AWD, power of 227 hp, great front seats, speed, handling. Unique looks. A/C is powerful.

Notchy reverse gear. One might want to invest in a radar detector.

Very fast, responsive, powerful with great handling. Very fun to drive. Roomy for a sports car(wagon).

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Honda CRV, Mazda protege5, Focus hatchback KONA, Toyota RAV4.

Seats, Price, Power, Bang for the Buck.
And of course, the handling is great.

I would have loved a sunroof too.
You must complete a full turn for the blinkers to shut off.
I thought the turbo would be a bit louder. (Is that a strength or weakness?)
I got the all the stereo upgrades, and I think for the $500 I could have had an aftermarket company produce better sound.
I ordered the carbon fiber a month ago, and I am still waiting for Subaru of NA to ship it from the port.

It's time to write...I love this car!! I just passed one month of ownership, an I really have no complaints. I like the looks of the car, I know some people don't. The performance is great for the price. This car loves third gear down twisty roads. It flies onto the highway, yet can be kept completely docile once you are there.
I live in CT, so it's the perfect all around car. The AWD system should prove great in the winter months. Right now I am just aching to find a hidden patch of pavement that I can practice some cornering maneuvers on.
My A/C works fine. No complaints. The seats are great and I love the 6-disc (although sometimes I forget what I have in there, and it takes a while to shuffle through the CD's.)
I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a fun car that can still be used everyday.

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I have driven a '95 Escort GT Auto from new, and although it's a surprisingly good handling car, it doesn't compare.
I also test drove a Lexus IS 300, which was great, but for $36,400, and CT weather, it didn't make any sense.
I also considered an A4 Quattro, but couldn't justify the price and less performance.

Everything related to performance. Unique styling. Very rare.

Windshields chip and crack easily. Paint chips easily. Seats show wear easily.

One of the worst thing about this car is that its very fast for the price paid. Its fast enough that people often compare it to the BMW M3, Audi S4, Porches, and Corvettes. After they find out that it doesn't perform quite as well as those they are dissapointed. The WRX costs nearly half as much as most of those.

My favorite thing about the car is how rare they are. I still haven't seen a single WRX on the street other than mine. Most people don't even notice it because of the conservative styling. You can always tell the ones that are in the know because they stare at it, wave, nod, or otherwise acknowledge it. Guys with obviously modded cars are always dumbstruck and stare like a deer in headlights.

I think this car is the perfect blend of price, performance, economy, convenience(its still a 4 door!), and looks. There are a lot of little things about the car that make it fun to own. If you slide in a corner the car just drifts and manages to feel very controlled. The all wheel drive makes it very hard to lose traction when accelerating, even in the rain. It can probably off road better than 90% of the SUV's on the street. My old mustang would scrape on speed bumps and driving off the side of the road was never an option. The WRX has never scraped on any speed bump. I don't even feel like I need to slow down if I ever drive off the side of the road for anything. Its just a fun car to drive.

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94 Mustang

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I was very impressed with the handling and acceleration of the wrx. The purpose of this review is to find out how easily this car is to modify(more horsepower) without voiding the warrenty. Can anyone who knows what modifications can be done on this car, and what the hp gains would be please let me know. It comes stock with 227hp. I would like to be able to get it to around 260hp without doing major engine modifications. Please let me know by e-mail if this is possible.
THanks Doug

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Acceleration acceleration accerlation! Make sure you got those rpms going!
Fuel economy is pretty good compared to other cars with similar performance
Handling is excellent.

why those bug headlights???
No sunroof option, air conditioner performance degrades when accelerating

Great car for the money, performance and utility. Front seats can be raised or lowered manually so you could either be soccer mom or mr. autocrosser :) Rear cargo space can accomodate large dog easily, back seats are comfortable and adequate leg room for adults. Stereo upgrade is ok, speakers are a bit small and rear speakers are in lower part of back doors which isn't an optimal placement. Carbon fiber/auto dimming mirror/compass/armrest/security options are good, I'd get the larger wheels elsewhere. Reverse gear shift sometimes a little tricky, you'll just have to get used to it.

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1990 Porsche C4 - this handles like my c4 on the twisty roads of the Berkeley/Oakland hills even with a higher ground clearance. Of course, it doesn't have the low end power as the 911, but the acceleration rush is about the same. A 1990 C4 911 is about the same price as a new WRX but it looks better, is more powerful, has less utility space, an unfortunately attracts the CHP. I'm hoping to get less speeding tickets with the WRX :D

0-60 acceleration close to being on par with Audi S4, BMW 330.

Lacks refinement, no sunroof option, cheap brakes, cheap interior, crap suspension, suspect reliability.

First off I will say that I do not own a WRX. I only took it on an extended test drive over a weekend. It was fun to drive but lacks a whole lot of refinement. The suspension seemed rather wobbly and noisy, the brakes aren't great, and the interior is flat out cheap. Even the acceleration, which can be pretty good, is hard to attain. You have to rev the car hard, real hard to get it going. Low end torque is lousy to non-existent. It's obvious that Subaru cut corners to reach their target market of 16-21 year old boys by offering a car that looks impressive in terms of 0-60 acceleration but lacks just about everything else, and is affordable enough for the income of a teenager. Anyone older than 25 will hate this car.

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Long term satisfaction with this car seems like it would be far below the new Integra, or and Audi or BMW.

All wheel drive, fast, practicle, half the price of cars with equal abilities.

The side bolsters on the seat bite your butt when exiting the car until you learn proper eagress. Those big headlights take some getting use to.

Wow what a grat ride! This is my third Subaru (90 Legacy and 98 Forester)we have had 8 in our family including an under rated 230 HP SVX.I find the WRX so much fun and easy to throw around, as my break in 1000 miles is just over I can tell if you drive this car with some fun effort it will reward you. It's quick, nimble and my wagon is also practical. I love a car that does not have a star, rings or the front of an airplane cutting into the horizon. I removed the "S U B A R U" of the back, that's fun also!
I look forward to letting this car realy go, all year round, I would never drive a 2 wheel drive car again. Buy this car if you want to impress yourself not others "not in the know."

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It does not look as cool as my 92 Dodge Stealth RT Turbo, but it's just as fun!

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In response to James Evans review.

Acceleration CLOSE to being on par with a BMW 330? According to Edmunds the WRX does 0-60 in 6.3 seconds compared to the BMWs 6.7 seconds. Not close to on par, better.

Bad brakes? The BMW 330 does 60-0 in 126 feet compared to the WRXs 0-60 in 115 feet. The WRX wins again, by ALOT.

And crap suspension? In the 600 ft slalom the BMW 330 gets up to 62.8 mph, the WRX once again out performs the 330 by getting to 64.5 mph.

As for refinement, the BMW wins hands down, but of course you have to pay a lot more for it.

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Outperforms the BMW 330i.