General Opinions on a few cars...

[.:O4AGTZ:.]

I personally dislikes silvias, they are on par with pulsar interior wise, and I don't like how they handle from factory.

ST205 is much nicer on NZ roads, it is perfectly suited for long drives on winding roads.
In fact most of my 65k+ that I done in my ST205 were put on random roads all over NZ. I drove all over the place from cape Reigna, west, central, east of both islands to as far as Milford sound. Being 4WD it helps on gravel and beach.

STI I assume would also be nice, but I haven't sat in one for prolonged hours to judge.

Thats what i would have thought as well. The STI would be comfortable no doubt about that and has extra room as well over the ST205. It really is a toss up between these two for me. Leaning both ways and for different reasons. I guess I will start looking around soon and see what I think first hand.

Yeah think I will ditch the silvia idea. I have a mate who had one and it went well but I wasnt overly impressed with it in general. Not the most comfortable ride in the world.

[sergei]

I personally dislikes silvias, they are on par with pulsar interior wise, and I don't like how they handle from factory.

ST205 is much nicer on NZ roads, it is perfectly suited for long drives on winding roads.
In fact most of my 65k+ that I done in my ST205 were put on random roads all over NZ. I drove all over the place from cape Reigna, west, central, east of both islands to as far as Milford sound. Being 4WD it helps on gravel and beach.

STI I assume would also be nice, but I haven't sat in one for prolonged hours to judge.

Thats what i would have thought as well. The STI would be comfortable no doubt about that and has extra room as well over the ST205. It really is a toss up between these two for me. Leaning both ways and for different reasons. I guess I will start looking around soon and see what I think first hand.

Yeah think I will ditch the silvia idea. I have a mate who had one and it went well but I wasnt overly impressed with it in general. Not the most comfortable ride in the world.

And every bogan has silvia these days .

[.:O4AGTZ:.]

Very true

Cos they do good skids au

[B1NZ]

Just to throw something else into the mix have you considered Evo's?

Our STI has been pretty good mechanically, It is getting harder to find a decent example though so take your time.
Ours is great for us, we have driven it pretty much all over the Nth Island, the main thing imo is to keep them stock or if you modify them get it done properly, Just adding a boost tap is not properly! If you want lots of power easily and reliably look at an EVO

Interior is a lot nicer than the other 3 in my opinion, The STI seats are a little firm on long journeys but they have phenomenal amounts of grip and are fun to drive.

[Heylin]

STi or the Celica are both good, depends how much space you need.

ST205 has some pretty good power to be made on stock setup and you get Toyota reliability, although genuine Toyota parts are expensive to buy depending on what breaks.

Getting close to 180,000 kms alot of these ST205 are going to need work

- HT leads
- Fuel pumps
- Turbo rebuild
- Big ends

Then again Subarus have their share of problems as well. St205 would be more fun to drive in my opnion and WRX would end up just being a large comfy long distance driver.

[Leon]

Sti's are a lot cheaper than Evo's though (in reply to B1's comments).

[iOnic]

Be really careful about being "different". Some cars are popular/common because they really are that good. A car not being "common" may not necessarily be a good thing. Being different for the sake of being different rarely ends well.

If I were in your shoes I'd save a bit more and get an Evo5 or 6 or 6TME or *maybe* a 7. Failing that, S14 FL/180sx Type X or S15R. Wouldn't touch a Subaru with a bargepole and anything with a 3S isn't too far behind. All personal opinion of course based on my experiences with the above cars

[Mr Revhead]

In the case of the 205 the "different" is not due to any short comings or exspense. As far as prices go, servicing will not be dearer, and infact could probably be cheaper than the other options.

And a good chunk of the car is the same as lesser/more common models. And availability of parts is fine.

So imo I would not be worrying about parts prices in choosing between these cars. Other than the regularity of big ticket items, ie engines, boxes and diffs.

So, really it goes back to driving them and seeing what you prefer.

[dnalunchie]

Hey man Just thought I would weigh in here as I have done abit of looking into the cars that your'e interested in at one time or another.

ST205

AS many people have said , yes they are very reliable (ussually) but also genuine toyota parts are not cheap. Also they are getting harder to find with lower kms. People are asking alot of them even with almost 200kms on the clock.
They are not as quick as an Sti (stock standard) and they probably wont be as quick around a track either. However they are still a 6 seconds to 100 car with a high 13 second 1/4.

Nissan s14
Fast(ish) in stock form. Fun. Good luck finding one in good factory condition for a reasonable price.

Sti 4-6. Pretty much the same car regardless of which version you get. The type R had the 180 series diff with a stronger gearbox. However even though it is a 4wd it can get pretty sideways in hurry so if you may need to work up to pushing it around corners more so than a gt4.

The one car not on your list that I would seriously consider is a version 7 sti. They are selling for around 11-15k atm with between 80-120kms on them. Being a GD series they have the following improvments over the GC v 1-6 shape

Much nicer interior
Near bullet proof 6 speed transmission
Much more reliable engine (In consumer tests since subaru released the GD series of cars their reliability has been rated above that of toyota by several independant UK and US tests)
They are between 2-8 years newer than all of the other cars you have listed there.
They have fantastic after market support.
NZ EFI STM and Torque performance all offer a service where for between 1200-2000$ they will reflash the ecus in your v 7 and up sti bringing power from around 165-170kw atw to around 200kw atw or 220 with an exhaust and intake modification.

I mean if you think about it that way you could spend 12k, get a car thats only 8-10 years old rather than 15 and then if you were so inclined spend another 2-3k modding it and have a high 11second 1/4mile car with great reliability, handling and performance.

The only downside to them is some people dont like the front head lights but really that is a small price to pay for a car that will line up with any other car around the same money and have great everyday driveability as well.

Here are a couple examples I found that you may be interested in.

http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.p ... 048.0.html

if you want a version 6 this is a great car

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =268896563

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 573891.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 750749.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 320440.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 902306.htm

(That one above is even through a yard which means they will probably go lower and throw in a warrenty)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 110969.htm

[B1NZ]

St205 would be more fun to drive in my opnion and WRX would end up just being a large comfy long distance driver.

I would argue the complete opposite of what you said here, but this is my opinion

[dnalunchie]

St205 would be more fun to drive in my opnion and WRX would end up just being a large comfy long distance driver.

I would argue the complete opposite of what you said here, but this is my opinion

As would I, Type R sti's are a freaking handful. Especially in the wet.

[Adamal]

And every bogan has silvia these days .

!!!

I have a Silvia, and I'm not a bogan!

Despite that I grew up in West Auckland, had every Metallica album, wore Metallica tshirts and wore black jeans.

Other than that, I'm not a bogan!

[Barark]

And every bogan has silvia these days .

!!!

I have a Silvia, and I'm not a bogan!

Despite that I grew up in West Auckland, had every Metallica album, wore Metallica tshirts and wore black jeans.

Other than that, I'm not a bogan!

+1

[FANGIN]

St205 would be more fun to drive in my opnion and WRX would end up just being a large comfy long distance driver.

I would argue the complete opposite of what you said here, but this is my opinion

As would I, The Type Rs are quite small & IIRC weigh less than 1200kg

That's 100kg lighter than an Evolution V.

[.:O4AGTZ:.]

Yeah I have thought about EVOs as well. Obviously not EVO4s and anything lower than that seems to be getting a bit hard to find a good one.

V7 STIs...i have always loved the bugeyes so maybe it could be worth saving a bit extra to get my hands on one. Funnily enough I have not heard anything bad about the V7s either. Time really isnt a factor (but patience is!) so maybe I will reconsider.

Mechanically there is a lot of info from you guys but in terms of the rides themselves I may start to test some one. I know one person or another who has every one of these cars so I might have a chat/drive.

Cheers for all your comments guys! These are very useful!

[Mr Revhead]

V7s watch for:
dodgy center diff controller (will randomly alter drive)
leaky bilsteins ($$$$)
Worn front arm rear bush, worn/broken swaybar links (funny squeaks)
Wheel bearings

Pretty much normal things on a car, but Subaru's seem to do those a bit more often and the Billies and diff can be $$.

[dnalunchie]

Yeah I have thought about EVOs as well. Obviously not EVO4s and anything lower than that seems to be getting a bit hard to find a good one.

V7 STIs...i have always loved the bugeyes so maybe it could be worth saving a bit extra to get my hands on one. Funnily enough I have not heard anything bad about the V7s either. Time really isnt a factor (but patience is!) so maybe I will reconsider.

Mechanically there is a lot of info from you guys but in terms of the rides themselves I may start to test some one. I know one person or another who has every one of these cars so I might have a chat/drive.

Cheers for all your comments guys! These are very useful!

Get a V 7 man. You will love it

[.:O4AGTZ:.]

Always liked the bugeyes

Will definately keep an eye out.

Hey back on the topic of Silvias i was browsing (as you do when you have no work to do) and went to the Turners website and found this:

http://www.turners.co.nz/Vehicles/Pages/Car.aspx?RefId=745581

Now I am not a regular turners person but the estimated prices on there is that what they expect it to go for? And are these things usually WOFD and REGD? I cant tell if this is a turbo model but I see it has some kind of guage on the dash. If it is that is so cheap

EDIT: Just saw no WOF or REG on CIN Card.

[DRFTIN]

they're all pretty different cars, sounds like you need to decide what you want to have
as has been said, silvias are usually over priced, and pretty crap in standard form. handle like a boat and at factory boost not exactly fast
a few light mods to make them more equal spec to a sti/evo and they're faster past 1st gear in a straight line and cornering
but they're only 2 door, the back seat might as well not be there

dont know much about GT4's but i'd rather have one of the other 2

comes down to how much you want to spend too

[Lith]

And every bogan has silvia these days .

I have a Silvia, and I'm not a bogan!

I'm a bogan, and don't have a Silvia!!