Awesome millennial sport compacts, which to choose?

All of my car guru friends answer me this: If you had to pick a 2000ish sport compact car which would it be.

1. 1999 Honda Civic Si (stock not raped by ricer boys)

2. 2004 Ford Focus SVT 4 door or coupe

3. Dodge Neon SRT4

4. 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege

5. 1999 Subaru 2.5Rs

6. 2000 Acura Integra GS-R

Something fun, comfortable, all around performance Ok, go...

The Protege 5 was never a mazdaspeed, it was only a sedan..... but that's the one i'd want... best chassis EVAR.

mndsm wrote: The Protege 5 was never a mazdaspeed, it was only a sedan..... but that's the one i'd want... best chassis EVAR.

Sorry I didn't preview the list, it's edited now

Protege or Subie for me. Both are good fun to drive.

I'm hunting for a 2005 evo 8.

all of these are in the $5-7k range, the subie has 190k miles and he says he was getting it ready for a swap and replaced a bunch of parts and wants his money back $7k sounds like a lot but for grins I included it

Hmmm, I dislike four doors but really like the Protege and Subie.

I'd go for the Acura. If you have a place to keep it safe and if you don't have to deal with fanbois. They can really spoil the fun of owning a Honda.

God. You just about can't go wrong with anything on this list. Hell, looks like the shopping list I make anytime i need a daily.

Mazdaspeed is a wonderful car. I currently dd a p5. Only because I found one before a focus zx3.

Drt4 is an absolute riot but hard on parts. The honda and Acura cars are going to be hard to find not riced out, and will probably get you in some fasion of trouble. At least in my area...

The GSR is a great car with a smooth, rev-happy engine. We had one for ~10yrs. Honda reliability, huge aftermarket.

If you can find a clean one.

Ours was stolen and gutted of enough parts when found that it was totaled.

5 Door Focus would be my choice because hatch. After that GSR because awesome.

I think for me it would come down to 2.5 RS or Mazdaspeed Protege.

Of those, I have always had a soft spot for the integra. Depending on the use, I like some cars not listed:

Last gen prelude, last gen celica, RSX, big eye wrx wagon, saab 9-2 x

All of those should be I the same price range.

Unfortunately, I haven't driven any of these cars yet. If those pictures are the actual cars you might buy, the Protege and the Focus look more special than the other cars.

Integra. It just does everything well.

Saab 9-3 Viggen

2.5RS for sure.

Edit: or what Powar said.

Option 5. It's kind of unfair.

Last gen prelude.

mndsm wrote: The Protege 5 was never a mazdaspeed, it was only a sedan..... but that's the one i'd want... best chassis EVAR.

oh, so you like rust?

or you live in a non rust state because I've never seen one without terrible rust around the rear wheel wells.

I've seen plenty of rusty Proteges in what I would consider non-rust states. They probably rust in san diego.

Make mine a GS-R sedan with 3 pitbulls in the backseat

My friend had his protege rust in Texas. I've never seen a car rust in Texas like that before. That was surprising to me.

Out of that list, I would say GSR but I really like the DA9 version more. They are hard to find clean. It's a better drive than the Civic IMHO and you can get a 4 door if desired.

I would add the other 2 Honda/Acuras on there Prelude and RSX. The good thing about the prelude is most escaped the ricer world and are mostly left stock.

Subie is only good if you need AWD. Otherwise it's kind of ehhh to drive. I would also add the Duratech Focus if you are looking at focus. Much more HP potential than the ZETEC motors.

Celica GTS is actually a really fun drive if you have the room to keep the revs up. Out of lift though it's kind of pedestrian.

I have always wanted a 2.5rs. I almost bought one about ten years ago but got sniped and saw the guy driving off in it as I pulled up. That would be the one for sure.

What's the rules in terms of modifications and what you're going to do with it? My answer will change quite a bit depending on those answers.

Sonic wrote: Integra. It just does everything well.

i almost traded for one of those once. fun little car, but not as fast as i thought it should be. definately not as quick or balanced as the SRT4 or mazdaspeed. at least the one example i drove.