Most Overlooked New Cars Since 1990+

[iceburns288]

Honda NSX... Is definatly underated... It IS fast for a car under 300hp.. And they call it a Super Car.. That right there shows good engineering. People may say.. Pfft.. It's a Honda, it can't go fast...

One of the most OVERrated cars in my opinion. It was a super car... fifteen years ago. It's nothing special at all any more, and some people treat them like god.

Sure, it's fast for a car under 300hp... but that's like saying a Cayenne Turbo is fast for an SUV. It sure is, but so what? It's still not fast!

 

[a6m5]

On NSX, I have to disagree with both "overlooked" and "overrated".

Overlooked?, not even close. NSX got all the praise it deserved. If you mean overlooked today, yes. But that's because the car is ancient.


Overrated? Compared to today's standard's, yes. But the car is classic. Is Model T overrated, because it's crappier than Chevy Aveo?, of course not! NSX demands respect. Not for what it can do today, but for its' place in sports car history.

 

[Rogue Ssv]

Yeah. As does the RX7.
But neither was overlooked in my opinion

 

[Master_Yoda]

One of the most OVERrated cars in my opinion. It was a super car... fifteen years ago. It's nothing special at all any more, and some people treat them like god.

Sure, it's fast for a car under 300hp... but that's like saying a Cayenne Turbo is fast for an SUV. It sure is, but so what? It's still not fast!

Are you saying the NSX isn't fast?

Any ways at YSSMAN... Accord is definatly overlooked form young people. As i mentioned on some other forum that my dad owns Honda Accord... Most young people say.. O thats a Honda, "Peice of Japanese, Eco crap FF car.." or what ever.. But it like the Cl are both fast cars.. I'm not sure about the CL. but the 04' Accord can reach 135-145mph, thats faster then most other FF cars.

My friends mom has a Acura 3.5tl V6, the car is very nice, and just as quick as the Accord V6, if not, faster.

 

[Jay]

I can't think of too many overlooked cars over here.

I guess the A33 Nissan Maxima is alittle over looked. In the Import tuning world I feel the Z32 300ZX (twin turbo) is overlooked somewhat.

 

[YSSMAN]

I would agree on the A33 Maxima nomination. My Grandfather has owned several Maximas, from the J30 on up. He actually owned two A33s, a 2000 and a 2002, both SE models, both in silver. They were fun to ride and drive, and really fit the old "4DSC" name that Nissan used to promote on the Maximas of old.

Unfortunately in the US, they were pretty expensive, and a good number were viewed more as luxury cars than sports sedans. Manual transmission equipped models are really quite rare here, but a good find if you can locate one. It really is a shame what they have done with the Maxima, and generally how it's fanbase seemed to have dropped out beneath it.

 

[IMADreamer]

Are you saying the NSX isn't fast?

I don't want to open up pandoras box here because I respect the NSX alot, but honestly by todays standards the car is not fast. It's somewhere in the middle of the pack really. I'm not saying it's slow because it certainly isn't slow but it's not fast either. I look at cars like the Z06, F430, and Viper as fast cars. All of which are very nimble too. Considering the Ferrari is the only one in the group priced over the NSX it's very hard to take the NSX seriously these days.

It was a great car in it's day and auto history will look back favorably on it. I think it's too bad honda drug out production as long as they did. I can't wait to see what they have up next.

 

[niky]

and american fanatics have taken over the thread even though we didn't have any terrorists here. bummer.. I wonder when they're going to bring up oldsmobile..

Uh... what's an oldsmobile?

That's generally because if a Japanese or German car is good, people will buy it in droves... then enthusiasts will complain it's overrated... whereas US cars don't get no respect, no matter how good they are. That's when they're good, that is...

I'd ditto the Maxima. Great car. Not much of a mainstream following, but it has a solid core of die-hard fans.

 

[Elegy]

Uh... what's an oldsmobile?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile


Let me see...overlooked cars...well, I agree that the Chevrolet Cobalt belongs. Great performance, even disregarding the drivetrain. Yet it's like it doesn't exist to some people.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

While they're highly regarded in the performance community now, the S14 chassis 240SX was very underrated in its time. After the more-agressive facelift, Nissan still sold less than 5000 in the last two years, with 1998 seeing less than 1500 leave dealerships. All told, I don't believe more than 15000 or so were sold in the US, in four years.

 

[YSSMAN]

Well, I would agree that the car was overlooked at the time, but they are now some of the most sought-after used cars on the market. The problem was for the 240SX is that it was relitively slow and heavy by comparison to some of the cars in the market, and although it was a joy to drive, it was also quite expensive by comparison.

Thats why so many of the Japanese sports car legends were chased out of the United States by 1998... They were too expensive and just didnt perform as well as some of the other competition. Hell, even the F-Body and Fox Body were catching up by the time, and they were selling for a few grand less.

...And if we want to talk Japanese cars for a moment, how about the Mitsubishi Mirage? The car was outrageously cheap, held up pretty well over time, and was fun to drive. Although I doubut I would go out to buy one right now, I don't think I would be ashamed to drive one.

 

[Gil]

By the criteria you listed, one car that was "overlooked" as being a simple "Grocery Getter" was the Pontiac 6000/Chevy Celebrity/Olds Cutlass.
Yes, it had almost no personality. It was no hot rod. But it was one of the first American cars that could hold 5-6 people in relative comfort while pulling down 30 MPG.

 

[Rogue Ssv]

How about the Buick Roadmaster, and Caprice Classic, and
ESPECIALLY the Impala SS? (Four door 'Vette, not the new crap ones.)

 

[JCE]

I'd say one of the most overlooked car in the US was the 2nd gen Nissan 200SX. I'd also like to say the 1st gen was also overlooked...but doesn't qualify for this thread.

'98 Nissan 200SX SE-R:

I owned one (a '98 blue 5spd SE-R) and it was so much fun to own and drive. The 1.6l model (along with the Sentra) were great cars with some good gas mileage. Mine however, the SR20DE engined version, got terrible MPG...well maybe because of how I drove it. To me the thought of a 2dr coupe Sentra is a winning formula. I wish Nissan would bring that back to try and compete with the Civic and tC.

Another overlooked car has to be the Cadillac Catera.

'99 Cadillac Catera:

Handsome looking saloon with a decent engine, decent interior (for a GM), and most importantly for me RWD. I still want to buy a good condition used one for the work commute...or drop an LS2 in it and wet my pants upon every hard acceleration.

Oh and on the NSX discussion, I'd say it was overlooked mainly because in 1990/91 when it came over here it was over $80k--that's about the equivalent of $120k now. WASTE of money--and no they were not fast--not even back then. I owned NSX's street racing in my stock VR4 all day everday. And a buddy of mine in his stock RX-7 also owned them. NSX's are overrated and overlooked--but overlooked by the fault of Honda for making them so expensive and hyped. The thing with the NSX is it's one of the most beautiful cars and it handles well if you know where it's limit is...and exploit it.

All the above assumed we're talking about the base NSX and not the NSX-T turbo model. I've driven an NSX-T (Japanese imported one actually) and it's quite fast.

 

[Carl.]

^^ I almost posted that Sentra. 👍 (I did post the Catera, thought )

If 1990 is inclusive, I'll add the Colt Turbo (not the Colt 200, although these were not bad either). These were awesome little cars.

 

[niky]

Hey, the first-gen counts, doesn't it? It's a 93'. Lovely little car. Fast as all heck for its simplicity. Not sure it counts as overlooked, though.

 

[socomplayer2]

After today I have to add another car to the list too. My father bought a Chevy Malibu LS and honestly, that thing drives like a dream. Electronic steering, 200+hp, a good amount of torque and you have the recipe for fun. Sure the styling is bland but I truthfully enjoyed driving it today. I was shocked because when he told me what he bought I rolled my eyes but he did well. Does this mean I am going to go buy one now? Hell no, but for him to go to work in it's a great car and honestly it's quicker then you think.

here about the new SS impala (sp?) it looks sick 👍

 

[socomplayer2]

Oh and on the NSX discussion, I'd say it was overlooked mainly because in 1990/91 when it came over here it was over $80k--that's about the equivalent of $120k now. WASTE of money--and no they were not fast--not even back then. I owned NSX's street racing in my stock VR4 all day everday. And a buddy of mine in his stock RX-7 also owned them. NSX's are overrated and overlooked--but overlooked by the fault of Honda for making them so expensive and hyped. The thing with the NSX is it's one of the most beautiful cars and it handles well if you know where it's limit is...and exploit it.

sorry for double post ... i beg to differ... my uncle had a '93 and for a street car it was kick a** he got it up to 165 miles per hour on the georgia turnpike and with 300 horses and a lightweight body and chasis its far from slow ... over priced ill give you

 

[Tornado]

WASTE of money--and no they were not fast--not even back then.

I think that may be a Honda stigma than anything else.

1. They were faster than the car they were designed from the start to compete with, everyones favorite garbage Ferrari and the Porsche 911 (964) Carrera.
2. They cost alot less than said garbage Ferrari.
3. They were better put together than said garbage Ferrari.
4. They were easier to drive than the Ferrari.
5. They pretty much smited the garbage Ferrari, and were about equal with the Skyline GT-R, Mazda RX-7, Alpine-Renault A610 and Porsche 911 (964) Carrera (I won't say the 3000GT, because as fast as they were in every other measurement, they simply couldn't handle as well as the NSX due to their corpulence).
   
   

In fact, I would say that the only Japanese car that was out and out faster than them was probably the R32 GT-R (with the RX-7 coming in close). That being said, I wouldn't say they were overlooked in any way, shape or form, because they were a limited production vehicle from the very start, and as such sold like they were.

 

[YSSMAN]

...The NSX certainly WAS a fast car in it's time, but as things progressed, the car lost it's luster here in the US as we didn't recieve an update untill a few years ago. Thats right... No Type-Rs, no J-Spec, no Z-Spec, etc... Just the regular-grade NSX from start to finish.

The car was quick at the time as well. I seem to remember it being able to keep up with the C4 Z51 pretty easily, and it's best Japanese competition was the RX-7 RS of the time (or atleast that was the case in the US).

That said, it was not an "overlooked" car in the United States. They sold every single one that they brought here, and the fan-base is quite large despite the fact we recieved so few. I'm certain that there are plenty of people who have never seen one in person, but most certainly know the car quite well...

 

[Leonidae]

and isn't Cadillac Catera mere Opel omega with swapped manufacturer markings and slightly different front end..? and I say that MV6, that is equal to 3.0 auto Catera, was pure rubbish despite rwd. heavy landyacht that wasn't pleasure to drive.

 

[Carl.]

and isn't Cadillac Catera mere Opel omega with swapped manufacturer markings and slightly different front end..? and I say that MV6, that is equal to 3.0 auto Catera, was pure rubbish despite rwd. heavy landyacht that wasn't pleasure to drive.

From an European perspective, maybe. Things are quite different when you look at it compared to most of the American luxury sedan landscape of the 90s. It's different when you comparing yachts to cruise ships...

 

[YSSMAN]

...Yes, the Catera is essentially the same thing as the Omega MV6, and the same baisic structure still lies beneath the VZ Commodore/Monaro/Crewman/Ute/Adventura/GTO platform.

The Catera was replaced by the Sigma-based CTS, and the VZ Models will be replaced by the VE/Zeta cars starting in late 2007 to early 2008.

 

[JCE]

I think that may be a Honda stigma than anything else.

1. They were faster than the car they were designed from the start to compete with, everyones favorite garbage Ferrari and the Porsche 911 (964) Carrera.
2. They cost alot less than said garbage Ferrari.
3. They were better put together than said garbage Ferrari.
4. They were easier to drive than the Ferrari.
5. They pretty much smited the garbage Ferrari, and were about equal with the Skyline GT-R, Mazda RX-7, Alpine-Renault A610 and Porsche 911 (964) Carrera (I won't say the 3000GT, because as fast as they were in every other measurement, they simply couldn't handle as well as the NSX due to their corpulence).
   
   

In fact, I would say that the only Japanese car that was out and out faster than them was probably the R32 GT-R (with the RX-7 coming in close). That being said, I wouldn't say they were overlooked in any way, shape or form, because they were a limited production vehicle from the very start, and as such sold like they were.

I'll conceed my VR4 was fat--3870lbs fat--and granted it didn't handle as well as the NSX but I can still probably pull away exiting corners due to extra traction from the AWD. Unless facing an NSX-T turbo model I believe the track time from a 1999 VR4 vs a 1999 NSX stock would have the VR4 beating it. Don't get me wrong, I like the NSX and if I found one now in decent condition used for a good price I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But back then...buying one new...that's financial suicide in my opinion. And I would also conceed your point of said Ferrari's and Porsches (with exception to the 1992+ 911 Turbo) were basically too expensive at the prices they wanted them for.

But my last point on the base NSX is this, the 300ZX TT, Supra TT, RX-7 TT, GTO TT, and the Skyline GT-R would keep up if not beat this car for a fraction of the price. Seriously, would you rather of spent $80k+ on a base NSX or buy 2 of each of the previous I mentioned? Just a thought.

 

[niky]

Well, if I had the money fifteen years ago, I'd buy one NSX and a couple of the others for the price of that brand new Ferrari.



It's a really hard call on the NSX... let's just say it was UNDERappreciated and OVERpriced... certainly NOT OVERlooked.

 

[YSSMAN]

...Hell, if I would have had the money all those years ago, I probably could have gotten away with either a Corvette ZR1, or a Dodge Viper... If we are going to talk combos, I probably would have gone with the Mazda RX-7 RS and a Saab 9000 Turbo.

...Hey, now theres a car! The Saab 9000 Turbo! You don't see too many of them around any more, by God they were great cars at the time. I guess I wouldn't call them "overlooked" as maybe optioned out for lesser 9000 models, but the Turbo will always have a good place in the pre-Uber-sedan game.

 

[YSSMAN]

Another addition to the growing list: The VW Passat W8...

The car recieved plenty of attention from the press, but not from the public, which amazes me because the car was just so great. Everything from the distinctly German looks, the silky-smooth W8 powerplant, and the addition of a slick-shifting 6-speed manaual putting the power down to the ground with the 4MOTION AWD system on 18" BBS alloy wheels.

...What more could you ask for?

Sure, the car may have been overpriced for a Volkswagen, but it still undercut the rest of the German sedan market by several grand, even when similarly equiped. I would nearly say that it is one of the best deals in the post '00 model years, but I think I would feel awkward paying more than $40,000 for a VW as well.

It really is too bad that the whole idea didn't work out. The W8 will be fondly remembered as one of my favorite Volkswagens, one of which I hope to own someday, but for the most part, it has been forgotten by a good part of the automotive world.

But I suppose the new VR6 is nearly as powerful as the W8, and the new 3.6L unit is sure to pass it in the power department as well. No big deal though, the VR6 is a great engine as well!

 

[High-Test]

I love those Saabs..

I was on US 69 S heading home, when a 9000 went blasting by me, I was doing 75, and he came flying by me like I was standing still. Those 9000s are pretty dang fast.

Passats are great cars. $40,000 for a VW? Get over it. It will live forever and not lose it's style. What more does one want?

 

[JCE]

Passats are great cars. $40,000 for a VW? Get over it. It will live forever and not lose it's style. What more does one want?

What more do I want out of a $40k VW? This in the passenger seat:

We (the) Germans can make it happen, we're a resourceful bunch.

 

[Pupik]

and american fanatics have taken over the thread even though we didn't have any terrorists here. bummer.. I wonder when they're going to bring up oldsmobile..

I always had a soft spot for the 2nd-generation Oldsmobile Aurora, it just wasn't really refined enough to compete with the A6/GS/E-Class/5-series. It could have been the car that "saved" the brand, as the 1st-generation was quite popular with their owners, according to a Road & Track owner's poll.

But damn, they were super-cheap new-car bargains (in this area) around late-2002 to mid-2003! I saw them for about 22-26k in the papers; it was just a little bit of my price range, what with my uncertain job future at the time.