Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Subaru Impreza WRX
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
-juice
Have they put in useless junk like "paint protectant packages" "rust-proofing" etc on the stock cars thus artificially raising the price by $1000 and THEN ADVERTISING for the $1100 off ??
Later...AH
Dennis
WRX Sedan - 850 lbs
WRX Wagon - 900 lbs
Legacy Outback Wagon (much larger) - 900 lbs
Impreza Outback Sport - 900 lbs
For comparison, the MUCH LARGER Nissan Pathfinder SUV with a LOT MORE storage space inside, has a total load carrying capacity of 795 lbs. SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY FIVE POUNDS ONLY !!! LESS THAN THE WRX SEDAN, AND MUCH LESS THAN THE WRX SPORTWAGON !!! In other words, if 4 average sized humans sit inside the BIG Nissan pathfinder, you cannot place even an overnight's worth of luggage in the space behind the rear seats. The car would already have become UNSAFE. Seating 5 people in the LARGE Nissan Pathfinder ? FORGET IT !! Because, then you are over-loading the SUV well over what its suspension/brakes/tires etc are designed to hold. Some eyeopener that !
Later...AH
-juice
-mike
-juice
(I know you'll play devil's advocate and defend the Pathfinder. :-p) I'll take a lower center of gravity any day!
AH - You LOVE those caps don't you? :-D
Dennis
And my Miata is hopeless in the snow, and it doesn't have a high center of gravity.
-juice
-mike
-juice
Nope ! SUVs generally have a high Center of Gravity (CG)to begin with (with absolutely no load whatsoever), which by its very nature make them a lot less stable than cars. And that is in an un-loaded one. With a full load, the SUV would be positively dangerous, especially if you try to avoid an obstacle on the road.
Also, automakers have designed each vehicle (be they cars or trucks/SUVs) with a finite loading capacity, and if you exceed it, you are endangering your passengers and yourself, needlessly. SUVs LOOK like they are able to take on a lot of cargo, but looks in these particular cases, are deceptive. Excessively loading an SUV (beyond its design parameters), is putting a lot of excess weight at a much higher height, which would make the already unstable vehicle, a lot more unstable, in addition to overburdening the structure, tires and brakes well above what they are designed to carry.
But you can carry a lot more voluminous (but light) cargo in the Nissan Pathfinder, when compared to the Subaru WRX wagon. Just that the weight of the cargo (you can safely carry in the Pathfinder) cannot approach the weight you can safely carry in the Subaru WRX wagon.
NOTE: The Acura MDX is rated to carry 1390 lbs. The Mercedes M-class is also designed to carry about 1350 lbs. But those vehicles are designed by their makers for such big loads. The Nissan Pathfinder is not.
bluesubie: Love CAPS ? Not really. Unfortunately, there is no other way of putting emphasis on something ;-) I would have loved it if I could "block" letters. Is there a way of doing it ?
Later...AH
-juice
Hope it works.
http://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108976
So say what you want, but an SUV WILL IN FACT carry more cargo and weight with ease than a WRX or GT Wagon will. Unless of course you feel that when the rear end of your vehicle is dragging literally on the floor it's a safe way to drive.
-mike
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/driving/articles/46586/article.html
Later...AH
It's a basic law of human behavior. If you have the space, you're gonna use it. So owners tend to stuff more stuff in bigger vehicles.
But yes, a Trooper will much better handle the same load. But stuff them both to the gills with cases of beer and...and hey! Bring them over to my house! :-)
-juice
-mike
get over it.
-mike
I just can't stand the bozo's that drive like a bat out of hell and they don't know how to. You're different since you know how to. :-)
Yes, it's mainly in the driving. Just before that rollover, I was accelerating to get into the left lane ahead of an 18-wheeler. My tail kicked out a little bit, so I just hit the gas. If that SUV driver had been in a car, I doubt he would have rolled like he did. The road was very flat in that area and there were no potholes, etc.
BTW, the Pathfinder does have a unibody. One of a handful of SUV's that has it.
Dennis
Once in a while, I'll be coming to a fairly hard stop, and hit a pothole or uneven joint in the pavement as I'm slowing. This seems much more likely to happen if I am turning as well. As the wheel hits the joint or bump, it looses or gains a significant amount of traction for a fraction of a second. The abs sensor picks this up and applies abs.
There are several different kinds of abs. The best systems modulate how the brakes are applied based on available traction to simulate threshold braking. The worst systems just apply and release the brake very quickly regardless of what's happening with the wheels. The latter system was found on GM cars equiped with early abs sytems. In many cases these systems were worse than no abs at all. In either case, the abs system, while superior to a flat out slide, is no better and usually worse in most cases than proper threshold braking.
So anyway, combine an abs sensor that is overly sensitive, with abs function that even in the best of circumstances won't stop you as fast as normal braking when the wheels should not be slipping in the first place, and this is the problem you get. The solution is to adjust the sensor that activates the abs to work properly and not activate it when it is not needed. It sounds like Subaru needs to do this. But even if this is done properly, abs will still occasionally activate in situations when it's not needed. It's just something that you have to be prepared for and deal with it as best you can when it happens.
SUV's are overweight, underbraked, handle emergency maneuvers very poorly, and dont protect occupants any better than cars in single vehicle accidents. They also contribute to a disproportionate share of accidents and deaths, particulary in mult-car crashes where the occupants of the normal vehicles are maimed or killed due the weight and ride height of the SUV.
according to the manual is dedicated to the
ABS solenoid? Was considering this option
when driving in snow?
taos - I'm not certain of the exact fuse but when I go off-roading, I pull one of the ABS fuses. You get an ABS light, but I don't think it would be much of a problem (unless the ABS warning light blows). After almost plowing into the side of a BRAT last winter, I'll be disconnecting my fuse in deep snow. Practicing threshold braking in a big empty parking lot is useful as well.
Dennis
-Hutch
http://www.airpowersystems.com.au/wrx/my01/rt_spec_motor/rt_spec8.html
Look near the bottom of the page.
0-60 in the low (yes low) 4sec range.
1/4 mile in 12.82 @ 108mph
You can have yours converted for $4800+install at www.cobbtuning.com. Supposed to be 320hp.
But you eventually will buckle down and get a new vehilce. The GTI must be the same size as some of those duall tires on the trailers that go up and down the 605 anyways.
If I am not mistaken the WRX crash test has comparativly good ratings. Unless you end up in a larger heavy VOLVO,,,,,,,,,,,,,ewwwwwwww no fun
Anyway, when I see a SUV full of cargo and towing something, I aplaud.
When I see some 40 year old women driving a Suburban to the grocery store, I spit out my window at them :P
And when I see an SUV driving like a sports car on the freeway, I block them from swerving into my lane >:| (If they try, ill clip their rear end and just watch them swerve and then roll)
Oh, and I doubt you can find a stiffer chasis in a car than the WRX. (Every accident ive seen with the WRX rolling, crashing, etc. the car is amazingly still intact for what happened) And by comparison, most SUV's are like silly puddy with their chasis... Lotta weight, but it all comes apart with ease.
This is the conclusion the IIHS came to, after testing a host of SUVs....except maybe the Mercedes ML series and also the Acura MDX (which is based on the Honda Odyssey which earned 5-stars all around). The Mercedes and the Acura were purposefully designed with passengers in mind, rather than putting a body over a pickup truck, like some others have done and have bumpers that are car-friendly.
Later...AH
-Dave
Bob