Used Car Reviews: Mazda MX5 Miata

The Mazda Miata review can now be seen here.

New Fun Cheap Cars Contributor: Welcome Dan Crouch

FunCheapCars.com is pleased to welcome Dan Crouch as our newest fun cheap car aficionado and site contributor. Dan brings to the site a trunk load of knowledge about used sports cars and cars in general, even those with both zing and a little bling. And in addition to knowing just about all there is to know about cars (even buying and selling them online), he's also an aspiring amateur motorsports driver as well (that's his orange Volkswagen Rabbit pictured)

Dan will be posting about a variety of automotive and car topics, ranging from engine swaps to buying cars online, and will no doubt carve out a unique niche for himself here on FunCheapCars.com. Welcome to FunCheapCars.com Dan!

We're always looking for like-minded used car and driving enthusiasts to join our team! If you've got a passion for fun, cheap cars and enjoy blogging, drop us a line!

Subaru Legacy Review

Subaru Legacy MkI (First Generation)
Type: 5 door wagon, 4 door sedan
Years: 1989-1994
Bling Rating: 0.5/5
Zing Rating: 3.4/5
Price Rating: 2.8/5
FunCheapFactor: 4.76

The Subaru Legacy is something of an automotive phenomenon: sold in various trim levels around the world and raced in the World Rally Championship (WRC), it is fast, sporty, handsome, practical, reliable, tunable, and eminently raceable. It wasn't always so.

The first generation Subaru Legacy wasn't exactly handsome or fast. But these days at least it's cheap, and thanks to the legendary reliability of Subaru cars in general and the long lived all wheel drive system, the first generation Subaru Legacy is still all kinds of fun to drive.

Most often seen in wagon guise in North America, there were a fairly substantial number of Legacy sedans sold as well, and most first generation Subaru Legacy cars (wagon and sedan) came with grunty turbo-charged SOHC 4 cylinder boxer engines pumping out an acceptable 163 bhp. Mated to a close ratio Subaru 5-speed stick-shift tranny, the torque-rich boxer engine pulled well at lower rpm and revved nicely to the limit.

Compared to the turbo charged 2.0 litre boxer engines mounted in the European and Japanese Subaru Legacy however, the North American version was nothing to write home about. But it was a solid contender, as turbo charged cars were comparably rare on North American roads. Coupled with Subaru's all wheel drive system, the Subaru Legacy was a popular car in virtually every snowy or frosty urban centre.

Used first-generation Subaru Legacy prices have dropped in recent years, and while this is good for bargain hunters, mileage tends to be high as the first generation Subaru Legacy in particular has a capacity to keep going and going--and many are.

But if you're looking for a fun, cheap car, odds are you'll find plenty of first generation Subaru Legacy's to choose from as plenty were sold around the world. Marketed as a luxury car, most Subaru Legacy editions also came loaded with features and accessories, so you'll have lots to play with (or tear out, as the case may be).

With a rich World Rally racing heritage seen in the all wheel drive system, independent four wheel suspension, and turbo-charged boxer engine, the first generation Subaru Legacy makes an ideal fun cheap car. It has potential, practicality, performance, and a fairly low price--delivering a lot for the used car dollar.

And a 1990 Legacy wagon, lowered 1 inch ($0), with spray-painted semi-gloss steel wheels ($15), self-tinted windows ($20), used low profile tires ($100), and a home-made cat-back exhaust ($50) with a cheap turbo muffler ($35) looks and sounds as good as it drives. Just a thought...

Car Bloggers Wanted

If fun cheap cars are your thing, if you know how to string a sentence together, and if you've got a little time online to spare, consider blogging for Fun Cheap Cars.

We're enhancing our site to include more hands-on mods, more auto industry news, more car reviews, and more of just about everything else related to owning, buying, using, maintaining, and abusing fun cheap cars.

If you have a passion for used cars, saving your coin, and for writing about both, we're looking for you! We need 2-4 individuals to contribute at least once post a week, about 50 to 400 words in length, covering auto industry news, technical tips, vehicle mods, product reviews, and anything else related to fun, cheap cars.

If cheap cars are your passion and you've been looking for a place to share that passion online, get in touch and let's do this thing.

Used Car Review: Mazda RX7

The Mazda RX-7 review can be seen here.