I am in the market for a new car at the moment as the Talon is getting old (it was fun while it lasted). I am looking for a moddable car with decently fast performance right out of the box. I have been looking at

03-04 350z
05-08 Civic Si
04-06 Acura RSX
05-07 Cobalt SS supercharged

I have test driven all of them but the cobalt. The Acura was knocked off my list as being too mild for my liking. I LOVED the 350z, but price point my be a problem as even the 03-04s are in the 20k range. I was suprised by the Civic Si as I was expecting mild and got spunky, and it shot towards the top of my list. I sat in a Cobalt SS supercharged (06) but it was a bad example as the interior had been abused (cigarette burns, door trim paint scratching off, sticky crap in the dash) and couldnt get over those imperfections enough to drive it. I am going to a different dealer later in the week to testdrive one and I was wondering what to expect out of it. Everything I have read about them is plenty of power, not necissarily refinement so much. I can live with that as long as it isn't falling apart every week (DSM reliability = 0). I want to work on the car, but to improve it, not fix it. I've been following the HTV thread and Im rather impressed what the aftermarket is producing for these cars, so it hasn't dropped off my list.

What should I expect as far as the testdrive? Faster than the honda but more plain? How is the reliability? (btw I dont expect it to beat the Z, that was just insane )

 

I have beat a Z and bye more than you would think.

 

You should buy my SS

 

make sure you'll have the money to mod it after the payment, insurance, gas and other bills you have.

If I were you, i'd eliminate the civic si from your list. But, technically, with all of them it depends how much you want to dump into it. The 350z is the only one that is RWD on that list, so it doesn't seem like you're worried about FWD limitations. That said, we have a turbo guy on here getting 411hp, and there is a SC that is being developed for our car that will make 300+hp on stock internals, but you'll need traction mods. Everything hinges on your willingness to drop money into it. Civics can get a lot of HP... all depending how much money was dropped into it.

 

Yeah I realize that, but for the moment I don't feel like voiding my warranty immediately (I work on the talon so much to keep it running I going to take some time off =P) I'm talking more bang for your buck right out of the box. The SS is listed at 205 and the civic at 197. Now with an 03 z (listed at 286) and the new Z (listed 306) I couldnt really tell the difference. Will I be able to tell a difference vs the SI? And I know FWD has limitations, but most of those can be sidestepped with good suspension work (torque dampener especially) and slicks (or just better tires period).

 

i drove the 07 si and really wasnt impressed. but on the upside there are a million and one mods for a honda. i drove a ss/sc before i bougt my ss/na and was impressed but didnt want to spend the money. i later regreted not spending the extra coin on the supercharged, and since i ran into a few issues with my ss/na i decided to trade it in and order the new cobalt ss/tc. to add another car to list i would consider a slightly used wrx. they are fast stock and can easily throw on a turbo and supporting mods . but out of your list i would have to recomend the cobalt ss/sc, people on here are doing amazing things with them.

 

TS, wait until the turbo Cobalts come out and start shopping for a used supercharged one.
Sounds the most ideal option for you.

 

yeh SS/SC is rated at 205 but really come at 220 if im correct?