (like VTEC in the Acura), but its real benefits don't kick in until 6000 rpm or something. However, the Celica only weighs 2500 pounds. The real great thing about the Celica is the handling: its steering and brakes are phenomenal.

Also, the GTS has disc brakes in the rear to the GT's drums. I got my GTS used at a great price: if I was buying new, I think I'd get the GT. The price premium you pay for the GTS only really gets you some extra HP you'll probably see only rarely, and the rear disc brakes.

Diff's between Eclipse RS, GS, GT, GTS? Its one thing to