Is the NSX without equal?

It is without equal if you use a very specific set of criteria IMO, but if you narrow it, even slightly, then you will find tons of cars that easily compare.

Take reliability and build quality out of the equation and you have a flock of cars to choose from.
 
I'd look at an Elise, given those criteria.

The Mk IV Supra is an interesting choice, but lacks the balance and Exotic flavour of the NSX. Good luck finding one that is still stock.

I took an Aston Martin V8 Vantage out about a week ago. Beautiful, balanced, fairly exotic and rare (2000 produced worldwide per year). Expensive though. 120k.
 
Funny at this point none of us have been able to name a car that meets all the criteria the guy has asked about.

1. Cayman S -not exotic , not sure about reliability have heard of some engine failures.

2. Supra- rare ,but not exotic looking at all.

3. Elise- not exotic and not rare ( re kit car..LoL ) having reliability problems.

4. R8 - when have Audi's been reliable?

5. Skyline GTR - I'm on the fence as Z TT's are only reliable when new after that they were nightmares.

6. Aston Martin V8 Vantage- I personally love this car ,but we all know British build quality and reliabilty are oxymorons.

Biobanker is right if you take out either build quality or reliability you can get more exotic options or if you take out the exotic option you can increase the number of cars , but you can't get all three unless you go with the NSX.
 
swbatte said:
I took an Aston Martin V8 Vantage out about a week ago. Beautiful, balanced, fairly exotic and rare (2000 produced worldwide per year). Expensive though. 120k.
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Sean, keep in mind that is less than what the dealer was asking for my car when I got it! I bid them wholesale and they took it, but NSXs are not necessarily inexpensive cars.

This AM has interested me since it came out, but Ive never seen one in person. An excellent suggestion if uniqueness is important
 
annointed said:
Ok, here's a question that's been brewing in my mind, as I consider another car purchase down the road (I'll keep the NSX, of course:D). What is the next closest car to the NSX? Is it utterly without equal, or is there another car that shares its amazing combination of qualities? I know I'm asking a vague question, so let me try to clarify. The NSX is arguably the best balance between exotic appeal, affordability, reliability, and performance (although straightline power is not its forte). It turns the heads of both kids riding bikes and grown men driving $100k+ cars.

Is there any other car that can match the NSX's ability to do these things? For the life of me, I can't think of a single one, which is why I bought the car in the first place. I'd consider the 996 911 TT which is a phenomenal performer, fairly reliable and reasonably affordable (used), but is relatively common and lacks head turning styling, and may not be as likely to hit 200k miles in stride like NSXs seem to. A Viper? Supra? Perhaps a Lotus Elise, which is rare and exotic looking (in a cute way:tongue: ), but comes up way short in its practicality and reliability.

I want to say a 996 TT is probably about the next best choice, but wanted to see what other other candidates I may be overlooking.
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1. Porsche 964 RS $45k
2. Porsche 993 RS $70-80k
3. Porsche Cayman S $70k
4. E36 M3 lightweight $45k

All these cars are sub 3k weight and have nearly the same HP/liter, 50/50 weight distribution and will last over 250k without major overhaul, with maybe the exception being the Cayman. The Porsche turbos are not as reliable as the aforementioned as such I did not include them in the comparison. The NSX has the advantage in the looks department :)
 
For those of you that are interested in the AM Vantage, I spent about 45 minutes behind the wheel of one. Its a great car and like many other cars in the 100K range has far superior materials to the cheapskate accord parts used in the NSX. It looks phenomenal and its exhaust note is 10x better than the NSX's. Its brakes are excellent and the shifter feels much better than the NSX's. Inside its as cool looking as it is outside and it has some serious cache that no Japanese product I know of has. I mean... its James Bond's car.

It felt about as quick as my 05 NSX, not any quicker. The handling is not as precise, the steering is vague in comparison, and there is much less tactile feedback overall. I am not sure I had any more fun in that car than my NSX. In fact less. But it is a better daily driver, as it is more luxurious, quiet, comfortable, and the factory Alpine system really rocks. Its got a lot more luxury built in at the sacrifice of some sport. It may be the light hard AM, but its still more of a cruiser than the NSX.

Overall I decided its not worth an extra $50K to me. I may drive an RS model that is due out with 300 pounds less weight and 40 more HP. But that may be even more expensive.

And by the way, I did see 2 of them in the shop for repairs already.
 
TURBO2GO said:
For those of you that are interested in the AM Vantage, I spent about 45 minutes behind the wheel of one. Its a great car and like many other cars in the 100K range has far superior materials to the cheapskate accord parts used in the NSX. It looks phenomenal and its exhaust note is 10x better than the NSX's. Its brakes are excellent and the shifter feels much better than the NSX's. Inside its as cool looking as it is outside and it has some serious cache that no Japanese product I know of has. I mean... its James Bond's car.

It felt about as quick as my 05 NSX, not any quicker. The handling is not as precise, the steering is vague in comparison, and there is much less tactile feedback overall. I am not sure I had any more fun in that car than my NSX. In fact less. But it is a better daily driver, as it is more luxurious, quiet, comfortable, and the factory Alpine system really rocks. Its got a lot more luxury built in at the sacrifice of some sport. It may be the light hard AM, but its still more of a cruiser than the NSX.

Overall I decided its not worth an extra $50K to me. I may drive an RS model that is due out with 300 pounds less weight and 40 more HP. But that may be even more expensive.

And by the way, I did see 2 of them in the shop for repairs already.
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My feelings are about the same. I drove the Vantage for about 30 minutes. I thought the steering feel was excellent, exhaust & engine note were phenominal, handling was very precise (nothing compares to a mid-rear combination though). Acceleration was comparible to that of the NSX, but it was in Denver, so it was down about 18% on power (I'm told).

Overall, I think the Vantage is an excellent car. I checked the residuals and it's worth 61% of sticker after 2 years and 43% after 4. It would be a great used buy down the road.

As far as reliability goes, if you want Honda reliability you only have one choice, otherwise most cars are very comparible in that category.
 
TURBO2GO said:
For those of you that are interested in the AM Vantage, I spent about 45 minutes behind the wheel of one. Its a great car and like many other cars in the 100K range has far superior materials to the cheapskate accord parts used in the NSX. It looks phenomenal and its exhaust note is 10x better than the NSX's. Its brakes are excellent and the shifter feels much better than the NSX's. Inside its as cool looking as it is outside and it has some serious cache that no Japanese product I know of has. I mean... its James Bond's car.

It felt about as quick as my 05 NSX, not any quicker. The handling is not as precise, the steering is vague in comparison, and there is much less tactile feedback overall. I am not sure I had any more fun in that car than my NSX. In fact less. But it is a better daily driver, as it is more luxurious, quiet, comfortable, and the factory Alpine system really rocks. Its got a lot more luxury built in at the sacrifice of some sport. It may be the light hard AM, but its still more of a cruiser than the NSX.

Overall I decided its not worth an extra $50K to me. I may drive an RS model that is due out with 300 pounds less weight and 40 more HP. But that may be even more expensive.

And by the way, I did see 2 of them in the shop for repairs already.
Click to expand...

As I wrote above

WingZ said:
F6. Aston Martin V8 Vantage- I personally love this car ,but we all know British build quality and reliabilty are oxymorons.
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annointed said:
The NSX is arguably the best balance between exotic appeal, affordability, reliability, and performance (although straightline power is not its forte). It turns the heads of both kids riding bikes and grown men driving $100k+ cars.

Is there any other car that can match the NSX's ability to do these things?
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Have you considered a Superformance Daytona Coupe, or Cobra, or GT40 replica?

They can be had for around six figures, cheaper if you do a lot of the work yourself and don't mind a project. And you'd likely have a rocket. Since these are relatively simple cars, using pretty much proven drivetrains (of course, you get to pick your poison there, too, from mild to wild), I imagine they're fairly reliable. And they all have the WOW factor.

Just a slightly out-of-the-box suggestion . . .
 
WingZ said:
Funny at this point none of us have been able to name a car that meets all the criteria the guy has asked about.

1. Cayman S -not exotic , not sure about reliability have heard of some engine failures.

2. Supra- rare ,but not exotic looking at all.

3. Elise- not exotic and not rare ( re kit car..LoL ) having reliability problems.

4. R8 - when have Audi's been reliable?

5. Skyline GTR - I'm on the fence as Z TT's are only reliable when new after that they were nightmares.

6. Aston Martin V8 Vantage- I personally love this car ,but we all know British build quality and reliabilty are oxymorons.

Biobanker is right if you take out either build quality or reliability you can get more exotic options or if you take out the exotic option you can increase the number of cars , but you can't get all three unless you go with the NSX.
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I've owned 2 M3s, a Mercedes and I have a 7 series in my garage. If reliability was my top concern, I would of gone for a Lexus or a Toyota. But OMG, it'll be too boring for me. Now a days, getting in and out of the dealership with a loaner is so easy and quick it's sure hell worth drving a greatly engineered car for what it is meant to be, which is a good combination of exoticism, luxury and perfomance. With that said, I would still give R8 a chance. Audi have been spitting out winners at the Le Mans. No doubt the R8 is going to be a great car.
 
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It's still not a good substitute, since it is a variant of a very common car, but:

the Audi RS4

One in my parking garage...only one I've seen in person actually... and that thing is slick and mean. Somewhat exotic for car guys, but to everyone else it is an A4.

Same issue with the M3 Lightweight. I'd love to have one. Good luck finding one that is less than 2x a "regular" E36 M3 and that hasn't been beaten to hell on a track. And again...it's still just an M3 with patriotism for 98% of the population, so it isn't really exotic.

Like I said before -- NSX is without equal.
 
Ski_Banker said:
It's still not a good substitute, since it is a variant of a very common car, but:

the Audi RS4

One in my parking garage...only one I've seen in person actually... and that thing is slick and mean. Somewhat exotic for car guys, but to everyone else it is an A4.

Same issue with the M3 Lightweight. I'd love to have one. Good luck finding one that is less than 2x a "regular" E36 M3 and that hasn't been beaten to hell on a track. And again...it's still just an M3 with patriotism for 98% of the population, so it isn't really exotic.

Like I said before -- NSX is without equal.
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Agreed. There's no substitution for the NSX. But for the reason of this original post was to find an additonal car that is some what equal. I think the R8 would be good candidate. I just hope it's under $100,000. :rolleyes:





 
KoolinNSX said:
Agreed. There's no substitution for the NSX. But for the reason of this original post was to find an additonal car that is some what equal. I think the R8 would be good candidate. I just hope it's under $100,000. :rolleyes:





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R8, 911, Cayman, Vantage--the problem really is that where the NSX stands out the most is reliability. Take that off the table and there are lots of cars that are "comparable." I'd wait a year or two and get a 997 TT. :smile:
 
A new Z-06.
1. It is a great performer.
2. Relatively affordable.
3. Decent reliability.
4. Has some exotic appeal.
5. Practicality. (cargo storage)

Yes, the Z-06 falls short of the NSX in several of these areas, but you asked for a second choice after the NSX.
 
WingZ said:
Funny at this point none of us have been able to name a car that meets all the criteria the guy has asked about.

1. Cayman S -not exotic , not sure about reliability have heard of some engine failures.

6. Aston Martin V8 Vantage- I personally love this car ,but we all know British build quality and reliabilty are oxymorons.
Click to expand...

What factual basis are you referring to when you claim 1).

Have you actually driven an AMV8 to make this claim? I have driven two and you are wrong about build quality and the car has been very reliable despite its short tenure.
 
VictorH said:
What factual basis are you referring to when you claim 1).

Have you actually driven an AMV8 to make this claim? I have driven two and you are wrong about build quality and the car has been very reliable despite its short tenure.
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IMHO that the assumption of European cars are not reliable refers back to the 70s-90s mentality. I have to agree that it was so bad that it gave everyone a headache owning a European car. No doubt the Japanese did set the standard but to say that a brand name is unrealible now a days is unfair because each model has it's own rating. In fact, depending on the model. they are build from various plants around the world. Sure, they may not be as reliable let say a Toyata, a Honda or a Lexus (Depending on the model) but the unreliability is not problematic and of course, the warranty plays a big part. (Sell it when it is expires :biggrin:) In addition, it must be pointed out that European cars are the leaders in technology that other follow and copy. The more the technology the more there will be a problem. Simple as that. It's just part of growing. OMG The Mercedes S Class literally drive on it's own. I don't need it but I sure like play with it. :wink:
 
WingZ said:
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/202705/aston_martin_v8_vantage.html
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That is one car in many. Even NSXs' have had lemons and claiming the NSXs' are unreliable with crappy build quality is inaccurate at best. You can no longer extrapolate the performance of a marque by a few of their bad apples. For example, Porsche had a past reputation for being finicky. In 2006, it topped the JD Power for quality beating Lexus (!!) and trouncing Acura. Also it is more important how a dealer takes care of issues when they arise (it is a complex performance machine afterall). At this, Acura is completely inadequate.

I have two friends who are tickled pink about their AMV8's and have had no issues with them and have received exceptional service and attention from the dealer. Also I have received outstanding service from my Porsche dealer and they put my Acura dealer to shame. At least they're still sending me oil change discount coupons :wink:

Back on topic, as I get older (37 this year) I look at total car ownership when judging cars. When I think of an $80K Acura with service disproportionate to its price point and compare any "similarly" performing Audi (RS4, R8), BMW (M6, M3), Aston (AMV8), Porsche (987, 997, GT3, GT3RS), Ferrari (used 360) which comes with better total ownership experience, I can only claim that the NSX has many equals. The NSX may have an interesting history but as a car in current times, it has MANY equals.

However, to a low price buyer of a used NSX ($30-$40K), there are very few cars of equal performance and uniqueness.
 
KoolinNSX said:
Agreed. There's no substitution for the NSX. But for the reason of this original post was to find an additonal car that is some what equal. I think the R8 would be good candidate. I just hope it's under $100,000. :rolleyes:





Click to expand...
Don't like the R8 it's just ugly and not very special.
Is not pratical like a NSX
Does not have a special top speed only 320KM

I think the Corvette Z06 would be the more like a NSX
 
VictorH said:
That is one car in many. Even NSXs' have had lemons and claiming the NSXs' are unreliable with crappy build quality is inaccurate at best. You can no longer extrapolate the performance of a marque by a few of their bad apples. For example, Porsche had a past reputation for being finicky. In 2006, it topped the JD Power for quality beating Lexus (!!) and trouncing Acura. Also it is more important how a dealer takes care of issues when they arise (it is a complex performance machine afterall). At this, Acura is completely inadequate.

I have two friends who are tickled pink about their AMV8's and have had no issues with them and have received exceptional service and attention from the dealer. Also I have received outstanding service from my Porsche dealer and they put my Acura dealer to shame. At least they're still sending me oil change discount coupons :wink:

Back on topic, as I get older (37 this year) I look at total car ownership when judging cars. When I think of an $80K Acura with service disproportionate to its price point and compare any "similarly" performing Audi (RS4, R8), BMW (M6, M3), Aston (AMV8), Porsche (987, 997, GT3, GT3RS), Ferrari (used 360) which comes with better total ownership experience, I can only claim that the NSX has many equals. The NSX may have an interesting history but as a car in current times, it has MANY equals.

However, to a low price buyer of a used NSX ($30-$40K), there are very few cars of equal performance and uniqueness.
Click to expand...

Well sir you asked to me to provide you factual proof and I did. Now you dismiss that proof. You have two friends that them and have no problems. That's all based on your word. If EVO is lying AM would have sued them as such I could find no verification of any litigation towards said publisher so then their car did have those problems.

As far as service goes many here have had excellent service from Acura commensurate of their price tag. Are you saying that for all the years since you bought your NSX the dealership you bought it from has treated you poorly? I personally don't know my Acura dealership that well as I've been their only once or twice. I am however on a first name basis with my BMW dealerships service department ( 05 E46 M3 ) as I've been there several times.

As far as back to topic most people either read and did not understand ( although he spoke plainly ) or have changed the posters original question in their own mind and then replied. Here it is again so maybe we can start fresh.

"Ok, here's a question that's been brewing in my mind, as I consider another car purchase down the road (I'll keep the NSX, of course). What is the next closest car to the NSX? Is it utterly without equal, or is there another car that shares its amazing combination of qualities? I know I'm asking a vague question, so let me try to clarify. The NSX is arguably the best balance between exotic appeal, affordability, reliability, and performance (although straightline power is not its forte). It turns the heads of both kids riding bikes and grown men driving $100k+ cars."

The R8 isn't out yet and is an unknown. The RS4 isn't exotic neither are the M6 or M3 , 911 ( most you mentioned would only turn the heads of enthusiats that know these are rare jewels they are ). The Ferrari 360 maybe more reliable than the 355 ,but still does not match the NSX in terms of reliabilty which is what the man was asking in the first place ( also note for the record he did not use dealer service as a qualifier ). So with these qualifications now hopefully understood what are the NSX's equals?
 

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