First drive in an NSX

I drove a 91 NSX that was for sale at a local car lot. I had never driven one before and was curious. While the car itself had some issues, I seized the opportunity to see how it fit into "exotic" territory.

Driving the NSX was no different from any other Acura in my opinion. There was no thrill or excitement associated with driving it. My wife summed up the test drive with the comment, "There's no way I'd buy this over a Ferrari."

I know they are great dependable cars, but it left me a little flat. Just an opinion.

Here's a camera phone shot of it.
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I tested 3 nsx's (all trashed) B4 purchasing all I can say is STAY away form the 91-95's, with high mileage in weird car dealers, my first NSX was a TOTAL disappointment ,, but it was the actual car, it was very beat up .. Once I drove a 93 NSX with 45K miles, lowered, with exhaust, headers, pipes, OF COURSE had 18-19 wheels, that poor car was so unbalanced and weird that even my wife was ... r u sure about this "NSX" car? is that it? ... we just came from our S2000 (and she has a new RL, so her car although not fast, still not slow) and it was just a bit faster (it was very disappointing to be honest), even my gf thought that i was CRAZY to get rid of the S2k to get that particular NSX, we drove our 97 for the first time, all stock, and it was INCREDIBLE the difference, much faster also... expect 40K + for a good NSX sample ...

As I said, look for a 97+ well maintained, with all records and services, you will not regret .

Like any car, the owner is the one that makes it .. if you drive mine you would agree that only F360's are barely better Ferraris ... then the rest -after the 360- yes, are better more modern cars ..


Oscar

PS: Good luck!

 

Driving an abused NSX is no different than driving an abused Ferrari. Try a 2000+ model that's been taken care of.
I drove a new at the time '94. Drove like a Honda Prelude until you gave it some gas. Then the story was different!
Decent performance and sound.

 

nice performance and killer induction noise!!!

 

"Driving the NSX was no different from any other Acura in my opinion."

I think that was the whole point of NSX. They wanted a exotic car that you could drive everyday. But at least we can thank NSX for Ferrari 355, which was Ferrari's response to the competition.

 

Am I the only one who thinks that the NSX looks atrociously bad?

 

yes

 

+1

 

There is a recent NSX thread somewhere in this general auto discussion folder. It sheds a bit more light on the goals behind the project.

I took a '91 in reasonably good condition for a short spin a couple years ago and it was not overwhelming car. I could see owning it and getting a better sense of its depth though.

I did buy a '05 C6 Corvette a few months later. It was fun for the two years I had it, but I have no immediate plans to get another one either.

 

I have had the privilege of driving many over the years. Some very nice stock examples, some needing a lot of work, and some that have been tweaked with by some very knowledgeable people.

NSX's in good condition are a lot of fun and very well built cars. If you want to drool a bit, search you tube for "Factor X NSX" videos.

Regarding the look, I never cared for the rear taillights.

 

+2

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=INAByfRgFRE&NR=1

 

With what FERRARI are you cross-shopping a $28K (overpriced) '91 NSX??

Lucas.

 

Uhmmm.... how exactly does this work?

 

I had a 91 NSX before I bought my 355. It was a great car, very reliable and well mannered until you push it hard. If you are just getting started with exotics I think it is a great car to get your feet wet with, but I would be very skeptical of some of the car lots offering these cars. Find a private owner selling one if you can.

 

I owned blk/blk one for about 5 years...put maybe 8k miles on it. Awesome car, a little underpowered, but great sound and build quality. Totally reliable but it ate rear tires at a furious pace (even after the factory-correction).

RMX

 

I had a 92 NSX before I got my 02 360.

The 92 NSX stock was good for its day but now, is a total dog. Prior to 1997, the gearing was really tall so the car didn't accelerate too well below 100mph. Stock, the car was pretty quiet and sounded like a sewing machine. I put a lot of tasteful mods on it that made the car feel, sound, and drive much nicer. So as a stock car, it's not very inspiring but with some mods, the car is really fun to drive.

I also think a stock 360 with 18inch wheels doesn't look too modern and isn't necessary all that exciting. An exhaust, slight lowering, and 19inch Stradale wheels really changed the whole look and feel of the 360.

 

lol. Doin a bit of cheatin?

 

I have owned two NSXs, and I have to say they were both excellent cars in every way. Aside from aesthetics, comfort, handling ability, and an incredible overall balance, they were easy to live with cars. My first one, a 1991, had a Comptech SC installed to deal with being underpowered relative to similar sports cars. On my second, a 2002, I had a FX500 turbo installed and that car was Jekyll/Hyde VS the SC version, and it was a monster on the street... straight line or in corners. Tires were an issue for both cars, until I had the toe adjusted to compensate for street driving. IMO, these were way to aggressively set up from the factory and they still handle very well with minor adjustments.

 

+3!

 

I bought mine in 07 and since than iv spent wayyy to much money on the car. After driving it i really did like it even tho most of my friends said "are u sure this is what u want to spend $50k on?" lol. Its a great starting platform and now a $20k Sorcery widebody kit later and a 700 RWHP turbo kit installed i can say im really glad i decided to stick out with the car. The unique factor and driving experience are one in a million for the cars out on the road. Having said all of this i still dont think you can compare it to a nicely modified F-430 The car was way ahead of its time and it should just be taken for what it is.

 

You are talking about a car that was designed over 20 years ago. For those who can not remember back that far it was an amazing machine machine at the time, in fact its design was way ahead of its time. You want to compare it to something, compare it to other cars designed more than 20 years ago. You know, a lot of people thought it was a much better car than what Ferrari was selling at the time, I was one of them.

 

In typical Japanese car company fashion, it has some awkward lines (the greenhouse, especially), but it also borrows the 328 fender curve, which works well.

In targa form, and in black, I think it looks OK.

The inside is garbage, but the inside of the Ferrari 348/355 is pretty low rent as well.

 

Carnut, good point.

 

for a design that came in 89 ....

looks great next to an 2008 C4s ...

looks great next to a 3 yo M3

looks great next to any ferrari or lambo etc .. ....

the interior is not "garbage" but yeah .. is not fantastic .... The older the NSX is getting, the more classic it gets (even with the classic 16-17 wheels) ,,,, a clean, lowered, with spacers NSX still as fresh as 18 years ago ..

Oscar
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