Front-wheel-drive performance cars are a controversial topic. Ask a Mini or VW GTI aficionado, and they’ll tell you FWD is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Muscle car enthusiasts, on the other hand, often shun anything driven at the “wrong” end. One thing everyone can agree on, though, is that it’s no fun when the front wheels yank the steering wheel out of your hands on hard acceleration – the dreaded “torque steer.” Today, we’re going to check out a couple of high-powered FWD cars guaranteed to make you wrestle with them.
Yesterday was all about second chances, and which of two abandoned projects deserved one. You’re a brave lot, I’ll tell you that – the old Rolls-Royce won in a landslide. Ain’t nothing like the real thing, I guess.
I agree. A cheap kit car would be a fun thing to tinker with, but not that one. I’d rather have something VW-based; it just seems like an easier way to go, and if you end up hating the body that’s on it, you can always swap it out. A beached whale of a Rolls-Royce would be a massive undertaking, but at least it might class up the place sitting there dead.
Nearly every car manufacturer switched to a transverse engine and front-wheel-drive during the 1980s, for one reason: packaging. Put all the driveline components at one end, and you have the whole rest of the car for people and cargo. But using the same wheels to drive as you use to steer can be a tricky business, especially when you crank up the horsepower. Careful engineering can tame most of a FWD car’s bad habits, but there’s still a chance it will want to go straight when you want to turn. It’s an unnerving sensation, and some people just hate it. If you’re one of them, then I’m afraid today’s cars might not be for you. But let’s check them out, and see if you can give them a fair shake.
1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo – $4,995
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.2-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Hillsboro, OR
Odometer reading: 118,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Whatever you think of the old Chrysler K-based cars – and I know most of you aren’t fans – you have to give Chrysler credit for making a lot with a little. They’re kind of like Taco Bell: Everything is the same eight ingredients, but somehow they keep coming up with new menu items. What we have here is something that can’t rightly be called a sports car, but I think it’s fair to call it a pony car. The Daytona, and its sister model the Chrysler Laser, may have been K-cars under the skin, but that skin looked mighty good, and still does today.
1984 was the first year for Chrysler’s turbocharged 2.2 liter engine. It made 142 horsepower, a figure that would climb to great heights in later years, but take it from a former ’84 Laser Turbo owner – this car has plenty of power. This one has received a lot of love: the seller has rebuilt everything, and restored all the mechanical systems to like-new condition. Apparently they run a restoration shop. A Dodge Daytona may seem like an unlikely car to receive such treatment to some of you, but I for one am delighted to see it.
The Daytona isn’t much like a garden-variety K car inside, either. It has nice leather bucket seats, all kinds of fancy power options, and, possibly, the talking Electronic Message Center. That’s right: this car’s doors might very well be jars. It’s in really good shape inside, though there is evidence of Chrysler’s haphazard build quality everywhere. It’s just something you deal with on a car like this, and really, it’s no worse than a Jaguar or an Alfa Romeo of the same vintage.
The paint is pretty dull, and I don’t know how well it would shine back up. It must have been parked outside for a long time. You could repaint it, but you’d have to find someone to reproduce those “Turbo” graphics on the bottom of the doors. It wouldn’t be complete without them.
2009 Chevrolet Impala SS – $4,200
Engine/drivetrain: 5.3-liter OHV V8, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Manor, TX
Odometer reading: 154,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Impala nameplate has a long history behind it. It was introduced in 1958 as the top-of-the-line full-size Chevy, and has come and gone a couple of times over the years. In 2000, Chevy brought back the Impala name on a new front-wheel-drive sedan, much to the chagrin of classic Chevy fans.
A high-performance Super Sport version of the Impala is a tradition dating all the way back to 1960. The FWD Impala SS debuted in 2004, with a supercharged 3800 V6, but when the bodystyle changed in 2006, Chevy upped the ante. This 2009 Impala SS has a 5.3 liter LS4 V8 under its hood, sending 303 horsepower to the front wheels. It can run low 14s in the quarter mile – for as long as the transmission holds up. They’re notorious for failing. This one has recently had its transmission replaced, so it should be good to go for a while, but be nice to it if you want it to last.
It shows some wear inside. The carpet is rough, and there’s a popped seam on the driver’s seat. But the seller says the heat and air conditioning work just fine, so that’s something. Make sure you try out all the power features to find out if anything is broken.
This ad has terrible photos, but from what I can tell the car is in good condition outside. Photographing a car in the rain is an old trick to make it look shiny, but it can’t hide peeling clearcoat, and I don’t see any signs of that. It does have some deeply-tinted windows, which you may or may not like. It’ll cost you around a hundred bucks to have it taken off.
So on the one hand, you have a turbocharged FWD car from a time when automakers were still trying to tame its bad habits, and on the other you have a V8-powered beast that eats transmissions. Either one will show you some bad habits if you push it hard enough. But both could be a lot of fun to drive despite those bad habits. Which one speaks to you?
The Daytona could be the poster child for the “drive a slow car fast” mantra. Plus it stamps your ticket for entering Radwood shows. At first it seemed overpriced, but (in today’s ever inflated used car market) it seems to be priced on the high side of reasonable for it’s seemingly stock condition.
As for the Impala, as others have said, it’s just a used Chevy with a V8. If you want a V8 coupled to a slush-box, there are better choices for the money.
80s torque steer cars are an amazing roller coaster ride – they may be objectively slow, but subjectively, they feel like a performance beast, if only b/c they force your constant engagement with the driving.
And while it’s easy to point out the Daytona was the car of choice for Sgt. DeeDee McCall, I’ll add that Tommy Lee Jones’ professional thief drove one (as his personal car anyway) in the forgotten but fun Black Moon Rising.
Love that Daytona. It looks a lot like the ’86 Turbo Z my uncle had when I was a kid. More recently (like two weeks ago) I was at a local C&C and met the owner of a pristine ’85 Turbo Z with 1300 (yes hundred) miles on it. This one was loaded including functional voice warnings, AND it was the maroon/silver two tone paint scheme just like the ones driven by Hunter’s partner, the villain in The Wraith, and Frank Sinatra in Cannonball Run II.
The Daytona is like a bag of taco-flavored Doritos – kinda crappy but lots of fun.
These cars were a guilty pleasure back in the day. Everybody knew they were made of K-car spam, but they were way more entertaining than they should have been. Bonus was they could humiliate more respectable competitors like same-year Mustangs and Camaros.
Today, a survivor Daytona turbo, with nice patina, all the oily bits fixed, and a pretty nice interior, is an irresistible junk food snack. I betcha it’ll be the belle of the ball at car shows.
When I worked in the US I was told that my hire car for the next month was going to be a Chevy Impala. I was so excited.
But it was 2007, and the car was, in all fairness, a crushing disappointment. It felt a bit like a Vauxhall Vectra (I had one of those abominations in the late 90’s as a company car) but with all the working features removed, and the entire interior made from plastics that managed to feel both extremely hard, but also flimsy. I remember being appalled that the rear face of the gear shifter was just hollow. It felt ridiculously cheap for a primary control.
I did an indicated 120mph burnout in it in the snow, but even that wasn’t much fun.
So I’ll pick the other one. It can’t be worse, but even if it is it’ll be a surprise because I know nothing about it.
Good call. Daytonas are raw in the good way, kinda like a 70s Ford Capri but with a thoroughly cheaper interior.
Ages ago I went to visit family in NI and they asked what I’d got to drive around, and I mentioned it was a Vectra.
They gave me a look of bewilderment: “why?”
Honestly, it was perfectly cromulent for toting around 4 people and luggage. But it did not spark joy.
A buddy of mine when I was Active Duty USAF had the Chrysler Laser version of that Dodge – Same great color combo too.
These even have sun visors for the rear seats – Like a 928.
This is an easy choice.
I’m not a Dodge fan but those 80’s turbo cars are actually not bad and a lot of fun.The Daytona/Laser are the nicest looking except for maybe the Conquest which is really a Mitsubishi anyway.
Dad had an ’88 Daytona Pacifica Turbo that had focused ditch-seeking affinities. I learned how to manage it as a new driver, so Daytona for me!
Gotta be the dodge for me, just going to be a lot more fun. The problem I have with the impala SS is that as a modern car, you’d be cross shopping way better cars. If you want a somewhat modern v8 cruiser, you’d be out of your mind not to get a Mercedes E500, BMW 540/50, a Lincoln MKVIII or Crown vic over this, all within reasonable price range and age. They’ve all depreciated enough to be affordable and the Impala is the bottom of the list from a driving and reliability perspective…unless you were also looking at their Northstar brethren….
You make a good point, most other 80s turbo compacts are unobtanium (944 Turbo, Escort Turbo, Saab 900 Turbo) and the K-car is probably the shittiest, but also the cheapest by a lot.
Meanwhile, 2000s V8 full-size sedans are easy to come by, and the Impala doesn’t stand out in its segment for quality, performance, styling, comfort or price. It costs the same as a Town Car, let alone the Crown Vic, and is dangerously close to the entry price of a Charger R/T, if you really need a pushrod engine. I have a feeling most people in the market for one have a regurgitative reaction to the idea of owning an import, but I’d take the E500 if I had to pick from that segment. Even the early ones won’t rust as promptly as a Chevy, anyway.
Daytona all day. My DIL had an Impala. Had, and was glad to see the back of it.
Much experience here with the Daytonas.
Not scared a bit. Easy to work on.
And a very rare sight on the streets today.
42 years later it still looks great, really a timeless design to me.
The Chevy.
NFW.
Someone else said it better than I can: “they are the GM version of the Altima.”
In my neck of the hood it’s common to see both the Altima and the Impala sitting in the same front yard, both on blocks…
I’ll stand by my choice but YMMV as usual.
There was a time when you could find true cream puff W-body Impalas because they were bought new by old people who didn’t drive them much but still kept up on maintenance. These days, not so much. The second through fourth owners tended to treat these cars with the same TLC they would with a rental.
“they are the GM version of the Altima.”
I always viewed the Malibu that way. I’m not sure what a regular Impala is analogous to, but this SS has beater CVT Maxima vibes. Maximas started out as the sophisticated alternative to a German in the 90s but once they went CVT they inherited some Big Energy from their little brother.
Good points. Not sure if I read you right, but the Maximas actually were an early 1980’s car in the US. But they may have appeared in Japan and other places before we got them. I was working at a Nissan dealer in 1984 and remember them well. It was a pretty damn nice ride with some well spaced gear ratios, and remarkable handling for a sedan.
The inline 6 was the same as the Z car had. And the 5 speed manuals were really precise and short throws.
With no apologies offered I just really think the Impalas sucked.
I’ll take the one with a stick and a muthafuckin’ boost gauge.
BRING BACK BOOST GAUGES.
Absolutely. I always enjoyed watching the needle flip about during normal driving but then purposefully climb under acceleration so I could anticipate the whoosh as it hit yellow.
Both. I voted for the Daytona because I find it more interesting, but I also can’t pass up a cheap and more modern vehicle with a really nice V8. That’s quite a 1-2 combo for fun oddball vehicles.
I’d almost vote for the Chevy just for those monoblock wheels, some of the best wheels GM has produced in my opinion, but asside from that and the novelty of the V8, this car isnt all that interesting to me. It’s just a generic American sedan with mediocre dynamics, middling build quality and forgettable styling.
On the other hand, the Daytona is just too much a blast from my childhood to resist. Yeah it’s a crapcan, 80’s econobox in a sporty costume, but they were fun to drive and it would be a great weekend car. Also, for some irational reason I loved the looks of the Daytona as a kid and still want one as a toy to this day. I’d rather find one with the T Tops but for the price this would do.
This is actually kind of tough.
Daytona:
Pro: It could be entertaining if you do some modifications to turn up the wick on the turbo, which is pretty simple for this car. It also has a 5-speed. Somehow, amazingly, a 1980s-era Chrysler product is running in the year 2026.
Con: ‘Running’ does not mean reliable, especially for anything Chrysler from the ’80s. That 5-speed has all the precision of a wooden spoon in molasses, and is about as fun to shift. Turning up the boost on 80’s performance mostly means ‘can keep up with modern economy car’.
Impala:
Pro: V8. New transmission. It’s a 2000s car, so it’s better screwed together and may not ruin your life by being broken all the time.
Con: That transmission will fail. The rest of the car is an Impala from the 2000s, so driving excitement mostly means mashing the loud pedal and keeping the wheels pointed straight. Fixing stuff will be horrible, because packaging.
Conclusion: Impala. The new transmission gives you some time to hoon it, or use it for winter, but it’s old and cruddy enough to not feel that guilty about putting the minimum of maintenance into until the transmission pops….again.
Daytona is gonna have way more road feel than the Impala. Plus, those 2.2 litre turbo’s were an absolute blast to drive. The turbo K-cars had no right to be as fun as they were… but they were fun.
I went with the Impala because it’s more modern, but I keep thinking I chose the wrong one. That Daytona is much nicer, at least on the surface. It’s got less power, but it has enough and you get to manage it with the manual transmission.
A 4-speed auto was lame in my 1998 model year car and it sure as shit is lame in 2009.
I voted Daytona. Looks like a fun car to tinker with and make better.
I’ll take the Impala. Even if just to drive it until I can find a Fiero GT for the engine.
Mopar for me today. Chevy has never made a seat I found comfortable.
Buy the Impala, enjoy it as long as the trans holds up, then put the motor into a Fiero or MR2 Spyder and continue enjoying it.
This is a good take, especially the Fiero part. Throw it into an ’88 GT and you’ll have something.
I bought an ’84 Plymouth Turismo 2.2, which was a total POS as soon as I drove it off of the showroom floor. I don’t care if they created another Ship of Theseus by replacing every mechanical part because the NOS parts are the same crappy quality. I will take the Impala, knowing I will be replacing the transmission. However, the Impala I would really want is the last model year of this generation where I could get the 3.6-liter V6 and 6-speed automatic.
I lean towards Vlad the Impala. The transmission is a worry, but if it goes, I still have a very compact LS motor to sell or cram into something compact.
I’d hate to have to change the plugs though. It does NOT look easy.
Problem is, that version of the LS is unique and will not bolt up to a RWD transmission. At least, not without some sort of adapter or modification. Probably cheaper and easier to get a normal LS.
It works as a swap into a rear engine vehicle. That’s the best use of it after the original car dies IMO. Fieros are a popular recipient and there was a guy who went viral about a decade ago after plopping one into a DeLorean.
Would it even fit sideways in a Delorean? Those things have a longitudinal transmission that’s part of the rear suspension, and the backbone frame is firmly in the middle of that.
I had a Conquest in the 80s and Daytonas always felt like ripoffs so I’m not inclined to vote for that.
In the late 00s I had a job that gave me an Impala of this era as a company car. That was the most unreliable sled I’ve ever had to drive. It was never anything major but it was always something: one window wouldn’t roll down anymore, trunk release, HVAC issues… usually something electrical which ultimately lead to the occasional dead battery. I’m not inclined to relive that experience either so I’ll abstain today.
GM’s electronics in the ’00s were somehow worse than 1970s British cars with Lucas’ Electronics.
I had a Buick Rendevous for a while that had more electrical gremlins than an Atari 2600 with aluminum foil jammed into the cartridge slot.
That was the vehicle that firmly cemented me in the GM hater camp.
I think what made it worse for me was I never wanted that company car. I was happy driving my 10yo Tacoma and getting reimbursed for the mileage. They forced that car on me which took up space in my driveway but came with so many restrictions that it was barely functional for me, on top of breaking down at least once a month. One of those restrictions was that I couldn’t fix it myself or tell the garage to just do what it needs. I had to call the leasing company and they would then direct the dealership to do the least amount of work possible to get it back on the road again which meant it was just going to break again in a few weeks. I resented everything about that experience and the Impala represents that resentment.
I’ve convinced myself that the Daytona will make me smile everytime I try to powershift from 1st to 2nd. Add an obnoxiously loud BOV, and I’d happily drive around with the windows down.
I’m also convinced that the Impala will make me cringe every time I mash the pedal and the front wheels either just spin, or the transmission shift lags and then drops too low or not far enough. It’s also an impala.
Yeah, the V8 isn’t enough to make up for that 4 speed slushbox. The Daytona has vibes for days and the Impala is just another car. They’re also kinda like Chevy’s Altima, them and the Malibu’s live very rough lives. And it’s not like FWD V8’s are all that rare. Cadillac did it forever.