Two door cars. Which is the worst.

[Clark'sson]

With the recent taxing scheme there has been a rapid inflow of 2 door so called sports cars. And I just thought I'd put some of them head to head with some of the old 2 door cars that we had in the country. 

The likes of the dihatsu coupen Honda s660 the c class coupe vs the old dogs such as the gt86 crz fairladies and all.

I've text driven some of these at sales and thought of making a list of the pros and cons of each while considering the value for money also considering the cost of ownership and maintainence.

So if your a teenager trying to set up with a chick or having a midlife crisis. This is for you.

I started this as even with the influx of the dihatsu copens and Honda s660s didn't create much activity at autolanka. If there is anything to add or reject your comments are happily accepted.

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by Clark'sson

[Clark'sson]

As I list I've chosen 

1. Dihatsu coupen

2. Honda s660

3. Toyota sera

4. Mazda mx5 (old)

5. Mazda mx5 ( new)

6. Hyundai coupe

7. C class coupe 

8. Toyota gt86

9. Honda crz

10. Honda crx.

Let's add more as we go along.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by Clark'sson

[Clark'sson]

1. Of the lot coupen is in the top of the list because of its convertable hardtop. Definitely it's difficult to believe you get a convertable for that price of starting from around 3.5 mill.

It's got a small 650cc Kai engine so it's not fast but with the low weight of the car and the low weight of what can be taken inside (you'd have to transport lead to transport a good weight in this ). The upside is it's economical on fuel cheap to run and maintain. It shares internals from more common dihatsu Kai cars it's also a plus point.

It's available in few styles such as the Cross play, Cero and Robe.

There are few packages were there are few quality touches like Recarro seats.

The downsides are it's strictly a 2 seater. And if you decide to bring some murunga for dinner for your shopping trip you'll have to keep the boot open. The boot is that small.

What more will you expect for 3.5million brand new

Edited July 3, 2018 by Clark'sson

[Clark'sson]

2. When you hear about a rear wheel drive mid engined car you think of things like Ferraris and lambos which are not even available for 35 million. But here you have the s660.

The s660 has all of the above but has even less space than the coupen and the only place to store even a handbag is the place where you should store the roof. Speaking of storing the roof it's manually operated unlike the coupen.

The ease of maintainence is like the coupen.

So it's number 2

 

[Clark'sson]

3. The Toyota sera is a great car but unmolstered ones are rare to come by and also they are too old so goes down the list.

4&5. The Mazda mx5 is the car that made this category what it is today but old ones are hard to come by and the new ones are too expensive.

6. The Hyundai coupe and Tubron are all around good cars but they didn't age well due to the flimsy plastics of that era. And some didn't come with airbags. But the 2l motor is reliable but not sporty. And 2L makes it a little bit thirsty.

 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Clark'sson

[Clark'sson]

Now comes the bad ones

7. Gt86 it's a called one of the best handling sports cars by a renowned automotive show which was stared by some one with a name close to mine. But how relevant for your midlife crisis or to your low life chick who gets in the car with the most bling.

So it's not worth the 8million plus used price tag in sri Lanka also considering how much they are molstered for their age. They are actually raped so the it has the highest age to rape ratio. And don't believe in the crappy local mods they have. Most will claim TRD etc but check for their authentisity.

So this goes lower down the order.

8. The c class coupe, Audi A5 , BMW 4  coupe are too expensive for it's impracticality. So it goes down.

It's not possible to take 2 kids in the school run. They can't jump out of the rear doors while hovering around the school gate. And you can't take your mom to the hospital.

It's better to buy a practical c class sedan and a coupen convertable for the price of one of these.

Edited June 8, 2019 by Clark'sson

[Clark'sson]

9. The CRX was a good honest Honda coupe of its time. But they are old and being disgraced by it's younger brother the crz.

10. And last and the least the Crz. It was told it was the replacement of the crx which was a ok car. 

So that hybrid badge will chase away all the chicks but will it be of use at the fuel station. No. It has so called 3 modes but whatever mode you are in you'd be lucky if it does more than a ICE corolla 110. Not much performance either. But the zf2 with the additional omph in the s+ button will give some attitude specially like using KURS but that's not available in the zf1.  The door handles break easily and the silver wears off quickly.

Honda introduced it as a hybrid that was available in manual transmission those days. but how many of you would buy a manual crz in your midlife crisis. But if you are going to buy one go for a manual because it has the troublesome dual couch auto from the vezel grace etc.

And like the 86 don't be fooled by the fake mods that the youngsters hang on these to well get the chicks. And don't be fooled by the mods they hang after totalling the front or rear ends.

Mugen cars have a special plate in the drivers side door and check for authentisity if someone claims. Don't be fooled by panchikawatta bodykits and spoilers with stickers and lights on them. Like Chinese iphone replicas. This is the same as the gt86 TRD.

Honda designers made the front look like a grace and the rear like an insight. So you can call it the PARTIALinsight or the DISgrace.

It's down in the list because of its not a good hybrid nor a good sports car and it didn't live up to the level of its predecessor.

And for the price of buying a 5 year old one you can buy a brand new s660 which is actually a better car of this type.

Edited July 3, 2018 by Clark'sson

[Clark'sson]

Hope these will be useful. To all you who are trying to make out with a low life chick or having a midlife crisis.

Additions criticism and remarks are highly appreciated 

Edited July 3, 2018 by Clark'sson

[iRage]

Okay…so 90% of the people out there are confused with what an actual TRD car is.

For some reason Sri Lankans think that anything that has a TRD part on it makes it a TRDcar. Not the case.

TRD makes performance parts for Toyota cars. When you buy a Toyota car you can order them with these TRD parts or after sometime you can order it separately and fix it yourself. These are just cars with TRD parts on it. There is nothing fake about having these parts fitted but nor does it make it a TRD car. So yeah…that Axio you have with a TRD grill and lip spoiler does not make your Axio a TRD Axio.

Some models have complete TRD kits that you can order for the vehicle which slightly tunes/improves certain dynamics of the car. For some cars they will be sold as

a.)    a grade/package variant (eg. GT86, 4Runner, Axio GT, Runx/Fielder TRD Sports M,etc, Camry, etc…)

b.)    an add-on available for the entire range or specific trim of the model

c.)     a limited edition commemorative variant.

These in general are the closest you can consider to be a TRD car. With “item a” there might be a different frame model number (FMN) or an extra character added to the FMN on the chassis ID plate. In case of “Item b,” there would be no special plates or FMNs…at most the dealer who installs it might put a sticker on it saying it was installed with warranty info.  Cars falling under Item C might have a special plate identifying its production number, etc…Now, for models that have such kits, the individual parts you can buy (as described prev) are structured in such a way that it takes you through a phased build. When you go through all the phases you actually do end up with the full TRD grade/package. You can’t call this fake either. Sometimes, in Japan these cars end up being better than the actual TRD package/grade of the car because the tuners join up the TRD parts with other performance brands (CUSCO, Brembo, etc..) to build a much better tuned car.

Then on the other hand there are fully TRD tuned cars; for some models, TRD actually releases special tuned variants (TRD Corolla 2000, Altezza, etc..), often as homologation models of their race cars or special commemorative models. The tuning goes from body to suspension to engine mods. These would have special ID plates, etc…thus making it a true “TRD car”.

The difference is like you can get a 3/5/<whatever number> series BMW with a “M” kit/parts on it and then you get the actual M range of cars.      

The same logic applies to Honda and Mugen as well as Nissan and NISMO (and Autech).

Now…since a few years ago…TRD does not “tune” cars. They just make performance parts which can be added as kits/packages to the cars. In Japan and a few markets it is all Gazoo Racing that does the tuning (builds performance variants) of cars. With Gazoo Racing you have GR Sport (known before as G’s) variants which slightly improves some basics like handling and the looks of the car. Then above that you get GR variants which have a bit more tuning…then you have GRMN variants which are limited edition fully tuned fire breathing variants).

Edited July 4, 2018 by iRage

[kush]

You missed the most best

Porsche Cayman/ Boxter the best handling one for those who are fortunate to afford one.

And of cause you get the i8 with the current duty you basically pay for the car

SLK cheap for a Merc couple of good ones in the used market too

 

 

[iRage]

If you are going to go as far back as a Sera...then you also should consider putting the following as well :

1. E90/E100 Levin/Trueno

2. Sunny RZ-1

3. Civic hatches (especially EK and EG series)

The "performance" spec variants are a bit hard to come buy and fetch a premium price, but even the base variants are pretty fun to drive. All 3 of them bring-forth the simplicity and reliability of their popular sedan variants in a much more nippier and tighter package.

 

[Clark'sson]

I actually made a list of 10.

I didn't put the Porsches as they were kind of way more expensive.

Well the others were put in kind of a representative way. What's said on the sera is relevant to cars like the Levin, sunny and civic hatches. And the c class one goes with the Beemer cabriolet.

Anyways if someone is into them write a small note on them too for completion

[Clark'sson]

  On 7/4/2018 at 2:00 AM, iRage said:

Okay…so 90% of the people out there are confused with what an actual TRD car is.

For some reason Sri Lankans think that anything that has a TRD part on it makes it a TRDcar. Not the case.

TRD makes performance parts for Toyota cars. When you buy a Toyota car you can order them with these TRD parts or after sometime you can order it separately and fix it yourself. These are just cars with TRD parts on it. There is nothing fake about having these parts fitted but nor does it make it a TRD car. So yeah…that Axio you have with a TRD grill and lip spoiler does not make your Axio a TRD Axio.

Some models have complete TRD kits that you can order for the vehicle which slightly tunes/improves certain dynamics of the car. For some cars they will be sold as

a.)    a grade/package variant (eg. GT86, 4Runner, Axio GT, Runx/Fielder TRD Sports M,etc, Camry, etc…)

b.)    an add-on available for the entire range or specific trim of the model

c.)     a limited edition commemorative variant.

These in general are the closest you can consider to be a TRD car. With “item a” there might be a different frame model number (FMN) or an extra character added to the FMN on the chassis ID plate. In case of “Item b,” there would be no special plates or FMNs…at most the dealer who installs it might put a sticker on it saying it was installed with warranty info.  Cars falling under Item C might have a special plate identifying its production number, etc…Now, for models that have such kits, the individual parts you can buy (as described prev) are structured in such a way that it takes you through a phased build. When you go through all the phases you actually do end up with the full TRD grade/package. You can’t call this fake either. Sometimes, in Japan these cars end up being better than the actual TRD package/grade of the car because the tuners join up the TRD parts with other performance brands (CUSCO, Brembo, etc..) to build a much better tuned car.

Then on the other hand there are fully TRD tuned cars; for some models, TRD actually releases special tuned variants (TRD Corolla 2000, Altezza, etc..), often as homologation models of their race cars or special commemorative models. The tuning goes from body to suspension to engine mods. These would have special ID plates, etc…thus making it a true “TRD car”.

The difference is like you can get a 3/5/<whatever number> series BMW with a “M” kit/parts on it and then you get the actual M range of cars.      

The same logic applies to Honda and Mugen as well as Nissan and NISMO (and Autech).

Now…since a few years ago…TRD does not “tune” cars. They just make performance parts which can be added as kits/packages to the cars. In Japan and a few markets it is all Gazoo Racing that does the tuning (builds performance variants) of cars. With Gazoo Racing you have GR Sport (known before as G’s) variants which slightly improves some basics like handling and the looks of the car. Then above that you get GR variants which have a bit more tuning…then you have GRMN variants which are limited edition fully tuned fire breathing variants).

Expand  

What I mean by fake is not adding the original parts I mean those places who make spoilers etc look alikes of the original and stick stickers on them. 

[Sam B]

  On 7/3/2018 at 3:04 PM, Clark'sson said:

9. The CRX was a good honest Honda coupe of its time. But they are old and being disgraced by it's younger brother the crz.

10. And last and the least the Crz. It was told it was the replacement of the crx which was a ok car. 

So that hybrid badge will chase away all the chicks but will it be of use at the fuel station. No. It has so called 3 modes but whatever mode you are in you'd be lucky if it does more than a ICE corolla 110. Not much performance either. But the zf2 with the additional omph in the s+ button will give some attitude specially like using KURS but that's not available in the zf1.  The door handles break easily and the silver wears off quickly.

Honda introduced it as a hybrid that was available in manual transmission those days. but how many of you would buy a manual crz in your midlife crisis. But if you are going to buy one go for a manual because it has the troublesome dual couch auto from the vezel grace etc.

And like the 86 don't be fooled by the fake mods that the youngsters hang on these to well get the chicks. And don't be fooled by the mods they hang after totalling the front or rear ends.

Mugen cars have a special plate in the drivers side door and check for authentisity if someone claims. Don't be fooled by panchikawatta bodykits and spoilers with stickers and lights on them. Like Chinese iphone replicas. This is the same as the gt86 TRD.

Honda designers made the front look like a grace and the rear like an insight. So you can call it the PARTIALinsight or the DISgrace.

It's down in the list because of its not a good hybrid nor a good sports car and it didn't live up to the level of its predecessor.

And for the price of buying a 5 year old one you can buy a brand new s660 which is actually a better car of this type.

Expand  

CRZ auto transmission is a CVT. Not dual clutch.

[MrCat]

IF price/tax was NOT a concern, the following three are no match for the rest of the toy cars. In terms of : driving dynamics, proper sports car chassis and pure analog feel/balance.

** Mazda Mx5 - New

** Toyota GT86/ Subaru BRZ

** Mazda Mx5 - old

 

[Supra_Natural]

Bit late to this discussion, but having driven the majority of the cars on this list, I will still say that in a Lankan context a new MX5 is still one of the best fun cars you can buy for semi-sane money. The raw numbers are very low, but the sheer fun of the thing cannot really be explained in words, you really do have to try one out to get it (even I didn't at first, then I drove one). Considering our roads, traffic conditions etc, it is a great buy. Sure it's not cheap, but nothing is in SL anymore and with the right maintenance it will keep going for decades too. World's best selling sports car for a reason. 

[808]

  On 7/3/2018 at 2:46 PM, Clark'sson said:

7. Gt86 it's a called one of the best handling sports cars by a renowned automotive show which was stared by some one with a name close to mine. But how relevant for your midlife crisis or to your low life chick who gets in the car with the most bling.

 

Expand  

Actually laughed out loud reading this!