matt.bowey

Been lookin at a few recenly.......a lotta car fo £8K, a/c, 200BHP!

Anybody got any experience of them?

I'm keepin the MY00 for now, but a future contender!

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I test drove two (an automatic with the 200bhp engine and a 180bhp manual) before I bought the scoob. Very pretty, and the V6 engine is smooth, but:

- the ride is extremely hard;
- rear visibility dangerously poor (IMHO);
- very low on torque.

The manual gearbox is definitely the one to go for over the auto - the engine feels much better connected to the wheels. Even with the extra power, the auto felt slow and rubbery compared to the manual.

Maybe a 200bhp manual would be OK, but I think you'd really miss the Scoob's turbocharged rush. The FTO just didn't feel fast.

A.

SCOTTSCOOBY

my mates dad has one driven it its no way as fast but i like it nice, not as nice as a scooby all round.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

I like em.
Definately go for the manual 200bhp
The top of the range has varialble valve timing.(24 valve I think)
The main downside is that all the power goes through the front wheels which means they are hopeless in wet conditions.
I think traction control was an option - which may help.
Better built than my scoob.
great value for money
I Still feel that the scoob is a better car.
Hope this helps
Steve

MattN

Owned one for 18 months.

Never had a problem in the wet.

The tiptronic is great fun. Try flooring your manual then changing up at 8000rpm without lifting off! Torgue steer can be a problem tho.

Integra type R aside it's probably the best FWD handling car ever built. I never needed traction control.

The GPX has 197 BHP at 7500rpm. No ABS as standard but the brakes are very good, the whole car as one is really good.

I managed to lock mine up going round a corner and the car just sorted itself out!

Great cars.

No it's not as fast as a scoob but it doesn't have a turbocharger.

Rottie1

Lovely noise handle and grip really well, look great and different,tiptronic alot of fun but not fast for a 200bhp car.

My friends 165bhp FRST pulles away at any speed with relative ease.

cHEERS

rOTTIE

MattN

of course if you want pure performance it's not the best.

As an all round package the FTO is a great buy.

Funny how a car half the size and a good 100-200kg lighter is faster.

The FTO looks good goes well, nuff said.

LanciaChris

I think they are bad. Especially the imported ones. My boss owned one, paid like 11k for his with 33k (import) and this was two years ago. It still had glass in the front and back from smashed windows, one of the doors was off a different car etc. etc. And to drive it was far too harsh, the gearbox was made of cheese and to get it to move you had to spin it up to like 6k. And the interior was tacky and full of rattles and easily worn, the back seats were unusable (as you might expect i suppose). Oh, and dont get me started about the insurance. Eventually he resorted to buying max power and calling the insurance companies in there. Ill never forget one of the ads - depicts someone scared out of their wits driving a car apparently fast (blurred in the windows etc). Caption on it was 'mad, bad, or just unlucky? call us on.....'

And he didnt know how to drive - I used to keep pace with him in my ratty old pug 309 65bhp 1.3. In the twisties of course.
Rant over.

fatherpierre

Don't like 'em then, Lancia?

I borrowed the 2l (top of the range manual?) from a mate who left it with me for a few weeks, a couple of years ago.

At the time I had a MR2 N/A and they were pretty much on a par straight line.

Poor handling is this car's biggest downfall - thay handle from standard worse than a Vecra IMO.

They pull well and sound nice - what they were made for.

I think EVO (or similar that I read) said "They look like 911 chasers, but struggle to keep up with 2L Modeoes in mid-range".

I agree with them.

Not bad cars. But don't buy one thinking you can do today's hot hatches or turbo cars.

Falski

My Mate has a GPX mivev 200 bho, rare manual version, with superchip, hks filter, and powerflow exhasut, very nice car, pulls very well, and good handling, he had it at 120mph in 4th, and the car was still pulling (on a private test track, ofcourse)

taylor

I owned a manual GPX(200bhp) for a year. It now belongs to a friend of mine. On a recent test drive of an STi7(type uk) he followed in the FTO and damned if I could shake him. Even on the straights there was nothing in it. They're quick, handle well, reliable and cheap. The tiptronic is very different and unless you drive a lot in town I would get the manual.

Reading some of the above posts regarding performance I wonder if they're talking about the same car. There were a number of engine variations, but for performance the 2.0 GPX mivec manual is the only one to go for. I found it every bit as quick as my Integra type R and 97MY impreza turbo. Although my modded 02 WRX is a different story!

[Edited by taylor - 6/27/2003 12:46:44 PM]

midnight racer

always quite liked them myself, trying to find a good one for the mrs at the moment. the only one i'd bother with is a gpx manual though.

scoobysnacks

Nothing against FTO's but if you want a high reving 200 bhp (ish) front drive Japanese coupe and the Integra is too hardcore, then I think the Prelude VTEC is the one to go for as Honda's 2.2 VTEC has a much better spread of power than the 2.0 MIVEC and this makes all the difference.

[Edited by scoobysnacks - 6/28/2003 12:01:52 PM]

LanciaChris

The model I referred to in my post was a pooey gr. And nope I dont like em personally if i wanted something in that sort of style id get a erm... scooby! more practical too.