Here are my car choices..
 

Within the next year I plan on buying a new car here is what I have in mind:

1.96 Single Turbo Supra with Upgraded Turbo and other mods $20k or so
2.2002 Subaru WRX around $23k
3.2002 Protege Mp3 around $18k right?
4.97 Eclipse GST with mods $15-16k
Thats all that I am interested in. I Am leaning toward either the GST Eclipse or the WRX, my friend took me for a ride last night in his 12 second GST and I was very impressed seeing that he was on stock internals and was "slightly" upgraded so to say.

Travis

Has your friend ever had any reliability issues with his Eclipse? I've heard that at least the GSXs aren't very reliable. If you're not going to use is as just a pure race car, go with a WRX or the MS Pro. The supra and eclipse aren't very practical... The WRX and the Pro at least have 4 doors. It all depends on what you want.

No reliability issues, its a great car. I do agree with you about the 4 door thing, and also the WRX is AWD which I like. I prefer a turbo though, so I guess that cancels the MP3 out :( I want a car that has potential for HP, these NA 4 cylinders dont have much potential without going FI and upgrading internals, so I see the WRX as an already Turbocharged 4 with lots of potential :)

eh.. i thought you wanted the mazdaspeed protege? that's got a turbo. the mp3, yeah... no turbo. but the MS protege coming out, has the 'targeted' 170 hp (yeah right) turbo'd engine. no awd though :(

Supra:)

I like the Supra and the WRX...
The Supra because it's a Supra! That thing would be wicked, but there'd be very little utility.

The WRX is kinda the best of "All-Worlds". It has AWD, turbo, 227 hp, AND 4 doors (although the backseat is farily small).

wait til this dec. Get the MS Protege in BLACK! Woot that shit is so damn tight. mMMMMMM.....


i can hear it now..

Vroooom......
VRRRROOOOOOOOMMM
SHHHHHHH (blow off valve)

I'd wait for the MS Protege. You'd be kicking yourself if the MS Pro becomes a hit and is really fast...

dude, you can get the wrx for 23k? oh wait, i live in hawaii and they always slap a $4000 "shipping" rate... bastards. :mad:

i dunno, me likey the rx-8... :D

hehe got some responces cool :) I am looking into the MS Protege, however, the 170hp or possibly less Turbo does not impress me that much, I can get more out of an NA Prelude Vtec for less. Yes the turbo is gonna be nice on the new MS Protege, however its not AWD and the WRX is. This is not a dog on MS Protege thread, just stating facts. Don't mean to cause any trouble around here, I see to be good at that anyways ;) The aftermarket is very promising already for the WRX, with Stage 0 and up kits, ofcourse the car has been out for a while so its expected. We will see how the MS Protege compares to the WRX, I do like the fact that the WRX can tear up on the 1/4 mile and on the AutoX track. Supra? I have thought about it, its a very "cool" car, and very fast with lots of aftermarket support, the room is limited and since I have a daughter I am shooting for the WRX. So I guess I am gonna get the WRX unless the new MS Protege proves otherwise.

dude, no contest, WRX ALL THE WAY!!! REX REX REX!

horizontally opposed engine, 227 horsepower,AWD turbo charged, 0-60 in 5.7!!! cmon dude, wrx man, seriously, they look phat fixed up too. i dont like how they look tooo much, but the car has grown on me and id get it in a heart beat. i was going to but didnt have enough so i got a p5. im happy though i guess

i would honestly get any of those cars over a mp3 except for the eclipse. No disrespect to the mp3 or nothin guys. just my opinion. i think, personally, that a supra is tight as hell, so is a wrx

The WRX is a good choice. I do believe, although, that the MS Pro has a faily conservative under-rating of the HP output. It does lack AWD, but the only real downside to that is the launching. Launching is ungodly wicked on a WRX. However, from the autox point of view, the MS pro would beat the wrx all things being equal.

AWD is great for slippery surfaces, but AWDs are known to have icky understeer on pavement. Now, everyone has heard how well the MP3 handles (faster in the slalom than some porsches from what I've heard).... Just imagine that with at least 30-40 more hp. I've browsed through some of the MS pro threads, but I'm fairly certain I've read the car will have the same, or better suspension components as the MP3.... God I want that car!

I'm not putting you down, pretty much any way you look at it, the WRX is a great choice. If you're going to be waiting a few months to get a new car anyways, I'd wait to see what the reviews are on the MS Pro. Peace!

I'd go with the WRX...the sound of a flat four is wonderful...as long as it has that turbo...speaking of, WRX's are much easier to upgrade the computers for the boost pressure. I've read that Mazda has back-up overrides in theirs. Anything in front of the comp. gets overrided by the ECU. And three more letters that would seal the deal for me...AWD!!:D Enjoy whatever you choose!!!!!

See, one thing I plan on doing is pulling maximum HP out of the motor and with such low aftermarket on the current protege's it doesn't look like there is gonna be much if any for the MS Protege. Aftermarket is everything to a tuner like me. I do like the fact that the AWD launches very well compared to FWD/RWD. Besides, I never thought I would see the day they offered an AWD Turbo at such an affordable price! I mean $23-$27k? I know that seems like a lot to some of you, but that really is nothing compared to others. For the price its performance is unmatched, and thats one reason I like it. I will however wait for the MS Protege to come out, and see how well it performs. I have a feeling though that its gonna either A) Follow the heritage and have awesome handling but so so 1/4 mile or B) Mazda is gonna try and throw out a 1/4 mile car to match up with Honda and other manufacturers who have already produced NA 4 Cylinders that are pretty quick. You never know, time will tell.

I only see 2 choices. SUPRA, WRX. If you want something just to blister balls and turn heads, go with the Supra. If you want a grocery runner that will run, WRX.
Plain Supras turn heads, and with a few $ spent it will smoke.