Somebody posted this article on one of the Suzuki FB pages I'm on. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and thought some of you would too.
I only have experience with a few of these cars, I'm sure there are members here that have driven most of them. I thought the Swift GT comments had moments of accuracy, but not without taking a few predictable shots.
From the June 1990 issue of Car and Driver
Thoughts? If you could have one, what would be your first choice?
In reply to Peabody :
Golf all day and twice on Sunday.
I had the exact same GTi they tested, same color and everything.
The Hondas are both too old and too new for me to have experience with them - I have spent a fair bit of time in the generation before and after.
But check out that journalism. There's a lot of effort in that test, with a lot of people. You're not going to see that sort of investment of time and effort for a YouTube video or a blog post. We've lost it.
They've put up a bunch of their old road tests, there's a rabbit hole here.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15141519/1990-mazda-mx-5-miata-archived-test-review/ (which includes the classic phrase "fall readily to hand")
911 vs NSX vs 348 vs Esprit vs Corvette: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15140663/porsche-911-carrera-4-cabriolet-vs-acura-nsx-chevrolet-corvette-zr-1-ferrari-348ts-lotus-esprit-turbo-se-archived-comparison-test/
1991 SUVs (XJ, 4Runner, Explorer, etc): https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15141516/1991-top-suvs/
Toyman's Bentley vs ze Germans and the Japanese, including a visual Grey Poupon joke: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15141394/bmw-750il-vs-mercedes-benz-560sel-lexus-ls400-bentley-turbo-r-archived-comparison-test/
1985 muscle cars: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a43044114/1985-buick-chevy-olds-muscle-car-comparison/
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Damn, thanks for sending me down a rabbit hole I don't have time for right now, LOL!! I am just too busy anymore to read C&D, I stopped about 2 years ago but I was a loyal reader from around 1981 until 2021. I very much remember the articles posted. From the OPs article, just for nostalgia factor I'd take the Sunbird GT first (as long as I don't crash it), maybe Sundance second and the VW would be last along with the Lemans. It's amazing how far cars have come. Sub 10 second 0-60 and .8g grip was sports car territory back then.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Regarding YouTube content, I'd suggest giving savage geese's videos a chance.
On special enthusiast cars they often include the engineering team to talk about development (e.g. Dave Coleman is in a good part of the NC documentary), track review, and sometimes use of an imsa driver.
Keith Tanner said:But check out that journalism. There's a lot of effort in that test, with a lot of people. You're not going to see that sort of investment of time and effort for a YouTube video or a blog post. We've lost it.
Agreed, C&D in that era was probably the biggest influence I had as a budding car enthusiast. Every issue was to be devoured, cover-to-cover, the day it arrived. They had great writers and serious budgets, and it showed.
I sold a 55K mile 1991 Golf GTI 16V about 18 months ago. Probably should have kept it and dumped the Challenge corolla instead.
A 9A motivated MK2 GTI fitted with TT268/272 cams, a quaiffe limited slip, Bilstein HDs, shine springs and shine rear sway bar is such a simple, yet incredibly enjoyable package.
I might go with a dark horse here, the Sundance RS. The 2.5 Turbo has a nice wide powerband, the K car interiors had ergonomics that fit me well, and the handling is decent.
Second choice would be the Civic SI of it had to replace my daily driver, the CRX if it didn't.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:I sold a 55K mile 1991 Golf GTI 16V about 18 months ago. Probably should have kept it and dumped the Challenge corolla instead.
I should have bought your Golf instead of the WRX.
I would love to get a hold of a stock-ish 1990 Civic Si to go in my garage with my very not stock 1989 Civic si. I love that car but putting a cage in has seriously impacted it's practacality.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to Peabody :
Golf all day and twice on Sunday.
Dunno, I had one and I'd lean crx slightly.
In reply to Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) :
CRXs never bonded with me. Maybe it is because of the horrible (to me) driving position. The dashboard is so low that I have to drive them straight-legged, which makes me barely able to reach the steering wheel unless I hunch over. Feels like a description of a Vietnamese torture device where the prisoner was hung by the wrists and ankles.
Golves, once the knee bolster was removed and thrown away, had a very natural and comfortable driving position. With the knee bolster in place, I could not reach the brake pedal.
At the time, I wanted the Civic Si. I didn't fit in the CRX, the roofline was too low. Though, I had a friend with one of those Sunbird Turbos, and that thing was right quick in it's day. Nowadays, I'd probably take the Golf.
What's funny is that none of us wants the car that actually won the comparo. 
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Actually came here to say it'd be between the Storm or the Colt, and the Colt would probably win
Didn't expect to see the words build quality and Mitsubishi in the same article.
I guess the Quad4 version of the Beretta would have been over budget for the comparison? If that was part of the test it would probably be my choice.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:What's funny is that none of us wants the car that actually won the comparo.
Because I would rather have the Colt Turbo from the previous year.
The funny thing is in 1990 I was still living in the UK. Back then we were jealous that we couldn't get cool cars you could over here like Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes etc. Then I look at this and realize we didn't have it so bad. CRX had 108hp Vs 160hp VTEC in Europe. The laughable Pontiac LeMans was 96hp and launched here just as it was exiting production for the rest of the world. The European GTE had, had 156hp since 88, and prior to that it was still 124hp. Now, the Cavalier did have a 140hpV6 here Vs. 128hp 4 cyl in europe, but it had taken a serious beating from the ugly stick, and rendered the extra power useless with 250 extra lb's, much right over the front wheels. So we gained some and lost some.
Oh, and I'm with the majority, I'll take the GTi or CRX from this lot. The rest? melt them down to make electric motor components for our future hot hatches.
Peabody said:In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Actually came here to say it'd be between the Storm or the Colt, and the Colt would probably win
Didn't expect to see the words build quality and Mitsubishi in the same article.
I guess the Quad4 version of the Beretta would have been over budget for the comparison? If that was part of the test it would probably be my choice.
Article was from before Mitsubishi began phoning it in. A lot of decent vehicles were built on or derived from that Colt's chassis
IIRC a Beretta GTZ retailed at around $16k.
I like that the GTI they used for the test was the 8v and it still placed second. They drove so well and were so fun that you didn't care they barely made 100hp.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:I like that the GTI they used for the test was the 8v and it still placed second. They drove so well and were so fun that you didn't care they barely made 100hp.
Was thinking the same thing. It's pretty low tech compared to the other top placing cars, yet finished second
I wonder if the GTZ would have done better
Interesting to see so many cars in a comparo. There were so many in that bracket back then.
I forgot about the Swift GT. Pretty good power for a car the lightest car in the test.
I think I'd go for the GTI or the Civic Si. I had friends growing up that had a GTI and a CRX and I loved them both, but the Civic has more space. And you might see one of those on the road now. I can't remember the last time I saw a Colt. Probably been 30 years. ;)
I need to check my stash and see if I have this magazine. This was my favorite part:
We left the Interstate at New Concord, Ohio (which claims astronaut and senator John Glenn, Jr., as a native son), and set up a base of operations for our backroads research at Coshocton's Roscoe Village Inn. What followed was an intensive investigation of dynamic behavior on thrilling stretches of state routes 83, 60, 26, and 800—and the stark discovery that some of these cars were developed for such serious driving duty, and others clearly were not.
My brother went to College in New Concord, my wife and I spent our abbreviated Honeymoon Coshocton and for a time I was assigned to a Guard unit there also. Good memories.
Interesting. In 1991 I got back from the sandbox with a few extra dollars in my pocket and bought the only new car I've ever owned. I test drove nearly everything on this list and may have even read the article back in the day but in the end I walked out of the Mitsubishi dealership with an Eclipse 2.0 (NA) with pop up headlights, power windows, locks, cruise and AC for $13K even.
It was a brilliant little car and perfectly happy to cruise the interstate all day at 85MPH or act the boy racer on back roads. Compared with the cars listed here I'd make the same choice again today 100%.
Somehow, cars seemed more fun back then. I had peak MKII GTI: a 1992 with the 2.0/16V, somewhat lowered. It cornered so hard that even with two bikes on the roof (rack), I made a friend lose his grip on the oh-E36 M3 bar and punch himself square in the jaw. Glorious moments . . .
I also had a 1987 GTI/16V that a tweaker neighbor backed over with a tow truck. It still drove afterward.
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