My three roommates and I are thinking about getting matching cars, and hooking them up (that is, no glam mods). However, we've yet to come to a firm decision.

One of us wants an Acura RSX.
One of us wants a Civic EX.
And I want the Lancer ES.
(The fourth isn't dead set on any particular car, although he loves his GTi.)

Now, the GTi and the RSX are out of the price range for two of us, which means that we're really going to have to choose between the Civic and the Lancer.

Now all four of us like the Civic (none of us really love the Civic.) I'm the only one who is proposing the Lancer, so I have quite a bit of work cut out before me to convince the other three guys.

So far, I can say that the Lancer ES is $4000 cheaper. It's got slightly more torque on paper. It's got the larger interior. And lastly, it's _not_ a Civic. It seems like you can't open your door without dinging a Civic these days.

Arguments for the Civic include VTEC, more hp on paper, better aftermarket support, luxuries (such as sunroof, ABS, etc.)

Now I would like to for the four of us to get Lancers, but I need a more convincing argument than the one I've got now. I know that aftermarket support is getting better for the Lancer, but it's still nowhere near the support for a Civic.

I would like to make my argument for the Lancer instead of against the Civic. I'm sure the vast majority of forum dwellers would like us to get Lancers too, so please voice your thoughts. Thanks.

 

its a civic

nuff said

 

Since you're here mind as well get the lancer because you like it better. Like you said, your argument of $4k cheaper and "It seems like you can't open your door without dinging a Civic these days" should convince them enough right ?

There is really no argument, it's all preference.

 

I was hoping for _intelligent_ comments since these are my friends that I'm trying to convince.

EvoSoul, you're right. It is largely a matter of preference, but I'd like some other reasons to prefer the Lancer. Some more reasons from another point of view.

 

well one thing i can contribute is that i had to move my friends civic out of her driveway once (only way i'd be caught dead in one) and i noticed the interior is FUGLY.... interior on a lancer MUCH nicer lookin.... plus dont underestimate the lancer.. i've taken a few lightly modded civics (here comes all the "oh well they sucked at driving blah blah blah" b/s... oh well winning is winning!)

 

Thanks. Things like this are what I had in mind. The interior is fairly important to me since I drive my family to church, granmda to doctor's appointments, etc. I'm sure that my family isn't going to appreciate climbing into the back of a coupe.

 

I'm assuming you plan on moding...I've read that the new Civics are difficult to get much power out of short of turboing. I can't confirm or deny that, but I seem to remember reading about tuners being disappointed at the gains from basic bolt ons. ...I think it was on this forum too.

Still...it's really a matter of money and preference. (Whether it's intelligent or not, it's the truth.)

 

Are you guys sure you're dead set on getting matching cars? 'Cause I have a feeling that the two guys that like and can afford the RSX and GTi may regret going 'down' later. Or what about getting used GSRs? Those should easily be in the price range of the new Civics. And it's a better platform to work with since you all are planning to mod anyway.

 

nykwan, you make some good points. It's true that the two richer guys do want nicer cars, but they're willing to buy Civics. Whether they're willing to buy Lancers remains to be seen.

We were initially looking at getting 1997 Prelude VTEC's, but it's next to impossible to find four matching ones. We haven't looked into Integras (or any other car for that matter), but we're pretty sure that finding four matching used cars is going to be impossible regardless of model. That's a big reason why we want to get new cars. Also, we'd like new cars for obvious reasons.

If it comes down to it, I'm not sure whether we'll get matching cars. If we can't decide on a common car, of course we'll have to go with our respective choices. I'm sure it won't damage the friendship, but it would have been cool to have four matching cars in the driveway. As it is, the time frame is somewhere between 6-18 months, so there's still quite a bit of time to see how aftermarket support improves for the Lancer.

So far, the biggest complaint (amongst us) is the amount of torque that the Lancer produces. Call me naive, but what could be done to increase the torque? Thanks.

 

Four matching cars....does this idea seem foreign to anyone else. I dont know i I can speak for the other current Lancer owners, but I spend a good deal of my time trying to figure out how I can make my OZ different from the one the 50 year old house wife bought because it was economical. (example, just shpwing my point) I cant for the life of me figure out why you would want to match your car to another car that you see on a daliy basis, nevermind 3 other cars. I say get the Lancer, let your buddies spend 4 grand more, and hook up an RRM turbo kit. See who laughs last at that point. Plus the Lancer seems to get a good reaction on the street, hell I only have an intake and suspension pieces on mine and people ask me about it all the time. Just my opinion though.

 

the lancer is a great car, the interior is the best out there, in my opinion of course, i compared my lancer to my moms 96 accord (ya i know its differet but hear me out) the accord is suspose to be bigger than the civic? if it is then my car is bigger inside than the 96 accord, the engine bay is huge, lots of room for mods and inprovement, plus its not as common as a civic, if more people start modding a lancer then the parts companies will start making more parts for our cars

well thats my $.02

Link

 

Tristar Racing, it's kind of hard to explain why we want matching cars. It's not like we're trying to make our car look like the one down the street; the four of us are more like family than friends. We do everything together, so it kind of makes sense for the four of us to have matching cars.

Think Fast and the Furious (bad example, but stay with me here.) Would it have looked cooler to have three different cars raiding trucks or three matching cars raiding trucks. I'm not saying we're out to commit grand theft, but it just kind of looks cool to see a string of four identical cars go down the highway.

(Oh, and we want sleeper cars, so looking like the one that the grandma owns is a good thing. )

 

Good point, and to each it there own. Its like me telling guys at car shops why I didnt get a Civic. Its a personal thing, and if you want to doit, go for it. I definately see the Lancer ES being a huge sleeper. Good luck with whatever car you get. Mabye I suggest though 4 240 sx's, like the newest body style. I always see white ones of those on used car lots, and plus you can give it Silvia running gear. 4 white "Silvias" running down the road would be quite a sight.

 

transmittion... have the best transmittion around also thr ralley heritage and the lancer much lighter then the civic which means uses less gas

 

Well I have an OZ and besides the body kit and the gauges most people say there is barely a difference in the two cars. I am not sure about the
power accessories ( windows, locks, mirrors etc) My advice for the lancer at this point is you can take the 4G's you save and buy a Kaminari body kit (www.kaminari.com) some rims and then have some left over for performance mods. If you want to go turbo then you could just dump the whole lot into that since you said you wanted a sleeper.
Either way the ES has plenty of potential depending on how you invest the "savings"

WADAD