welcome to the forum, i think u should go for the 9, iv owned a couple of starlets before, and yes their fast,one of mine could keep up with a b18c ef boxshape civic, but they are so unreliable,i was nearly afraid do drive it hard incase it broke, ek9 interior so much better too and handling is on a differnt level altogether,I was considering buying my mates starlet glanza really nice black one but I just love the look and sound of the ek9 Haha.