NSX vs C5

[Blaze R/T]

Early 90's NSX's are the same price as a base C5. If you had the cash, wich would you buy?

[Chris GTO TT]

well i will be the one one on this site to say NSX lol

[vr4]

C5.


/thread

[VR4Rob]

Lower milage (more than likely) + newer car + practicality + modability = win

[My92Stealth]

Thats a tough one...you see a lot less NSX's around, and they are decent performers (manual), but the Vette is a Vette after all, and they rule...

But I personally love the very exotic look of the NSX. That's probably the way I'd go.

[95teetee]

[quote=""My92Stealth""]the Vette is a Vette after all,
[/quote]

I voted NSX too.

[Vitamin A]

NSX, just because their unique. I never see any of them

[Macky]

NSX. It still invokes an exotic look.

[Caffinated Soap]

[quote=""Vitamin A""]I never see any of them[/quote]= I hope nothing breaks.

C5.

[Dark-Hawk]

NSX. While it's underpowered it supposedly handles beautifully. I'd want to drive both before making a decision, but I think I'd go with the NSX.

[JagdStealth]

It really depends on what you're looking for. Both are great cars, and you can't go wrong with either.

The NSX is an extremely reliable car with an exotic look, good handling, decent performance (but you'll be beat by EVERYTHING coming out today, including most sport compact cars), and it's very unique. For the time it was very light compared to it's Japanese cousins, and it is the flagship of Honda, carrying over their F1 racing heritage.

The Corvette is the pride of Chevy and GM, the C5 is an excellent car, just as reliable as the NSX, handles better than the early NSX (especially if you opt for the Z51 or FRC), is faster than the NSX, and is significantly cheaper to fix and modify.

If you want something that you can leave stock (maybe put an exhaust and wheels on it) and just enjoy driving and don't really care about being fast, than you can get the NSX. Just be ready for Porsche level maintenance costs. Don't expect to mod it as everything is really expensive and, short of turbo or SC it doesn't yield much to the bottom line. The early NSX NEED swaybars, early turn-in bodyroll is horrible.

If you want something that is fun to drive, cheap to modify, and is fast (or REALLY FAST after a couple thousand in mods), then you need the C5. It will be ultimately cheaper to own, will perform better, and maintenance/mods are cheap.

NSX is known to go through clutches and rear tires like nobodys business (compared to other RWD sports cars at least). The early ones are pretty slow comapred to todays cars, and USDM suspension and wheel packages is *not* ideal for handling. This means you'll want at least the '94+ NSX wheels and a set of sway bars or at least some aftermarket struts/springs...makes a world of difference in driving experience.

Only issue with the C5 is the fact they are common and popular, early '97s had issues with burning oil...but no need to get a '97 when you can pick up a '99. I'd reccomend a '99-00 FRC with headers/cam/borla exhaust and '04 Z06 shocks and you'll be good to go...

I owned a Z06 and I have about 900mi driving behind a friends '93 NSX from when it was stock to mildly modified to now turbocharged.

[JagdStealth]

I guess on the comment of driving...

My Z06 is quite a bit more beastly than a regular C5, but it's a very different driving experience compared to the NSX.

The NSX is a precise machine that you can row through the gears and enjoy on the backroads or on the track. It's easy to drive, but difficult to master. You don't light up the tires all the time...it's a gentlemans car.

The C5 is what it is...a high powered beast. You can light up the tires all you want, muscle it around, blast on to the freeway, etc. It can be precise when you want it to be, but it's going to dive into a turn and fly out of it tires smoking while the NSX lets you keep a steady pedal and make smooth transitions

[oxrageous]

I love them both. One is a hell of lot more practical than the other, though...at least for me.

[Wolf_Zero]

In the end I'm sure I'd pick the vette. Sure the NSX is a more unique car, but I sorely miss large v8's. Plus right now I'd much rather have a nice big, lazy american V8 over some high strung motor.

[Caffinated Soap]

[quote=""Wolf_Zero""]Plus right now I'd much rather have a nice big, lazy american V8 over some high strung motor.[/quote]I'm not alone! I hope that my next car isn't such a pain to work on.

[aaronatstate]

I voted NSX. While the C5 is a great car, I think the NSX just looks plain sweet. And from what I have heard they handle like a dream. This is a really tough decision though

[Hannibalzero]

They are both great cars. I say see what's available locally, go test drive, then make your decision. The NSX and corvette are both very different cars.

[oxrageous]

Trust me, I've followed NSX prices for years, because I always wanted one. Only now am I seeing the early-90's versions fetching the low-20's (private party), and that was STILL more than I wanted to spend. You can get a nice C5 in the high teens now. Mine had 43K miles on it for under 20K.

I can also imagine insurance prices on the NSX to be well beyond what C5 insurance prices are. You are paying a high premium for a cool-looking car with solid yet unspectacular performance capabilities.

[oxrageous]

I'm also going to post up this list again, since nobody viewed it the first time I posted it. It has both NSX and Corvette values on it, so you can check out how well they have held their value. Interestingly, the C5 (1997-99) has held its value better than the NSX on a percentage basis.

I put together this list first using MSRP prices on each car. Keep in mind the MSRP price DOES NOT contain any optional equipment. With the exception of perhaps the BMW and Corvette, most of these cars did not have a great deal of optional equipment anyway.

The KBB price is the RETAIL price at 50,000 miles for every car. This list is far from perfect because of so many real-world variables, but I think it's a useful guide to show what kind of resale hit these cars have taken on a percentage basis.

Interestingly, the VR-4 has held its value better (at least slightly) than the 300ZX Turbo. The RX-7 and Supra are the kings here, particularly the 97 and 98 Supra (after Toyota slashed the price). A resale value of 84% to 88% at ten years and 50,000 miles - can you imagine that?

I threw a few high-end cars on the list to get a perspective there.

[alienviking]

Two completely different beasts and it all comes down to what you want. For daily driving I'd pick the C5. For a more powerful beast I would pick the C5. For modability and easy access to parts I would pick the C5. For a fun weekend car going down curvy back roads I might pick the NSX.. except that I am a sworn Vette lover so I would still pick the C5!