[ians]

Originally Posted by vAnt826

S60R definitely fits the criteria.

I never drive the S60R but I used to have a 98 S70 T5R MT(bought it brand new) and it was the worst car I ever have! lousy gearbox & clutch, horrible handling & bodyroll, crazy turbo lag, truck like rough engine, slow as hell throttle & steering response, tank like harsh ride, torque steer & understeer like crazy! totally POS! In the meant time, my other car is a 93 Civic and I feel a lot more safe driving on the Civic then that crap. End up I couldn't live with it and traded it in for a 00 E46 328i with huge loss(loss 60% in 2yr)!

[RMA]

How about the VW VR6 Corrado (I had one back in the day) & loved it.

[blakjack23]

Originally Posted by tpipta

The ITR, unequivocally one of the best FWD cars ever built. JDM front clip FTW

rice

[xxForgedxx]

Originally Posted by blakjack23

rice

Says the guy who with the bottom of the line 3 series in automatic with 19 inch REEEIIMMMZZZZ and stock ride height

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by Noize

Here's mine:

2000 Celica GT-S


While no ITR, this car was a stock GSR killer in every right. To me, it was the last of the pure FWDs. This car weighed under 2500 pounds lightly optioned, which is unheard of these days in a non-Lotus Elise. It had the 2ZZGE engine that was co-designed with Yamaha. The problem with this car is that people didn't know how to drive them. The VVTL-i actuation was really high because it was so aggressive, so you had to run it past redline to a breath from the rev limiter to get it to stay on boil. Doing this, the car could run high 14 second quarter mile passes stock (watched my friend do it). It also had a really nice chassis and was a competent handler. 180HP is not much, but when you consider the weight, its not bad, since it has a slightly better power:weight than a 328i.

I had a 2002 GT-S before my 325i. It was a great little car with a 6spd manual. I had a few little mods that made it fairly quick. Injen CAI, Fidanza SS, Tein sport springs and a Greddy EVO-2 cat-back made it really fun. Not to mention the TRD kit, a couple TRD other things, a killer sound system and some lightweight enkei rims.

I'll have to look from some pics. I really loved that car but being 6'4'' it was a tight squeeze and I was ready for a more "grow-up" car. In comes the 325i

[shaddai]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

I had a 2002 GT-S before my 325i. It was a great little car with a 6spd manual. I had a few little mods that made it fairly quick. Injen CAI, Fidanza SS, Tein sport springs and a Greddy EVO-2 cat-back made it really fun. Not to mention the TRD kit, a couple TRD other things, a killer sound system and some lightweight enkei rims.

I'll have to look from some pics. I really loved that car but being 6'4'' it was a tight squeeze and I was ready for a more "grow-up" car. In comes the 325i

I had a 2000 GT-S myself. No mods. I put 41k miles on it in 3.6 years (a lot for me). It needed two alignments (both done under warranty), three stereos (if you count the stock one), and the shift linkage had to be replaced once. I loved that car until I got really tired of torque steer... all 133 ft/lbs it had. I routinely averaged 34.5 MPG on freeway driving, despite it being rated at 32. The stock tires were crap and wore in the most interesting pattern I've ever seen... like _-_-_ (ascii art FTW), but I got 31k miles out of em.

I know what you mean about a tight fit, I'm 6'3" and I had maybe 1/4" of headroom... Don't get me started about visibility though. Look over your shoulder... what do you see? Not much! Side view mirrors? 1/3 useless (funny body shaping). Rearview? Spoiler! HA! I nearly got in a ton of accidents because of the visibility.

[Year's_End]

I don't think the ITR, Neon SRT-4, MS3 and MX-5 "flew under the radar". They're all quite popular amongst enthusiasts.

[coolingmist]

There was a pair of turbo cars in the late 80's or 90's. It was a mitsu/plymouth combo. Tiny hatchbacks. It was very impressive for the day because they did 0-60 in approx 6 seconds (maybe 6.5 seconds if I recall).

Maybe it was the plymouth colt turbo? If anyone vaguely recalls ancient history feel free to post a pic, contradict me or just laugh.

[xxForgedxx]

Originally Posted by coolingmist

There was a pair of turbo cars in the late 80's or 90's. It was a mitsu/plymouth combo. Tiny hatchbacks. It was very impressive for the day because they did 0-60 in approx 6 seconds (maybe 6.5 seconds if I recall).

Maybe it was the plymouth colt turbo? If anyone vaguely recalls ancient history feel free to post a pic, contradict me or just laugh.

Dodge Omni I believe

[xxForgedxx]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Loyalist

I don't think the ITR, Neon SRT-4, MS3 and MX-5 "flew under the radar". They're all quite popular amongst enthusiasts.

They did so as far as the outside community goes. People just don't know what they have to offer if they are only a novice.

[xxForgedxx]

Originally Posted by coolingmist

There was a pair of turbo cars in the late 80's or 90's. It was a mitsu/plymouth combo. Tiny hatchbacks. It was very impressive for the day because they did 0-60 in approx 6 seconds (maybe 6.5 seconds if I recall).

Maybe it was the plymouth colt turbo? If anyone vaguely recalls ancient history feel free to post a pic, contradict me or just laugh.

Like DEECE VUN? Dodge Omni Turbo

[M3350Z]

To whoever said the S60R is expensive, there was one at the dealer down the street from me with a list of $46,000 that sold for $33,000 BRAND NEW. So I think it def flew under the radar.

[holson]

Here's another one - the 03 and 04 Mercury Marauder

• awesome sounding 32V 4.6L V-8 from the 99 Cobra
• Limited Slip Rear diff
• Extra gauges
• Self leveling rear suspension

Best of all, it's really cheap now..

[vAnt826]

Originally Posted by xxForgedxx

Says the guy who with the bottom of the line 3 series in automatic with 19 inch REEEIIMMMZZZZ and stock ride height

Owned.

[san~man]

Originally Posted by holson

Here's another one - the 03 and 04 Mercury Marauder

• awesome sounding 32V 4.6L V-8 from the 99 Cobra
• Limited Slip Rear diff
• Extra gauges
• Self leveling rear suspension

Best of all, it's really cheap now..

I have to disagree. That thing was/is a boat and is slow as shit. It may have the 305HP cobra motor, but it's stuffed into a fat, disguised, Crown Vic body that weighs two tons.

[amgthis]

Originally Posted by xxForgedxx

Says the guy who with the bottom of the line 3 series in automatic with 19 inch REEEIIMMMZZZZ and stock ride height

Yes not rice, but no need to be an a*****e to the guy.

[josephr25]

Originally Posted by holson

Here's another one - the 03 and 04 Mercury Marauder

• awesome sounding 32V 4.6L V-8 from the 99 Cobra
• Limited Slip Rear diff
• Extra gauges
• Self leveling rear suspension

Best of all, it's really cheap now..

That car looked pretty sweet when it came out; too bad it wasn't well-received.

[NYSPEM3]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

That car looked pretty sweet when it came out; too bad it wasn't well-received.

Not to mention that if you put a police bumper in the front and a spotlight on the side door you will NEVER be pulled over.

[ChrisV]

Another one that is often overlooked, and has one of the sweetest exhaust sounds, in stock form, of any mass produced car:

my old SVT Contour:



Outstanding handling, easy to balance. When autocrossing, many people woudl ask me when Ford came out with a RWD Contour, it was that neutral (with a tiny bit of oversteer)

[xxForgedxx]

Originally Posted by san~man

I have to disagree. That thing was/is a boat and is slow as shit. It may have the 305HP cobra motor, but it's stuffed into a fat, disguised, Crown Vic body that weighs two tons.

You can not ignore the potential of the car however considering its foundation. Throw a blower on that bitch for under $4,000 or so and you have a whole other animal.

[SPC LV]

I agree with most of these especially the Mazdaspeed Protege and the SE-R. Those little Nissans were very fun and tossible.

I'm not really sure if the Acura Legend Coupe would be considered under the radar or not but I like their design and styling. Nothing about the car is very special otherwise. However, for its time the power was desent and it had some cool features. Here is my old 91'.

[Zinister]

Originally Posted by coolingmist

There was a pair of turbo cars in the late 80's or 90's. It was a mitsu/plymouth combo. Tiny hatchbacks. It was very impressive for the day because they did 0-60 in approx 6 seconds (maybe 6.5 seconds if I recall).

Maybe it was the plymouth colt turbo? If anyone vaguely recalls ancient history feel free to post a pic, contradict me or just laugh.

Chrysler Conquest/ Mitsu Starion?