Gidday,

I have already posted this question on a Pommie forum and received some good replies but I am keen on getting an Aussie perspective.

Shortly I'll buy a 75 as my car, the families second. It will be for road use only, spirited of course.

The budget is small but I'll pay a far price for a fair car. That leaves a 2.0l TS or a 2.5l V6. The 3.0l will be out of my price range.

The big question is which model to buy. It'll have to be a manual (no V6 autos thanks).

Please everyone, personal comments on each. Which one is the best balance of performance, handling, reliability, servicabilty and the all important 'grin factor'.

I'm in Qld and there seems to be a lack of available cars but I'm prepared to wait.

One last question. Was a factory sunroof offered in Aus. I have seen cars advertised with both glass and steel sunroofs. I'm keen on one.

Thanks, Mick

Hey Mick,
I drive a 75 Twin Spark, its great fun around town and also fairly good on petrol.
The Twin Spark also comes with an LSD, and the 2.5 V6 does not.

Not sure what else to tell you, but hopefully this will motivate others to contribute.

Mick,

I have also owned the 3.0 and the twinspark. The 3.0 did make a sensational noise and had tremendous straight line speed but the twinnie, in my opinion is a better alrounder. I realise you are tossing up between the 2.5 and the 2.0 but I make the comparison as it is still V6 vs 4cyl.

The twinspark is cheaper to run, register and generally repair. It has a decent amount of power, great handling and tremendous feel. I recently bought a 2005 156 TI and to be honest, I wish it was a three year old 75 twinspark!

I converted my twinnie into a club racer and have had an awesome time with it. It has been a great experience learning the fine details of the models as I've slowly made modifications. The twinspark motor in standard form mixes it on the track with several of the modified 4 plug 2 litres.

And yes, they did come with sunroofs as an option in Australia.

I think Julian Lord has a twinspark that he is currently looking to sell in Brisbane. There is very little that Julian doesn't know about twinnies and he has done most of the work on mine. Send me a PM is you would like his details.

Regards,

Brent

hey mick,

a friend of mine has a TS and I think as a daily, it does a much better job then the v6. personally i havnt driven any 2.5s but from what i can gather, it will cost more when things go wrong and will use more fuel. the 2.5 gives you around the same performance for more fuel. The LSD would sell it for me, there is nothing worse then putting your foot down and spinning the inside wheel like i do in my volvo .

i just bought a 3.0L for the weekend but if i were to replace my daily volvo, the TS would win. its more balanced compared to the v6 as well.

dont worry about the noise factor, i think the TS sounds great anyways!

i've seen some nice ones around lately, there is one in adelaide on car sales that looks good, but he wants a lot for it. you can snap up a good one really cheap if you dont mind a few scratches here and there

good luck!

deano