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2002 Eight Great Rides #8
Subaru WRX




Directions for fun in a WRX: Tape handbrake release. Disconnect ABS. Find gravel road. Lose inhibitions.

We often follow these directions with our long-term WRX project car--perhaps the most highly anticipated car we've ever had in our fleet, and the only one that regularly sees gravel. There's little that hasn't been written about the WRX in this journal and finding new ways to describe its practicality, speed and fun factor is becoming a challenge.

In the year since the WRX was last recognized as one of our Eight Great Rides, nothing is new about the car--mechanically at least. Plenty, however, has changed about our perception of it.

Since last year's award, we've spent hundreds of quality hours tearing up the gravel roads of California and Arizona in Subaru's wondercar. Our time behind the wheel has led us to two conclusions. First, there's not another car out there that can compete with the WRX's split personality. It's this car's ability to be docile and easy to drive on the street coupled with its all-weather, any-road prowess which makes it so easy to love. Second, there's nothing else out there that can hang with the WRX for the money. While it isn't the quickest car through the slalom or the sharpest on the skidpad, these numbers belie its true character when driven to the limit.

The WRX is deceptively fast in the real world. Charge up a mountain road or down a gravel pass and you'll quickly realize the car's true worth. The WRX's stiff chassis packs loads of suspension travel and fair ground clearance--both very non-traditional sports car attributes, which add to its broad appeal. In addition, the WRX has the only turbocharged engine in this year's Eight Great Rides. It's also the most powerful.

Coincidence? We don't think so. The WRX's mild 2.0-liter turbo and all-wheel drive combine to trounce every other car in this market in zero to 60 and quarter-mile acceleration.

We've called the engine mild from the factory only because it has huge power potential with aftermarket goodies. Our testing has shown a turbo upgrade and more boost easily puts the WRX into the low 13-second quarter-mile range--practically supercar territory for a relatively small total investment.

And you can still drive it like a madman in the dirt. With the absence of the Integra Type R this model year, the WRX is the unchallenged king of small car performance. And, until Mitsubishi shows us a real Lancer, it looks like the WRX will remain on the throne. Rumors abound about the addition of a WRX STi to Subaru's U.S. model line and with any luck, the STi will be available by the time next year's Eight Great Rides rolls around. Until then, all hail the WRX.

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2002 Eight great Rides #7
Toyota MR2 Spyder
By Dan Barnes



Even editor Oldham, who calls them chick cars and thinks "Mister Two" is a stupid name, is beginning to like MR2s. Apparently Project MR2 Spyder is helping him fulfill his New Jersey-bound, adolescent fantasies of the automotive good life that awaited him in Los Angeles. Or something. He's been awful reluctant to give up the keys.

Life with an MR2 Spyder is good, as long as it's not your only vehicle. Disciples of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche are fond of recalling his philosophy that a sports car is superior all around transportation. Ninety percent of the time, the Spyder is all the car one person needs. If you add a second person or want to carry a mountain bike, you'll wish you had a Celica. The MR2 Spyder is the perfect first car for people who have a second


Still, it's too good to be just a weekend car. Think about changing lanes and the delicate steering takes you there. It turns into more serious corners like no other current production car. In braking, its weight distribution makes the most of the rubber on the ground. The engine, a bit thrashy as revs rise due to its long stroke, has a cozy burble at idle and pulls strongly from middle rpm. The MR2 Spyder is faster than the unusually slow Celica GT-S we tested this year in every test of acceleration, despite peak numbers indicating each of the Spyder's 138 hp has 2 lb (14.4 percent) more to pull around. It's what an old Porsche would've been if it had been this good, only at the end of the day you have a Toyota to get you home.

If you modify the MR2, your first addition should be a rollbar. Autopower makes a bolt-in bar, which also improves the visual balance of the car with the top down. A basic TRD suspension package and some sticky rubber are good enough to exceed 1.0g. Brake upgrades are still limited.

As with the Celica, the biggest challenge to overcome is the sophisticated engine and its control system. Companies trying to apply forced induction often achieve stunning results right up until the engine blows. The limitation is Toyota's newest ECU, which has yet to be hacked. Many manufacturers of stand-alone systems say their boxes will control the variable cam timing, but none have actually mapped the inputs and outputs.

They say if you don't like the MR2 Spyder stock, you'll never like it. That's probably true. We like them stock, and we like them more and more as they're made better.

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2002 Eight Great Rides #6
Toyota Celica GT-S
By Dan Barnes



The 2002 Celica GT-S Toyota lent us for our evaluation reminded me of the ecstasy I felt when I first hammered prototype, VIN 00005, around the Streets of Willow. It was perfect--the most comfortable, solidly planted, cleanest-handling car I had driven. The engine was pure aural pleasure. Longer acquaintance has revealed quirks--flaws even--but the contact high, the certainty of knowing from first meeting that this is The One, remains.

This is why the GT-S has pulled a three-peat as an Eight Great Ride. On the road this car feels like a BMW, but without the torque or the hefty pricetag. Its suspension places the GT-S among the best-damped cars you can buy at any price. It's soft enough to be comfortable, but it also lets you drive stupidly and look like a hero on the track.

Toyota also has its power steering dialed in with superb feel, yet low effort, and the 2ZZ-GE engine is the silkiest, best-sounding four-cylinder in the world. And yes, I've thrashed on an S2000. Our 1000-mile old test car, however, was held back on the dragstrip by a premature 7500 rpm rev limiter Toyota says was a glitch in the car's ECU.


The interior fits my large frame like an old pair of jeans, except for the sunroof's intrusion into headroom. The transparent plastic roof is technically optional, but I wish you luck finding a GT-S without it.

In silver, the Celica's styling garnered praise I hadn't expected. I cross a college campus on my drive home and noticed many female students turning to watch the car pass by. Even freakish unobtanium like a Viper usually only makes guys look.

The theory behind Eight Great is these are not only cars that push our buttons when stock, but they're also the best cars to modify. In fact, all most of us would ever need to do to a Celica is replace the tires and shocks with better ones.

The biggest fault with the GT-S is its torque curve. If rowdiness commenced just 500 rpm sooner, you could keep the engine on song through the lower gears and the Celica would be significantly faster and easier to drive. The only torque solution we're aware of is a "spinny muffler." But turbocharging would only accentuate the Celica's lack of a limited-slip differential.

Better performance bargains are to be had, but for me, the Celica has that special something. Every time I walk away from it, I look back, smile and think, "what a great car."

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2002 Eight Great Rides #5
Sentra SE-R SPEC-V
By Dave Coleman



The Sentra SE-R Spec-V is the performance bargain of the group. At only $16,900 it delivers hardware you seldom get for even $10,000 more. Take the helical limited-slip differential, for example. Five of our eight great rides are begging for this piece of hardware, but on those cars you'll have to add more than $1,000 of aftermarket parts and labor to get one. It also has the second biggest engine of the group, offering huge tuning potential based on size alone.

Even without that tuning, the SE-R surprises. The combination of huge low-rpm torque and short gearing makes big, smoky burnouts an irresistible temptation. The low, 6200-rpm redline and lack of top-end power hurt acceleration numbers, but the power delivery is surprisingly effective both in the real world and in our fantasyland where all roads wind through mountains. Torque turns out to be an amazingly effective tool in the twisties.

The SE-R manages its impressive price/performance balancing act by pulling from parts bins of much bigger volume cars. Take a mass production Sentra chassis, a high-volume Altima engine and a beefy Maxima transmission and the number of unique SE-R parts is surprisingly low.


This parts bin strategy does have its limitations, though. The B15 Sentra chassis has limited suspension travel and a rear suspension that is heavily biased toward stability over cornering prowess. The suspension--sometimes harsh, often too soft, usually understeering but occasionally tail happy--seems to have been tuned by a dysfunctional committee. Get a handle on its multiple personalities, though, and you'll find buckets of grip and a very forgiving edge that encourages you to push it to the limit. Case in point: The SE-R pitched and lurched clumsily through our slalom, but it did so faster than any other car on the list.

Pulling the engine from the Altima meant adopting some of that car's bias toward fuel economy, smoothness and torque. That's the excuse for a rev limiter that smacks you in the face on every shift. Super-light valve springs designed to get that last fraction of a mile from every gallon of gas mean no more revs until you buy 16 more springs and an ECU.

There's nothing graceful about the SE-R's execution, but that's much of the appeal. It's raw, brutal and fun. Torque steer is fairly severe; eliminating it would have meant sacrificing the short gears, fat tires and limited slip. We'll take torque steer any day.

The rough edges make it seem like the SE-R was designed as an unfinished build-your-own-performance-car kit. In fact, if it came as a pile of parts and a set of wrenches, it would still probably make the Eight Great Rides list. The Spec-V's value is exactly the sum of its parts.


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2002 Eight Great Rides #4
Mazda Miata LS
By Kari Windes



For the fourth year in a row, the Mazda Miata is an Eight Great Ride. And may God forgive us for not including it in 1998. (Mazda didn't help us any; the company didn't manufacture them that year.)

Although the 2002 Miata is not really new in any way, it remains one of our absolute favorites, and the reason is simple: It's an absolute blast to drive.

With a 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution, the rear-drive Mazda Miata is perfectly balanced. Our dark green test car pulled an effortless .93g around the skidpad, which is the best of the eight cars.


Out on the road, the Miata's cornering response is perfectly predictable. Push it hard and it pleasantly understeers; push it harder and it will four-wheel drift, push it until you pucker and it will oversteer. But that takes plenty of pucker.

Around town, the little roadster is manageable and remarkably comfortable. The seats remain supportive; the LS with six-speed gearbox comes resplendent with a leather interior--nice, but unnecessary for purists who are more concerned with weight savings than creature comforts. For the true enthusiasts, Mazda offers the same Suspension Package, with a five speed, cloth interior, a limited-slip diff, engine compartment brace and Bilstein shocks. Ditching the LS luxuries dumps 70 lbs. Sure the six-speed in our test car shifts wonderfully and is geared well, but a Miata with leather interior is like putting a mustache on Britney Spears.

Torque from the small 1.8-liter four-cylinder is adequate and spread nicely throughout the powerband; but with only 112 hp at the wheels, the Miata's yank is lagging behind many of the alternatives in the price range, including the other seven cars here.

Mazda isn't promising any more power in the near future, but the company did show a 2.3-liter engine at the Tokyo Auto Show, which may be destined for North America's Miata. We've also heard Mazda Australia is offering a limited run of 200-hp turbocharged MX-5s (the Australian equivalent to the Miata). Sorry, no exports, but the aftermarket offers forced induction alternatives for Miata-philes who desire more power.

After 12 years of production (much longer than Mazda's goal of six to eight years), the Miata continues to enjoy the attention of a cult-like fan club, earning more respect than many other reasonably priced rides. Unlike other cars that have hit the market with a flurry of advertising hype, the Miata is not a trend--it's an automotive icon.

Had a bad day? Gimme the keys.

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2002 Eight Great Rides #3
Hyundai Tiburon GT V6
By Josh Jacquot



A sports car from Hyundai? Believe it, it's true. This car is up to the task.

Eight Great Rides awards go to cars that peg our fun-per-dollar meters and the new Tiburon snaps the needle. A ground-up redesign for the '03 model year has brought the Tiburon to performance levels we never expected to see from the Korean carmaker.

Where the previous car was soft and soggy, this car is hard and well damped. It's as if Hyundai told its engineers to build a sports car, and told the lawyers to go to hell. The chassis is that good and the engine isn't far behind.


The Tiburon shares its aluminum 2.7-liter V6 with Hyundai's Santa Fe and Sonata. Generally, non-dedicated sports car engines used in sports cars are a bad idea, but this one works pretty well for one simple reason--Hyundai sourced a dedicated six-speed transmission. It allows an enthusiastic driver to keep the engine on boil in most any driving condition, including the hardest driving we could give it. What's more, the Tiburon impressed us most during ten-tenths driving, which is where many cars at this price point fall apart. We took it to our favorite mountain road with another Eight Great contestant for a head-to-head battle. The winner would make the list.

And the Hyundai, after only a few minutes of flogging, was the clear victor.

With massive grip, thanks to its sticky 215/45ZR-17 Michelin Pilot Sport tires and very little body roll, the Hyundai's composure was as impressive as it was unexpected. The harder we drove the Tiburon, the more Hyundai's performance goals became obvious. It's good at going quickly. Blast into a corner with way too much speed? Nothing a little trim with the brakes mid-corner won't cure. The Tiburon's response to trail braking and/or left foot braking stands out as one of its finer handling points. Handling is also characterized by heavy damping, which results in very well-controlled body movement and excellent stability over uneven roads and at high speed.

It's clear the Tiburon's dynamics crew worked overtime dialing in its uncompromised suspension. While it relies on traditional hardware--struts all around--to get the job done, it does it remarkably well.

This performance character is what put it among our Eight Great this year. It clearly outshines cars that previously weren't even considered its competition. It's now one of the best sport compacts for the money. Just don't tell the lawyers.

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2002 Eight Great Rides #2
Ford SVT Focus
By Dave Coleman



SVT has done it again.

Give a group of car guys some authority and amazing things can happen. Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering team has wowed us in the past with its thorough re-working of the Contour; it even gave us a twinge of respect for a Mustang, so we expected great things with the Focus.

In stark contrast to the parts bin approach Nissan took with the SE-R, SVT pored over every detail of the Focus, making more than 200 unique parts just for this car. The SVT engine is almost entirely new, sharing the block, crank and little else with the standard Zetec. Gone are the ZX3's spindly connecting rods, restrictive head and close-coupled cat. Compression is up, variable intake cam timing is on board; we get a two-stage intake manifold and a real tri-y header with the catalyst tucked under the oil pan. The new engine still has the torquey bottom-end of the base engine, but now rewards redline chasers as well. The compact Getrag six-speed transmission shifts beautifully and should be very strong, but the gear ratios seem poorly chosen; all the gears, including first, are too tall--sixth is superfluous.


As is typical with SVT cars, most of the effort went into performance goodies with only subtle tweaks to the body. A tiny lip spoiler, black headlight surrounds and a tastefully re-designed bumper will go unnoticed by most people. Perfect. Those in the know will spot it instantly. They'll be the ones noticing the giant 11.4-inch front and 11.0-inch rear discs tucked in clean and simple five-spoke, 17-inch wheels. They'll notice the same grippy 215/45-R17 Continental ContiSportContacts that adorn the SE-R, and they'll probably notice the edges are heavily fretted if you're using your SVT as intended.

The SVT Focus takes hard driving very well. That is, if you don't get stuck with the winter package, which includes traction control--our test car was so equipped. Turning traction control off doesn't fully defeat the system. Acceleration times suffer as a result, and we suspect our skidpad numbers did too. Driven hard without electronic assist, the SVT Focus has remarkably sharp, precise steering, rotates surprisingly well if provoked, and is very rewarding in full attack mode. Those massive brakes give confidence and seem impossible to cook.

As is typical of SVT cars, the SVT Focus seems finished. There are few of the glaring shortcomings that hardcore enthusiasts spot in normal cars, few things calling out for aftermarket assistance.

Not like that will stop anybody.


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2002 Eight Great Rides #1
Acura RSX Type-S
By Scott Oldham

Do we miss the Acura Integra Type R? Duh. Does a bear shit in the woods? Are the Kennedys gun shy? Does Carmen Electra look good in a thong?

The Type R was on our last four Eight Great Ride lists. Even when it wasn't around, the Integra GS-R took its place, which is a real testament to the competence of the DC2 chassis.

With this history, it was only natural for us to approach the Integra's replacement, the RSX, with uncertainty. After all, the Integra's wishbone front suspension was replaced with struts and our beloved Type R was history, again, replaced this time by the Type-S.


Still, the RSX Type-S, with its 200-hp i-VTEC 2.0-liter engine, six-speed transmission and dynamite interior, quickly won us over.

Fact is, for the $23,650 sticker price of this silver test car, which was void of any options, you get one hell of a ride. You get a car with standard leather interior and an in-dash, six-disc CD changer that squirts from 0-60 mph in 6.9 seconds and runs the quarter mile in 15 seconds flat at 94.5 mph. Impressive numbers; better, in fact, than all the other 2002 Eight Great Rides, besides the almighty Subaru.

The Type-S, despite its much-criticized front strut suspension, also turned a quick 68 mph through our 700-ft. slalom. For comparison, last year's Type R pulled .89g around the skidpad. Drive the Type-S at its limits and the competency of its chassis becomes obvious. Its steering is quick and direct, its turn-in immediate and its structure tight. This car stays with you. It pushes when you want it to, and it rotates if you ask nicely.

Even its brakes, which have standard ABS, are up to the task. Stops from 60 mph are accomplished in a short 133 feet, and the large four wheel discs are very tough to overheat. During Eight Great testing, we hit our favorite mountain road in the Type-S and the Nissan Sentra SE-R. When we reached the bottom of the mountain, the SE-R's brakes were cooked. The Acura's, on the other hand, were ready for more.

Sure, we miss the Integra Type R, but we've grown to love its replacement. Maybe next year there will be an RSX Type R for us to evaluate. We hope anyway.

pimpscls

yes the rsx type is nice and the svt focus aint bad muy freind has one its pretty quick and sounds nice with the borla exhaust

charliemike

I wish the Tibby had more hp ... 200hp would be nice.

Talk about a rocket-like flight path on that hp "curve" of the RSX-S ...