Which new compact car would make the best pocket rocket?

[sleeperguy]

umm.. wow, this is a very odd comparison, why is the si and focus svt being compared to rsx and wrx, not even in the same class.. and omg, the si.. that thing has horrendous looks. cars that can be fairly compared are the following:
-focus svt (170hps) -- 18,000
-civic si (160hps) -- 19.000
-neon srt (204 hps) -- 20,000
-turbo protege (170 hps) -- ~19,000
-SE-R spec v (175 hps) -- 17,000
-golf gti (180hps) -- 19,000

-all are UNDER the 20 k mark, with a fair bit of price range
-and all are the "performance" trims of their respective models with varying options
-which are turbo charged? neon srt, turbo protege, gti
-the only real "exclusive" feature amongst all these cars is an LSD! and the only one to have it is the spec v
-the neon srt looks like a wrx and vice versa, interior's ok, rear end is uuugly (still a neon)
-svt exterior is not bad, interiors pretty good
-si, ugly exterior, ok interior
-protege, nimble nice exterior and ok interior
-gti, ok exterior and interior, high cost of ownership

BEST balance of looks/performance/price?
-the SPEC V
-some other cars have better 0-60 times, but they are turbo'd
-nismo is coming to NA fall 2002 and tack ona turbo and voila EVEN better 0-60 times etc
-nice looks (skyline type front end and seats)
-questionable rear end? (must see in real life, looks quite nice)
-questionable tranny hps losses? still an excellent performer (0-60 in 7.1, 1/4 in 15.1)
-6 speed tranny, some others only have a 5 speed
-LSD an expensive feature not seen in other models

-the only cars i'd consider? turbo protege and focus svt but still more $

-what i'm getting?? spec v!! it's hyped, yes, but STILL a performer and GREAT competitor? a resounding YES!!
-EXCellent excellent value
-again, nismo anyone?

RSX or wrx?
-whole differnet price range and therefore not considered.

btw, IF i'm missing something, NO flames, but constructive and INSIGHTFUL criticisms welcome. and NO rsx/wrx comparisons as i've EXPLAINED WHY.

[sleeperguy]

btw, i started a NEW thread with a poll (<-- click here) to see what you guys think. the new thread is here (<-- or click here)

[What ya Smoking?!?]

its out of the WRX and the Acura:bandit: :smoka: :smoker2: :ylsuper

[Ando_Rules]

WRX is way above the rest in this catogory

[Whitey001]

I agree the wrx is a verry nice car:frog:

[crayzayjay]

It's a very accomplished car indeed. Shame it's so damn ugly, i wouldnt show my face in it. Uglier and slower than its predecessor, maybe Darwin was wrong

[sico22b]

i'd say wrx. i know there are a lot of people out there that don't like them but ever since i saw my first 2.5 rs as a little kid i fell in love with subaru. the wrx has one very large blemish in my opinion, headlights. they're just so damn ugly. i like morettes but they're like $500. also i'd way and see when cobb is coming out with the new age impreza wide body kit. for the gc8 body there's a kit from . the rest of my picks are ordered like this, gti vr6, rsx type s, focus svt, celica gt-s, and civic si.
now some may wonder why my oder, so here's my beef (not to offend anyone tho, just my opinion) civic si just looks plain bad, evenwith body kits i've seen they just aren't aesthically pleaseing and there's not enough of a performance jump to offset that. celica GT-S is a great car, toyota has very reliable engines and historically the gts has been a performer, but the new 6 speed has had problems. i know 2 ppl who had theirs' fixed a couple times and they're some of the best drivers i've ever met so its not that they don't know how to shift well. on top of that the new celica has very limited perfromance parts, u almost need to go thru trd and even then there's not a whole lot. the focus svt is a good car, i've heard that the only real deal with it is that it lacks the flashy body kit the focus rs has (which we will never get!) and the pedals vibrate under hard excelleration. this is a modified car and so what u see is kinda wut u get, there's room for mods but not a lot. the rsx is a good up and coming car, taking the integra's place and hopefully seeing a type r soon. there's potential for great performance and generally a good looking car. ok stock power for the money. gti vr6 is a fast car, looks good, however, every vw i've ever driven in or seen racing has always had a little more body roll and loose handling characteristics than i'd expect. in comparison with a lot of these other cars vw needs a lot more suspension work and good race lines to keep a flat track around tight curves. o yeah and just curious but isn't that picture the vw golf 25th anniversary edition? anyways, i like the vr6 power and if u hav the money to work on suspension then its a great tuner. now the impreza, as i said before the head lamps are a big blemish, so those gotta go. there are an incredibly large selection of aftermarket and factory or factory affiliated parts for subaru's (sti, cobb, vividracing.com, scoobysport.co.uk) and the car's stock abilities for the amount of money you shell out is very very nice. and even if u over look all of that the fact that u won't hav the o so feared understeer of a frontwheel drive car and improved bad weather handling of all wheel drive....well that's enough for me to make my decision. but hey man its yur money not mine, and i just thought i'd let ya know my view. good luck and remember the beauty of all wheel drive!

[sico22b]

oops, forgot to put in where that gc8 wide body kit is, not that it matter for yur decision but here is the site. aerosim
just out of curiosity why not consider a 2.5 rs? bottom of the line wrx is like 23000 i think, u can easily get an excellent condition non modified 2000 2.5 rs for like 16000, for like 4000 get a stage 3 power package from cobb and b over 200 hp and running mid 14's. that's a naturally aspirated 4 banger running 14's, and u can tool around in bad weather with minimal fear of losing control. just thought i'd bring that option in for ya if yur interested. only particular with the 2.5 rs is the year. 2000 and 2001 are ideal, after that u get the not as apealing body style of the new age, and its the same engine in a heavier car so....1999 back u hav an intake system that has very sensative oxygen sensors and any intake change will destroy them or u'l need to constantly clean it. cobb makes an intake and cleaner but its kind of a pain to clean it. 2000 and 2001 hav an upgraded intake which takes care of that problem. the other main problem is rs owners are very happy with the low end grunt, high torque and all wheel drive is great for getting that jump off the line. problem here is with most aftermarket intakes and exhausts u gain high end but lose valuable low. cobb, sti, and scoobysport hav intakes and exhausts that are specifically designed to increase top end speed/power, keep low end torque, and increase power range. so if money saving is an issue, and u don't like the way the new body looks, i'd say check out the 2.5 rs and cobb power package stage 3. check out www.i-club.com if yur interested. any and all information can b found/answered there. good luck again dude.

[sico22b]

some more pics
http://forums.i-club.com/forums/show...ht=22b+fenders

[itsmeek]

Originally posted by bassik277

I would definetely compare the GTI with the RSX, and GT-S, because they are all 6 cylinder front wheel drive compact hatchbacks and are all in the same horsepower range. As for the WRX, it might be in a different category because of the fact that it is 4 wheel drive. The SVT focus and civic SI are in their own horsepower range but that can be easily fixed with mods because you have to keep in mind that they are cheaped then the others. As you can tell, I like hatchbacks, because 5 out of the 6 cars I am considering are hatchbacks

the gts and rsx are 6 cylinder cars??? and the gti 1.8 is a 6 cylinder car?? i'm so confused lol:smoker2:

[crayzayjay]

Vw Golf GTI is a 4-pot, (in Europe anyway), V6 4-motion is, you guessed it, a V6

[Stefanel1]

the Golf R32...

[crayzayjay]

Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

[Stefanel1]

Off topic ... Clio V6

[crayzayjay]

Not off-topic at all... The Clio V6 is a pocket rocket and people should know about it:
Renault Sport Clio V6 has a mid-mounted 3l V6 developing 230bhp, shooting the car off to 60 in less than 6 seconds and topping out at approx 145mph.
The new, facelifted version develops 255bhp and attempts to tame the evil handling of the first version in the wet.

Pics below:
Front:

Back:

On the move:

Wide ass!!! :

Profile:


Facelifted:



Someone said this thing has more road presence than a Diablo. I think thats a bit too far, but let me assure you, you cant drive this car around town without every other motorist (and pedestrians at that!) staring at you

cheers,
jay