Hi sifus, been a lurker here for a while now but as I'm planning to get a car soon, thought i create an account and ask for advice. So as the title denotes, I'm looking for a used car to be daily driven. As of right now I have the Suprima, Inspira 2.0 and 2006/2007 Mark X in mind. The reason I've included the mark x is because I've heard it is remarkably reliable despite being an older car and I am looking for a car that can suit my driving style that is rather aggresive and heavily right footed. Need a car that can be a reliable daily driver as well as a good zippy one for the occasional spirited drives. I like the suprima but am abit worried about the maintenance as it is a turbocharged car although my friends tell me it handles great. The inspira looks nice for me, but as with the suprima has a cvt and I'm not sure how bad is the delay and whether or not the throttle response is weak in the lower gears( drove a nissan once, the cvt was awfully draggy and irresponsive below 80kmh) and in that sense I much prefer AT cars with the better power delivery. I know performance doesn't go hand in hand with reliability but I'm pretty much trying to find the best balance between the 2.

So as I see it all of these options each have their respective pros and cons and wanted to get advice to choose between them or any other cars that I've missed out on that fit the bill. Thanks

Inspira or Lancer, their CVT leaves a lot to be desired. Seriously. It's the INVECS that is not that quick and maybe a generation or two back compared to the CVT in cars today.

This post has been edited by lowpro: Mar 8 2018, 06:00 PM

If you’re worried so much about the CVT, then get the 1.8mt inspira.

Inspira has tons of potential, and is more than enough for your right footed ness or spirited driving. Nothing stopping you from throwing in a BOT on a 1.8mt inspira and get 200++ bhp easily.

If still not enough, just plonk in an evo x or ralliart engine and have fun going around 300bhp.

I see, haven't driven MT for awhile now. Perhaps I'll go test drive one and see if I still got it.

Thanks for the reply. Any reason why markx is on top of your list?

I see, is it better in the suprima? And if I use the shift paddles will it be any different?

- good zippy one for the occasional spirited drives
- automatic transmission

Pick only one.

mark x is a class (maybe 2) above inspira or suprima even tho it's an old car. everything is superior from suprima or inspira. if money and maintenance is not an issue..i'd go for mark x (bcause i love is150..but mark x is cheaper).

Agreed on this^. IS250 is the one if that fall within your budget. Roughly about 10k+- higher than mark x for an used unit around the same year. Otherwise mark x will be a good choice.

Hmm okay so I'm guessing you're suggesting the 1.8 mt INSPIRA ?

The maintenance for Mark x is very costly?

Would rather spend the extra money to maintain that's why I'm going for one with the budget of the 3.

How much is your budget? up to 60K?

Not sure why would people keep praising a first gen mark x but my experience with it ain't no fun. Drove a 3.0 mark x back in a small town getting out of the car is a pain especially for elders. The driver and passenger safety belt is extremely annoying with rapid beeping.

Probably coz it's a bit lower or the car had been lowered?
The seat belt thing, if you're disciplined then should be no issue.

I never sit in another mark X but I guess it's a bit lower. From outside the car does not seems lowered and everything is original. The car is still equipped with the original head unit in Japanese where the radio FM at max 90mhz.

This post has been edited by therain01: Mar 9 2018, 09:06 PM

Makes a lot of noise, then you wait...it'll move... I'm exaggerating a bit here but the transmission can do a lot better.

Trying to stay around the 40-50k range.

I see, so amongst the 3 which would you recommend ? Or any other cars within that range ? As I mentioned previously if the cvt is really slow then I'll have to consider other options as the last cvt car I drove I could barely over take other cars in day to day traffic so definitely a no-no for me.

I drive an Exora (same gearbox and engine as Suprima, minus the paddle shifter option)
My dad drives a City Idsi and a HRV. Both also CVTs. I have to admit that Honda CVT are better than Protons.
My dad's City have a paddle shifter but to be honest its better to let your right foot tell the accelerator what you want rather than shifting yourself. The accelerator takes in your command and tells the gearbox what you want. Thats where CVT and most hated Drive-by-Wire accelerator does the job for u.
paddle shifting have fixed gear ratios. Kills the whole purpose of having infinite gear ratio.

For my exora. Sometimes i switch on the SAT mode just to feel the virtual gear shifts and the virtual engine rev up and down. In real life it hampers / slows down the acceleration. (And i have to press harder just to get it moving. Can feel the turbo working harder to push the 1.5 ton MPV with SAT mode on)

Yes i know older CVT makes driving rather boring / souless. But newer CVT nowdays have virtual shifting (like in the HRV) points even without turning on the SAT mode.