Car With The Best Bang For Your Buck

  • Thread starter Thread starter Crispy
  • 109 comments
  • 10,778 views
We kinda almost got a Forester STi...

2007-subaru-forester-spor_1280x0w.jpg
 
^ Ah, the Forester Sports 2.5XT! The last cool USDM Forester in my book... :indiff:
 
Mazda RX4 - $19,990

Resized640x480_D833600729150_B.jpg

Resized640x480_D833600729150_A.jpg


Performance to smash the Atom senseless in acceleration, more street cred than the GT-R, more exclusive than the Maserati. I'd buy this right now if I had the cash and lived in NSW!! :drool:
 
Mind you, the SG wasn't a terrific car. Sure it could drift, but Subaru often fitted it with Yokohama Geolanders that had the grip of a camel on ice, and the steering wasn't all that... but it was definitely fun. The 4AT on the 2.5 could take hellaboost without breaking, too.

The new one has better steering, more interior space, better refinement and is 100% more boring.

Hard to compare used to new in terms of bang-for-the-buck, but amongst new cars... I'd definitely hit the Mazda2. Just uncork the engine, unplug the ABS and go out for hours of fun...
 
mafia_boy
Performance to smash the Atom senseless in acceleration, *snip*
Click to expand...

Not entirely. The Atom can do high-10 1/4 miles pretty easy, and that's just the 300 supercharged version.

The RX-4 is pretty cheap for what it is but the Atom is overall the better performer.
 
Not only "not entirely" but "not even close". Our friends' Pro ET class Dodge Challenger will beat an Atom 300 over a quarter mile - 9.5 best - but not smash it senseless, and that has twice as much power as that RX-4 and no superfluous weight (the driver even goes for a number 2 before a run).

Of course the Atom will do it on pump gas, not require a rebuild after 500 miles on the engine and stop from the quarter mile line inside 300 feet. And then there's a V8 one that would do all of that but wouldn't lose in the first place...
 
Famine
Our friends' Pro ET class Dodge Challenger will beat an Atom 300 over a quarter mile - 9.5 best - but not smash it senseless, and that has twice as much power as that RX-4
Click to expand...

Erm.

So that puts it at 1000rwhp or 1150 at the flywheel and it only does mid 9s? Righto.
 
Famine
Not only "not entirely" but "not even close". Our friends' Pro ET class Dodge Challenger will beat an Atom 300 over a quarter mile - 9.5 best - but not smash it senseless, and that has twice as much power as that RX-4 and no superfluous weight (the driver even goes for a number 2 before a run).

Of course the Atom will do it on pump gas, not require a rebuild after 500 miles on the engine and stop from the quarter mile line inside 300 feet. And then there's a V8 one that would do all of that but wouldn't lose in the first place...
Click to expand...

Because it's this with four wheels.

33-SF_S.jpg
 
Rotary Junkie
Even if it did legitimately weigh 2 tons it'd still take less than 1000hp to push it to 9s.

It also doesn't weigh 2 tons.
Click to expand...

Power = terminal speed, not ET. Sure you knew that though.

Habit pushes 850hp on a 50/50 mix of pump gas and avgas. 9xx on bioethanol. Best of 9.55 and 145mph. The owners are members on here too if you want to discuss it with them and I've posted videos of Habit on here before...

Jim Prower
Because it's this with four wheels.
Click to expand...

And yet still a car, as the thread title requires.
 
Volvo V70R
  • 300hp 295lb. ft., so it's quick
  • Brembo brakes, awesome stopping power
  • Sport tuned suspension, handling excellence
  • AWD, so it can get through rough weather conditions
  • Station wagon, so it can hold your family and their stuff
  • Safe, it's a Volvo
  • Reliable, it's a Volvo

Basically it does everything one would ever want a car to do, it's practical, it's sporty and it's more than likely cheaper to insure then most sports cars since it's a wagon and a Volvo. Plus they can be had for as little as $15,000.

Sure something like a Atom is exponential quicker, but it's not like I could go on a road trip with it. The GT-R and Z06 while more practical aren't going to be able to fit a trip to IKEA in them or even carry a family. To me the best bang for the buck means that you get the most out of a car in all areas.
 
Famine
Power = terminal speed, not ET. Sure you knew that though.
Click to expand...

True, but you can make a fairly decent guess at what something will run based off PWR and assuming reasonable hook.

Famine
Habit pushes 850hp on a 50/50 mix of pump gas and avgas. 9xx on bioethanol. Best of 9.55 and 145mph. The owners are members on here too if you want to discuss it with them and I've posted videos of Habit on here before...
Click to expand...

850ish and a trap of 145 sounds about right for a ~3000lb car.

My point pivoted around it having twice the power (already have seen your posts about it) which I know to not be the case.
 
Rotary Junkie
True, but you can make a fairly decent guess at what something will run based off PWR and assuming reasonable hook.
Click to expand...

They frequently get Best Wheelie in their class each year :lol:

Rotary Junkie
850ish and a trap of 145 sounds about right for a ~3000lb car.

My point pivoted around it having twice the power (already have seen your posts about it) which I know to not be the case.
Click to expand...

500hp, even assuming it to be wheel, is about half of 950 wheel. I don't know if they've done a run on bioethanol yet (it's actually tricky to find a decent supply of it) though.

Not quite sure why we're discussing it though, except that the point was that it beats, but doesn't "smash", an Atom 300 and it's a bit unlikely that an RX-4 with about half the power will either. And since it needs new valve springs every 50 miles (Habit, not the Mazda), a bit moot too.
 
-> ...
Joey D
Volvo V70R
  • 300hp 295lb. ft., so it's quick
  • Brembo brakes, awesome stopping power
  • Sport tuned suspension, handling excellence
  • AWD, so it can get through rough weather conditions
  • Station wagon, so it can hold your family and their stuff
  • Safe, it's a Volvo
  • Reliable, it's a Volvo

Basically it does everything one would ever want a car to do, it's practical, it's sporty and it's more than likely cheaper to insure then most sports cars since it's a wagon and a Volvo. Plus they can be had for as little as $15,000.

Sure something like a Atom is exponential quicker, but it's not like I could go on a road trip with it. The GT-R and Z06 while more practical aren't going to be able to fit a trip to IKEA in them or even carry a family. To me the best bang for the buck means that you get the most out of a car in all areas.
Click to expand...
^ I used to remember them when they were new. They're awesome Euro wagons.

volvo_v70r_02.sized.jpg


^ Heh, heh! I also reminise the 850 T5 when it was new!

Volvo-850-T5.jpg


:sly:
 
Im going to say the 08-11 wrx (not sti) gets the vote in my book. True, I didnt buy one but thats a different issue. Bottom line is that you can get hatch or sedan, very fast times, and reasonable quality to go with good reliability.

Then again Im biased (see sig).

Edit:
Btw that appies to older wrx too but as they get older the sti becomes more of an option.
 
Last edited:
Love this thread. I'm in the market for a new car. I came to very similar conclusions.

2009 WRX (not 2008 look it up)
Legacy GT
Corvette
S60R

The WRX is about 20k, but has everything I want.
The legacy is a little dated, and the Volvo parts are $$$ (so I hear)
Vette IS the most HP per dollar.
 
Joey D
...

Sure something like a Atom is exponential quicker, but it's not like I could go on a road trip with it.
Click to expand...

You can road trip an Atom... best road trip I ever had! Colorado to Oklahoma to Florida and back. :)

190434_1015816919529_1348288226_42008_158_n.jpg
 
It's Vanilla Ice, not M.C. Hammer. You know crusin' in my 5-0 with the rag top up so my hair don't blow...dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dah.

Bottoz
You can road trip an Atom... best road trip I ever had! Colorado to Oklahoma to Florida and back. :)

190434_1015816919529_1348288226_42008_158_n.jpg
Click to expand...

That looks like it would be the most unpleasant experience in the world, not to mention incredibly exposed. But hey kudos to you for doing it.
 
I didn't blog it... but did get a bunch of pics.

And, it wasn't as bad as you may think. Didn't get pulled over once... the seats were surprisingly comfortable (12 hour driving days)... and it only rained on me once! The only thing that would have made it better was Cruise Control. :)
 

Latest Posts

Back