Quote Originally Posted by r3ckless View Post
On the note of a "daily driver" as the above poster mentioned, I particularly like the second quote. What performance sports car can deliver the same power output, yet have a much lower fuel consumption.
I agree that if you'll be doing a lot of K's on the daily grind, then fuel economy does come into consideration. You'd be surprised though at the S15's fuel economy. Bear in mind that it is a relatively light weight and small displacement turbo charged engine. Here are the official Government fuel economy figures for both cars:

a) Type R - 9L/100klm city cycle; 7.2L/100klm highway cycle
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bi...vehicleid=6921

b) 200sx - 10L/100klm city cycle; 7.0L/100klm highway cycle
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bi...vehicleid=7147

There's not much in it and in fact, according to the official figures, the 200sx is actually more fuel efficient on the highway. I'm guessing this is to do with gearing (i.e. the Type R has very short gearing so you rev higher at highway speeds) and the 200sx's more efficient torque delivery and the fact that it's often off boost at highway speeds.

Now of course, the official Government figures won't represent what we'll get in the real world. However, they are performed under controlled conditions and are useful for comparative purposes.

I think the real cost killer will be insurance. RWD + turbo usually means high premiums so that is a minus for the 200sx. This may be balanced out somewhat by the higher Type R / Honda servicing costs.

Honda should certainly be commended on making an NA engine with a very high power output for the engine size. Whilst it may deliver "the same [power] output", I think the fact that we need to consider is that it is making nowhere near the same torque output. For a daily driver and for better driveability, torque is very important and this is why the Type R is a far more frenetic car to pilot in traffic.

Quote Originally Posted by r3ckless View Post
it is just a 2 door, but has a massive boot. Having said this, as I use it as a weekend car, all of these features are becoming obsolete to my situation.

I am still unsure of what/where I want to go, but that will all be left for another day
If you like the Type R philosophy and have no requirements for a boot, perhaps something from the Lotus range?