I am looking for peoples opinions on a 2000 2.5RS compared to a 2000 Celica GT-S

Umm, Toyotas suck, Subies RULE!

The Celica is lighter, more powerful and faster I believe. It's been praised for it's handling. It's rather easy to modify. It's also apparently kinda easy to blow the motor downshifting in the 6-speed. Very High Revving. Staying in the powerband very difficult.

The RS is a very different beast. Also praised for it's handling. Not as easy to modify. Can be made to handle very well, but making more power is somewhat expensive. Very Torquey

On the street, the traction of the RS far outweighs any disadvantage it has over the GT-S. The GT-S costs a LOT more than an RS if you want the essential options. Both are nice cars. RS looks better, and is equally fun even though it's slower. RS is more versatile, IMO, even tho the GTS is hatchback. I personally wouldn't consider the Celica because it is FWD.

I test drove a celica gts before I bought my 2001rs and it was fun to drive after 5000rpm, it was raining when I drove it and it would just spin tires like crazy. it might be different driving the celica in the dry but I just love my RS torque and AWD.

later
STRAP

I've been in a prototype TRD Celica on a track. I was impressed. Much crisper turn in and higher G's than my Impreza, even with my road race suspension. But then, the Impreza isn't that kind of car.

The Celica's engine pulls nicely, even at over 80-90mph. Falling off the more agressive lobe is a problem, though. Surprised they (TRD) haven't come out with an ECU mod yet.

Which one is faster around the track? I'm certain that the Celica I was in was faster than I was. Granted, there was a professional driver at the helm, and he'd always be faster than me unless there was a big disparity in cars.

What if the drivers were of equal ability? Hard to say. I think I could get on the power sooner coming out of turns, but that's about it. I guess it would depend on the track in that case. Something really twisty, and I might stand a chance, otherwise, the Celica would probably out-power me, if nothing else.

I usually don't like to get into the "which is faster" type debates, but I was just in that Celica, and thought I'd comment. No flames, please. It's just an opinion.

The celica has more power and will be quicker in a straight line.

the celica is FWD which is hellah lame :)

the rs is AWD which is cool :)

Well my girlfriend just bought a 2000 Celica GT-S but its and automatic with a sport shift (F1 pedals) and to me it was really quick (I had a 4 banger jeep wrangler at the time) the car is really nice inside fit and finish but it doesn’t have the personality the RS does plus you wont see every high school and college kid diving one next time you go out. There is not really a strong aftermarket yet for it but IMHO one is developing very quickly. Her buying that car is what got me to buy a RS though. :D

the celica might have an edge performance wise... but asthetically, damn its just fugly! the thing that bugs me the most about it are the headlights... someone was puffing the crackpipe when they put those on there... same thing with the new generation honda prelude... ick!

Both are great cars. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

I can say I (legally) drag raced a MY2000 GTS and beat it! Why? Because my reaction time was better than his!

Here are the numbers:
(GTS then mine - MY2000 RS)
R/T - 1.298 vs. 0.731 (this is why I won!!!)
60' - 2.450 vs. 2.085
330 - 6.702 vs. 6.375
1/8 - 10.116 vs. 9.928
MPH - 72.51 - 69.49
1000 - 13.022 vs 13.000
1/4 - 15.506 vs. 15.603 (ET time)
MPH - 91.17 vs. 86.78

I beat him by .4704 seconds at the end of the 1/4 mile.

As you can see by the numbers, if we took off EXACTLy at the same time, I would have beaten him at the 1/8 mi. section, but after that, he clearly would have beaten me at the longer distance of 1/4 mi. Being able to do a 5k launch with AWD helps too!

I remember as we were running down the track, I could see him next to me about 1/2 car length behind me. He was ever-so-slowly gaining on me at the end of the run.

My mods are just a K&N panel filter, a PDM intake, and a Stromung dual tip exhaust (axel back only).

I'm not too sure what mods exactly the guy had, but he did have a S-AFC fuel computer. He was in the process of tuning it though and this wasn't one of his better runs. I don't know what his best run is.

Hope this gives you some hard numbers to make your judgement by.

Again, both cars have their strengths and weaknesses.

LaterZ!
Darren!!

only reason I'm even considering the celica because its a 6 speed with 180 horses

Well the SE-R Spec-V, RSX Type-S, and Focus SVT all will be Six Speed...

Have you sat in one and looked left, right and behind you? That was the main thing I disliked about the new Celica: limited visibility.

Shinji N

Let an Experienced RS owner take you down a twisty dirt road.
This will sell you on the car. Even in the dry, there's nothing like kicking the tail out in an RS(with a new rear swaybar, granted) and being totally confident that you can bring it back with ease. The RS(w/ 20mm rear sway bar) is a nuetral handling car, while the celica is an understearing spaceship. I've seen them both in action at auto-x's and on the street. The celica also seems to have a lot more body roll too(yes the GTS). The real problem comes when comparing price. The GTS 6-speed costs about the same as a WRX. Theres really no comparison there. You would probably be happier with the subie, I know I am. You would not be disappointed with the Celica either though, its still a nice car, just a totally different animal.

The RS(w/ 20mm rear sway bar) is a nuetral handling car, while the celica is an understearing spaceship.

I would say MOST unmodified cars understeer (including the RS). That's just they way they're tuned from the factory. I would also say that most cars can be tuned to oversteer or be neutral (including the Celica). The TRD Celica I was in definitely tended toward oversteer. Perhaps a bit too much -- but that car was under development.

Personally, I like the 2.5RS, of course. But the Celica can be just as fast or faster around a track.

Oh, and I second the comment about poor visibility in the Celica. Give me the Impreza's greenhouse anyday. Much easier to drive fast if you can see.

The only Celica I would want would be the old AllTrac Turbo.

Or if you could afford it, get the new 2001 Celica with the sport appearance package ... "it looks fast while standing still" ! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Brad

My wife has a 2000 Celica GT with a 5spd. The one thing I really hate about that car is the exhaust note. It's like a buzzing sound, sort of like an electric weed whacker. If you look close, the muffler is right behind the driver seat positioned sideways, and the tailpipe runs almost a third the length of the car! That's why that thing is so damn loud! It really gets annoying past 5k rpm, and that really sux when you have such a high revving engine like the celica does...

High revving, noisy. =)

the Celica GT-S was in the running for me when I was shopping. I chose a Scooby. the GT-S is marginally faster, but harder to keep in the power band. It's been alternately described as a go-cart, and as a rolling blind-spot (I guess it's a little hard to see out of) Handles better than a stock RS, but I don't know how much of that is attributable to tires. :D

AWD and the agressive styling of the RS won me over.

When I chose my RS I was also considering the Celica GT-S. I liked the six-speed and the higher hp number, but the tourque and AWD in the RS sold me. To me, it felt faster and has a much cooler following.:D