Trying to find the best turbo charged 4 seater...GT4? Supra?
Discussion
Hi all
Trying to choose my ideal car... I've been lucky enough to own quite a few nippy cars and various different types, but I'm very fussy and often get bored with a car in a few months. I'm trying to find something I'd be happy with and keep long term.
My main criteria are:
Turbo charged - or a noticeable kick*
4 seats
Hatchback/coupe
Preferably Japanese
Good handling - 'fun' factor
I also had a Lotus Elise temporarily with the Toyota engine that delivered an awesome kick at high revs, that was great.
Only two seats though and bloody uncomfortable...
I've driven some cars on the 'experience days' including a Ferrari 360, Lambo Gallardo and Aston Martin Vantage - yes they were all quick but the power delivery was too linear for my liking. I LOVED the Impreza I drove due to it's turbo kick.
Shame it's not a hatchback... (I know the new one is, but I'm not so keen on it).
Not keen on estates (before someone suggests an older Suburu estate) either, too big.
My favourite car is an MK1 MX-5 that's turbo charged - sooo much fun. Even a NA one puts a smile on your face. But again, no rear seats...
Currently I have a 3 litre twin turbo BMW 3 series. I thought it would be perfect - it IS, technically - but it's so damn over engineered you don't 'feel' anything. The twin turbos work in such sweet harmony that you don't really feel the kick, and the comfort/luxury of the car means you overtake around 80mph and before you know it you're doing 120mph without realising!! I love that I can do 30mph in my MX-5 and FEEL like I'm going fast
The car needs to have character... the BMW is soulless.
The other twin turbo I had was the Nissan 300ZX, modified from the standard 300bhp to about 350bhp. Bloody hell that thing shifted. The slight delay and then the kick of the turbos was AMAZING. Problem was that it was a big, heavy handling car and also I bought a cheap, rotten UK model with far too many problems to list.
But that made me think that a Mitsubishi GT3000/GTO might be a good option - but apparently they are big heavy beasts, too.
The Toyota Supra is something I'm definitely considering, I've read that they are supposed to handle really well. Little bit rare to find a twin turbo manual (Oh yes!! The car MUST be a manual!!) that hasn't been molested, haven't found one near enough me to try yet. The other option is a Celica GT4 (the one with the twin headlights). I test drove one the other day; loved the handling and the boost seemed good in 1st and 2nd but it seemed to struggle to spool up/to 'kick' much after that - perhaps it was a bad one? Anyone have any experience with GT4s or Supra's - am I going to get the kind of kick I'm after?
Another option is an old pop up headlight 180/240SX - looks like an MX-5 coupe so exactly my taste (NO I'm not a hairdresser, before anyone asks!) - seem pretty rare though.
I like Imprezas, Evo's, Skyline etc but they're not hatchbacks...
Anything I've missed?
And yes: I am a fussy ba5tard
ta!
Rossi
Trying to choose my ideal car... I've been lucky enough to own quite a few nippy cars and various different types, but I'm very fussy and often get bored with a car in a few months. I'm trying to find something I'd be happy with and keep long term.
My main criteria are:
Turbo charged - or a noticeable kick*
4 seats
Hatchback/coupe
Preferably Japanese
Good handling - 'fun' factor
- I had a Civic Type-R (EP3) a few years ago that had a great VTEC kick that I really enjoyed, so I figured an Integra Type-R would by the ideal car. However, I've test driven two recently and wasn't impressed - I couldn't 'feel' the kick.
I also had a Lotus Elise temporarily with the Toyota engine that delivered an awesome kick at high revs, that was great.
Only two seats though and bloody uncomfortable...
I've driven some cars on the 'experience days' including a Ferrari 360, Lambo Gallardo and Aston Martin Vantage - yes they were all quick but the power delivery was too linear for my liking. I LOVED the Impreza I drove due to it's turbo kick.
Shame it's not a hatchback... (I know the new one is, but I'm not so keen on it).
Not keen on estates (before someone suggests an older Suburu estate) either, too big.
My favourite car is an MK1 MX-5 that's turbo charged - sooo much fun. Even a NA one puts a smile on your face. But again, no rear seats...
Currently I have a 3 litre twin turbo BMW 3 series. I thought it would be perfect - it IS, technically - but it's so damn over engineered you don't 'feel' anything. The twin turbos work in such sweet harmony that you don't really feel the kick, and the comfort/luxury of the car means you overtake around 80mph and before you know it you're doing 120mph without realising!! I love that I can do 30mph in my MX-5 and FEEL like I'm going fast
The car needs to have character... the BMW is soulless.The other twin turbo I had was the Nissan 300ZX, modified from the standard 300bhp to about 350bhp. Bloody hell that thing shifted. The slight delay and then the kick of the turbos was AMAZING. Problem was that it was a big, heavy handling car and also I bought a cheap, rotten UK model with far too many problems to list.
But that made me think that a Mitsubishi GT3000/GTO might be a good option - but apparently they are big heavy beasts, too.
The Toyota Supra is something I'm definitely considering, I've read that they are supposed to handle really well. Little bit rare to find a twin turbo manual (Oh yes!! The car MUST be a manual!!) that hasn't been molested, haven't found one near enough me to try yet. The other option is a Celica GT4 (the one with the twin headlights). I test drove one the other day; loved the handling and the boost seemed good in 1st and 2nd but it seemed to struggle to spool up/to 'kick' much after that - perhaps it was a bad one? Anyone have any experience with GT4s or Supra's - am I going to get the kind of kick I'm after?
Another option is an old pop up headlight 180/240SX - looks like an MX-5 coupe so exactly my taste (NO I'm not a hairdresser, before anyone asks!) - seem pretty rare though.
I like Imprezas, Evo's, Skyline etc but they're not hatchbacks...
Anything I've missed?
And yes: I am a fussy ba5tard
ta!
Rossi
I had exactly the same problem with my 135i.
It just wasn't fun.
An S2000 is fun, and you get a great sensation of speed.
But, there are only 2 seats.
I went a different route and bought a little old Jeep.
Great fun to drive, but in a different way.
What about a Jag - although they are mostly autos.
An Audi A4 quattro - same sort of pedigree as the BMW, but less corporate in my opinion.
It just wasn't fun.
An S2000 is fun, and you get a great sensation of speed.
But, there are only 2 seats.
I went a different route and bought a little old Jeep.
Great fun to drive, but in a different way.
What about a Jag - although they are mostly autos.
An Audi A4 quattro - same sort of pedigree as the BMW, but less corporate in my opinion.
Tweaked Fiat coupe 20v?
Edit - this one's running 350bhp, so the ad reads. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...
Edit - this one's running 350bhp, so the ad reads. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...
Edited by phil1979 on Tuesday 1st October 12:20
mrrossi said:
Not keen on estates (before someone suggests an older Suburu estate) either, too big.
A scooby wagon is no bigger than the saloon is it, they just used the wasted space above the saloons boot lid?the car itself is not "big" and fits your criteria perfectly I'd have thought.
Personally I think Impreza or EVO offer more bang for your buck than most. Whatever your budget is why don't you hold some back for some well executed mods which there are stacks for both of these cars.
You can then build it to deliver exactly what you want.
If I went for another make though I'd want a Maserati 3200 with the twin turbo V6. I've never driven one but someone once said it felt much faster and more entertaining than their CSL !
You get a huge amount of car for your money but the back seats are probably not very roomy?
You can then build it to deliver exactly what you want.
If I went for another make though I'd want a Maserati 3200 with the twin turbo V6. I've never driven one but someone once said it felt much faster and more entertaining than their CSL !
You get a huge amount of car for your money but the back seats are probably not very roomy?
I totally get the coupe over saloon preference. I recently went through a similar selection process, and ended up with a GT4. I wanted something I could use every day as an only car, but that still had the fun factor and wasn't a boring looking saloon.
A manual supra turbo would be excellent if you can find one. The 'kick factor' would be a bit better than the GT4. IMO the cockpit is better, and light tuning to ~350hp is much easier, but I preferred the handling on the GT4 and felt it was just a bit more accomplished all round. Very underrated car IMO and at current prices is a steal - you can get a pretty much top condition original one for £3k, and decent useable ones from £1.5k !
I looked at the Porsche 944 turbo too, you may want to consider it. Keep it in decent condition and it may appreciate.
A manual supra turbo would be excellent if you can find one. The 'kick factor' would be a bit better than the GT4. IMO the cockpit is better, and light tuning to ~350hp is much easier, but I preferred the handling on the GT4 and felt it was just a bit more accomplished all round. Very underrated car IMO and at current prices is a steal - you can get a pretty much top condition original one for £3k, and decent useable ones from £1.5k !
I looked at the Porsche 944 turbo too, you may want to consider it. Keep it in decent condition and it may appreciate.
As an ex Evo owner, if possible take a 8MR or 9 for a test drive. Very quick in standard form, cica £800 for stage 1 takes you to 400/400 which is all I ever needed on UK roads. All the "kick" you'll ever need.
The only thing slight down side is you need to be very committed to use it as a daily drive and stop/start traffic is a pain in one, it just wanted to be off the leash all the while.
The only thing slight down side is you need to be very committed to use it as a daily drive and stop/start traffic is a pain in one, it just wanted to be off the leash all the while.
Spend a few quid on the BMW, 400 bhp available for a reasonable outlay, more if you are prepared to spend more, I have found that a remap does tend to make any given turbo car a lot less polite in its delivery, BMW spend ages tuning for smooth power delivery, economy and flexibility, the normals dont like scary so they tune it out so it is palatable for those not used to big power.
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