JdWals

Hi All,

Just registered on this site even though I have been lurking around reading posts for months.
I am planing on changing my car in the coming months and have pretty much narrowed it down to one of three - an N/A GTO, an N/A Supra or an outside choice is the Toyota Soarer 3ltr (I know, way slow but it does have a usable back seat and boot!), all auto's.
I am being drawn to the GTO as I think that even stock, they are one of the most exciting looking cars ever made short of a ferrari and they also have the four wheel drive thing going for them.
However, I have heard that the auto box on these cars does go and that they do tend to have electrical problems that are expensive to fix.
The Supra on the other hand is a fabulous car and seems to be legendary in it's build quality and reliability. Only thing is I would definetly put some kind of a body kit on one and they are also that bit more expensive to buy.
Have test drove a few Soarers (2.5TT's) but I didn't really feel anything special when driving them and there also seems to be a lot of rough ones out there.
As I am in Ireland, these cars don't come up for sale that often and those that do tend to be private owners selling their cars. As I don't want to use a private seller as a test drive and waste their time, I would like to know if anyone else one the site has experience driving each of these cars and how they compare?
Not going for TT on any of the cars as I will never need that kind of power and it makes a big difference on insurance costs here in Ireland.
Thanks a million for anyones help and their experience of these cars and all replies will be much welcomed!
JD.

automodellistagt

i drove a manual gto, and thought it was aweful, so underpowered for the weight of the car, plus gto's whether turbo or not, are very very expensive should naything go wrong...

soarers look great but i havent tried one my self so respectfully withdraw all comments

supra na autos are like big quick arm chairs. The speed is perfectly exceptable, although not too quick they will quite happily get to 90 without to much trouble, but just dont expect it to be too quick. 225 bhp is not a lot in a 1500kg car, specially with an auto box.

the supra would be my choice, they look gorgeous, have the wildest selcetion of bodykits and biggest following. plus when crusing past, people wont be able to tell if its a turbo or not

Woody1

Changed from a Supra n/a manual to my bugeye STI. Still missing the supra, but needed a boot and four door practicality.

Still missing my supra. Not as fast as the sti, but great rear wheel drive fun and bullet proof reliability. I want to go back to a supra but want a TT and a cheap practical run around.

If you get one, fit a HKS hyper muffler. Sounds awsome.

Just my opinion.

Neil

Jap2Scrap

I had a Supra once upon a time and my ex boss had a GTO, although it was the twin? turbo model.. He used to bang on about his being faster for similar economy.. Soon shut up when his auto box went and a replacement cost him £6000!!!

In the nearly 2 years I had the supra I had to replace just the AFM, got a second hand one fitted for £70.

MattN

Not a good place to ask as most on here have heard this that and the other but few have owned any let alone all of them.

I've only had the TT versions of the GTO and Supra and the V8 Soarer. Would recommend all of them.

Senior_AP

Through the front wheels. !!!!!

Bollox - wrong thread!!!! lol. What a ***.

JdWals

Thanks for your comments guys. The Supra does seem to be one of the most reliable cars out there and a good buy.
MattN - the reason I asked here is because I think there is a wide variety of experience and car ownership and most importantly - unbiassed points of views towards all car models (except Scooby's of course).
Again, thanks and if anyone thinks of anything else, let me know.

JD

mattstant

Quick somebody call Mycroft

Matt Harwood.

I've actually still got a Supra, it's my second one now, and I've just converted it to a single turbo. (It's fairly nippy )

They're bullet proof reliable and a hell of a lot of fun. I'd recomend it to anyone. It might not go around corners as well as an Impreza, but with the right driver behind the wheel, it wouldn't be far behind. (That driver isn't me BTW! I wait for straight roads!).

IMO, you'd be better off getting a twin turbo Supra though. For a number of reasons.
1, Cheaper insurance - Yep, the TT is cheaper to insure than the NA through most insurance companies. Daft eh?
2, They virtually cost the same to run. The NA will get about 2-3 mpg better than a TT if you're lucky.
3, TT's are far easier to modify and easy to get fairly high power from. 400 genuine BHP is easily achieveable with minor modifications.
4, You'll always wish you got the TT when something overtakes you!

All IMHO

HTH

XT

Matt, I can ASSURE you that if 'FastIsNice'(my best mate) is behind the wheel, then....The car in front is a Toyota

Matt Harwood.

LOL, Is his car all done now?

XT

One of the two fuel pumps is knackered otherwise the car is pumping around 600bhp atm, he bought internals too AFAIK but not fitted them yet, when he will do I'm sure the car will be at least interesting the Single Turbo he has is rated for 850rwhp

akshay67

The NA supra is no slouch with a few choice mods...my mate has one and was able to keep up with my (then) stock UK99 impreza turbo above 40mph...and would be quicker at speeds over 80mph...

Oh, get the right kit and wheels and it ranks amongst the most headturning of cars on the road!

mozzaITA

My friend had a n/a auto supra, i thought it was really slow, guzzled fuel but was reliable and a good cruiser.

Matt Harwood.

There's nothing wrong with the performace of the NA. It's still 240ish HP in standard form and something like 6.7 to 60, but it's certainly no match for the TT (320 stock), and if you were to spend a grand on both cars, the TT would be leagues ahead with around 400 bhp, compared to about 270 from the NA.

Maybe the bast place to ask for more varied opinions would be the Supra BBS

www.mkivsupra.net/vbb

mozzaITA

well the one i was in was an auto, it felt nothing like 0-60 in less than 7 sec.

ScoobyJawa

Prob wasn't running right then - been in both and the NA does do sub 7 quite easily, even in an auto............

mozzaITA

it was an import if that helps???.... it seemed to be running ok, it was checked out before he bought it. I just felt that it was dissapointing, wasnt expecting it to be like the twin turbo one still it a big engine¬! Took him 1.5 years to sell it, not much of a market for N/A supra which are auto's! The car was in A1 condition aswell.

ScoobyJawa

Weird! All the NA's were imports, UK cars were only TT's. I had the TT and while there is no contest, I went in my mates NA a few times, and it shifted well. The main point you could really notice the NA lacking was motorway acceleration compared to the TT, but up to 70-90 I thought it was still rather pokey, defo a fair bit faster than my stock-ish 1.9 205 (7.5-7.8 0-60).............

mozzaITA

I dont know...... My 200 s13 feels quicker, yeah all N/A were imports they only had twin turbos as UK cars ure right.

Still was a knightmare to sell, he bought/imported it for 7k on a k plate, sold it nearly 2 years later for 4.5k. nobody wanted a N/A.......

ScoobyJawa

Yeah - they can be a bit tricky to shift on LOL!

eldudereno

I agree, go for the Supra!

Build quality and reliability are second to none.

My brother has a VVTI Twin Turbo...what a beast!