I had a Mini Cooper S throw a rev <I think, he may have just gone vroom vroom> at me the other day and give a thumbs up. I gave him a thumbs up back but i couldn't help a little chuckle, they just look so funny, like clown cars...this one had the flag roof, i was like WTF?

 

Mini Cooper S: Good comparison. I'd like to see an honest-to-god, rigorous comparo between these and the V6 Stang, but I forsee a lot of Mini owners whining about how their cars are built to handle winding european roads, not drag strips. I think they're fun cars.

Civic Si: While it's impressive for what it is, and I actually LIKE Hondas - I think they're fun to drive, comfortable, reliable, and cheap. However, for a car like this to be supercharged and only have 139 PEAK lb/ft of torque is inexcusable (at 6100 RPM no less!) and is probably a primary reason why it's quite slower off the line than the V6 stang despite weighing in at under 2900 lbs - 500 less than a Stang!

VW GTi: Another great comparo - I love their "Unpimp ze Auto" commercials. The styling is...well, it looks inspired by a wedge of cheese, but I can't argue with the performance numbers - which, with a turboed 2.0 and the 6-speed standard come within spittin' distance of the V6. However, start adding options (and very little comes standard on these cars, one of the criteria they failed in when I was considering it vs. the Stang I got) and it quickly raises in price - less than halfway down the options list, you're in Mustang GT territory price-wise, with little if any performance to show for it.

However, I'd LOVE to see an honest-to-God "Affordable Performance" comparo with cars under 25K...unlike the one Car & Driver (I think it was them) did a while back where they even noted in the article that everyone they met asked them where the V6 Mustang was. And some magazine that recently pitted the GTi and Si against each other didn't mention the Stang at all. And again, the V6 Stang didn't even get a mention in the article about the new hardtop-converticoupe G6. Instead, probably because the new coupe/vert G6 is priced at $30K, they put the stats for the V8 Stang against it in the class comparison charts, which looked truly silly. So I don't think I'll be seeing any serious comparisons done anytime soon, unless people bring a stock Si, GTi, and Cooper S to the track when I go in a couple weeks! 'Cause if they do, I'll be bugging them for copies of their timeslips!

Oh, and as for the SRT-4 and Cobalt SS...my little bro said it best when I was taking him to get some dinner one night, and we wound up behind an annoyingly loud Cobalt SS in the parking lot. I commented that it sounded angry, to which he responded "You'd be angry too, if you were an entry-level car. It's like 'Congratulations...you're a Cobalt!'" I laughed my butt off at that.

Edit: Oh, yeah, I forgot that the thread was about the Eclipses. First off, to the guy who doesn't think that $4K is enough to put the Eclipse V6 out of Stang V6's price range, www.kbb.com puts the Eclipse GT's Blue Book Value as only $1200 less than the GT Deluxe, and almost $4500 more than the V6 Deluxe. And when I went into a Mitsu dealership to test-drive the 4-cyl Eclipse, they were asking $22K for it. If I had the money to buy the Eclipse GT, I would have had the money for a V8 Stang.

 

i hope you realize that srt-4's can get into high 13's stock.

 

Dude the si is all motor. That's why the torque is so low. They have almost 200hp mainly because they can rev very high.

 

+1

 

y was this moved???? he has a 4.0 and raced it = 4.0 specific, please move this BACK to the 4.0 section k thanx

 

Yeah...I wasn't so much posting it as a racing post. The story was just a funny addon. Really I wanted a discussion on V6 comparability with other vehicles..I wonder if the moderator read my whole post?

In any case...I think you're stretching the numbers for the cost of the Eclipse GT there. Base for base they're only 3-4k apart...My friend bought one for 3k more than the 21 I paid...not a huge difference there.

 

I had one of those new Eclipse GTs race me from a stoplight. By the time the light turned green and he took off and I realized he was trying to race, I was at his back bumper.

I punched it and by the time I was at the top of 1st, my front bumper was passing his front bumper. By the time I was at the top of 2nd, I was 2 or 3 car lengths ahead of him. Then I shifted into 3rd and let off. He slowed and stayed back behind me by that point.

 

The new Eclipse is a nice upgrade compared to the last gen, 00-05. Nowadays, 260+ hp out of a v6 is common. v8's nowadays should atleast have 300+ hp, thats why I think Ford decided to bump the GT's to 3v and their output to 300. And I believe new SRT-4's and Cobalt SS' are over $20,000. And to the guy who said the new Civic Si is S/C, your wrong there, if it was S/C, it would have way more torque. Stock for stock and equal drivers, the new Eclipse GT would beat an 05/06 v6 fairly easy.

 

OK so back to this topic again because I just got a White 06 Premium Mustang V6 4.0. It is a little Disappointing that my 4.0 only has 210 hp compared to the Eclipse GT 3.8 260 HP. Why did Ford allow this to happen? And why is there a big gap between the V6 Mustang and the V8 powerwise? There's not much difference in the size. I'm kinda new to the world of Mustang and I didn't do my research before I bought mine. I would have gone with a V8 if I knew there was this much of a power difference. Would it cost me less to pay for mods on my v6 to match the power of a V8 than to buy the V8?