AniKonda

I'm currently in a 2004 Cav that is falling apart and giving me nothing but trouble. Last night I had to rip the e brake cable off to get home. Since I can't find any decent Subaru for sale right now I've found some other choices to move into hopefully. First up is a 2003 Tiburon GT 6 spd which I am liking more and more. Has 130k km on it and appears well looked after. Second up is a 2003 Jaguar X-type 2.5L which I've read is gutless thanks to it's transmission, so I've pretty much thrown it out the window. Lastly I was looking at 2006+ Cobalt SS and I like them.. But there are so many around that I can't find myself to be interested in them if I can mod a Tiburon to take them out.

What do you guys think? I need a new car while I'm in school to get me from A to B but also be fun and handle my windshield flexing sub.

Tiburon GT - 181 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm, 170 hp @ 6000 rpm
Pros:
Good looking, modable, supposedly handle large sound systems well
Cons: Fwd, low hp rating, trans seems to blow out of some of them a lot, part availability
Jaguar X-type 2.5L - 178 ft-lbs. @ 3000 rpm, 192 hp @ 6800 rpm
Pros:
Jag, awd, sexy at all angles except head on
Cons: PARTS, slug
07 Cobalt SS - 200 ft-lbs. @ 4400 rpm, 205 hp @ 5600 rpm
Pros: Part availability, hp, supercharged,
Cons: Fwd, so many, let's be honest it looks like a chick car.

I'm test driving a Tiburon soon. What do you guys say, is there a car I'm missing? I can't afford to get a BMW and have a part break on me. Subarus are nowhere to be found. Couldn't find any good Hondas. Still open to whatever, not dead set on a Tiburon; just seems like a decent choice at the moment.

Drivemaster

Unless you are an acomplished drifting driver, car control guru or fast racetrack driver, what is your ressistance to front-wheel driven cars?

The point of rear-wheel drive is that driveline torque becomes a negative influence on the car's body "slip" angle which gives drivers more opportunities to illustrate car control.

It also has the advantage that, with a small understeer gradient, they can pull out of corners with more traction because of the surfeit of grip in the rear axle.

Both elements are of little importance if one does not actually use 60-70% of the performance envelope, which is crazy for the public road.

In fact, provided you have a decent reserve, you can actually manipulate the attitude of the car with power in a FWD because of the lateral component of forward acceleration.

Mike

Tiburons are junk. And no you can't mod it to be faster than the Cobalt. Cobalt SSs are actually properly quick. You won't match them in that price range. They are torque steering menaces with shoddy build quality and a crappy interior, but they are quick.

Tiburon's just useless. Read this review - not a good rating. Acura RSX Type-S vs. VW New Beetle Turbo S, Hyundai Tiburon GT V-6, Toyota Celica GT-S, Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS Comparison Tests - Page 3 - Car and Driver

Not sure where C&D's 0-60 time came from - Wikipedia says its over 8 seconds. Which is slower than my 4 cylinder Mazda 3, by a lot.

It will have no modding ability. You would need $10k or so to go forced induction, which would mean you'd also need to upgrade the trans and clutch and axles. So no. You won't be going fast in one.

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"He shouted: 'You've won! Didn't you know?' I didn't, and it's about the nicest thing I've ever been told" -Bruce McLaren, 1968 Belgian Grand Prix