NSX vs my 308

i swear i dont know why i dont like the NSX, i just "dont".

they are cheaper, faster, easier to drive, but they feel stale.

great cars i am sure, but i choose to buy the cars i want, and i would rather have an MR2 or Supra dollar for dollar, when considering Japanese cars. i cannot compare a Japanese car to an Italian car , i just cant do it!

308s are old and slow, but they represent an era in car design and manufacturing we will never see again. the robot cars are too damn good now, and very hard to work on at home.

 

Very well stated.

I have an immense amount of respect for the NSX . . . but I'm just not interested in owning one.

 

Maybe because of the expression "at the end of the day it's just a Honda">

I like the NSX and almost got one, instead bought a 348

 

I remember sitting in one in the mid 90's and thinking it looked and felt like being in my friends Prelude. Just not a car that induces a lot of emotion. Great car but to me just a car.

 

It will be very interesting to see what the future of these (now getting) older NSXs beholds. They were built in vast numbers, but due to the fact that they "drive like a Prelude" many of them have gotten driven and used up. The ricer segment of the population also got their hands on many a good number of these cars and butchered them to death.

But as others have said it was quite the engineering masterpiece of the day. It also has the pedigree with Ayrton Senna being involved in the development of the car during Honda's heyday in F1. Again though, not sure if it will ever solicit the necessary emotions to make it a great collector car. If you trying to buy something from the pure 'collectability' standpoint I think a first generation Viper or Viper GTS would be a better buy for similar money from that era. Unfortunately the Viper is not something that you can drive and enjoy to the extent of the NSX.

I am personally hoping that Honda does not follow through with the blasphemous V10 front engined NSX, or at least they give it a different name.

 

NSX is a fantastic daily driver. I have a good friend that has used them since they first came out. Upgraded every couple years.

But they are a bit sterile when compared to an Italian car (not just the 308) or even something like a Viper or Pantera.

Its like comparing apples and oranges.

 

agree. i use a truck as a daily driver to take care of my properties and other hobbies. i then choose to drive the fun cars i have based on time and weather.

i think it depends on the separation of those who can have more than 4 cars, and those who may only have two. the NSX is most likely a good car to have as a daily driver, something my muscle cars and ferraris and not suited for. also, i have to have a 911 of some sort in my collection, or i feel like something is missing. i am hoping to add two more cars to my collection, as soon as i figure out how to handle the parking and security! i would love an old MR2 again, and they are cheap!

 

Acouple months ago I drove my friends NSX and his Honda 2000 on the same day. I told him I like the 2000 better because the NSX felt like a sedan and not a sports car. Well he just let me drive his new NSX with the turbo kit. Gut who sold it to him claimed he was making 900HP at the wheels but toned it down to 620HP. What a rocket! But even when not on the boost it seemed like much more of a sports car, perhaps it was just the sound.

 

I think the future will be very kind to them - they already hold value very well considering other $80-90k cars from MB, BMW, Audi. Also, by the mid 90s they were down to a few hundred units per year in the US, so there's not a big glut of them. I think they have aged very, very well - almost like a Japanese F40 in looks.

 

What he said.

 

i am currently on my 2nd NSX, an 05. they are great cars and reliable. i am also on my 4th ferrari, an 06 azzurro 430 spider.
each cars has its own merits and are not comparable. i would never use the 430 as an everyday driver like i could with the nsx. as far as just being a honda, i think honda had a great run in F1 in the late 80s and 90s before ferrari reasserted itself.

 

My manual NSX ran circles around my 308, but buying an automatic, id probably do the same as you did!

 

There is no soul in those cars and many other modern cars. Regardless of power, price or quality they are passionless, sterile and robotic. I have owned many cars that fit that description, none has every filled me with pure driving joy and excitement like my Ferrari. A Ferrari is a living thing in a way, built by hands in the birth place of some of the best race cars in History, not by robots in an Acura factory. I don't care if she is temperamental, expensive to fix, slow by today’s standards or just plain old. She and her sisters are the hottest things going and have been for quite some time. As for looks, park a 308, 328, 348 or 355 in front of a club next to an NSX and see who the girls come too. Just my .02

--Mike

 

We purchased a NSX brand new in 2001.

An absolutely fantastic car.

If the NSX drives like a Prelude (per Tommott77), then two plug wires must have been removed. Hardly looks like a Prelude too. Has an aluminum body with a stunning design - and performance that starts with titanium con-rods.

Quite strong performance with the (later) 3.2 litre engine. Often those commenting have driven only early cars.

As far as design, more than likely you will be asked "what model Ferrari is it?" Always a surprised look when one hears the car is from Japan.

BTW, only 167 produced and imported in 2001 - so hardly produced in "vast numbers".

Just one mans opinion, but the NSX is a great car, fun to drive, and has brought this owner especially good value for the money spent.

Eight years later, we still own the car - that must say something

 

Honda/Acura had a Ferrari 308gtb present in the design studio when designing the NSX. It is an interesting car, but will always be a Honda and just not terribly interesting. In a way, it is Honda's BMW M1 only not as rare.

 

I think the Audi R8 is the modern incarnation of the NSX with a nicer interior and more power. I have a friend who loves his, but he also has a 575M for the weekends. Will be curious to see how the NSX/R8 comparison fits in the long run.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

The NSX is juuuuust starting to reach classic status so it's still doesn't have that nostalgia to it that other classics do. But if you want a trouble-free mid-engine ownership experience, an NSX can't be beat. They are bullet proof and fantastically flexible for city and canyon runs alike. Give 'em a few more years and prices for good NSX's will start to fly.

But an automatic? Mehhh. Stick with the 308!

 

The problem with the NSX is the bland (imo) interior. It does have a racy exterior though. If the NSX is not going to be used as a dd but just as a weekend toy, trading in the 308 for one would be a sacrilage! This is comming from someone w/o a Ferrari and having owned nothing but Japanese cars (except for my wifes car).

 

I traded my '92 NSX on a Testarossa, the acceleration felt similar, but the sound and aura of the Ferrari way more special. I regret the NSX sale and still do, but it was a car that was gonna hurt me in an accident because I really drove faster in it than anything else. I think that I made up for the lack of drama with pushing the car too hard around. It still is one of my favorites cars ever.

 

"It's just a Honda"--that comment kills me! If one has an ounce of objectivity about evaluationg exotics/sportscars, the NSX has to be be rated as top notch. In the 1991 Car & Driver Road Test Annual, they pitted an NSX against the 348. Results: far better handling, more comfortable, better shifting, more power, and outstandingly better handling at any speed. 0-60 , the NSX was .8 secs faster than the 348 and .7 secs faster in the 1/4 mile. If Ferrari came out with a car with all of the qualities of an NSX in 1991, they'd still be praising it as one of the best ever.

Reliability--there is no exotic car like them. I know of one with 250,000 miles on the od and another wthe 156,000 miles. The latter had compression/leakdown tests done with the specs falling within 10% of a new engine. I sold my pristine '85 308 about 4 years ago and tried out an NSX. I still have the car and have no regrets. While I enjoy working on my cars, I enjoy drivig them more. I got tired of recurring problems and unnecessariyl high costs for parts and maintence of a car which wasn't all that complicated.The NSX calls for a major service every 6 years or 90k miles and the cost is about 1/3 that of the major for even a 308. I guess I'm cheap in this regard!

The comments re: the car being like sedan or Prelude are way off base. Just like every car maker strives for user- friendliness in its roadcars, Honda actually succeeeded right out of the box. Yes--it's very easy to drive and is comfortable in traffic, but it takes on a completetly different personality on the track or when one hits the 5800 rpm, V-tec range. The sound , feel, and performance change remarkably--it becomes a different car--still comfortable and very solid, but aggressive and very satisfying to drive.

Re: Ferrari having soul because of its F-1 history, I agree. However, are you aware that the NSX was conceived and born straight out of F-1 racing? It was promoted to capitalize on Honda's incredible winning streak in F-1 in the 80's and early 90's. Aryton Senna--you know, the guy who held practically all F-1 records before Michael came around--was intimately involved in the conceptualization, testing and tweeking of the NSX on Japan's F-1 tracks. He was quoted as caling the NSX "the best sportscar in the world" at the time.

The big mistake which Honda made was to not upgrade the car --not at all for 6 years and barely at all after that. This gave no incentive to owners to trade up, because the earlier cars were built so well out of the box so as to obviate the need for a later model. Also, new buyers/magazines had nothing to look fwd to with changes.So, yes, the performance is now outdated, but it was super in its day. Even with practically no performance upgrades since 1997, the 2005 still pulls 0-60 at 4.7 secs . In the same period of time , Ferrari evolved itself 3 full models.

As for any comments on looks, that is totally subjective and a meaningless discussion. As for attention and comments I've received from people with either my 308 or NSX, it's even--as subjectivity always is. People seem to go nuts over both cars. As for "copied design", any mid-engined car needs to breathe and therefore needs scoops for air--Ferrari does not own that concept. Because a car has scoops and an aerodynamic design it doesn't mean that it copies Ferrari. Many mid-engined car do share a certain look .

Anyway, sorry for running off at the mouth, but I do find it annoying when people trash any other car brought up in the forum, but their own, based upon subjectve opinion and not fact. The fact is that the NSX is an outstanding car when you use all of the measures used by objective road-testers. But, it is dated and compring it in anyway to anew car is unfair.A fair comparison of cars is to pit them against cars of their specific years/era. When you do this, the NSX was way ahead of its time and many writers have stated that it was responsible for making other exotics more reliable and user-friendly for competion in the marketplace

 

Would you trade the Testarossa for your old NSX back? Or do you mean you would rather have both of them....

I personally would love to drive one and own one. Since I've worked on many a Honda in the past, I would probably feel right at home in working on one. It would have to be "in addition" not "instead of" my 328.

Ace

 

In french, they call it "snobisme", it is hard to get rid of until you get older and look back objectively at your car ownerwship history.
I owned 4x 308's starting in 1979. Even owned a 288.
Sold my 94 NSX a few years back and regretted it ever since. Just bought a supercharged, well hung newer NSX and I love it, in fact quite a bit more than the 360.

 

all you need an NSX (3.2) and a 360CS then you are in the perfect world
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I've had two of them and they are rock solid. Had one 5 years and the other 8 and normally I don't keep anything more than 2-3 years. They are just that good. To each his own. Don't get me wrong, I love my Ferrari but don't dismiss the NSX because it's a Honda. It damn good Honda.
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