Retro Sports Sedan comparo

[Jarpin]

(I love older six pot sports sedans and deplore their demise in favor of SUV's and turbo sport compacts)

**Let's imagine perfectly working brand new examples WITHOUT any powertrain issues.

which would you choose?

2003 Acura TL Type S VS. 2003 Infiniti I35 Sport package.

 

[GR_CoB]

The one that would come with a 6-speed manual.

 

[dishdude]

My old man had a TL like that, it was a real turd. Transmission went out, various other things broke, even the rearview mirror leaked and melted the terrible gated shifter. I didn't find it sporty at all.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Not sure I see the significant advantage of front wheel drive sedan vs a front wheel drive CUV actually.

How about a RWD 2003 G35 with a 6 speed manual for @GR_CoB ?

 

[dnewton3]

First gen Taurus SHO. Loved that Yamaha top end paired with a manual!
Not really "fast" by today's standards, but back in the day, it was quite formidable.

 

[Kira]

Ford utilizing dual intake paths in a few vehicles is a legit claim to fame.

 

[fdcg27]

There is this German company you may have heard of which used to use inline sixes in anything with any speed aspirations and inline fours in their slower stuff with five speed manuals as standard in all.
Forget the name.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

wow 2003 is retro

 

[WeyounDS9]

That generation TL was absolutelly gorgeous inside and out!
But... it would go thru transmisisons like candy.
It was a design flaw, the replaced transmssions would also go quickly.

The I35 was pretty sweet.
A Maxima in a Tuxedo and thats not a bad thing.

 

[WeyounDS9]

Not sure I see the significant advantage of front wheel drive sedan vs a front wheel drive CUV actually.

How about a RWD 2003 G35 with a 6 speed manual for @GR_CoB ?

View attachment 289291

This right here was peak car.

 

[Jarpin]

There is this German company you may have heard of which used to use inline sixes in anything with any speed aspirations and inline fours in their slower stuff with five speed manuals as standard in all.
Forget the name.

@SC Maintenance & @dnewton3

I see your point about RWD and 1st Gen Ford Taurus SHO was a legit HOFer in the SS category,

(Forget the mules in the subject of the post, because I will now digress)

There's one Sports Sedan that we NEVER got over here that most definitely cannot be overlooked because it LITERALLY smoked everything we ever had over here at the time and a lot of stuff decades later including anything with 4 doors made by...AHEM...the aforementioned company with Teutonic roots.

Retro? This is actually ANCIENT forbidden fruit and still the Sports Sedan reference standard. 377hp Twin Turbo 3.6L RWD with a Corvette ZR-1 transmission in the year 1990! @WeyounDS9: , This my friend..was PEAK car. GM Europe knocked it out of the park with this one. Perfect getaway car for bank robbers. Room for four and cops never came close to catching it. Only #950 ever made...

 

[Carmudgeon]

Third gen was peak TL. The only criticism C/D made against it was that it wasn't RWD.

First gen TSX, the European Accord, was also very good. Honda was on a roll when those were engineered. More so, as the TL was developed in the U.S by a different team.

First gen G35, which helped debut the FM platform, was also very good. And with taut styling, not the flabbiness of later versions.

I would put the special edition hot rod Lotus Omega/Carlton in a different class.

 

[Ronsant]

Affordable sedan version- 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R.
Most fun car I ever had. Only offered in a manual.

 

[GR_CoB]

How about a RWD 2003 G35 with a 6 speed manual for @GR_CoB ?

View attachment 289291

I'd love that! But opted for the AWD wagon version of it - 2008 Infiniti EX35. Unfortunately that one only came as an automatic. Still fun though, I enjoy it daily.

 

[pezzy84]

Acura TL with transmission fluid drain and fill every single oil change. I loved this car when it was around and followed the message boards on it - so glad I was too poor to afford one because yeah that transmission. Honestly have not seen this generation TL or it's Accord sibling out in the wild for quite some time.

 

[bighead2586]

Lexus GS's were great cars they survived all the way to 2020. Not the sportiest though. BMW made tons of cars fitting this description.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Lexus GS's were great cars they survived all the way to 2020. Not the sportiest though. BMW made tons of cars fitting this description.

 

[super20dan]

sttep up to the big league withh a 2003 infinityy M45

 

[super20dan]

thhese cars are amazing and really fast. i got to play withh one for 6 months