Archived Comparison
From the December 1992 Issue of Car and Driver
In April, we brought you another installment in our search for the best sports coupe. After days of sliding through switchbacks on the Angeles Crest Highway in California, we crowned the Eagle Talon TSi as king of the two-plus-twos. Of course, the honor extended to the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX and the Plymouth Laser RS Turbo AWD, because the three cars are nearly identical, built at the same Diamond-Star plant in Normal, Illinois. The Diamond-Star's win over a strong field, including Honda's Prelude Si, Nissan's 240SX SE, and five other affordable coupes, reaffirmed its place on four previous C/D Ten Best lists.
Since then, the Diamond-Star's class-leading performance has been challenged by four redesigned competitors. Honda has bettered the Prelude with a new variable-valve timing system and 30 more horsepower. Ford and Mazda have birthed a new Probe and MX-6, both built on the same assembly line in Flat Rock, Michigan, but strikingly different in character and mission. Volkswagen has boosted the power of its Corrado by cramming the zesty VR6 engine under its hood.
We dealt ourselves a hand of the four new contenders, plus the previous champ, and headed for southeastern Ohio to find out if any of these new high-revving, intimately sized two-doors could knock the Diamond-Star AWD from the top perch. Back in Michigan, we added some track time at Chrysler's Chelsea road course to the customary route. And in the end, a new winner emerged.
It wasn't easy. Among our four editors, three different cars received the nod for first place. The final tally of votes put just nine points between first and fifth place. Here's how they finished:
