Now my battery is dead in the M3

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by pDz

i'd rather have a new interstate battery and torque, personally.

:smile:

at least you fellas took the effort to drive a MCS.

i had the pleasure early on and it was fun.

it obviously made such a huge impression on me that i didn't buy one --i think the WRX, for all that it is, is a ton more fun. hard to get over that japanese badge, though, for a lot of people. i know.

Is it just me, or is the regular WRX overdamped and WAY under sprung? (Or perhaps it's adequately damped and WAY undersprung...)

[lemming]

Originally Posted by Nick325xiT 5spd

Is it just me, or is the regular WRX overdamped and WAY under sprung? (Or perhaps it's adequately damped and WAY undersprung...)

undersprung, i would guess. it has an odd floatiness during transient maneuvering with the OEM suspension bits.

[dan]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

I also agree.

[SARAFIL]

Originally Posted by bonoboy

Whatever appeal the Elise might have for you, I sure hope styling isn't one of them. I won't argue that it isn't a blast to drive, but I will argue that it has very little physical beauty.

[TD]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

Whatever appeal the Elise might have for you, I sure hope styling isn't one of them. I won't argue that it isn't a blast to drive, but I will argue that it has very little physical beauty.

I'd really have to agree.

But it's not ugly enough to ever rule out based on looks (like the Z4 is).

[dan]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

Whatever appeal the Elise might have for you, I sure hope styling isn't one of them. I won't argue that it isn't a blast to drive, but I will argue that it has very little physical beauty.

I absolutely love the way the Elise looks, inside and out.

The Esprit is a different story--I think it's heinous.

[dan]

HOT HOT HOT!!!

[clyde]

Originally Posted by pDz

undersprung, i would guess. it has an odd floatiness during transient maneuvering with the OEM suspension bits.

I haven't had all that much seat time in WRXs but my impressions were primarily that it was undersprung for road use. IIRC, I also thought that the low speed compression was too soft but high speed compression was at least okay. Rebound didn't seem all that bad considering what else was going on.

OTOH, with the rally heritage of the WRX, I wonder if it would be so unsuited for high speed dirt road use. Generally, I find the "race-inspired" marketing speak to be pretty hollow, but in this case, I'm not so sure.

[JST]

Originally Posted by clyde

I haven't had all that much seat time in WRXs but my impressions were primarily that it was undersprung for road use. IIRC, I also thought that the low speed compression was too soft but high speed compression was at least okay. Rebound didn't seem all that bad considering what else was going on.

OTOH, with the rally heritage of the WRX, I wonder if it would be so unsuited for high speed dirt road use. Generally, I find the "race-inspired" marketing speak to be pretty hollow, but in this case, I'm not so sure.

OK, so we got to try the WRX today. If they don't find the GTI, that's probably what we'll get.

Here's some brief thoughts:

Postives:
-Nice, intuititive clutch takeup
-Good shift feel, good steering feel
-Tossable, and the AWD eliminates torque steer
-Good seats
-Plenty of power up high
-Unbeatable utility--AWD and a big hatchback/wagon body style mean that it's a mini SUV, but one that goes fast and handles sharply
-Nice, no nonsense gauge and control layout. Everything falls readily to hand, and the central mounted tach is a good touch. At the same time, it doesn't completely do away with the analog speedo (like the RX-8).

Negatives:
-Interior materials feel low-cost econobox, but they're not as bad as I thought they'd be
-Turbo lag--the engine is nowhere near as tractable as the VW 1.8, but it has a bunch more power on the top end in exchange
-Weird options. The sedan has heated seats and a sunroof available, but inexplicably the wagon does not. And to get anything but the stupid looking 16" OEM wheels you need to spend $$$.
-Intercooler scoop looks like a snout and is a distraction in the driver's field of view


The bottom line? The WRX is far from perfect, and there are a lot of little touches that the VW has that the Subaru doesn't. But the WRX is just as fun to drive as the Mini (IMHO) and offers a whole lot more utility and speed. For c. 25K, it seems like the obvious choice.

I like WR blue.

[blee]

Hmm...looks like I'm chiming in a bit late here. But two thoughts:

-I love the new Elise's styling. It's pretty damn hot.

-WRX wagon is a good choice if you're definitely not going to buy another GTI. I'm not a fan of the engine on the base WRX, especially when the STi is so much more tractable (admittedly with no possibility of a wagon IIRC). But overall it's a nice little car, especially if you can get a price somewhat under MSRP.