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Subaru Impreza WRX
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Comments
More importantly, I've been into cars since I was too young to drive. I subscribe to C+D, R+T, MT, etc. I'm always looking for a great 'bang for the buck' deal and the WRX is the best I've seen in quite a while. I've wanted an AWD vehicle for a long time. I couldn't fit in the Eagle/Eclipse/Laser cars so I ended up with a Nissan NX2000. It's been a great ride for over 7 years and 175,000 miles and counting but I can't wait for my WRX!
I would contact Subaru directly. If you get an answer please let everyone know.
sajohnson: Yes, im implying that the 1/4 mile is between 14.5 and 14.1, and sorry about the typo :P
lisac: Dont EVER go to Stevens Creek! They are the worst Subaru Dealership IN THE WORLD!!!
http://www.subaru-impreza.com
Pretty impressive clips. Very impressive, actually. I am not versed in this sort of driving, despite driving a turbo charged car now, but how does this car take off so quickly, without spinning its wheels? How high do the RPM's get prior to launch, and do you actually "pop" this clutch? If so, isn't that detrimental to the mechanism?
Thanks
I can't imagine how much mark up they'd put on a WRX! I won't know first hand because I am getting mine from another dealer and I will not step in Steven Creek Subaru again!
I prefer the manual tranny, of course, but let's not criticize Subaru for offering the choice. Plus, the auto sends 55% of the power to the rears. Nothing wrong with that!
Gotta call my dealer. See if they have any yet!
-juice
-juice
Before this car I drove a 92' Buick LaSabre (yes, a Buick I'm afraid) and I had put in a 1200 dollar stereo audio sys. and I like the Subaru's sound better.
As for driving impressions, I had driven fast cars before and I considered myself a fairly good driver, but I'm still learning how to hold this car down. I think that a new set of tires will be a must, I have the stock Potenzas, on a Silver Wagon.
Overall: It the coolest piece of engineering, bad [non-permissible content removed] car. Excuse my enthusiasms.
Male 65%
age 25-49 (many sub 25 guys have come in looking for them, but most don't have the $$$)
income 60K+
college educated
active lifestyle
probably own a sport sedan now.
Oh boy are these sweet cars in person! SOOO much better than I expected, especially the interior! They still FEEL like an impreza on the inside, but the materials are 10x better! The cloth on the seats actually feels like Suede... Nice touch!
As for colors... I actually liked the Silver least in person. White was much better in person, same with rally blue. But Black was the sleekest and most impressive!
As for the Wagon vs. Sedan, the fender flares are really nice but the extra space in the wagon is equally as nice! whatever floats your boat
-Beanboy
59% female
49% single
45 median age
46% college grads
51.5k median income
I'm sure the RS had more males, about 80% from what I've seen at local meets. The WRX will be at least 80% male, mostly married, and very affluent (more college educated and much higher income).
Price is a big factor. Going from a $16k Impreza L to a WRX makes a huge difference in demographics.
-juice
I still haven't decided on wagon or sedan, either, but don't really need the wagon since my wife has an SUV ... but I guess the extra space is nice to have!
I'm looking so forward to driving one ... I called the nearest dealership yesterday and he said they are expecting 25 in on the first shipment, but 24 are sold! I hope I can drive the one that isn't!
I'm also happy with the fact that I don't have to spend $30,000+ to get a car this cool. I was looking at the 3-series BMW and some other cars, but why should I spend all that extra money?
-juice
BTW, I compared the WRX closely with A4/S4, Golf, and Passat, the three vehicles which offer similar capacity and capability. The Passat has more room but a less comfortable fit, with a somewhat awkward reach to the wheel; the Golf is unusable for me, with throughly inadequate leg room and an awkward mismatch between wheel and shift lever placement; the A4/S4 is closest in size and fit, very comfortable and confidence inspiring, though a bit tighter overall than the WRX. If money were no issue (either for purchase or maintenance), I would be sorely tempted by the S4 Avant.
Definitely try it, but be prepared to like it a lot. For big guys, I think the WRX is the most comfortable sporty small car made (well, okay, I might have to make an exception for the S2000, but I can't figure out how to haul a dog and skis up a snowy road in one).
I paid an extra $70 to cut the roof rails short, but the WRX does not have those.
While there is a brace from B-pillar to B-pillar, my Forester has the same brace and they did it for no extra cost. They add bracing with the roof for structural integrity.
2 years later no leaks or creaks. Highly recommended.
-juice
btw, anyone heard of or sit in Jaguar X-type?!? they promice awd and 3.0 225hp engine... base price with 2.5l engine is under 30K!!!
I HATE auto climate control... just one more thing to break. How hard is it to run a dial? My goodness...
That Jag sounds good on paper. It's Mondeo-based, which is probably how they kept the price down.
Seems like you're looking at luxury cars, though. The WRX may not be the right car for your tastes.
-juice
No one test drove it anyway, i want to be able to compare it with S4...if it'll be close, i'll get WRX, if not-well..
It's kind of funny, but some i Club folks that currently own modified RSs felt it was too refined!
Nothing a few mods can't fix, not to mention the power you could unleash.
-juice
At least the seats feel like Suede, that should be some luxury for you :P
I probably wouldn't go for black (impossible to keep clean), but I'm telling you, that is one cool looking car. Came with spoiler, armrest extension, upgraded speakers, carbon-fiber trim and rubber mats. They're selling them at MSRP which is right around $26K for this car.
I'm walking around the car looking it over, the guy walks out the door and makes a "want to take the car for a spin" gesture. (Uh - yes I believe I will, thanks.) WHAT - A - ROCKET! Acceleration is incredible. The handling is great, especially through curves.
Driver's seat is very comfortable and supportive. The shifting is pretty tight and short, not much play there at all. You can really feel the engine through the shift knob.
We went around a few local roads, but at one point the road was blocked off and we had to head onto a highway, so I got to open it up a little. This car is really fast.
The car had 2.6 miles when I got in and 8.2 after the test drive.
I also got a look at a silver sport wagon. The wagon looks pretty good. But after seeing both up close, I think the sedan looked a little better. Maybe it was the colors.
Another thing I noticed is that the headlights look way better in person than they do in pictures. Maybe the camera flash causes the lights to look more sparkly in the pictures, but they are very clean in person.
Now all I need to do is wait for my Tercel 4WD wagon to die. (Does 0-60 in about 20 seconds but you can't beat it in the snow...)
You can scratch that dealer off my list.
Bob
That Tercel may not have enough torque to break traction! he he he )
Kidding, those are work horses.
-juice
If and when it does croak and I replace it with a new WRX, then I would have to let my daughter drive my MB 190E. What a dilemma...
Anyway that WRX test drive was 5 miles of fun fun fun. Congrats to anyone who's getting one.
Those sedans with the spoiler really look cool in person.
-juice
DTECH
I think Subaru missed the boat with this call. In every other market, Europe, Asia, Australia, etc., the WRX gets 17" wheels standard. No, they're not the same BBS wheels, but they look great just the same.
Bob
I was kinda' hoping for a Blaze Yellow one, myself, but I don't think I'm going to wait until next year to get one!
I can't believe the dealers are letting customers hammer on these zero mile cars for unserious test drives. They are full of below grade gas, have limited heat cycles on the motor, even the owners manual reccomends keeping RPM under 4K for the first 1000 miles. Maybe it's just me but I would never buy a high performance turbo car that had been test drove by probably every salesman on the lot, 3 lot boys, and 20 'potential' 21 year old customers. I'm sure thats the same thing the dealers are thinking by not allowing test drives until you are truely serious.
My guess is that Glen Burnie dealer knows that if he only has one WRX, it's worth more undriven. Once dealers begin to get more in, I imagine they will pick one to 'sacrifice' for test drives.
BBS makes excellent wheels, I don't think anyone would dispute that. But 3 grand? Jeez!
Early Miatas had them, and they are worth more, even used. Stock rims weigh 12.3 lbs, but the BBS rims that were 1/2" wider weigh under 10 lbs.
It's just not worth that much, period. $1200 maybe, especially given you're giving up the 16" rims (which you could use for snow tires otherwise).
Go aftermarket. I'm sure you can find a quality rim for less than half that price.
-juice