My Cobra will eventually be sold, so any suggestions for another car??

[KosherCobra]

I have to have a car that's not going to drink gas like Ted Kennedy drinks martini's. It's a 99.9% chance that I will be in Israel. According to the Israel Auto Institute (What ever it is) I can only import a car that they can service.

So, here's my short list:


Subaru WRX STI
Mistubishi EVO
Volvo S40 2.5T AWD
Audi A4 1.8T Quattro

I can get these cars in Israel. But I can get a great deal here in the states with the WRX & EVO. I can get the car for dealer cost. All I have to do is ship it to Israel.

I'm not turning into a Ricer, but gas is not cheap there. But they do have 98 octane, think of the boost I can run!!!

 

[cobraracer46]

go with the WRX! funest car on the list

 

[halo]

Wow... 98 octane. Fun, fun, fun!

 

[SFDBulldog]

If you are looking for improved mileage the sti is not the car. I have an sti and it is every bit as thirsty as a cobra. When hot rod tested them they got better mileage out of the cobra. I may be buying a cobra because the mlieage of the sti is not what I expected.

 

[KosherCobra]

$ 4.85 a gallon!!!! for the 98. They also have 96,95 & 93 and it's about .20 cents less for each one.

 

[Evil_Merlin]

The STI gets horrible gas milage.

The EVO gets a combined of about 18, and thats only with 93 octane, any less and it gets worse.

The Audi gets about 24 combined, but are a LOT different than the Cobra. My boss has one, and got rid of it for a BMW...

I know nothing about the Volvo.

 

[KosherCobra]

The EVO gets18 MPG out of a 2.0 liter!!! WTF!!!! And your saying the STI is worse!!!! Just city driving it's not boosting. I can understand under boost but WTF!!!

 

[Evil_Merlin]

Originally posted by KosherCobra
The EVO gets18 MPG out of a 2.0 liter!!! WTF!!!! And your saying the STI is worse!!!! Just city driving it's not boosting. I can understand under boost but WTF!!!

It's because the engines are so damn tuned and the turbo.


You want a performance car, you gotta give up something. Usually gas milage and comfort/intertior.

Mitsubishi says 18-24, but it's always the lower end of that scale. My business partner has one and puts more gas in it a week than I do in my Cobra. He gets about 180 miles to a tank of gas.

 

[Great8]

The EVO and the STi aren't fuel sippers at all, plus the way Mitsubishi stock is falling, who knows when they'll try to cut warranty costs. The Volvo and the Audi; ugh, not that they're bad cars or anything. With the choices you listed, and fuel consumption concerns, I'd pick the Audi.

 

[KiLLaBytE]

STi... hands down.

 

[KosherCobra]

I can import from the US the 300HP version or buy a 2.0 liter over in Israel and it only has 250 HP. I'm not sure what kind of conversion i have to do. Maybe just the speedo from MPH to KPH

 

[PDubs]

The Volvo is pretty cool. I went to some event with Saab for their test track runs of the new 9-2X many months ago. Among the cars they had was the Volvo turbo. It runs good and handles excellent. But do not even think of the N/A version, it is a dog.

Personally, I think the other cars are better but I wanted to give the Volvo a good word.

 

[KosherCobra]

Volvo S60R nice but a little pricey. 300 HP though!!! I'm going to be test driving some of these cars next week. I'll ask about exporting as well.

 

[WIRELESS]

Audi for sure. Lots of mod options and outstanding build quality. Lots of understeer from the AWD but they work well and again build quality is A1

 

[PhillyCobra]

Kosher,

Good luck in Israel.

I have driven Audi A4-- 1.8T and V6. Even the V6 feels slow-- the car is very heavy and has a lot of inertia in the drivetrain. It's luxurious, but not sporty.

I haven't driven the new Volvo S40 but it sounds good, but make sure you get the T5 version, which is more performance oriented than the standard version. Should be more fun to drive than the Audi.

I think STI versus EVO is a matter of taste. EVO a little rawer, more tense. STI a little softer, but more power down low (2.5 liter versus 2 liter engine).

In my experience, any turbo car driven with my right foot, be it in city or country, gets horrible gas mileage. It's hard not to get into the boost, so don't expect good gas mileage just because you're in the city. I averaged 15- 17 mpg in mixed driving in my Mitsu GTX. However, I average 11 in my Cobra!

 

[IDAREU]

How about a Saturn Redline Ion. It has the Eaton and with the rebates can be bought for $15k

 

[Evil_Merlin]

There is always the Dodge SRT-4...

 

[KosherCobra]

BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Volvo are typical in Israel. Bringing by Cobra was a thought but it can't be serviced. I have seen a couple of Porche Chaynne turbos and a few 993 & 996 there. But American cars are not the most popular since quality control is an issue and gas milage.

M3 are rediculiously expensive there. Besides BMW is a taboo car in Israel. It's a well know fact that the BMW's are the prefered cars for the Russian Mafia!!! With my blonde hair I'll be pulled over at every check point!!!

 

[rust0r]

Originally posted by WIRELESS
Audi for sure. Lots of mod options and outstanding build quality. Lots of understeer from the AWD but they work well and again build quality is A1

what he said

 

[KosherCobra]

understeer with AWD? I thought the car would be neutrally stable since it would transmit power on all 4.