wSC300

Okay, just so were clear, I;m getting 14.7mpg on my SC300 and I may change my mind, but with rising gas prices I'm thinking about a new, more economical but still sporty car. I am thinking about choosing between the new Civic Si and the VW GTi 1.8T. If you know anything about these two cars that would effect my buying desision (reliability, comfort, performance (i know VW has more hp but how does it handle)) I would really appreciate it.Oh, and by New, I mean lightly Used.
Also, if you have any suggestions about older cars like these that would be cheap and easy to find please let me know.
Any suggestions would help but im leaning toward the Si due to price, anyone know how much hp and torque each car is able to put at the wheels, not just what the engine Can make.

UDel

That sounds like really bad gas mileage for your engine and car. Is that the same engine in the GS300 that is rated 18city 24 highway. Do you do alot of stop and go driving or have a heavy foot or is something wrong with the car. Are your tires properly inflated, windows up when cruising, all unnessesary weight removed, oil and filter properly changed etc. I know that inline six is not great on fuel but that mpg is really bad, worse then many v-8 SUV's. I would have the car looked at.

As far as sporty cars or sports cars that get good gas mileage there is the Acura RSX type S, used Celica, Honda Accord coupe v-6, S2000 but it is a pretty hardcore sports car, Mazda miata, used MR-2, upcoming Pontiac Solstice, used TSX. Of all those cars I would probrably go with the Acura RSX, even the non type S model is really nice and you can get some good deals on them if your budget is limited. I don't know enough about the civic Si other then it should be a coupe and have around 200hp which would be nice. I would stay away from Volkswagens as they still have alot of reliability issues that are expensive to fix and the cost may negate any gas saved. Good Luck but I would still have your SC300 looked at because I don't think it is normal for it to be getting that poor of gas mileage.

TheRupp

Try using a little fuel injector cleaner first...

Why you shouldn't buy a VW.

mmarshall

Besides the above suggestions, if your SC300 has a lot of miles on it, it could have a dirty air filter or a f - - ked up oxygen sensor ( or several other sensors ) giving false readings and making the car run too rich. See if you have any black smoke in the exhaust...that is a dead giveaway to richness. I had an IS300 with the same engine and got from 16-21 depending on the amount of stop-and-go I did and the air temperature.

As far as a new car goes, using your criteria, besides the cars you listed, I agree with the recommendations to stay away from VW's and to look at the Acura RSX. Also some recommendations of my own. Take a good look at the Scion tC..a nice little sport coupe for the price. A dealer-installed ( factory-backed ) TRD supercharger is available if you can afford a little less mileage and maybe premuim gas. If you decide to check out the Pontiac Solstice, consider the Saturn version...the Sky. It is almost identical mechanically to the Solstice and will give you the frills and good customer service of the Saturn dealerships.
Civics, yes, are worth considering. They are extremely reliable.......perhaps more so than any non-Lexus vehicle..........and have very efficient engines, mileage-wise and some of the world's slickest-shifting FWD manual transmissions, but the downside to that efficiency is very little low-end torque and the need to wind the engine to very high RPM's to get max power. The new upcoming Si hatchback version, IMO, is ugly and looks too much like the equally ugly Nissan Murano.

wSC300

I do attribute some of this poor rating to school, its a ten minute drive there and a ten minute drive back, However, due to soccer moms (no offense if your out there but doubtful on these forums) who decide to park in the middle of the one-way exit lane to wait and pick up little billy I had to sit there in pretty much 0mph traffic and idle for 30 minutes... lets see, that's 3times my commute time. I'm sorry to all you VW hater's out there I still have a little faith in em, but im more likely to go with the Si. I'm also considering other used cars like a Second-gen RX-7 Turbo, I really need something along the lines of a hatch like the GTi and Si, Back seats don't really matter because i mainly use 'em for storage any ways. Heck, I might even look at a late model trans-am, I'm only 16 so I think I should buy something extremely impractical now so I can get it out of my system.

UDel

If you are looking for better gas mileage and saving money then don't get a rotary powered RX-7. Rotary powered cars especially RX-7's get very poor gas mileage and there is also a issue with the seals going in the engines causing engine failure which is extremely expensive to replace. Try a 91-95 NA 300ZX if you want a sporty 2 door but they are not exactly great on gas either but much better and more reliable then a RX-7. A used 240SX is another nice sporty rwd car with lots of tuning potential. At 16 insurance is probrably going to be pretty high on these RWD sports cars which may make the new civic and rsx look like better buys. Also look into a Honda Prelude. People who own these cars absolutely love them and they are pretty good on gas and are very well built. Part of your poor gas mileage problem is how you run the car daily which means any car will be getting pretty bad mileage. Trans ams are not going to be any better on gas and are poorly built with alot of reliability problems as well as very high on insurance. A scion TC would be a very good choice too. I would still have your SC300 looked at though.

TheRupp

How about an S2000? 20 city / 25 highway

Inabj2

1990-1993 Nissan 240sx. Its a good learner car, both maintenance wise and driving wise. And itll better prepare you for more powerful rwd cars in the future, not to mention that you have a ton of aftermarket options if you do decide to make it a powerful/good handling car. Me personally I do not like fwd cars as much so Id stay away from both, but also I dont deal with winters.

Not to mention ultimate potential wise a 240sx would blow both your options out of the water. It is not as reliable as the civic, but it is much more reliable then the vw, rwd and sporty handling makes it wicked fun to drive even stock wise, and very forgiving car to learn on. Not tomention for its small chassis and time period imo its rather safe. This car will teach you to do maintenance since itll be natural for a car so old to need loving at first, but this will teach you not to be a broken hand fool that gets raped by the dealers/mechanics like the rest of the non car enthusiast general population that cant tell their elbow from their bum. This is a good car to learn on well since its very easy to work on generally speaking. Much, much... much... easier then your current car. Most of the things that go wrong are stupid simple things... Its drivetrain itself in actually is.. extremely solid and reliable. Stock wise its 140-155 hp ratings fall short of both your options, but its torqueir then the civic, SI. Driven very well the dohc 5 speed model might hang with the SI if not take it since it is slightly lighter. The SOHC puts around 110-120ish rwhp, (140 crank hp.) And more tq, the dohc puts around 130-135 rwhp (155 crank hp.) Thats better then what some SIs dyno. Na bolt ons can take that figure to around 160ish rwhp.

Boosted the stock motors can take over 300 rwhp easy. no internal components needed, its low stock compression is boost friendly with proper tuning. Locally there is someone that had 640 rwhp on their built ka24de-t. Not tomention the multitude of swaps that you have available from ca18det, sr20det, rb20det, rb25det.. to even ford 5.0s and chevy 350s if you want to get creative! Less then 2 grand in mods you could have a turboed power plant.

Gas mileage is good on this car if you keep your foot controlled, and your car is running well. The sr20det, and ca18det in stock form, get PHENOMENAL gas mileage if driven normally, in addition to boosting power as well to around 160ish rwhp and 180ish rwhp respectively.

lexusls430

Stay away from VW. How about a celica, mr2, prelude?

wSC300

Like I said, I'm 16, so an S200 is way out of my price range, My car depends on what my dad willl get for me and he won't buy a manual, we went to Boardwalk VW today which has VERY good customer service rating and i've dealt with them before, We decided on a Reflex Silver, VW GTi, with the |Luxury package and Tiptronic auto. I'm sorry to let all you VW hater's down but I'be always had a thing for VW's, also, their offering us 1k more than we originally paid for the lexus as a trade in so its hard to let that chance sliode, it's basically a free 1k toward the car, as for the reliability I still have faith in German enginering the only problems my dad has had on his BMW was with the cup holder breaking when my brother tried fitting a drink that was too big in it, I believe that like most engines, as longf as you do the regular maintenance through the dealer nothing serious should happen to it and if it becomes to much a drain cash wise, trade it in for an Si after college, then it won't matter whether or not its a manual because the final decision wont be up to my dad.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I've known many people with VW's who have no problems at all. I like the looks and ergonomics and interior finish of VW's. They're fairly high priced in the U.S. but they're still nice.

What year GTi are you getting?

Oh and having an SC300 and now a GTi before you even turn 17!? That's amazing!

mmarshall

They also burn a good amount of oil.....for several reasons.....and tend to flood on cold starts.

wSC300

Thanks, We picked up an '05 GTi with an automatic transmission today, but I should point out that we got the Lexus for 2k USD, and when we sold it to the dealership we actually made a profit. The reason I have no fears about the GTi is because it's an '05 model so they've worled out the kinks for this body style., Also the dealership has gotten the best quality and customer satisfaction awards out of every VW dealer in Texas.

Also, This GTi is amazing, It's on par if not faster than my old SC300 and has a really nice boost of power fdrom the turbo right at 2000 RPM's, my brother said "for some reason i get car sick in this faster than in your lexus" The handling is really tight and the ride is smooth.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

With the age old debate of Asian V/S German, the results will always be the same. German cars have more personality and are generally a car that is more of a drivers car (which is why i own a few germans in the stable). Asian cars are hella dependable, can be fast AND fuel efficient, and will still drive after the body rusts off of them.

I solved this delimma by buying two Lexus and two Germans (Porsche and BMW). While the Porsche didn't last quite as long before parts started needing to be changed out, the BMW is the highest mileage vehicle i own and runs like a top. I have had only the waterpump, brake booster, and steering linkages replaced on the bimmer. 226,000 miles.

The Lexus have been the most dependable with minimal service history, only the normal PS pump/alt replacement, and center driveshaft bearing.

If i ever had to choose to sell all my cars and keep only one I believe personally I'd have many sleepless nights deciding whether or not i wanted the dependability of my Lexus, or the still dependable - but fun to drive BMW. Truth be told, I'd probably keep the bimmer giving the problems have been nill. My Lexus just can't give me the seat of the pants feel I get in my bimmer. In all fairness my bimmer is modded to hell and back, but it's more my style regardless.

Leets

congrats on your new car... even if it isn't a Lexus.

Don't waste too much time worrying about VW's reliability. They always rank pretty low on JDP's ratings, but my stepdad had an 01 Jetta that ran 4 years/30k miles without a single problem. In comparison, my 04 Civic began having problems 1k miles into its life (and from what I've seen on the Honda boards, I wasn't the only one to have seriouse problems with the new Hondas). I've learned that keeping an eye on the ratings makes you better informed overall, but when it really comes down to it it's all a matter of luck. Besides, at only 16, the worst that can happen to you is you have to take it in under warranty. The work is free, and no offence, but I doubt at your age you're relying on your car's driveability for your survival. Just live it up while you can and stay safe. I'm sure you'll be happy.