doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (02/26/85)
> I challenge > you to find ANY American car that would match these features for this > price [$15,000]. You're on... the Chrysler Laser/Dodge Daytona are quite comparable, at a considerably lower price tag -- I paid 12 grand for my loaded (many would say overloaded for a performance car :-) Turbo Daytona. Boring detailed comparison follows (yawn) > The 1984 Mitsubishi Starion LS has a 2.6 litre engine (largest 4 > cylinder engine made at the time) with a twin shaft dynamic balancer > (proprietary Mitsubishi design; also leased to Porsche for the 944). > The engine is fuel injected and turbocharged. (Produces 145 horsepower, > not too far from the magical 1 HP per cubic inch). The Turbo Laser/Daytona has a 2.2L engine with port injection (more desirable than conventional throttle-body injection, I don't know which the Starion has), and a water-cooled turbocharger. It develops 148 net h.p., which is well above 1HP/cu in. The Turbo Laser/Daytona will handily whoop a Turbo Starion in the quarter mile if the Road & Track Road Test results are to be trusted. You don't talk about gas mileage... I get right at 24 mpg around town. This is driving "normally" most of the time, since there's usually someone in front of me. But when there's no one ahead of me, just a clear road, and the light turns green... ZOOOOMMMM! > It's a relatively > light car, giving you a good HP/weight ratio. I don't know about the weight of the Laser/Daytona. It feels big and heavy. I had reservations about this at first, but the weight doesn't hold it back. For the "light sports car" purist, it doesn't feel right. If you can't believe that a "heavy" car can accelerate/brake/corner as well as a light car, then you probably wouldn't like the Laser/Daytona. > Other performance features > include 15" wheels, steel belted radial tires, lockup-sensing brake > modulating system (the same system that Mercedes and Ford are bragging > about on their cars - Mitsubishi had it first), five speed manual > transmission. No anti-lockup on the Laser/Daytona, but everything else. > Accelerates very smoothly up to a top end of 125 MPH. > Rides very nicely that fast, too. Road & Track says the Laser/Daytona maxes out at 113. Don't know how the ride is at that speed (I haven't gone over 75), but the ride at quasi-legal speeds is *real* nice (re-read the comment above about heavy feeling). > Creature comforts: Power steering, > Power brakes, Air conditioning, cruise control, intermittent wipers, > 6-way adjustable seats, AM/FM/Cassette w/6 speakers, Digital speedometer, > tachometer, and boost gauges, rear wiper/washer, etc. All of the above, except that the digital instruments are available only on the Laser, while the boost gauge is available only on the Daytona where it is standard. > There's a 5 > year warrantee on the turbo. Five year warranty on engine, turbo, transaxle, CV joints, ignition, fuel injection, anything else considered "engine and drivetrain", and outer-body rust-through. For $200 bucks more I bought the 5-year extension for electrical system, air conditioning, front and rear suspension (including MacPherson struts), and some other stuff I don't remember right now. That extended warranty has a $25 deductible. > The new '85 top-of-the-line Starions > include power mirrors and power antenna, lighted vanity mirror; > also touch-sensitive stereo controls on the steering wheel. I've got power mirrors, but not the other stuff. But then, I've got electric door locks, power windows, and my outside mirrors have electric defrosting which is tied to the rear-window defroster. The center console is designed to hold cassette tapes. There are inside release buttons for the rear hatch and fuel filler door. A nice touch: slide-out soda can/coffee cup rack under the radio. A silly touch: sun visors in back, for the hatchback window. An American-car touch: the hood has spring counter-balances, not a prop to hold it open. > And as with > most Japanese cars, excellent fit and finish. The Starion would definitely win in this category. But I will say that the dealer has corrected *all* of the fit-and-finish problems (a bunch) under warranty. When I went car-shopping, I did like the Starion. But 3 grand is still a big price difference. -- Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug