FTO AUSTRALIA

I haven't read every post in this thread but I thought I'd add my thoughts just because I can

I bought the FTO because it's been my dream car for 10 years. There was many other cars I could have targetted, including GTO's but the FTO is what I wanted because it's got the most amazing looks and is an absolute pleasure to drive. Accellerating in first gear to 8000 revs looks and sounds awesome from the sidelines

General reaction when I tell people it is 10 years old is a dropped jaw. I haven't found one person yet to say, "gee, it's a bit dated isn't it?"

And yes, skyline drivers, etc. under-rate the car thinking it can't do jack. Other drivers over-rate the car because it looks like it could give almost anything a run for it's money.

i find the fto to be really comfortable compared to other cars i've sat in.. and i hear from a lot of ppl that the fto is a "supra wannabe" ... i really dislike people that treat the fto like a bmx bike when they havnt even driven one ..

I totally agreed! I get a lot of crap from ppl saying FTOs are:
1. Girl's car.
2. Supra wannabe
3. Good lookin tin can

It just drives me nuts, i used to drive an GTR R32, no doubt it's power is crazy but it's just too old looking. After i got my FTO, i was so impressed with it, it's no faster than a GTR but at least insurance is low, great looking, fuel economy is great and the ladies just love it.

I suppose that all cars has it's good and bad, just depends what matters to u.

I know that this thread may be very old but ye just wanna add some coments, with owning more cars than people my age , previously owned 2 skylines , 200sx s15 , 2 ftos and many more but every car is different and has their own pros and cons , Fto had always been one of my dream car when little and its still I think a great looking car for its age , it really comes down to what youre looking for , everyone is different so no point putting other peoples car down especially if u drive a RX .

i have to give credit to papaya for his posts, >some< fto owners like to brag on and on. Its so easy to talk about the good aspects of your car, but you have to acknowlege the flaws of it aswell. in some ways i feel the same as he does.

I expected more from the fto - speed wise & wasnt entirely happy when i put the pedal down for the first couple of runs. Then i learnt of its cornering/handling capabilities and that evened everything out, realising that speed isnt always the best thing to have. (but of course i'd love more)

You can get a rush from a 1/4mile run but you can equaly get the same rush pulling away from your mates on the twisty roads up by the mountains.

*deleted comment, didn't realise this thread was 5 years old*

woah this thread is almost 5 years old...

I cop sh!t for the car too... but then I cop sh!t from people who drive Celicas... WTF?

I accept its not the best performer. I reckon it handles good and has more punch than your average car and Ive wanted one ever since I started liking cars (Gran Turismo). 2+ years and still love it.

It is what it is. It will never be faster or cheaper to modify than some other cars. However, I think we can all agree it is one sexy car and thats what we comprimised, looks over speed.

But at the end of the day;
if you own a fto are not happy with it....sell it, simple really
if you dont own one and dont like them...thats cool no one is forcing you too but come for a drive in mine through surfers on a hot sunny day...... then tell me you dont like it

I love all performance cars and DO appreciate them for what they are but there are those people out there that just like to bag out anything they dont have. Just look at boost cruising, peopple pay out anything and everything yet they drive a yaris or getz

Seen this sort of argument around many forums countless times. I agree it is very easy to overrate your own car at times, but it is just as easy for other people underrate your car too.

Its good to that you guys understand the own ups and downs of your own cars. From what I've been reading on this forum, the FTO is a great package for the budget and fuel saving minded, while still bringing in some of the fun aspects to a drive.

I used to have a Civic VTIR and there were always believers and non-believers. In my Evo now, there is just the same thing. STI v Evo, Wrx v Evo, GTR v Evo...PULSAR SSS V EVO!!!

Basically I agree with the above, to each his own castle, and every car has it's ups and downs. For example, I'm sure the FTO get's you feeling like a hero when you take a corner well, the EVO can sometimes leave you feeling a little numb thanks to too much trickery...but then again it ends up further down road faster

I8A4RE wrote: if you own a fto are not happy with it....sell it, simple really

sublime19 wrote:

I8A4RE wrote: if you own a fto are not happy with it....sell it, simple really

haha yeah that was so aimed at you

How on earth did this thread get resurrected ?!

Well anyways, my 2C is the FTO is under-rated. Like a lot of you guys, i used to cop flack for my fto from mates, but soon as i let them drive it or take them for a run, they instantly change their tune.

The fto is quite nice stock, it's when it's balanced modded that it becomes a very capable car (by this, i'm saying power, handling, brakes... keeping these 3 variables in roughly the same league). Having a well balanced modded car allowed me to really drive it hard, have a lot of fun and not get any nasty surprises like going down a straight too fast then having no brakes to stop me or not having the handling to turn and power out of a corner. While driver does come into it, i've left a lot of "higher up" cars behind in touge runs... simply because they always had the power but not the handling or brakes, thus not inspiring confidence making them slow down.

And yes, the FTO is a sexy looking car... it was my first car and it is still the sexiest i've owned imho (compared to 3 MPS and riceline 350gt).

And as for the many posts i see about the FTO not being fast enough on a straight... Really ??? I was 100% happy with mine in terms of straight speed but i did do some weight reduction and it had 116kw atw. Was easy to get under 7 secs to 100, which is turbo hot hatch and aussie 6cyl territory these days, but from a 2L naturally aspirated engine - impressive in my books.

I8A4RE wrote: But at the end of the day;
if you own a fto are not happy with it....sell it, simple really
if you dont own one and dont like them...thats cool no one is forcing you too but come for a drive in mine through surfers on a hot sunny day...... then tell me you dont like it

would love to mate .. but what happened last weekend? was getting all psyched to go..

Oh yeah sorry about that mate i forgot to pm you back, just had some family drama's.

Just got to get some new tires and then will be good to go.

fair enough .. 'tis all good

might hassle you again next week

G1 wrote:it's pretty annoying when someone is always bagging you out for having a FTO for all the wrong reasons. as you can see i kept my calm and reasoned with him with hard facts... but his bias couldn't be swayed...

maybe those extraverted FTO owners are giving out signs making ppl perceive them to be over rated...

i admit that when someone sees a FTO for the first time, it does look FASTER than it really is... so those ppl may over rate them.

but generally people under rate the FTO i think.

Agreed, they do. Drop in a 6A13 and they still do, until you leave them in a cloud of tyre smoke that is...

FTO's are designed for the twisties, straightline really doesn't mean much, unless you are street racing, who cares right?

IMO GPX FTO's have the perfect balance between usable power through the rev range and handling of any factory Japanese car I have ever driven, including GTST Skylines.

I know, that factory Rex's are a damn good piece of kit (still wouldn't be caught dead with one though) but they really are a different league.

Bottom line, FTO's are fantastic, and by far the best FWD car I have ever driven, only slightly less racerish than a TypeR Teg, but they are focus built as a race car, not a road car like the FTO.

Much like delvance, I've been given sh*t by some friends who all changed their mind about my car after a drive.

I can't believe the price they go for these days, it's an absolute steal. Timeless looks, an interior that was mile's ahead of it's time, decent amount of power, superb handling, full electrics, etc...overall a good packaged car.

I don't really understand why fto's get bagged out from other driver's, but then again it took years before aussie's could see through their inefficent, fat and large capacity underpowered carby's to believe in fuel injection and smaller cubes. (Introduction of the sierra rs cosworth and r32 gtr into aus motorsport is proof).

....Getting back to my point though, best I can make of it is people's mentality. For example, if your car came in auto it's considered *~delightful!~*, if your car has a small engine it's a poof-mobile, if it's fwd it's sh*t, if your car's a honda it'll beat anything cause of VTEC YO!!!!!-yo, if it's turbo your car's foolly sik bra, if it's a v8 it means you're automatically a v8 supercar driver and demonstrate this by driving like a complete wank, even to get milk up the road. Come's down to narrow and small minded people both in general and in the car scene really. Swift Gti owner's copped it bad in the 90's yet this was the iconic car which set off the hot hatch and jap car scene.

Anywho enough of my ranting...but basically continuing on to what Simon said:

- If you own an fto and like it, appreciate it and tell people to fck off who put it down
- If you own one and don't like it, fck it off and buy something that you will like....it's
why divorce was invented for marriage....
- If you don't own one you don't have to like it but don't judge and criticise and be a dick

At the end of the day everyone has different taste and every car serves a different purpose or fits a certain need for people. I.M.O. the fto does it nicely all around...no matter what dickheads think...underated or overated...fck it cause it's a good car to people.

Nuff said

well said

yano28 wrote: if it's a v8 it means you're automatically a v8 supercar driver and demonstrate this by driving like a complete wank, even to get milk up the road.

ROFLMFAO. f**ken well said mate. I think i will be still laughing about that tomorrow