The wife and I have been shopping around for a new car (350z or rx-8) and it has given me an idea. Most of you will have owned other cars before, how about a quick review of them? This may be helpful with some real-life feedback/input for others looking at buting new/used.

Let me start:

1995 HSV VS Senator 5.7L, 6 spd Manual (owned since new, 65,000km odo):

Very comfortable car for its time.
Heaps of torque on tap and good at long trips. Build quality is reasonable by today's standards.
Have had a couple of maintenance issues (more to do with particular Holden dealer service then car its self).
Have found parts a bit of a pain to source as the car is now that it is 14 years old (they no longer make electric window regulators and windscreen wipers for them or have any in stock). I do not plan to modify this car in any way so keeping it original is the aim.
Fuel economy is not bad for a 5.7L V8 but quite bad around town with 17.5L/100km.

Would I recommend one: yes, but it would have to be in excellent condition.

Next........

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#185

Well there's my review of the Honda Euro from ages ago in this thread

http://www.perth-wrx.com/vb/showthre...da+accord+euro

(at the bottom of the page)

Hey I had a 2003 350z before I sold it for a R32. I did a lot of research and considered the RX8, but drove it and was really disappointed. It has won quite a few awards and the reviews are excellent. However a lot of these reviews are based on racing it around a track, for which it's great. But for everyday driving the power doesn't come on until 6000 rpm so you really have to drive it hard to get the best out of it. At times it felt like I was driving a Corolla. The 350z with it's v6 has power on tap. And thats why I stuck with v6s with the R32. It's nice to be able to floor it from traffic lights without looking like a knob revving the shit out of your engine!

The R32 doesn't feel quite as quick as the 350z but it's better as a daily driver. The awd is great and the dsg is incredible. I'd prefer a manual gearbox, but once u try DSG you could never go back to a manual. I kind of wish I'd never driven a DSG! I suppose it's inevitable DSG style gearboxes will become standard and manual boxes will disappear. Only criticisms of the R32 would be weight and it's not particularly quick compared to an Sti or Evo. I'll be selling it at the end of the year and be looking at a second hand 135i, TT or S3.

Did you do an engine/gbox conversion on it? what happened to the old motor?

They came stock 5.7L blue printed stroker with 6 speed T56 gearbox i'm pretty sure.

correct.

it's a holden 5.0 with a harrop stroker crank (specially done for hsv) which brings capacity to 5.7. Gearbox is a t56, 6 speed.

all factory.

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#185

ahh riteo nice! didnt know that!!

HOLY SHIT - just realised this was from 2009?
It came up in my new posts? hmm strange haha
Sorry for bringing up an ancient thread, & shitt didn't realize i had written so much ahah

07' TDi Golf - (One of mums cars but i borrow it all the time)
Fun little car that's surprisingly punchy, amazing tiptronic gearbox in it.
Quiet, barely notice your speed till you look down.
Super economical (Turbo Diesel ftw)- getting 4 to 5 L/100 when mum drives it, 6/l when i flog the shit out of it. Little bit of torque steer but very well mannered.
Its silver, so looks super grandma spec, but will still hammer of the line with bugger all noise, just tire sequel.
Servicing at a VW dealer is expensive, but reasonable at a decent mechanic.
Can fit heaps of stuff in it, but once you sorta execed 300kgs, the back bumper is dragging haha, And the brakes are awesome - but maybe a little touchy.
Overall great car (we bought it new) - Little bit expensive, Think we paid 32,990 up in Gero for it in 2007. 8/10

93 Pajero 3.0 V6 LWB - Awesome cheap daily i picked up last year for 4Grand with 300,000 and a brand new engine. Past 3 months I've done another 20,000kms with no worries. Easy to maintain, well behaved round town, doesn't have the big 4wd feel like a cruiser or patrol has. Had 7 seats, back the back seat were a joke, took those out for extra space for work.
Doesn't really show its age & has a really handy interior (loads of nifty little storage spaces)
Surprisingly economical trekking up north, getting 750+kms out of a 90l tank, less around town, and even less now with muddies.
Has power (needs revs tho - redline is 6500rpm haha)
Lacks torque (4wding, esp sand and the lack of torque is really noticeable towing a car - will still happily sit on 130 & get 500kms a tank
Parts are plentiful (gumtree/ebay) and great diffs (lsds & lockable central)
Only gripes are that the gearbox has more slop than the full H pattern on the STi - and that after 320+kms the original suspension is well worn/due for replacement (lift?)
Overall - a fucking fantastic car for the money 7/10

2008 Hilux 2wd Sr Dual Cab 3.0 TD-
No longer the reliable workhorse, more a cheap plastic, yet powerful, trayback camary, and as such pleasing to drive (on dry road) and nice interior, even in the back seat.
Traction was a huge issue with the standard cheese graters, both wet and dry, on and off the road they were ridiculous. (great for skids haha)
Averaged about 7.5L/100kms when new, now with nearly 200kms its about double that. Picked it up brand new in gero for 28k with options (GFC - was destined for the mines)
Pretty useless towing things unless you have a decent weight in the tray.
The body/chassis etc is weak, the body panels resemble al foil & it has had countless repairs due to mainly roo's (did 18grand first week of owning it!)
Overall decent car for the money, as long as you don't take in anywhere near anything other than tarmac & much more powerful than its rivals of the time.
8/10

2005 F250 dual cab 4sp auto, 7.8l Turbo
Monster to drive, being 2ft wider than a cruiser, very thirsty, rubbish gearbox.
Parts are surprisingly cheap (which is lucky, because being ford its needed heaps of them. Good cruiser, and good mild 4wding, anything more and the massive wheelbase & weight gets the better of it. Will tow and carry anything. We loaded it up with lead one time out of the boat, went over the weight bride - weighted just over 12t with a small tandem axle trailer.
The powerstroke is a very lazy engine, but will chuck decent skids, and straight 4" turbo back, sounds awesome, love the waste gate sound.
Electronics were fucked from the beginning, and it has spent half its life being repaired - its currently still being fixed by ford (has been away a few months now) The suspension needs modification, otherwise the front leafs collapse. And the tail shaft, get an engineered one from the beginning.
Before it was last trucked back to ford, it was sending out 3ft flames, going through a whole tank of fuel in under 100kms, and only running on one bank, (ie limp mode) if it were without its issues it would be a decent car, providing you spent the money on changing some stuff from the start, but it isnt.
But for $69k Back in 05, and despite being an all for show type of car, when it goes, it fucking goes. - 6/10

2010 200 series Cruiser - Twin turbo v8.
Aside from the issues with the gearbox, some electronics, and occasionally dumping all its fuel at the servo (custom tank now) and the constant burning of oil due to the stainless crank & that Toyota backed it into a wall on its first service and then tried to blame us, its a decent car.
Its a street car with limited off road ability compared to previous versions, although its fun mild offroading with all the electronics off.
The electronics will piss you off. and the power of that TTV8 isnt really there, and what is, is muffled by its weight, and tankiness. (its no range rover)
Long Trips, is were it excels - it will sit on 180 at 2900rpm, no worries and you will feel like you are doing 80. The interior is well designed, in a kinda 'over bulky' style. Economy is decent, averaging around 9L/100kms.
Overall well thought out car, desinged for what the majority of people use them for, with a good frame if you were to spent the money on it and make it a weapon (imagine it would benefit hugely from a chip, exhaust and tune)
And at under 70k, its a lot of car & technology for money.
8/10

2012 Holden Colorado dual cab 3.0 td
Decent features and build quality, very lumpy to drive around the city, being even less powerful than the hilux or pajero, it feels extremely slow.
Decent offroad abilty, and despite the old borrowed donk being more than a few years old, economy is okay, at around 10L or 11L/100km (with muddies)
Got it a bit cheaper (its not what you know, but who)
40 something for a fully optioned one, Its Decent but it would be worth shopping around, as its not really up to the standard of the others, if you were considering this, it would be worth your while test driving both this and the newer version.
7/10

2005 Monaro
Luxury Skid Machine.
Love the leather, makes 305bhp with the stock LS1, exhaust and mild tune, despite nearly 200,000kms on odo. Has custom dash & interior, and those huge leather chairs are like sitting in a lazy boy!.
Alright for a commodore, Handles like a boat, but takes kerbs like a boat too
The traction control deciding mid roundabout what its doing can get a little furry, and the gearbox, as James may once said, is very agricultural, esp compared to the STi.
The weight ensures its no real race car, but its fun to lay strips in comfort

Latest Addition: 2013 Amarok - around 40k before discounts
Haven't Had it long, but it is miles ahead of all the other utes for sale at the mo.
Love all the features and how well thought out it is, its a very differently designed ute and well worth a look if you are considering a new workhorse. It has you 5star saftey, bluetooth music & handsfree, auto windows, hill start brakes, daytime running lights etc etc all as standard, like a much more expensive car than it is, plus electronic dif lock, offroad mode, awesome on and off road braking and the economy of the 2l is amazing, but what more amazing is how it still has so much power (400nm!) bi-turbo ftw!
mines a my2013 (aka 12.5) dual cab trendline 4x4 in white, (equivalent to the middle range, or 'sr' in hilux terms)
mods so far:
Opposite lock bull bar (non airbag compliant version(had to sign waiver) aka extra strong with extra bracing etc)
safari snorkel
rhino overlip spray liner
tint
tjm rear step/towbar

Factory options - alloys and flares
with a few mods and heaps to come.

scrub bars
side steps
spotlights
black sports bars
black rims & stz or other decent rubber
speakers
donaldson pre fuel filter

& eventually a tune and a lift kit

- will post up more about it when I actually have tested it properly


Haha my 2c anyway, help you build up this thread

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my05 STi
my13 Rok

:)