Cheap Quick Cars

Out of the above cars, if you were spending your own cash, which would you choose? The Criteria being good value, reliability, and fun to drive.

how is 35 grand cheap? anyways id go with the cobalt ss, its the cheapest and on a track would most likeley beat every other car there (im not sure about the wrx and mazdaspeed 3 though) plus it looks pretty good and the ecotec has alot of potential.

Well the WRX was the car i have been looking at for awhile it is a bit more money, and it's one of those cars that just barely made the price cut (mainly due to it's high level of standard features)

I like the GTI. But an SRT-4 would be a nice choice as well.

GTI. Automobile's Car of the Year.

If you need it for the snow, buy snow tires...or go w/the WRX.

Si has no torque.
MS3 is iffy in interior quality (not looks) and reliability is questionable.
Cobalt is also inferior in interior quality.
Miata has no space.
Mustang is nice, but guzzles gas and interior is not the nicest.

the Caliber SRT was not included because i was unable to find a price on it and the Neon SRT was not included due to it no longer being offered

the Caliber SRT was not included because i was unable to find a price on it and the Neon SRT was not included due to it no longer being offered

Caliber SRT is being offered and it's AWD.

Found the article I wanted to post. Compares the GTI vs. Si vs. Cobalt SS vs. tC w/TRD supercharger

http://autobytel.espn.go.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_id_int/1971

If you're too lazy to read:

CLIFF NOTES:

VW GTI vs. Honda Civic Si vs. Chevy Cobalt SS vs. Scion tC (w/TRD blower)

Ranked on several categories:

Powertrain (in order of 1st to 4th): GTI, SS, Si, tC
Street Driving: SS, GTI, Si, tC
Track Driving: SS, Si, GTI, tC
Comfort: GTI, Si, tC, SS
Quality: GTI, Si, tC, SS
Design: Si, GTI, tC, SS

Final Point Rankings:
4th - tC 6.4 out of 10
3rd - SS 7.1 out of 10
2nd - Si 7.3 out of 10
1st - GTI 8.0 out of 10

Driver Opinions/Picks:

Blackett: GTI, Si, SS, tC
Chee: GTI, Si, tC, SS
Perry: Si, GTI, SS, tC
Wardlaw: GTI, Si, SS, tC

C&D picked the GTI over the Civic Si as well.

The GTI is just a great overall car. It isn't the quickest of the bunch, nor the most reliable, but it its a better total package then anything else.

The turbo engine is very tunable, it has by far the most attractive interior of any of these cars, it makes a great daily driver, the optional DSG is one of the best transmissions in the world, and it is easy and fun to drive.

I used to say this about the Acura RSX-S, but the GTI is the poor man's BMW M3. It isn't the quickest car for the money, nor is it the most luxurious, but it combines both elements very well for the money.

the main thing deturing me from the GTi is the Civic, it has similar power (hp, not tq) better engine noise and is 4k less,(i was wrong with the price, it's actually a few dollars over 30k with dest. charge) and it's also faster in AutoX of which i take part in a few times a year, and the milage is better, but the GTi is a very nice car to drive day to day, I'm just not sure if it is edgy enough, also i don't plan to do anything besides lightweight wheels and grippy tires

Of these cars I would choose the GTI (to me the mustang shouldn't be in this comparo, its goals as a car are different) I have test driven the GTI and was very impressed. If I wanted to spend more money I would have gotten the GTI over the Civic SI. However when comparing the civic EX and the Rabbit, I am more attracted to the civic. My vote in this comparo went to the GTI for excellence overall.

you mentioned good value, reliability and fun to drive. i have to stay true to the honda. get over the stigma of it being a "civic". it's a lot of car and in my own opinion at least, it's as good of a balance of those three criterium that you'll get in this crowd. not the fastest, not the most powerful, not the biggest headturner, not the cheapest nor the most expensive. really not the best at most things but like i said, it's a good balance of a little of everything.

My pick is the subie cuz I see the WRX as a good value performance wise with it's turbo, awd, and all right reliability (Interior quality doesn't look like a strongpoint to me). If you use a daily driver for autocross also, then i'd go with the Si.

If it was a pick between a Golf GTi and a Civic (in the UK market it would be the Type-R) I would have to go with the little Red H badge, despite the Golf being the more likely better car.



I'd still get an Alfa 147 GTA over both of those though.

the main thing deturing me from the GTi is the Civic, it has similar power (hp, not tq) better engine noise and is 4k less,(i was wrong with the price, it's actually a few dollars over 30k with dest. charge) and it's also faster in AutoX of which i take part in a few times a year, and the milage is better, but the GTi is a very nice car to drive day to day, I'm just not sure if it is edgy enough, also i don't plan to do anything besides lightweight wheels and grippy tires

The Si does handle better out of the box. I admit that.

But price wise baseline...the prices were not that far off.

GTI 21,995 MSRP
Si 21,090 MSRP

Basic warranty is better.

GTI 4 yr. / 50000 mi.
Si 3 yr. / 36000 mi.

Drivetrain warranty is the same. Rust is vastly different.

GTI 12 yr. / Unlimited mi.
Si 5 yr. / Unlimited mi.

Gas mileage is better on the GTI. GTI also has bigger tank at 14.5 vs. 13.2 gallons.

GTI 23/32 and 26 mpg EPA combined.
Si 22/31 and 25.3 mpg EPA combined.

GTI has more cargo space at 15.1 cubic ft vs. 11.5 cubic ft. A small note that I like is HID's are standard on the GTI.

Well the prices that i quoted are the Canadian (where i live) MSRP as on their respective websites

Well the prices that i quoted are the Canadian (where i live) MSRP as on their respective websites

Yeah sorry I dont have Canadian prices.

Final numbers to consider in acceleration (all in MPH)

GTI 0-60 6.33 (w/manual)
Si 0-60 6.53

Rolling

GTI 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 - 2.4, 3.2, 4.7 respectively
Si 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 - 2.9, 4.1, 5.8 respectively

Quartermile

GTI 14.72
Si 14.93

Out of the choices I would take the MazdaSpeed 3.

how much is a R32 Golf around your parts?

you would be looking at a min of 40k, but they have yet to be released here, so i'm going off the prevous gen

well, in the UK list price of the R32 is £4000 over the GTi which isn't a lot to stretch to.
Both R32s have a very wonderful V6 in it and while the performance doesn't seem to be that different to the GTi, it's a very different car in driving.
I also prefer the look of the old one anyway.

Yeah...the only reason to get the new MKV R32 would be for the AWD b/c the engine is not as nice IMHO as the 2.0T FSI. Also, I heard it's only coming in DSG which is good for DSG lovers, but I like my 6MT much better. Personally at the prices they are projecting...you gotta seriously consider other cars like the Evo and STi...which are much better AWD cars albeit they dont have quality interiors like the R32 will.

in the UK, only the basic wrx is cheaper than the R32; all others cost more.
also, our R32 can be had with a manual gearbox.