Del Sol - Opinions?

shakenbake

What are peoples opinions on this car?

I believe the 2nd gen crx to be a better car but this model is definitely starting to grow on me big time. Infact I'm thinking of trading in my 00 2ltr alfa 156 for a 1.6 vtec sol.

Please don't degenerate this thread into a flame war, sensible opinions only please

Cyrus

personally i couldnt fathom such a change but if you like ti why not, its a very very small car, you realise that?

shakenbake

I'm a very very small person

My last car was a 1.5 vti and I really miss it I have to say. My alfa has noticeably more torque but they seem just as quick as each other to be honest. Except when you accelerated in the civic it just seemed more enthusiastic about it, in the alfa when you drop the foot you feel like the car is saying to you 'urrggghhhhhhh, do I havveeeee toooo?'

Cyrus

civic is probably all vtec sound, makes it feel like you are going faster, probably arent tho!!

whats your budget, one would imagine an mx5 is a much better car

shakenbake

Well I'm hoping to use the equity from my alfa, which is very good nick, so with a bit extra ontop I'd say 9k max.

I've never driven an mx5 before, I've heard they're fantastic ... just underpowered which is what has put me off them.

Cyrus

CRX 1.6 VTi 2d BHP158 Top speed 131 0-60 7.9

Mx5 1.8 BHP 146 Top speed 127 0-60 8.2

not much in it really and you can get faster limited edition mx5s

elexes

the unmodified del sol is much nicer then the unmodified mx5 tho .

i would still go for a mx5 .


dont suppose you thought about a s2000 if your budget goes that far

theres a version of the supra that you can get where you can take away part of the roof

Cyrus

also nissan 300zx has a similar roof, as does the toyota mr2

shakenbake

s2000, 300zx and supra are way way waaayyy out of my league chaps.
I'm going to wait until I'm 40 and have erectile dysfunction for that, also cost is minor factor

I've been looking at 2nd gen MR2's aswell. I simply can't believe how much some of them are going for. Some later non turbo models still fetching 10 - 12k, wtf!??!

I'd really like a 200sx but I'm pissed off paying 500+ tax on 2ltr engines. My insurance is up in Feb so I'll defo test drive the MX5.

TempestSabre

I had a mrk2 CRX, and have driven a few Del Sol's. The Sol feels much more plasticky and less well built. The roofs seem to give trouble and its expensive to fix. Theres less room, and its not as nice to drive. But they are all pretty nippy. It looks woeful to me, especially the quarter lights in the windows. Basically its worse in every respect to the m2k. Consider a Prelude instead much nicer in everyway and the older ones are cheap. Its a 2.0 or 2.2 though. Not mad about the looks, but once you get over that they are a great car.

The Mr2's are great cars. Built like tanks. But a lot of them are trashed. I haven't seen a clean one for years. Nice to drive and the T-Bar is a nice touch.

The MX5 is a great car. hard to find a clean one though.

RobAMerc

It depends what you are looking for.

If you are out to buy something to look good in then buy a crx and enjoy, but if you are looking for a proper sports car buy something different, perhaps an mx5.
I made the wrong choice some years back and ended up with the least enjoyable car I have ever owned.
Although it looked sporty and had reasonable grunt for a 1.5 I missed the Peugeot 106 xsi it replaced everyday I drove it and wished I'd gone for the mx5 (despite my mates girly taunts).

The Crx is soft, and it suffers from little tortional rigidity( a problem many convertibles have ) meaning it bent and flexed under hard cornering, I even managed to have water pour through the gap that opened in the roof one day when I over enthusiactically took it into a roundabout after washing it.

I am sure some will disagree but I have had 16 + cars at this stage and would even rate the cinquecento I use for knocking about town in more fun than theDel Sol, although I doubt I get as much street cred in it

blastman

If you're thinking of a CRX, the Mk 2 is a much better bet in my admittedly-biased opinion.

Squirrel

The MR2 doesn't have the same roof as the CRX/Del Sol. The MR2 has two roof panels, do the Honda's not have only 1?

TempestSabre

Honda CRX Mk2 -- Toyota MR2 :cool:

Squirrel wrote:

The MR2 doesn't have the same roof as the CRX/Del Sol. The MR2 has two roof panels, do the Honda's not have only
1?

Depends. Some of the MR2's have a removable glass sunroof, some a T-bar (glass panels), some just a plain steel roof, no openings at all. Whereas, the CRX Mk3, (Del Sol) have a either a complete removable glass or steel section. The CRX either has plain roof no openings or a steel sunroof. So the structure of a Del Sol is a lot less stiff than any MR2 or CRX Mk2.

Automan

If your looking for the Vtec trill how about a Civic Type R old shape or an Integra Type R.
If your budget will not stretch to either of these you could always get an Integra Si 1.8 Vtec, I have one of these and they are an excellent car would be quicker than the Alfa you have at the moment. And they stick to the road.

TempestSabre

Automan wrote:

If your looking for the Vtec trill how about a Civic Type R old shape or an Integra Type R.
If your budget will not stretch to either of these you could always get an Integra Si 1.8 Vtec, I have one of these and they are an excellent car would be quicker than the Alfa you have at the moment. And they stick to the road.

If it were me, (and I used to have a CRX mk2) I'd go to integra si. Only I need 4 doors and a boot these days.

Automan

TempestSabre wrote:

If it were me, (and I used to have a CRX mk2) I'd go to integra si. Only I need 4 doors and a boot these days.

You can get a 4 door Integra Si integra, there rare but if you look hard enough youll find them. The boot in the Si is massive.

TempestSabre

Automan wrote:

You can get a 4 door Integra Si integra, there rare but if you look hard enough youll find them. The boot in the Si is massive.

I'm not keen on rare jap cars. Parts can be hard to find.

Automan

Honda will supply any part you need for the Integra, if you ever have any problem getting parts ring Honda universal, they have updated all there systems to include jap imports.

TempestSabre

Automan wrote:

Honda will supply any part you need for the Integra, if you ever have any problem getting parts ring Honda universal, they have updated all there systems to include jap imports.

At what cost though. When I checked this out before import cars parts, especially thinks like panels, windscreens etc, and especially on unusual models were a lot more expensive than the parts common to Irish models. That was a few years back, so perhaps it no longer applies anymore.

Automan

TempestSabre wrote:

At what cost though. When I checked this out before import cars parts, especially thinks like panels, windscreens etc, and especially on unusual models were a lot more expensive than the parts common to Irish models. That was a few years back, so perhaps it no longer applies anymore.

Any parts I have got for my car were either on par price wise with a European civic or a little dearer.
Also you can get spurious parts for some imports now.The integra also is nearly identical to an Acura integra so you can also get some parts from America.