02 t-wrex
01-10-2003, 02:51 AM
Last weekend I took my girlfriend, Shannon, out for a day of test drives as she was in the market for a new car. The requirements were: fast, fun, small (light), and under $22k. Shannon REALLY wanted a new Mini Cooper S, but with options the price was nearly $26k and slightly out of range... especially with dealer markups.
First we drove the new redesigned 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6. This car was the biggest surprise of the bunch. It was actually a really fun little sports coupe. The 2.7L V6 sounds sweet and has good low down torque. The 6-speed gearbox had relatively short throws and slotted into gear easily, although a bit rubbery feeling. Ride quality was possibly the worst (although not too bad) of the three vehicles we test drove. Possibly due to the higher spring rates needed to keep the rather porky 3000lb car flat in the corners. Rear seat room was rediculously absent. I sat in the back during one portion of the test drive and I was unable to sit upright (I`m 5` 11") and leg room was very tight even with the front passenger`s knees in the dashboard! The Tiburon equipped with all options (leather, power sunroof, spoiler, ABS, 6-speed) came to just over $20k.
Next we drove down the street to the Acura dealership to take a look at the RSX Type-S. This car had the best interior of the bunch hands down. Very solid, high quality feel throughout the car. The leather sports seats with thier large bolsters fit very well and were nice and supportive durring cornering. This car was our favorite on paper, being the most powerful and well equipped (although also the most expensive). That all changed during the test drive however. The salesman actually guided me to a nice twisty road so I could get a good feel for the handling. The first thing I noticed is the lack of torque, this car has only 145 lb/ft of torque at 6000RPM . The engine was very loud and did not sound good at all, even cruising at 3500 rpm the noise made me want to shift to a higher gear... which in turn killed any chance of accelerating the vehicle. The 6-speed gearbox was nice and tight feeling, although the super-short throws were so close that it was hard to pick the right gear... very easy to grab 2nd rather than 4th for example (could be disasterous if accelerating hard and shifting at the 8000 rpm redline). The salesman urged me to take it all the way up to redline so I could feel the power, so I did... and was met with still more disappointment. Where was the sudden rush of power as the i-VTEC kicked in? It revved really quickly, and shot towards 8000rpm rather quickly, but there was nothing pushing me into my seat. On paper this is the fastest car of the bunch, but FELT the slowest. In the twisties the RSX-S felt agile and stayed flat... but the steering felt a bit overboosted and didn`t communicate very well. Just not very confidence-inspiring in the turns. Rear seat room was tight, but much more reasonable than the Tiburon. Price with options (spoiler, floor mats, wheel locks) was just under $24k.
Lastly we swung by our local SVT certified Ford dealer to sample the SVT Focus. While the interior of this car wasn`t quite up to par with the other two, it was still well equipped and felt solid. The leather seats had decent bolsters, although not as deep as the Acura or Hyundai. The dash has some odd angles to it, but it is very roomy cabin, including the rear. The dash is highlighted by white face SVT logoed gauges (including the VERY welcome addition of oil pressure and oil temp gauges) and a small diameter leather-wrapped steering wheel. The 2.0L engine was very responsive, with lots of usable torque down low (thanks to variable length intake runners & variable valve timing) and it really screams up top (thanks in part to a reworked cylinder head, higher compression, and tuned tubular exhaust headers... YES, HEADERS! :up ). The Getrag 6-speed feels great and has very close ratios. This car handles AMAZINGLY! The little Focus just eats up the corners... taking a 25mph corner at 50+ feels tame in this car. Body roll is virtually non-existant and the car seems to anticipate your next move. Steering is VERY direct and quick, without feeling overboosted, so much in fact, that it does feel a bit "darty" at freeway speeds. Surprisingly the ride comfort was the best of the bunch despite it`s stiffer spring rates and 17" wheels. The Focus soaks up potholes and undulating pavement very well and even the roughest pavement fails to translate any noticable harshness. The brakes were firm and hauled the car down very quickly, and with it`s monster 11.8" rotors I would imagine fade is hard to provoke. This car with options (Audiophile stereo upgrade & power sunroof) came to just over $19k minus a $3000 cash rebate!
In case you couldn`t tell from the reviews, we liked the SVT Focus the best. Shannon is now the very proud and happy owner of a 2002 Pitch-black SVT Focus. I`ll be sure to post pictures after our detailing party this weekend :D
Sorry for the long post! :eek:
First we drove the new redesigned 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6. This car was the biggest surprise of the bunch. It was actually a really fun little sports coupe. The 2.7L V6 sounds sweet and has good low down torque. The 6-speed gearbox had relatively short throws and slotted into gear easily, although a bit rubbery feeling. Ride quality was possibly the worst (although not too bad) of the three vehicles we test drove. Possibly due to the higher spring rates needed to keep the rather porky 3000lb car flat in the corners. Rear seat room was rediculously absent. I sat in the back during one portion of the test drive and I was unable to sit upright (I`m 5` 11") and leg room was very tight even with the front passenger`s knees in the dashboard! The Tiburon equipped with all options (leather, power sunroof, spoiler, ABS, 6-speed) came to just over $20k.
Next we drove down the street to the Acura dealership to take a look at the RSX Type-S. This car had the best interior of the bunch hands down. Very solid, high quality feel throughout the car. The leather sports seats with thier large bolsters fit very well and were nice and supportive durring cornering. This car was our favorite on paper, being the most powerful and well equipped (although also the most expensive). That all changed during the test drive however. The salesman actually guided me to a nice twisty road so I could get a good feel for the handling. The first thing I noticed is the lack of torque, this car has only 145 lb/ft of torque at 6000RPM . The engine was very loud and did not sound good at all, even cruising at 3500 rpm the noise made me want to shift to a higher gear... which in turn killed any chance of accelerating the vehicle. The 6-speed gearbox was nice and tight feeling, although the super-short throws were so close that it was hard to pick the right gear... very easy to grab 2nd rather than 4th for example (could be disasterous if accelerating hard and shifting at the 8000 rpm redline). The salesman urged me to take it all the way up to redline so I could feel the power, so I did... and was met with still more disappointment. Where was the sudden rush of power as the i-VTEC kicked in? It revved really quickly, and shot towards 8000rpm rather quickly, but there was nothing pushing me into my seat. On paper this is the fastest car of the bunch, but FELT the slowest. In the twisties the RSX-S felt agile and stayed flat... but the steering felt a bit overboosted and didn`t communicate very well. Just not very confidence-inspiring in the turns. Rear seat room was tight, but much more reasonable than the Tiburon. Price with options (spoiler, floor mats, wheel locks) was just under $24k.
Lastly we swung by our local SVT certified Ford dealer to sample the SVT Focus. While the interior of this car wasn`t quite up to par with the other two, it was still well equipped and felt solid. The leather seats had decent bolsters, although not as deep as the Acura or Hyundai. The dash has some odd angles to it, but it is very roomy cabin, including the rear. The dash is highlighted by white face SVT logoed gauges (including the VERY welcome addition of oil pressure and oil temp gauges) and a small diameter leather-wrapped steering wheel. The 2.0L engine was very responsive, with lots of usable torque down low (thanks to variable length intake runners & variable valve timing) and it really screams up top (thanks in part to a reworked cylinder head, higher compression, and tuned tubular exhaust headers... YES, HEADERS! :up ). The Getrag 6-speed feels great and has very close ratios. This car handles AMAZINGLY! The little Focus just eats up the corners... taking a 25mph corner at 50+ feels tame in this car. Body roll is virtually non-existant and the car seems to anticipate your next move. Steering is VERY direct and quick, without feeling overboosted, so much in fact, that it does feel a bit "darty" at freeway speeds. Surprisingly the ride comfort was the best of the bunch despite it`s stiffer spring rates and 17" wheels. The Focus soaks up potholes and undulating pavement very well and even the roughest pavement fails to translate any noticable harshness. The brakes were firm and hauled the car down very quickly, and with it`s monster 11.8" rotors I would imagine fade is hard to provoke. This car with options (Audiophile stereo upgrade & power sunroof) came to just over $19k minus a $3000 cash rebate!
In case you couldn`t tell from the reviews, we liked the SVT Focus the best. Shannon is now the very proud and happy owner of a 2002 Pitch-black SVT Focus. I`ll be sure to post pictures after our detailing party this weekend :D
Sorry for the long post! :eek: