Trade 718 GT4 for FL5? (There is a reason for the madness...)

[Tickle]

For those who already have your FL5s, you guys are lucky boys / girls! I have been living vicariously through you all and consuming all the FL5 content on Youtube.

So this may be an alarming title, but there is a method to the madness...bear with me

Context:

• Thinking of offloading the GT4 to have a better "daily" / all weather fun car - also for my long roadtrips, added comfort, winter etc
• Will still have a Porsche remaining
• Also helps with the practicality side, especially thinking of having kids soon-ish
• Other "daily" is X5, but you guys know it is boring
• *When I say "daily", it is not really a daily in the true sense. I live in the city and only drive on weekends

What drew me to the GT4, despite the handling, style, etc was the fantastic shifter. By moving to a FL5, I believe I will still retain that great shifter feel with the added practicality. And the seats will remind me of the LWBS in the GT4.

So based on my use case, I'm I crazy? But more so, it shows how this generation of Type R is really appealing across the enthusiast spectrum. I use to have a hot hatch back in my college days, Mazdaspeed 3. There is something about JDM and hot hatches for sure!

Sweet ride. Do you drive it in Philly? I swore you drove by me in a parking garage near 18th and Market.

 

[qingcong]

I had a 91 NSX, my childhood dream car, and sold it for the FL5. I also added a kid and wanted the utility of a hatchback while still retaining sportiness & fun. The 91 NSX is the coolest car ever, no doubt, except for the Countach maybe. The NSX is cooler than the FL5 and nothing beats the charm and mechanical feel of those 90s Hondas. However, everytime I look at the FL5 and everytime I take the back road I get almost the same rush as I did with the NSX. As I see it, the 2 main drawbacks with the FL5 compared to the NSX are 1) don't get cred in the exotic car community and 2) don't get that 90s visibility and visceral feel. Then there's the minor annoyance of turbo lag. At any rate, the FL5 is a fun car and still makes me smile and feel good.

 

[Midnight-VTEC]

I love my Honda’s but damn I would not sell the GT4!

 

[Djseto]

I sold my 718 GTS for my FL5. With young kids and the way lower consumable costs as an occasional track car, the FL5 made more sense. With respect to the GTS, I don’t miss it one bit. The FL5 is a damn good car for literally less than half the price. Do I miss the sound? Yes. Do it miss it $55k more? No. Now GT4 is a whole other ball park but I’d argue there is no better car that’s does everything well with Honda reliability but real track chops. I haven’t tracked mine yet but @PointByPatrol has and I’ve been on track with him and the FL5 absolutely holds in own. I was lucky to get my car at MSRP with zero extra BS, but this car in an incredible value.

Your first world problems are real ?

 

[JCZ5]

I sold my 718 GTS for my FL5. With young kids and the way lower consumable costs as an occasional track car, the FL5 made more sense. With respect to the GTS, I don’t miss it one bit. The FL5 is a damn good car for literally less than half the price. Do I miss the sound? Yes. Do it miss it $55k more? No. Now GT4 is a whole other ball park but I’d argue there is no better car that’s does everything well with Honda reliability but real track chops. I haven’t tracked mine yet but @PointByPatrol has and I’ve been on track with him and the FL5 absolutely holds in own. I was lucky to get my car at MSRP with zero extra BS, but this car in an incredible value.

Your first world problems are real ?

Exactly, lower consumables, back seats, all win-win

Dump the X5 and get the CTR, unless you are towing the CTR is pretty handy with the hatch.

I replaced my 4Runner with the CTR and it is the 4 season daily.

No can do, wife likes the X5 and that is what she drives. Happy wife, happy life

You seem like a solid dude man.. I’ll help you out. I’ll trade my fl5 for your gt4. But you gotta put cash on top too. You’re welcome bro.

What a generous offer!

Sweet ride. Do you drive it in Philly? I swore you drove by me in a parking garage near 18th and Market.

Nah, that was not me, I rarely drive in Philly. Do you go to C&C outside of Philly? Would love to see your FL5!

I had a 91 NSX, my childhood dream car, and sold it for the FL5. I also added a kid and wanted the utility of a hatchback while still retaining sportiness & fun. The 91 NSX is the coolest car ever, no doubt, except for the Countach maybe. The NSX is cooler than the FL5 and nothing beats the charm and mechanical feel of those 90s Hondas. However, everytime I look at the FL5 and everytime I take the back road I get almost the same rush as I did with the NSX. As I see it, the 2 main drawbacks with the FL5 compared to the NSX are 1) don't get cred in the exotic car community and 2) don't get that 90s visibility and visceral feel. Then there's the minor annoyance of turbo lag. At any rate, the FL5 is a fun car and still makes me smile and feel good.

So I love stories of people who kept their car for years to come. But I also understand when the itch strikes and you want to move on! I have to say the NSX is pretty sweet

I love my Honda’s but damn I would not sell the GT4!

Alas we can't keep everything...

I sold my 718 GTS for my FL5. With young kids and the way lower consumable costs as an occasional track car, the FL5 made more sense. With respect to the GTS, I don’t miss it one bit. The FL5 is a damn good car for literally less than half the price. Do I miss the sound? Yes. Do it miss it $55k more? No. Now GT4 is a whole other ball park but I’d argue there is no better car that’s does everything well with Honda reliability but real track chops. I haven’t tracked mine yet but @PointByPatrol has and I’ve been on track with him and the FL5 absolutely holds in own. I was lucky to get my car at MSRP with zero extra BS, but this car in an incredible value.

Your first world problems are real ?

Exactly, having a lower upkeep cost is also helpful.

 

[Tickle]

Nah, that was not me, I rarely drive in Philly. Do you go to C&C outside of Philly? Would love to see your FL5!

I live near Gettysburg. I have family around Philly and usually get out there once or twice a month. I've never done cars and coffee.

 

[fredzy]

I'll say this about kids - don't buy a car before having kids thinking you'll know what you need. When the kids are babies you're going to have a bucketload of crap - portable bathtub, stroller, pack n play, high chair, diaper bag, god knows what else. You may think you'll be ok with a Civic, you may think "we don't need all that crap", but everything changes when you have that first baby. You'll be using the X5, not a Civic.

Yes, when the kids are older you can think about taking a trip in a Civic, but my wife hating riding in my Sport hatch and the Si, you sit right on the floor and it's bumpy - it's not a comfortable car for passengers - I doubt the Type R is much better.

To the folks that say 'just keep things the way they are, the X5 will be enough for family duty' ... unless dad ends up 100% detached from the duties of child rearing (doubtful, sounds like he will be an actual parent ?) having only one vehicle capable of handling kids in this situation would be nuts. CTR is a perfectly usable family car for 1-2 kids, or like me, with 3+ but never used for hauling the entire family. I'm actually considering the 5-seater conversion mod just to be able to do it if I want to.

OP: I didn't see if you mentioned - is the GT3 a manual? If not, that would make for a real conundrum if I were in your shoes. Any GT3 manual from 997 (dearest to my heart) to the 992 would mean letting go of the GT4 for something more practical is an easy decision. Unlikely you will regret that FL5. If the GT3 is PDK, much more complicated.

I also really feel for you re: not having good access to driving roads. I practically live out in the country but somehow there aren't any good twisties within 20-30 minutes of me. That might not sound far but getting away for a proper spirited drive ends up being a once in a blue moon kind of thing. ? It really sucks having the hardware and not being able to use it.

 

[JCZ5]

To the folks that say 'just keep things the way they are, the X5 will be enough for family duty' ... unless dad ends up 100% detached from the duties of child rearing (doubtful, sounds like he will be an actual parent ?) having only one vehicle capable of handling kids in this situation would be nuts. CTR is a perfectly usable family car for 1-2 kids, or like me, with 3+ but never used for hauling the entire family. I'm actually considering the 5-seater conversion mod just to be able to do it if I want to.

OP: I didn't see if you mentioned - is the GT3 a manual? If not, that would make for a real conundrum if I were in your shoes. Any GT3 manual from 997 (dearest to my heart) to the 992 would mean letting go of the GT4 for something more practical is an easy decision. Unlikely you will regret that FL5. If the GT3 is PDK, much more complicated.

I also really feel for you re: not having good access to driving roads. I practically live out in the country but somehow there aren't any good twisties within 20-30 minutes of me. That might not sound far but getting away for a proper spirited drive ends up being a once in a blue moon kind of thing. ? It really sucks having the hardware and not being able to use it.

GT3 is a manual, so yeah, the GT4 and GT3 hold the same rarified space. Unless I was thinking of collecting, it does not make sense to hold on to both...at least that is what I tell myself

A local dealer just texted me they just got a sonic blue FL5. Will probably go and check it out this weekend. Doubt I will get a test drive, but some more seat time will not hurt.

 

[qingcong]

This thread got me realizing that the FL5/DE5 have addressed a neglected market segment - car enthusiasts who are parents who want utility and fun at the same time. With a 2 door sports car you have fun but not utility. With an SUV/van you have utility but not fun. There aren't many cars that combine fun+utility; the FL5/DE5, Golf R & GTI, GRC, maybe Kona N. The Golf and Corolla are a little lacking on trunk space for me to consider them for utility.

Well this isn't exactly true. For 100k+ we get into RS6, AMG E class wagon, Porsche Taycan hatchback territory.

 

[TW00Si]

I'll say this about kids - don't buy a car before having kids thinking you'll know what you need. When the kids are babies you're going to have a bucketload of crap - portable bathtub, stroller, pack n play, high chair, diaper bag, god knows what else. You may think you'll be ok with a Civic, you may think "we don't need all that crap", but everything changes when you have that first baby. You'll be using the X5, not a Civic.

Yes, when the kids are older you can think about taking a trip in a Civic, but my wife hating riding in my Sport hatch and the Si, you sit right on the floor and it's bumpy - it's not a comfortable car for passengers - I doubt the Type R is much better.

This is so true. My son is only 2 and I remember in the first year, just going to grandma’s for the weekend meant packing the car (FK8) to the brim. Having a wife that likes to bring everything also doesn’t help. So if you have 2 kids, the amount of crap to haul increases, not exponentially I hope.

 

[TW00Si]

I have a few Rubicon 392s as my family performance SUVs... They aren't the greatest but my family loves them.

So many questions seeing this. Questions like, how big is your family? Did you have problems deciding a color? Are you planning to start a militia? Are you planning for the zombie apocalypse?

 

[Cornercarver]

Good problem to have. I prefer the mid-engine balance of the Cayman/Boxster line, but it would be hard to part with a GT3.

Perhaps you don't need the X5 if you get the FL5? Given the storage space of the FL5.

As for the Type R shifter and clutch - excellent as advertised, but lighter than on the Porsche, easy to live with, but maybe not quite as engaging in feel.

The CTR is very capable - but requires a different approach than your GT4 or GT3 to extract the most out of it. Part of the fun is honing your driving technique to accomplish just that.

Good luck on the hunt. Looking forward to hearing how it works out.

 

[fredzy]

This is so true. My son is only 2 and I remember in the first year, just going to grandma’s for the weekend meant packing the car (FK8) to the brim. Having a wife that likes to bring everything also doesn’t help. So if you have 2 kids, the amount of crap to haul increases, not exponentially I hope.

For us, going from 1 to 2 kids the gear haul went down. Because by then we were experienced and didn't bring unnecessary crap. That said, we also switched from SUV to minivan by then. A minivan for 2 kids might seem like overkill but it is among the best choices I've ever made in life. And then if you do have more, no sweat. Not to mention how easy things get once they're jumping in and out in cleats etc.

 

[CTRifecta]

I drive my 4 and 7 yr old around in the CTR all the time as it's my DD. Going to and from school, to soccer practice etc. I've protected the interior quite a bit for spills and whatever but also accepted that as a DD it's just not going to be pristine.

I think OP should get the fl5 and sell the gt4, especially since he has a gt3

 

[optronix]

This thread got me realizing that the FL5/DE5 have addressed a neglected market segment - car enthusiasts who are parents who want utility and fun at the same time. With a 2 door sports car you have fun but not utility. With an SUV/van you have utility but not fun. There aren't many cars that combine fun+utility; the FL5/DE5, Golf R & GTI, GRC, maybe Kona N. The Golf and Corolla are a little lacking on trunk space for me to consider them for utility.

Well this isn't exactly true. For 100k+ we get into RS6, AMG E class wagon, Porsche Taycan hatchback territory.

The $100k+ mark panders to an entirely different demographic. These are not engaging sports cars you're listing. They're luxury GT cars at best and overrated German muscle cars at worst. The M3/M4 arguably could be (mostly because it's available with a manual, sort of...), but the G8x generation doesn't do it at all for me, they've basically become the new M5 with worse styling. I'd take my ITS over a G80 M3 even if they were offered at the same price point.

I also would (and did) take my 95B.3 Macan GTS over all those cars listed but I've already covered that in the other thread. (Money no object the RS6 would get a solid look, but not at $150k vs a $100k Macan GTS)

Sponsored