3000gt/gto or supra or fto? help me decide!

[Mystic Slippers]

Hi all, thinking of changing my weekend car only do 5k a year at present-got a tvr tasmin v8 at the moment but fancy something different.
I like the look of the mistsubishi gto ,it would be the n/a version and i dont really mind an auto box.
I also like the toyota supra again the non turbo.
Or lastly the mitsu fto smaller and maybe cheaper to run.

has anyone owned any ?
interested in running costs reliability,performance etc

thanks

[Japveesix]

From what I gather a n/a Supra is not going to be any faster than a decent FTO as it's a bit heavier and barely has any more power. From that I'd think they're probably just a bit dissapointing to drive (personally if I owned a Supra I'd be expecting it to eat most things on the road).

Having said that you could have a rather nice aerotop for the summer for <£5k:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1648503.htm

Good condition standard GTOs look great imo and by all accounts make a good GT car, but again might feel underpowered for the size and weight of the vehicle?

I like the look of this one for £3k:


The FTO is fun, handles well, sounds nice enough and still looks quite nice (though it seems it's a bit marmite in that department). I love mine as it is cheap to run, parts are easy enough to come by and the members club is very helpful. Bit of a different beast than the GTO/Supra being fwd and a fair bit smaller but it is a rewarding car to drive and £5k will see you in an absolutely mint one (which you may struggle with with the others).

Please just avoid the tarted up crap ones (there are lots) and get one like this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1400987.htm

Mine - for the money I couldn't find anything that combined practicality, speed, looks, sound and rareness so well




Ps. for reliability I've had FTOs for about 3 years and only had a stepper motor go in that time (and it was the original so over 15 years old). Other than that I find it easy to work on (and I know nothing about cars) and I get about 28mpg - with very few motorway or decent long journeys.

[Mystic Slippers]

Many thanks for the reply,and the great pics.
all the cars look the muts.
Im not after mega performance just to keep up with the traffic and the odd blast.
£3k for that white gto ,wow a lot of car for the money.
The fto looks the business also.
cheers again

[GravelBen]

The only reason I can think of for getting an FTO over an NA Supra is the fact that its cheaper, and probably more economical. And thats from someone who usually slags off NA Supras as 'those cars that look fast but get beaten by MX5's at track days'.

[300bhp/ton]

Mystic Slippers said:

Hi all, thinking of changing my weekend car only do 5k a year at present-got a tvr tasmin v8 at the moment but fancy something different.
I like the look of the mistsubishi gto ,it would be the n/a version and i dont really mind an auto box.
I also like the toyota supra again the non turbo.
Or lastly the mitsu fto smaller and maybe cheaper to run.

has anyone owned any ?
interested in running costs reliability,performance etc

thanks

I quite like all of these, although I think I'd be wanting the turbo variants of the GTO or Supra.

In that respect the Supra has to be the better car, more reliable, lighter and a better drive.

I've also heard some scare stories about the GTO's.

As for the FTO, it's a bit oddball, although not as rare a sight on the roads as you might think.

Also a lot of different engines available and only one of them was quick. They also seem to be suffering rust these days and have really entered the chav scene. And aren't parts quite pricey for these??

I also raced one in my S13 200SX a number of years ago, the Nissan was faster.

How about looking at something more like an Impreza STI III or IV or a Celica GT-Four?

You've also got other imports at this price range such as Fbody's (Camaro/Trans Am), Mustangs and even a C4 Corvette if you are after cheap to run performance cars.