Wanting something fun, fast and economic. Choices are down to one of these three, pictures might or might not come out (first time answersY user) ALL are stick shift.
1990 Honda Integra – coilovers, vtec, intake, exhaust, needs syncro in 5th
1989 Toyota MR-2 GT – turbocharged, coilovers, exhaust, bov
1994 Mitsubishi FTO – factory standard.
1989 Honda CRX – lowered, exhaust, $6K sound system
- Mitsubishi FTO: wouldn’t trust it. I’ve owned two Mitsus, and they were both crap. My Galant VR4’s engine grenaded at 65k mi and had been dilligently maintained, and the GTO had all sorts of issues… electrical, mechanical, etc. I love the Evos, but I don’t know if I could ever trust one after what those pieces put me through…
- 90 Integra: very reliable and if it’s got VTEC that’s awesome in terms of its potential performance, but you’ll already have to repair the gearbox, which is an indicator that it was probably beaten on pretty hard by someone who didn’t know what they were doing, meaning that it could be problematic down the line.
- CRX: total BLAST to drive! Fun little cars. It’s the least modified of the three candidates (the FTO is just… no), so it’s probably going to be the most reliable, and these little buggers go on forever. I am much more into performance than sound systems though, and having a $6k sound system means it will be a target for thieves, which would make me wary of it. If I get a CRX, it’ll have a nice head unit and some good Fosgate or Boston Acoustic speakers, but that’s about it. Once people hear it rumbling down the street with the bass thumping, *someone* will try to open it up and take a peek while you’re asleep at night.
- MR2: hands down the coolest and most powerful/fastest of the cars, a real sports car. With the turbo and the coilovers it’d be tough to pass up for me; I drive an S2000 (best car ever), and IMHO, it’s the closest of these cars to it. They are great in terms of reliability, and though they look a bit dated these days and the paint on them is crap quality, they are well worth it.
Hope that helps!
All sound like cars that have been raced, run hard, or even abused. If I were you, I would pick one and have a mechanic check it out thoroughly before I purchased. Some of the customization work was probably done by the owners, not professional mechanics, and may be inferior work.
I’ve ran 2 FTOs and have had experience of many more, they’re very well built, neither of mine have ever let me down, and the one I have now hasn’t required any work at all. the only real weak point (if you could call it that) would be the tiptronic transmission, if fluid changes haven’t been done there may be issues. on the whole they’re really reliable, not as complex as a GTO or VR4.
I’d choose the Toyota… only because they’re extremely reliable engines and easy to work on yourself. In saying that I’m just a chick who doesn’t know much about cars…. Had a 1990 Hiace though that had done 600,000kms. If that’s not an advertisement for Toyota I don’t know what is!!
Aside from the Mitsubishi being notably newer, I would choose the MR2.
Remember these are cars, not stereos. Sound systems, seat covers, and such can be changed. Drive them, work all the switches, check out storage spaces, decide which suits your needs best.
one word: HONDA!!!
None. Typical previous owner has probably beaten each to death, with the possible exception of the Mitsu.
dude tthe pic of the mr2 you have isnt a 89 model its the newer model…
out of your choises id go with the mr2, integra has tranny problems
Mitsubishi FTO
90 Integra
Integra
MR-2 Looks the coolest, the others don’t look very good at all
Go with the FTO
the second one for sure!