YACT-Thinking of buying a 2005 WRX-STi

[JulesMaximus]

I'm going to test drive one this Sunday and I'm thinking about buying it. My local dealership has 5 of them in stock so it's basically comes down to whether I want to wait until the fall when the '05 Mustang comes out or buy one of these now.

 

[BDawg]

My brother has (I believe) an '03 WRX (non-STi). Besides the fact that he never washes it and never vacums the interior, it's a great car. I don't think he's had any problem at all.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

If it were me I'd save some cash and go with an Evo RS.

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I'm going to test drive one this Sunday and I'm thinking about buying it. My local dealership has 5 of them in stock so it's basically comes down to whether I want to wait until the fall when the '05 Mustang comes out or buy one of these now.

get this instead of the Mustang. More reliable.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, one of the engineers I work with has an '03 WRX and he loves it. I was talking with him earlier about it and he said if I drive it I will buy it.

I was considering the Saab 9-2X since that is based entirely on the WRX chassis and engine but for the price premium for the Saab I could buy the STI. Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[jpeyton]

Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
If it were me I'd save some cash and go with an Evo RS.

I don't like the looks of the Evo and I'm not a big fan of Mitsubishis in general.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

'05 Cobra will probably be several thousand dollars more though. I was thinking an '05 GT could be had for less than the STI.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
If it were me I'd save some cash and go with an Evo RS.

So would I. Better looking outside; and I'll sacrifice the nice interior to know I have the fastest track car under $50k.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

Name one mass production car that doesn't understeer. :roll:

 

[Pocatello]

2005 Mustang Cobra looks great, I never could get to like to the bug-eyed WRX STi or its econo-car interior or its boy-racer huge, obnoxious wing. But then the STi is AWD, which is great when the road isn't.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Pocatello
2005 Mustang Cobra looks great, I never could get to like to the bug-eyed WRX STi or its econo-car interior or its boy-racer huge, obnoxious wing. But then the STi is AWD, which is great when the road isn't.

I know, looks wise, the STi takes a back seat to the Mustang but in performance the STi should run circles around the Mustang. I talked to the dealer about having that wing replaced with something a little less obnoxious and he said they could accomodate me on that request. I may just look to the aftermarket though for something a little more low key (probably be cheaper too).

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Pocatello
2005 Mustang Cobra looks great, I never could get to like to the bug-eyed WRX STi or its econo-car interior or its boy-racer huge, obnoxious wing. But then the STi is AWD, which is great when the road isn't.

yes, but the WRX is actually rally-inspired, which means the wing isn't as useless as it would be on a Honda.

 

[kaizersose]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

Name one mass production car that doesn't understeer. :roll:

911

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Pocatello
2005 Mustang Cobra looks great, I never could get to like to the bug-eyed WRX STi or its econo-car interior or its boy-racer huge, obnoxious wing. But then the STi is AWD, which is great when the road isn't.

yes, but the WRX is actually rally-inspired, which means the wing isn't as useless as it would be on a Honda.

Hehe...the STi is a rally car in most respects. You could pretty much take it to an SCCA race and kick ass (assuming you knew how to drive) right off the showroom floor.

 

[TheShiz]

i'd go for the STi

 

[Vic]

There will be no 05 Cobra. It doesn't come out until 06.

Changes for the 05 STi are an improved interior, wider wheels (17x8 with a new lug pattern 5x114.3 instead of the old 17.7.5 and 5x100), some revised exterior trim, a new "Crystal Gray" color paint, you can get fog lamps as an option, a better security system as an option, and the premium stereo system is now standard.

In order to get rid of the big wing, they will have to swap out the entire trunk lid with someone with a WRX of the same color (with or without the WRX's small spoiler). There are usual a lot of WRX owners (not me) lining up to do this, so your dealer will simply ask one of his other customers.

Thus far, STi's have proven to be very reliable, with only minor complaints (especially considering the vehicle's performance).

Check out Nabisco for more info.

So congrats! What color scheme have you decided on? I'm a big fan of WRB (blue) with silver myself 🙂

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: kaizersose

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

Name one mass production car that doesn't understeer. :roll:

911

BS, 911 may be closer to neutral than most but I would suspect Porsche would dial in a slight amount of understeer for a production car just like every other manufacturer out there would. They certainly wouldn't want oversteer in a production car because most drivers wouldn't know what to do with a car that oversteers.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
If it were me I'd save some cash and go with an Evo RS.

Why? Mitsubishi is basically dead in the water.

I.Will.Own.A.WRX.STi......Sometime.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

Name one mass production car that doesn't understeer. :roll:

Watch the 5/30/2004 Top Gear with the Evo8RS vs. STi, the Evo has slight understeer but the STi is laughable through the same corners.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: kaizersose

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

Name one mass production car that doesn't understeer. :roll:

911

BS, 911 may be closer to neutral than most but I would suspect Porsche would dial in a slight amount of understeer for a production car just like every other manufacturer out there would. They certainly wouldn't want oversteer in a production car because most drivers wouldn't know what to do with a car that oversteers.

Um. 911 are notorious for oversteering. They've dialed it down a lot in more recent years but rear-engine and RWD = bigass oversteer.

 

[kami333]

Have you looked at the '05 Legacies?

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Pocatello
2005 Mustang Cobra looks great, I never could get to like to the bug-eyed WRX STi or its econo-car interior or its boy-racer huge, obnoxious wing. But then the STi is AWD, which is great when the road isn't.

There never was a bug-eye STi sold in the US market. Not one. Many WRX owners did mod their cars to be almost an STi though.

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
If it were me I'd save some cash and go with an Evo RS.

Not only is Mitsubishi now so near death that the stripped Evo RS will most likely never be sold, but the reliability of Evos thus far has been less than confidence inspiring.
While I admit that the performance of the Evo is awesome, the prospect of owning a relatively unrealiable orphan would not appeal to me.


And yeah, Fausto is right. The STi is 99% a rally car. And it lets you know it. Comfort and street-ability were not top considerations in its design. The 6 speed is low-geared and close-ratio'ed -- you are constantly shifting. The suspension is stiff and will jostle you around. The stock tires will tramline and are for summer use only.
Despite all the magazines that slammed it for this, the suspension can be realigned to reduce the understeer.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: kaizersose

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Good looking car, out and in. STi vs. '05 Cobra......tough decision. The new Mustangs kick ass; STi's have a more boyish charm. Performance-wise, they'll both run down a straight quickly, but both will understeer.

Name one mass production car that doesn't understeer. :roll:

911

BS, 911 may be closer to neutral than most but I would suspect Porsche would dial in a slight amount of understeer for a production car just like every other manufacturer out there would. They certainly wouldn't want oversteer in a production car because most drivers wouldn't know what to do with a car that oversteers.

Um. 911 are notorious for oversteering. They've dialed it down a lot in more recent years but rear-engine and RWD = bigass oversteer.

The 70s 911 was notorious for that but Porsche has dialed out that characteristic. Most cars understeer because it is much more predictable than oversteer for the average driver to cope with. Why do you think Porsche worked so hard to eliminate that characteristic? I'll admit that it is probably slightly inclined to oversteer if you are throttle off cornering but I would suspect that it is more neutral than anything.

Still, most production cars understeer.

Back to the WRX-STi please!

 

[boomdart]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
If it were me I'd save some cash and go with an Evo RS.

So would I. Better looking outside; and I'll sacrifice the nice interior to know I have the fastest track car under $50k.

Personally I think the MR or whatever is better, screw not having a radio!