Drove a 380 SX on Sunday, with a view to buying it. Very disappointed. I don't think the car was in poor condition (and not high kilometres), but it did not drive a as well as my wife's 380GT. Does GT have extra insulation? Any other changes to reduce Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH). I have always assumed SX, VRX and GT have the same suspension (Sport). BTW the SX had 17 inch wheels with good tyres. Seriously feel 380 GT feels much better on the road and seems quieter. Seems I will have to drive one or two more SXs. Comments please.

They are all different, obviously.
If you are expecting the same as a car you are familiar with, even small differences will stand out big time.
Even tyre brand and size have some influence on road noise.
If there is a big difference in NVH though, check engine mounts. One may be broken or the current owner may have put hard ones in.

Someone familiar with the different models will need to comment on differences in insulation against noise, etc.

No extra insulation in the GT AFAIK, I read somewhere years ago that all 380s regardless of model have exactly the same sound deadening/insulation, coz MMAL was forced to cheap out a bit due to lack of funding.
But of course I could be completely wrong and someone more in the know (Mal, maybe zilo) can chime in.
All I know for sure is that my 2005 base model didn't suffer in comparison to a VRX and a GT that I test drove, only major difference was they were autos and mine was a manual.

Drove a 380 SX on Sunday, with a view to buying it. Very disappointed. I don't think the car was in poor condition (and not high kilometres), but it did not drive a as well as my wife's 380GT. Does GT have extra insulation? Any other changes to reduce Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH). I have always assumed SX, VRX and GT have the same suspension (Sport). BTW the SX had 17 inch wheels with good tyres. Seriously feel 380 GT feels much better on the road and seems quieter. Seems I will have to drive one or two more SXs. Comments please.

Hey Mate,

As the guys have said, I don't think there were any differences at that level. When it came down to it, the different trim levels were exactly that. Which I think was a major falling down with these cars. The sporty VRX model was instance was slower than a base model because it had extra weight and no extra power.

I have two TF magna's and they both drive very differently from each other. Some bits in a bad way on one because of big rims and low profile types, but some bits in a good way compared to the other car. What specifically is the issue? There is a lot that comes down to tread levels on tyres, cheap/expensive brand of tyres, worn springs/shockers, worn bushings, etc etc.

well for my 2 cents worth. My wife now drives my 380 GT while I drive an XR8. The 2005 GT has no rattles or squeaks at all while the XR8 rattles everywhere it seems.

well for my 2 cents worth. My wife now drives my 380 GT while I drive an XR8. The 2005 GT has no rattles or squeaks at all while the XR8 rattles everywhere it seems.

All of my falcons rattled, my Verada has a few rattles nowadays.

Hmmm if you guys want to check out rattles, you should go for a ride in a VS commodore. A 5l V8 for that matter.

There is a bit of boot lid carpet that can deaden some sound, perhaps impercievably.

I reckon the biggest single contributor (that I have found is several 380's now) is the front wheel bearing hubs start to get to end of life.

It is absolutely amazing the difference it makes to cabin noise, steering feel, brakes etc.

I'll bet they needed changing in the OP's test car.

My nephew drives a wreck that I repaired and now has 325,000 k's on it.....we have replaced the hubs twice now.

Interestingly I have seen a hub fail where a wheel had obvious gutter rash, I wonder if that contributes to early failure?

Almost worth replacing the wheel hubs everytime the disc rotors are done...LOL