New Rear Wheel Drive Coupes

$20-$30k (new) RWD Coupes – What Would You Pick?

Posted on November 30th, 2009 by Ryan

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

I often wonder – what brand new rear wheel drive coupe would I buy in the $20,000 – $30,000 price range? …assuming I’d want to get rid of my Kouki, that is.

There aren’t too many affordable rear wheel drive coupes on the market today (brand new vehicles available at dealerships), but there are a few coming soon.

Currently on the market we have:

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

*click to enlarge*

The Genesis comes with two different engines; a 2.0 liter, 210 horsepower four-cylinder turbo model that starts at $22,000, and a larger, 3.8 liter V6 engine, cranking out 306 horsepower, starting at $25,000.

If you’re looking for a full review of the car, check out Left Lane News or Autoblog for their opinions (2.0T review + 3.8 V6 review).

I test drove a 4 cyl. turbo model at my local Hyundai dealership, and wasn’t all that impressed. The car behaved quite well, but it just lacked the raw feeling my BONE stock (well mostly stock) 1997 S14 has – something I noticed as soon as I pulled away in my car on the ride home. Some of this probably had to do with the automatic transmission I got stuck with, but still, something was missing.

The funny thing was, the salesman was quite eager to see me. Apparently Hyundai planned to target the 240sx owner who was ready to “grow up” a little bit – and since Nissan isn’t currently offering anything in this market space, it makes sense. That was of course once I told the salesman what car I was driving. I do get it quite often in my S14 Kouki – as they are quite rare, a lot of people aren’t sure what they are. Anyways, he managed to mutter out some insults about my “old, underpowered” car during our time together, which I found quite humorous. He even asked me if I’d be able to sell it.

Back to the Genesis – although it isn’t my favourite car, it is definitely one of the best options out there for a rear wheel drive car in this price range. The fit and finish is pretty good too.

All in all though, I prefer my S14 – but thank you Mr. Slick Salesman.

*click to enlarge*

Ford Mustang

*click to enlarge*

I have to say, the 2010 Mustang isn’t ugly. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but the subtle improvements over the previous generation are nice. I don’t really care to dive into the specs because I’m really not a fan, but it starts at aroudn $20k for the V6, and up to and beyond $30k for the V8.

A fast car, a mean car, and a car worth checking out. I’m just not a fan myself.

Concept:

Toyota FT-86

*click to enlarge*

Not out yet, but the most “real” coming soon RWD coupe for now. Although this car will share it’s platform with the Subaru version, there seems to only be information on the Toyota for now. Some more photos and some good coverage from Autoblog.

If you haven’t seen this, check it out – Polyphony Digital (the guys behind the Gran Turismo Franchise), created a digital video showing off the Toyota FT-86 Concept.

I have mixed opinions about it’s looks. It’s not jaw dropping, but I don’t hate it. I’ll be excited to drive this car in GT5 – which should hopefully be around May, 2010. If it ever makes it to North America, I’ll be sure to check it out in person as well.

I’m glad Toyota is making an effort to enter the new-car drift space, by branding it with the famous “86″ from the AE86.

Subaru RWD Coupe (Toyobaru)

*click to enlarge*

Ok, that is just a sketch of a rumoured STi version of the upcoming rear wheel drive Subaru-Toyota joint collaboration.

Supposedly this car will be available in both Japan and North America – unlike the JDM only FT-86. I’ve always been a Subaru fan (first car was a Black, 5-speed ‘98 Legacy GT), so this is a car I’m interested in.

HOPEFULLY this car will make it here with an option to go rear wheel drive, but I have a feeling it will end up AWD only in North America. I’ll still take it for a test drive though. As a huge fan of the current STi (and a bigger fan of the ‘04-’07 models), I’m quite eager to see how a 2-door STi will look and perform (should be lighter than the sedan or hatches).

If they do go RWD, it will be quite interesting – as Subaru has always been known for their impressive all wheel drive systems. I wonder if Team Orange had anything to do with their move?