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Thinking of a new car

T

tontod

Diamond Member
My A4 is giving me enough trouble that I'm thinking of a new car. I want AWD, Turbo, budget is $25k. The WRX premium would be around there (with the costco discount), however its available in manual only. The other car I was thinking of is the Lancer Ralliart. Is this a replacement for the Evo? I dont know anything about it, Mitsubishi is offering some good incentives, so its tempting.
 
The Ralliart is below the Evo, like the WRX is below the STi. Still a good car though. If you like the WRX and must have an auto, have you looked at a 2008? Or, if you're looking at the '09s, check out the 2.5GT. It's basically equivalent to the 2008 WRX auto.
 
I would seriously learn to drive a stick. It's not that hard to get the hang of. The 09 WRX has the new 265hp engine. The auto 2.5GT has the old 224hp version.
 
Originally posted by: Jumpem
I would seriously learn to drive a stick. It's not that hard to get the hang of. The 09 WRX has the new 265hp engine. The auto 2.5GT has the old 224hp version.
Click to expand...

I'd love to, but where can I rent a manual car? I'm pretty sure the big rental agencies (hertz, avis, budget, etc.) dont have manual cars for rent.
 
go to the subaru dealer, tell the salesman that you are interested in buying a wrx in a stick and you will pay him 100$ for an hour of his time if he teaches you to drive a stick. He must have many of older models he wont mind to use. Have fun - you will never want to drive a auto again. Good luck.
By the way, I learned to drive a stick on a way home after I bought the car. I stalled it few times, but so what.
 
They say that the easiest car to learn to drive stickshift on is a Saturn.

I wouldn't recommend learning on a car with 265hp; you're really tempting fate there.

I learned on a Nissan 300ZX and managed to blow up the starter and alternator on my first time driving it by accidentally hitting 1st gear instead of 3rd. When you're learning, getting 1st, 3rd, and 5th straight is the challenge; the rest are easy. The Saturn has a nice wide gearbox and a forgiving clutch. On other cars, you can get a tight gearbox where it's easy to mess up.
 
The Lancer Ralliart is a great car. However, there's some negatives to it.

1. Car has stock steering ratio, as opposed to the Evo's quick steering ratio.
2. Drinks LOTS of fuel
3. Underpowered if you're comparing it to WRX
4. Reviews seem to say the suspension is a tad too soft.
 
I think I know a friend who has a manual, maybe if I ask him real nicely he'll let me practice ...........

So, its worth it to learn a manual if I really want the WRX? Anyone driven the 09 model and compared it with the 08 (and older) models?
 
Originally posted by: geokilla
The Lancer Ralliart is a great car. However, there's some negatives to it.

1. Car has stock steering ratio, as opposed to the Evo's quick steering ratio.
2. Drinks LOTS of fuel
3. Underpowered if you're comparing it to WRX
4. Reviews seem to say the suspension is a tad too soft.
Click to expand...
5. it's a mitsubishi
 
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: geokilla
The Lancer Ralliart is a great car. However, there's some negatives to it.

1. Car has stock steering ratio, as opposed to the Evo's quick steering ratio.
2. Drinks LOTS of fuel
3. Underpowered if you're comparing it to WRX
4. Reviews seem to say the suspension is a tad too soft.
Click to expand...
5. it's a mitsubishi
Click to expand...

zing...
 
Originally posted by: Hyperlite
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: geokilla
The Lancer Ralliart is a great car. However, there's some negatives to it.

1. Car has stock steering ratio, as opposed to the Evo's quick steering ratio.
2. Drinks LOTS of fuel
3. Underpowered if you're comparing it to WRX
4. Reviews seem to say the suspension is a tad too soft.
Click to expand...
5. it's a mitsubishi
Click to expand...

zing...
Click to expand...

Truth. I had a couple turbo DSMs, and I'm not ready to ever consider doing that again.

One big positive to the RA though, is the motor is supposedly a Full Evo motor. It has a smaller stock turbo and obviously less aggressive ECU tuning, but those two things can easily be modded to produce the big power. You also get the dual-clutch Evo transmission.

Stock, the '09 WRX should be a good bit faster, but I think that the RA can be modded to and beyond stock Evo levels with not a huge investment, whereas the stock WRX has quite a long way to match the technology offered in the STI, as there a whole lot of parts differences, with significant gaps in the motor, transmission, turbo, exhaust, suspension, and so on.

Neither one is compelling to me though, as you get a more complex vehicle, you have the potential for more complex (read expen$ive) problems. There are much better ways to go fast for that budget.

FWIW, if it were me, and it had to be one of the two, I'd go '09 WRX, just for the reliability aspect.
 
Enough with the "I had turbo DSMs" blah blah blah.

Newer mitsus are plenty reliable even the turbocharged ones. Even with a good beating it just takes regular maintenance to keep them happy.

< Current Evo VIII owner...
 
Originally posted by: CRXican
Enough with the "I had turbo DSMs" blah blah blah.

Newer mitsus are plenty reliable even the turbocharged ones. Even with a good beating it just takes regular maintenance to keep them happy.

< Current Evo VIII owner...
Click to expand...

Sure you're biased for Mitsu being a current owner of a nice one.

But how many miles do you have on it, and what have you done to it?

Reliability of any Mitsubishi is iffy at best, that's a long-term proven fact.

 
Originally posted by: tontod
I think I know a friend who has a manual, maybe if I ask him real nicely he'll let me practice ...........

So, its worth it to learn a manual if I really want the WRX? Anyone driven the 09 model and compared it with the 08 (and older) models?
Click to expand...

yes, do not even consider the WRX in auto form. It just ruins all the fun.
 
Originally posted by: melijak
By the way, I learned to drive a stick on a way home after I bought the car. I stalled it few times, but so what.
Click to expand...

Haha, ya, my brother bought a truck w/manual shift and had never driven stick before. Needless to say, that was a good salesman. 🙂 The drive home was an interesting one as well.
 
AWD drive cars in general are harder to drive with a stick, vs a FWD car, Subaru's especially because of the lashing at lower speeds and in recent models with the rev hanging due to the DBW throttle.

That aside, I think you're going to be sorely disappointed going from the A4 interior to the Lancer, it's really crap.
 
Originally posted by: tontod
Originally posted by: Jumpem
I would seriously learn to drive a stick. It's not that hard to get the hang of. The 09 WRX has the new 265hp engine. The auto 2.5GT has the old 224hp version.
Click to expand...

I'd love to, but where can I rent a manual car? I'm pretty sure the big rental agencies (hertz, avis, budget, etc.) dont have manual cars for rent.
Click to expand...

buy a junker for a few hundred...then learn, then sell it off...the 09 WRX is pretty nice. I love my B7 2.0T though...not sure why you'd want to leave it 😀
 
<-- 08' EVO X GSR

I say, test drive the vehicles and make the decision for yourself.

Learn to drive stick on vehicles with a longer throw and clutch engagement that is more forgiving. Basically, those that tout themselves as being normal family vehicles/pick up trucks.
 
I talked to a friend who has a really old geo prizm (manual) with 230k miles on it - its not his primary car. He'll let me practice on it. Once I get the hang of it, I'm going to go back to the Subaru dealership and test drive the WRX.
 
Have you thought about a Mazdaspeed3? I just bought an 09, and I love it. 263hp, 6 speed manual. Learn to drive a stick. Sorry, but I think it a requisite to having a man card.
On a nother note, anyone seen the new 2010 Ford Focus RS? Too bad it's a europe model only. You can't go wrong with the Subie either. I was wanting a Lancer Ralliart. They are heavy and underpowered, and overpriced. I could not find a dealer
that would come down to $25,000. That's why I bought the Speed3. Good luck in whatever you decide.
 
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