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Subaru Impreza WRX
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Comments
-mike
-mike
Wow, didn't know the Impreza's wheelbase is four inches shorter than the car I have now.
Yea, the FWD does bother me, I'm tired of it in my car. The talk about torque steer being fairly obvious might steer me away (harhar) from the Altima. At the same time, I'm also tired having to rev my car beyond 4K to get any real power, the same of which can be said about the WRX. Wish I could take both for a week to test drive! My life is sooo hard!
Acutally, with all that is going on, makes me proud to be an American and having these two great cars to choose from, and being able to afford them.
-B
Hutch and I drove a 222hp Maxima at Edmunds Live, and I wasn't that impressed. The Camry we drove was quicker in the timed acceleration test we took (about 1/8 mile), and the suspension was better too.
The Altima and Camry would be on her list. But me? I'd rather not trade the 626 in if she's just going to get another torque-steering FWD, honestly.
-juice
Bob
I guess I should go drive one to confirm, is what you are saying.
-juice
Bob
Generally, I have found that smaller cars with small displacement engines can handle FWD much better than big cars with V6s and V8s.
-juice
-mike
Subaru is lucky because they intro'd the WRX early in the model year. No new products to be overlooked. Better still, people are shopping for more value and fewer $30k+ cars.
-juice
But if the tranny's going on the 626...
I agree with Bob that you at least owe it to yourself to take a test drive before passing judgement on torque steer. (Hmm, getting Juice to agree to a test drive shouldn't take too much arm twisting). I do know that torque steer is more apparent in some vehicles than others.
-Frank P.
Isuzus, nissans, subies all have very poor residual values.
-mike
I'd love to attend another event like Edmunds Live. What a great way to comparison shop. I had lots of surprises. For example, I liked the Camry better than the Passat. I never would have believed that had I not tried them back to back.
But none of the front drivers were as fun as the BMW 323 or the Lexus IS300. The only RWD car I didn't like was the Catera, since it was way too watered down.
Lots of things affect residuals, mostly the fact that the previous Altima was in a completely different price class. They're just playing it safe. If it's a hit, residuals will increase.
Still, it's pricey for a FWD sedan. My wife didn't think the styling was anything special, so the only thing going for it is the engine.
-juice
2). No luxury upgrade. It's like driving a naked rocket!
3). With turbo, everything else that help the engine perform must be upgraded too but this is not the case with WRX. It means a minor problem to the 2.5 RS vs serious breakdown to WRX when the perpherial system fails.
I wouldn't compare the RS->WRX upgrade to going from an Audi 1.8T->V6. With the Audi you gain only 20 horses. It takes the car to S4 performance levels.
The engine internals are designed to handle 280hp reliably, so I'm not sure what you mean by that last paragraph.
-juice
(Maybe French for ho?)
55% at 15k is a good residual.
The turbo or super charged engines should be always discounted vs same HP but more cylinded ones! Acutally you rarely see an engine was turbo-ed beyond 4 cylinders. They are made for the cheap guys who can't afford a v6 or v8. There is no single doubt that turbo charged or super charged engine will have much shorter reliable life than the un modified ones. You can even turbo charge 2.5 RS for 280 HP but you don't do that. You would rather buy a v6 for more HP. That's exactly how WRX cheats on you poor little car meniacs.
And turbos give excellent bang for the buck. It's a good way for a mfg to get great power out of a smaller engine.
Out countin' my WRX cylinders in Seattle,
Stephen
My new XT6 may be a turbo H6....
-mike
Although it would be freakin cool to have the H6 in the Impreza body!
And a turbo H6 would be even sweeter, but thats the kind of GT supercar set-up that would be more appropriate on a platform like the Legacy or a new variant of the SVX.
The Mercedes 230C is a supercharged 4. In fact, this one has just come up on my radar as a potential lease. Just quoted $359 a month on 36 month 15K mile a year lease for the 230C. The WRX lease is $343 a month. But the 230C has a killer glass moonroof that covers almost the entire car.
But then again, the WRX is faster than the 230C, and that's the only thing that matters. Right?
Quick q for those that do own the car in question: Do the RS and WRX share the same suspension?
mmcbride, any apologies I owed you before are sent your way threefold.
FWIW, I have now convinced a co-worker with a '96 Corvette daily driver that he needs to garage it and buy a WRX as his all-season runner.
Ed
Freespec, you are crashing a formal party that's well underway, showing up at the doorstep dressed for a costume party (i.e. your assessment is way out of whack with most of the posters here).
I think the WRX is a great value and the RS even more so. The WRX drives great. It goes like stink. I don't have to pay for any luxo goodies that I don't want. AWD is a dream in the snow. In fact, there's not a single under $30K USD car I'd rather have than the WRX, unless they made S4's for under $30K with more reliability. I can certainly afford to buy a nicer car, but the WRX is mighty fine for what they are charging for it.
cupholder, are those $0 down leases? You should not pay a cap cost reduction on a lease - bad move. Keep the money in savings where it's safe (and if you need a little help with the payments, just transfer a little out each month into checking).
BTW - when I was car shopping, WRX leases were over $450/month before tax (on a $0 down, 36 month, 12k per year lease) - and I have excellent credit. Sounds like Subaru has gotten its head on straight now. For $340/mo, I might be driving a WRX right now (maybe)...
Bob
I'm still trying to figure out what a meniac is? Perhaps it's plural for maniac?
Dennis
-mike
XT6 = 2900lbs
Grippier tires = yes
Lower CG = Dunno, it has 5.3" of ground clearance, so not much there.
So you mean that grippier tires and about 100-200lbs (less the extra weight I have) and a slightly lower cG translates to 83hp!!!!!?!
Wow that is pretty cool that all you need to do is shed a few pounds, add some grippier tires and you can save 83hp.
cupholder: I can post links to the results if you think I'm lieing.
Incoming...
Bob
-mike
Bob - I standing right behind you (dodging incoming).
-Dave
And if you dont like the WRX, thats fine. Say so and leave, then get a life.
Oh wait, I don't know about whooping you. You were autocrossing your Trooper through South Philly.
-Dennis