Easy and natural to left-foot brake, heel-toe downshift, and rev-match daily. Gear ratios are chosen well for the mild enthusiast. I think I will eventually change up to the Type RA gearset. Full-time 50/50 all-wheel-drive, that shifts up to 80/20 or 20/80, *plus* a limited-slip rear differential that keeps the back wheels digging for traction. Great brakes, awesome power, the most unique-sounding car out there, IMHO. All the features you need come stock, and the price is right at the mid-20's. I love the silver that i got, and have had numerous compliments, even while moving! Platinum Silver Metallic rocks! I personally like the spoiler and optional turbo gauge. Also, a canister muffler strengthens the sound of my car, and increases peak output while letting the hot gasses out of the turbo faster. Seems to handle better with more people, however power is reduced and roll center is quickly raised, making the AWD work pretty hard to keep the car straight through the turns :-) Lighting (interior and headlights/foglights) is awesome. Nothing seems to be overlooked as far as chassis rigidity or drivetrain longevity. SEATS ARE THE BOMB, esp the driver's.

I've noticed brake fade fairly quickly on the stock tires. "Violent driving" wore out the stock tires in a mere 11,000 miles. My friend's choice of Falken Azenis cured the brake fade immediately, but don't last nearly as long (2K to 3K miles max). Understeer is designed into the suspension on purpose, to keep the car from "stepping out". I would personally prefer a little drift action from the get-go. Carpet and interior is slightly cheaper than expected, but no where near as gaudy as either the SE-R or the EVO. Side mirrors seem to collect dirt pretty fast, and paint is good quality but requires several coats of wax immediately upon curing to prevent chipping. ABS is "sticky" when going over bumps... if you hit a bump with the brakes depressed, enough for one wheel to leave the ground, brake pressure is lost, and the pedal sinks immediately to the floor. Scary.

Hella fast car.. OMFG! I would highly recommend a 2,500-mile breakin to anyone buying a new WRX. Turbo lags under 3KRPM, but still has power. After all, 4-bangers aren't supposed to have torque until high RPMs. This car develops *peak* torque at a low 3,850 RPM of 217 ft-lbs, and the peak horsepower of 227 at 5850 RPM. This "four to six" powerband is wide enough to let you go in and out of drifts at will, keeping the car nicely balanced through the curviest of roads. I think the rear LSD is an under-rated feature of this car. The additional traction of having *at least* three wheels giving traction lets you get away with quite a bit... all while accelerating. I never had this kind of power in my Civic, which would give all the power to the wheel with the least traction, giving me almost zero control at the edge. The WRX just shines the harder you push it. Higher rear roll center definitely helped this version of the chassis.

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VW Corrado VR6 Mitsubishi Evolution VII (EVO) Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V

Zippy, and fun to drive.

Its mechanical problems make this a very unreliable car. It's dangerous, and should be recalled.

This car is zippy and fun to drive....when it's running. We've had problems with the following: air conditioning that suddenly starts blowing hot air, braking failures, and difficulty shifting into first gear. The worst is the braking failures. The brake pedal sometimes sinks to the floor, and braking power is lost. The master cylinder has been replaced, but the problem still occurs. The shifting problem was repaired(after considerable argument from the dealership, who initially said that it is "supposed to be like that"), and it now works fine. The air conditioning is still broken, after three repairs.

Performance/Function: The '04 models have 11 new features from the previous. The OEM shift kit which really works well forcing slick shifts. Would recommend the pastic liners for outdoor people especially the tray liner. The stereo speakers/sub upgrade sound pretty good. Glad the tach is in the center. Get lots of looks with the new front end, have had several people ask about the car while it was parked.

Car is docile below 3k, (the engineers planned it this way), only wish it had just a bit more power. Factory paint could be improved (WR Blue). Carpeting is low budget for the ammout of $$. Seats need some lumbar adjustents---> Outbacks have this. Kill the daytime running lights, very annoying. Should have OEM 17" wheels like Euro models. The climate control switches and knob feel really cheap. The rocker moulding has popped off once while getting in and out. Would like a subroof for the wagon and heated seat winter package. Cluch, depress sensor for starting, can be a danger for shorter drivers especailly when stalled at a light.

The car is just great! I decided on the wagon model because needed to haul gear, and wanted to pass it off to my wife as being a sensible "family wagon", yeah right! We got a great deal, using the VIP program so I loaded up with every option, even the handy bin device. Being an owner of several clunky Toyota 4x4's was not sure how I would adapt to a small car. So far, all is well espcially the gas saving. For hauling gear, it does about 60% of what I expected, which is fine. It can haul lumber on the Thule rack while smoking BMW 330's! Would recommend the car to others just be aware it needs high octane to run smoothly. It's just too bad the STI is not avail. in wagon form, cause they would sell 'em. Can't wait till winter!

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2002 Subaru WRX Sedan/Wagon (demo) 1992 Mitsub Eclispe GSX (demo) 1990 Toyota Celica All-trac Turbo (demo) 1988 Misub Conquest TSi

Really fast, corners like a dream. Nice price. Super-comfortable, great seats and control. Chicks dig it- I'm not making this up!

A little sparse in trunk space, not really bad. Don't really care for the wing but that's a personal pref.

Love this car. I recently had a mini-ute and before that econoboxes. Got so TIRED of getting stuck behind Old Men in Hats driving 15 mph under limit. When my mini-ute got totalled I went for the gold. Stumbled onto the WRX and loved it. The biggest problem with this car? Addiction. I have a 20 mile commute each way but when I get home I am itching to find some reason to go out. Doing a lot more "shopping", and "shopping" a lot less efficiently now. ANYTHING to get out and drive around! To get around the minor turbolag issue at first I just gave it more gas at startup, which works fine but then I got a few little performance mods and now that is a thing of the past. This is now a car that can go head to head with anything out there under $120K, with very rare exception. Corners like a hot knife thru butter, accelerates faster than you can imagine. The total mod bill came to $3K and now it'll compete well with a stock STi

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Nothing like this though my friend had a late 60s GTO that was probably not as fast as this.

Has lots of pwer

has very weak transmion

I loved my wrx for about 6000 miles. That is until second gear went out and Subaru would not honor the warrenty on the car. Check out consumer reports for all the others that have had the same problems. So be careful about your driving habits. Contact me at wrxr1stang@yahoo.com if you have had similar problems.

Awesome acceleration, cornering is out of this world, great dash layout, terrific shifter. Bembro Brakes!!! The sound is simply music to my ears.

Seats. Not well bolstered and very hard. The regular WRX (2002-03) seats make you feel much more secure. Rougher ride than regular WRX. This car doesn't mix civil highway manners and road performance like the regular WRX (it's not meant to really). It is definately built on a race car platform. The back wing looks a bit ostentacious and definately elicits negative comments from adult women 30 years and older.

Having used the 2002 WRX for two years I was excited to pick up the new STi. This has most of the excellent equalities of the WRX with additional handling, acceleration, and performance characteristics. No turbo lag here. Acceleration is immediate and urgent, although you still feel the turbo kick. Suspension is very tight but dampened enough to keep your dental fillings in place. Cornering is simply a revelation in the STi. The steering requires more active participation from the driver but rewards you with handling that the regular WRX only dreams about. This is definately a performance car and leaves behind some of the civility of the regular WRX. Surprisingly the new seats are not as bolstered and not as padded, making one feel that he's sitting on top of the seat rather than down into the seat. There is almost no "give" in the padding, again giving the sensation of sitting on rather than in the seat. The seat bottom also does not offer the excellent thigh support of the original WRX. In all, I feel less stable and less comfortable in this new seating position. The seating position in relation to the steering wheel, shifter, front view, etc remains excellent. My backseat passengers don't appreciate the stiffer ride. Shifting is more secure in the STi and third gear seems easier to locate. The 6th gear changes the ratios a bit and I find myself shifting much more often than with the regular WRX. Braking is noticeably improved; shorter, more certain, and with good pedal feel. The exhaust sound is aural pleasure at its best!! You must hear it up close then at a distance. In all this is a successful rendition of a street racer for every day use.

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2002 WRX

Acceleration!!!!!! Handling and steering AWD Reliabilty Easy and cheap to make much, much faster--

Sluggish below 3500 RPM---but that's easy to compensate for--- Stock stereo is weak Doors and trunk sound a bit clunky when closing---you can see I'm reaching here!

Well, after lusting for this car for over two years I finally took the plunge---it was just too good to pass up right now. Rates are low, and I got the car for invoice (24K). Basically, I wanted a car that was fun to drive, performed VERY well, was reliable, and well under 30K. And, living in Minnesota, I really like the AWD SUV's we've owned, and the ability to go through about anything without white knuckles. This car wraps it all up in one neat package. On the surface, a small Japanese 4 door sedan with a 4 cylinder motor---it even get decent milage. Great crash tests, very reliable. So--sensible. Then, you spool up the turbo, drop the clutch, and the thing LEAPS off the pavement with almost no wheel spin. No FWD torque steer here! It presses you back in your seat and you are HOOKED. Handles very well. I got the short throw shifter and it is very good. Brakes are solid. Fit and finish very comparable to my Honda Pilot. Seats and steering wheel are terrific. No better performance car for the money, in my opinion.

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90 Plymouth Laser Turbo

Power and Acceleration All Wheel Drive Interior (seats and steering wheel) Boxer engine (thud thud thud)

Front headlights (alothough I have warmed to them)

You are quite simply not going to get a better car for around the same price. Some say a Nissan 200sx (Silvia) compares. These people, while entitle to their view are misguided. The car is the whole package....and then some. I have upgraded the exhaust system, blow off valve, 18inch wheels and lowered it by 1.5 inchs. A truely beautiful machine.

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Honda S2000

AWD, Acceleration, Control, Did I mention the AWD.

More backspace needed. Better stock rims would be nice.

I was thinking of getting a new Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. My brother talked me into test driving the WRX. Man am I glad he talked me into test driving it. I've driven it for about 4 months and I find any excuse to drive it. I do hate the turbo lag, but I've upgraded the turbo and bought a blow-off valve. Needless to say, it did to job. I love taking turns at 35mph and then speeding off.

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Nissan 300zx and 350z

Handling, MOMO Steering Wheel, Stereo not bad, Engine, New front end, seats, headroom, AWD.

Floor mats could be better. Cup holder a bit flimsy, so I just use the lower console one.

After researching many vehicles, I bought a new WRX. I don't think there is another car that compares to it in this class. I have the auto transmission, which is super smooth. While there is some turbo lag, it certainly provides enough power off the line. That said, hold on to your hats after 4,000 RPMs. If you are seriously considering this car, you are on the right track. Briefly glanced at Protege 5 (blah), VW Golf (riddled with problems), Forester (still too boxy).

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Had a 4Runner.