I've owned a '99 Corvette for a few years. It's been great aside from when it needs repair. Everything seems to need to come out the bottom, and since I'll probably be renting for the rest of my life I'm not going to have a lift. The Miata I had before that was the same way. When I worked on FWD cars all I needed was a cherry picker and a carport for heavy repairs.
What's the best enthusiast-oriented FWD car out there now? Hyundai Veloster Turbo? Mini Cooper S? Fiat 500 Abarth? Ford Focus ST? I'd want to either keep it ten years or lease it.
Is an Elise the same way?
I think the Fiesta ST is a hot little package. Jeremy Clarkson loved it.
Fiesta ST. They should be rolling out of the factory doors about right now.
Are the new cars better than the best of the oldies - better than an Integra or Neon SRT4?
Mazdaspeed3 is never a bad choice. Problems are well known and parts to fix it are readily available.
Matt B
SuperDork
8/28/13 2:18 p.m.
Better performance or easier to work on? Just looking at the engine bays of newer cars makes me incredibly thankful for my 99 Integra.
An Elise is worse than a Miata or Corvette in terms of maintenance difficulty. It's worse than most other mid-engined cars, in fact. I liked that car a lot less after reading through the manuals for it.
If it has to be a new car I'd say +1 for Fiesta ST.
yamaha
PowerDork
8/28/13 2:23 p.m.
4cylndrfury wrote:
distant 4th...
+ Regal GS (only distant due to cost...not exactly the cheap option, but likely highest performance - acceleration, handling, braking etc)
Its also leaps and bounds more "Nice" than the others you listed........which has to be worth something.
Another nod for the Fiesta ST here, I can't wait to test drive one. I might have to ditch my zx3 fukus for one.
Matt B wrote:
Better performance or easier to work on? Just looking at the engine bays of newer cars makes me incredibly thankful for my 99 Integra.
Better performance and driver involvement. A 93-95 MPH trap speed in the quarter is all I'm looking for for straight line speed, but I'd like a nimble and fun little car in exchange for losing my 107 MPH Corvette.
More in the "classic" vein, I enjoyed our Prelude for the short time we had it. Fairly easy to find nice ones. Cheap. Nice stock handling.
Staying with RWD for a min, Mustang you can reach most stuff from the top.
Powar
Dork
8/28/13 2:28 p.m.
Every car listed in your original post rocks. Just go drive them and see which one feels best.
Hang on a mo, what couldn't you do on a Miata? You can R&R the trans with jack stands which is the case for most FWD cars too. All the FWD Cars I've changed transmissions on have been from the bottom with jack stands.
I had an SVT Contour as well, great car that is maligned on the all-knowing internet for being impossible to work on. Alternate change 4 hours, rear bank HEGO change 30 mins. All in the driveway with jack stands no lift.
What level of work are you considering where you feel having to go in from underneath is an issue?
Cotton
SuperDork
8/28/13 2:29 p.m.
I'm not a huge fan of FWD, but I loved my 90 Plymouth Laser turbo...so if you're looking at older cars the Diamond Star triplets would get my vote.
Subjective, but why lease, there's some "classics" that can still be reliable daily drivers, and no need for car payments?
I tend to lean a little Swedish
Came wagon flavored too
Newer I want a '10 TDI Cup Edition, these are in the upper teens lower twenty thousand dollar range now days.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
Clutch and gearbox work on a Corvette!
Step 1: Remove entire rear suspension.
Step 2: Carefully tilt engine just far enough backwards to be able to remove the transaxle assembly.
Step 3: Support engine and wrangle it around enough to get the clutch and driveshaft off the back.
Step 4: Reassembly is the reverse of removal.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
Hang on a mo, what couldn't you do on a Miata? You can R&R the trans with jack stands which is the case for most FWD cars too. All the FWD Cars I've changed transmissions on have been from the bottom with jack stands.
What level of work are you considering where you feel having to go in from underneath is an issue?
I have done many a clutch job from under a RWD using just jackstands.. sometimes even just ramps
So you're basing your decision entirely on how easy the clutch job is? Buy a hot rodded bug. You can do everything with a floor jack from behind.
The best handling FWD cars I've ever driven are the Integra Type R, Peugeot 405 Mi16, and Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6
Among modern cars, the Mazda 3, Ford Fiesta, and Mini Cooper S get the highest accolades.
If used is an option I'll recommend a DC3 Integra and last-gen Celica.
Kenny_McCormic wrote:
So you're basing your decision entirely on how easy the clutch job is? Buy a hot rodded bug. You can do everything with a floor jack from behind.
I'm basing the "FWD" vs "RWD" decision based on maintenance - fewer jobs require me to be UNDER the car rather than ABOVE it on a FWD car.
In reply to chaparral:
I dont think FWD vs RWD has any real difference there. Hell, a lot of early FWD cars, and some newer ones, tell you to drop the engine out the bottom.
chaparral wrote:
Kenny_McCormic wrote:
So you're basing your decision entirely on how easy the clutch job is? Buy a hot rodded bug. You can do everything with a floor jack from behind.
I'm basing the "FWD" vs "RWD" decision based on maintenance - fewer jobs require me to be UNDER the car rather than ABOVE it on a FWD car.
That is a completely false premise. First of all, most cars are built by installing a front subframe/powerplant in from the bottom when new anyway, FWD and RWD included. Secondly, the only jobs you really have to do from "under" a RWD are the clutch and rear diff, and you realistically can't do those on any FWD without being underneath, either.
Basically you just don't want a rear transaxle. Fine, sell the Vette and get a GTO. Enjoy the interior upgrade.
