Speed, handling, steering, gearbox, ride, seats, etc...etc.

Not exactly luxury accomodations,
Styling grows on you.

Best perfoming car I've owned. Period.
Speed, handling, percision steering, firm but not harsh ride.
Last car was 1999 Audi 1.8T Quattro,
I got tired of the anemic power.
This thing runs circles around the Audi...
and offers more neutral handling to boot.

First car I've driven that can be powered into
decreasing radius ramps.

Similar Products Used:

1999 Audi 1.8T Quattro- blown out of the water.
1995 Subaru SVX- much better handling, steering feel, manual tranny.

Fast, Fun and everything else

None, really I mean it! :)

The Porsche Boxter is a strange car to compare the WRX too, but I think they are comparable in acceleration and handling.

Anyways, I love my WRX. Once you hit 3000 rpms, the car takes off as the turbo kicks in. 227 horses make it incredibly responsive. Handling is great, takes corners like a race car. The WRX handles dirt roads like it was born on one.

You can't go faster for the price

Go test drive one!

Similar Products Used:

Porsche Boxter

Stiff chasis, all wheel drive, turbo boost, strong brakes, head room, nice front seats, versatility, stereo, stock Momo steering wheel, leather seats to match (nice touch), goofy looks which I am growing to love.

Goofy looks which I am growing to love, Paint is poor quality (thin, chips easily), rear seats are uncomfortable (I won't be using them much ;), stereo's subwoofer is kind of crappy, turbo lag, racks are only rated to carry 100 pounds, steering is kind of light - could use less power assist.

A very sweet ride. Point this thing and it goes where it's told with no questions asked. Handling is superb, but the steering wheel has a bit too much power assist for my liking. During the run-in period I was getting about 22+ miles per gallon which ain't bad for a car that is willing to go zoom like this one is. Mileage has dropped to about 21 now with occasional "spirited" driving and bike racks up top.
In my opinion the turbo lag is both a strength and a weakness - the obvious weakness is that you have to rev the engine in order to get the nice "whooosh" of acceleration; the strength is that it is easy to control and FUN. Keep the rev's down and you're cruising with traffic nice and mellow, hit some open, windy road or need to merge quickly and all you have to do is hit the gas... "one-one-thousand, two-one" BANG. I think the lag makes it feel faster than it might measure on a track using quantitative methods - which is great for driver grins. I suppose you don't really have to wait for the turbo to spool up if your willing to downshift and hammer the clutch. However, I don't want to replace my clutch a year from now.
I really like the suspension. It is sporty stiff without a tremendous amount of body roll, but has ample ground clearance for speed bumps, drive ways and pot holes on f'd up mountain roads. I have not come close to pushing the car to it's limits *yet* so I may change my mind on the body roll - did I mention this car sticks? For now I feel it's a really nice compromise between an all out sports car slammed suspension and something designed to handle real world roads as opposed to race tracks.
My biggest complaint about the car is the apparent shoddiness of the paint job - I've got a couple chips in the apparently thin paint within the first couple thousand miles. Maybe it has to do with the aluminum hood? Other complaints are the back seats - this is not a family car, primarily a two seater with scads of storage for toys. I got the sound package which came with a subwoofer under the passenger seat. I have had to turn the bass way down when I crank the stereo or else I get vibrations coming from the interior components. I could have done without the chinsy sub. Maybe I need to try pumping some beats with my girl in the passenger seat...hmm, maybe I can deal with the vibration! At any rate, these complaints are really quite minor considering the cost of comparably performing automobiles. I'll save the ten or fifteen grand and sacrifice a super nice paint job and cushy back seats. Heck, this thing is Japanese - it will hopefully be in the shop much less than a more expensive (and more luxurious) 330Xi or S4!
Summary: Great fun for the money! Not a family car.

Similar Products Used:

BMW 325iX, Audi A4 quattro - both had all wheel drive with less power and inferior handling but nicer "amenities" Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - similar power, less road clearance, less utility (storage space).

Did somebody say I have the need for speed. WELL this is the answer.
Fast, Quick, Nimble, Strong, and Mean. Did I mention FAST???

It didn't come with helmets.

0 to 40 3.9
0 to 50 4.8
0 to 60 6.0 sec.
When the turbo kick in at 2500rpms you get that cool, big car becomes
little car in your reviwe mirror. At 120 it feels like 60 at 150 it
Light speed Scotty. $24,000 base price fully loaded with an awesome sound
system. I know this is childish but it has a really cool automatic gear shifter. Subaru has balls & big ones at that. Let's hope that other manufacturers will follow. The all wheel drive handling is a dream, I
mean let's face when you can take a 20 mile turn at 65 mph and she doesn't slid or the tires don't squeak and you stay in your lane, that's cool. She stops on a dime and with driver, passenger and side air bags (Which I hope you never have to use) safety is a big plus. Dollar for dollar it is the best buy with 227hp, 217 torque, 7000rpms and room to play.

Similar Products Used:

R Type Honda totaly tricked out. Already wasted a BMW and tail-gated
a Boxer Porshe. (He really wasn't happy!)

Everything about this car is great.
Great engine ... I mean if this same engine can stand World Rally Championships what more can I ask for. With mostly structural differences this car is the same as the one in the WRC, even the brakes are the same. That just spells STRENGHTS. To me this is a car I can use and have all the fun in. AWD give me the stability and the turbo gives me the speed and power of fun. Great great vehicle. Go test drive one ... and you will see.

Subaru of America should really take the step in customer services. I had to go to three dealers before I decided I will buy this car. I love the car ... but what comes after is also as important to me.

With a clear and distinct exception to Subaru of Wakefield in MA. These guys are just plain rude and worthless. While I was there (30 min.)I saw three ... THREE seperate customers complaining about their unsatifactory service ... makes you think. SOA remember you are being represented and if I had bought my car from Subaru of Wakefield in MA ... I doubt I will ever recommend a Subaru or buy another one in the future. Makes you think.

Excellent power with superior handling.
Wonderful seats that hug you at every turn.
Sounds of the engine spooling up and down.
Fairly good quality stock tires.
Appearance is not lvoe at dirst sight .... yet I have grown to like it.
BIG fog lights.

Similar Products Used:

Audi A4
VW Passat
Toyota Celica and Rav4
Honda Accord
Acura CL-s

Very strong Boxer (flat) Four cylinder 2 Liter Intercooled Turbocharged 227 HP (113.5HP/L) engine that pulls in a linear manner above 3000 rpm and delivers 217 ft-lbs of torque at 4000 rpm on an all (4) wheel drive platform! This is one tight, crisp machine!
Handling, and right-left quick change responsiveness w/o diving...

Armrests, and floating center console suuround & materials, as well as cupholder, inexpensive in appearance and can be improved by Subaru.

As someone once said-"I've got to have me one of these" - That was what I thought after taking a test drive (BTW, I was only offered one because "I looked serious")...I am over 40 years of age, and did race a 1968 1/2 Ram-Air Muscle Car (Pontiac) GTO in Queens (astoria), New York as a teenager...
I did consider a more expensive machine (MB C320, BMW 330 xi, Audi S4, Porsche Boxster/S, etc. (Yes, I actually can afford any of these!), but, I also (like another forum member) left the Subaru parking lot with a grin on my face...even though I only went to 4000-4500rpm in first and second gears (highway entry ramp)...I purchased the car right there (midnight pearl black), and picked it up the next AM. I have ordered the triple guage cluster (black face), and the carbon fiber kit to spruce up the interior...I am cosidering Prodrive 1 wheels and 17" X 7" P7000 (Pirelli)tires to improve footprint-traction (skidpad number C&D around
82-84 g)...This car is one of the best performance values with a high driveability - "fun" quotients that I have ever driven. In NE Ohio, I need all-wheel drive, although the Nav(igater) is my utilitarian (SUV) vehicle. I am truly excited about some of the modifications I will make, and even if I don't - This car is sweet! as my son says in Colorado...
Also, I've got to tell you taht there was more than one Benz and Bimmer that gave me a stare-There aren't many of these on the road at this time and its front fascia (face) is unique with its oversized foglights.

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MB 190 E 2.3 Liter 16 valve (owned), MB C 320 (driven), BMW 325xi (driven)

-Full time all-wheel drive.
-Fierce, turbo-charged boxser engine.
-Momo steering wheel and metal foot pedals.
-Incredibly comfortable seats.
-Excellent storage room in the wagon, especially with the rear seats down.
-Unique looks; don't see many on the road since only 10,000 made.
-Subaru quality engineering and reliability.
-In-dash 6 cd changer.
-Oh yeah....Price!!!

I don't care for the positioning of the cupholder.

This car is a blast to drive. My lease ran out on my Porsche, so I test drove this after reading a magazine review that compared the WRX to the 911. I was amazed at the similarities in performance. I'm actually finding that this car is more fun to drive than my Boxster, and I love that I have the security of the all-wheel drive.

It is difficult to compare this car to others, because there are no other all-wheel drive, 227 hp, 0-60 in 5.7 second cars in the U.S. right now. I'm really enjoying the fact that this car is so unique, and that you don't see many on the roads. I get a lot more looks/waves/smiles/thumbs-up in this car than I ever did in my Boxster. Of course you see a Boxster every few minutes, but I hardly ever see a WRX.

This car is probably not good for the suburban soccer mom who demands leather seats and sunroof - the incredible engineering of this car would be wasted on them. It is not for status conscious people who can't feel good about themselves unless there is a Mercedes/Audi/BMW/Porshce in their garage. The car is for the driving enthusiast who appreciates top-shelf performance, safety, and reliability.

Test drive one if you can, and you'll be hooked.

Similar Products Used:

Porsche Boxster, Audi S4, BMW M3
I drove all three of these cars, and found the WRX to equal in all respects save interior quality.

*Stealth - even with the commercials, people still don't expect it to be that fast

*Unbelievable stiffness

*Easy to replace the crappy stereo system

Besides the nit-picky things that everyone else has listed (cupholders, visors, paint), the only thing that bugs me is that the doors take unnecessary force to shut.

After looking at the Audi S4 for 2 months, and really trying to convince myself that if I bought it, the $900/month payments wouldn't mean I'd have to live in a cardboard box, that dream came to an end. Why? Because Subaru finally got their wits together and released the WRX to the US. The Audi has a twin-turbo V6, and a higher advertised 0-60, but I can tell you from driving both of them, that the WRX is faster without a doubt. The main difference - the Audi looks so much better, and the quality of the components that aren't under the hood (i.e., everything else!) is definitely below par on the Suby. However, the price reflects that, and as it turned out, I was looking for the performance, and not the glamour.



The car can also probably beat the Honda S2000. My friend owns one, and though we've never raced, we've both swapped cars for a drive. We think that the WRX will take the 0-60, and maybe even the 1/4 mile, but the S2000 will pull ahead beyond that with it's unreal 9000rpm redline.

Similar Products Used:

Audi S4, Honda S2000

Stiff chassis, competent handling, soaks up bumps well, great acceleration when (big when) turbo kicks in, beauty of all wheel drive, slick shifter

turbo lag, no low end grunt, cheap paint job, rattles, wind noise, grease-based undercoating, creaking suspension, manual antenna, easily chipped windscreen, cruddy headlights, cheap interior, weak A/C, lousy gas mileage

It is a pleasure to drive, but it ain't all smiles and roses. If you want a quiet and refined automobile, the WRX is not for you. This car is so darn noisy. Lets see, we got awful wind noise, creaking suspension, brakes that go thud, and interior rattles everywhere. I know people will say that this is a "drivers" car and that wind noise and rattles shouldn't be a concern. But to me, they are a concern. I love to drive, but why should I have to suffer with cheap build quality and cutting of corners because this is an "enthusiats" car. Is it too much to ask that a $25k car not have a cheap interior, rattles, weak paint, and candy-glass windshield? I have a love/hate relationship going on with this car. On good days, out on the road, this car is load of fun. But when it comes time to mail the check to the bank, all I can think about is that this car really is a lousy built econo car that just happens to haul rump. The WRX seems like it would be a great weekend/fun car. But driving it every day, is wearing thin. Now, I don't hate this car. I am just disappointed in certain aspects of it. If you are looking for performance and refinement, keep looking, the WRX is not your car. If you are 18 years old and only care about driving fast, not giving two poops about build quality, the WRX just might be for you. Oh, and talk about turbo lag . . .

Similar Products Used:

None

AWD- All wheel drive..
Stiffness
Passenger room
Trunk Room
Potential to be an 8-9 sec car..

Crash test
comfort
A/C

Its a nice car... Im was having a blast with it, but two weeks ago i was tboned at a stop light and was unimpressed at how it took the impact.. My passenger was sent to the hospital with a triple fracture to her pelvic.. I measured and the car was crumbled inword aprox. 1' 8"... But other than that I've loved the car... Lets put it this way.. I work at a Honda Dealership and bought a Subaru

Similar Products Used:

Honda Prelude
Acura Integra
Audi A4
Possibly Honda S2000