2004 Subaru WRX

[Xenon]

Well after 12 years and 185,000 KM, my mom has decided to get rid of her 1992 Subaru SVX LS AWD. As a replacement car, she wanted AWD, similar hp to match the SVX (230 hp) and something that will boot when she wants it to.

Enter the 2004 Subaru WRX... into our garage. This will be our fourth, that\'s right, FOURTH Subaru (My dad owned a 1996 Outback and a 2002 Outback). This was a showroom car. Someone special ordered it, and then changed their mind. Specs are below:

2004 Subaru WRX
Arctic White
227 hp 2.5 L Turbo H4
4-Speed Automatic (Mom doesn\'t know how to drive stick)
STi Skirt Package
Cloth Interior
6 Disc Changer
Recardo designed front seats
Momo designed steering wheel and shift knob
Moonroof
Foglights

Although I haven\'t personally driven the car yet, my brother says it performs almost as good as he expected. Only because it was an Auto versus a 5-speed. I must say though, the car looks nice in white... I just need to convince my parents to get some gold rims for it.

The price was VERY VERY Good... Dealer really wanted to get rid of the car. Bottom line price including the trade in of the SVX and owner loyalty discount was just a little over what I paid for my Mazda3, coming in at $29,780. Excellent price for a $37,500 car.

Pics coming soon.

[miggiddy]

Nice Xe, your mom drives a sweet car. She\'ll be smokin\' you outta the lights (or any 3 for that matter).:p

[Xenon]

oh well.... can\'t beat everyone. I must say though, our cars a far more responsive and they handle better than the WRX.

So I think a WRX will take the 3 out in a straight line, but I think if we had a windy track or something, I think the 3 might have a chance.

[Soulcrusher]

I\'ve never driven a Subara before, but I would be guessing that an AWD would handle better than even a Mazda3. So when are you gonna give the WRX a test drive, Xenon?

[Xenon]

Well truth be told, My engine light came on AGAIN. This time it has to do with Fuel Pressure, so Westowne Mazda (btw see TM3 Affiliations for an update on our deal) is keeping it overnight, until tomorrow afternoon.

I will be taking the WRX to work tomorrow. It\'s still in it\'s break in period, so I can\'t push it. But I will give it a good handling run on some twisty roads behind the Zoo.

[Soulcrusher]

Lucky you :D

[dinu01]

Originally posted by Xenon


Well truth be told, My engine light came on AGAIN. This time it has to do with Fuel Pressure, so Westowne Mazda (btw see TM3 Affiliations for an update on our deal) is keeping it overnight, until tomorrow afternoon.

I will be taking the WRX to work tomorrow. It\'s still in it\'s break in period, so I can\'t push it. But I will give it a good handling run on some twisty roads behind the Zoo.

Xenon, I live sooo close to the Zoo. Try Old Finch westbound towards Sewells. Another cool route is taking the rural roads north of Steeles to Stoufville. Did it on the weekend. Nice cruising. Just you, the Mazda3 and trees/farmland.

[Xenon]

Originally posted by dinu01


Xenon, I live sooo close to the Zoo. Try Old Finch westbound towards Sewells. Another cool route is taking the rural roads north of Steeles to Stoufville. Did it on the weekend. Nice cruising. Just you, the Mazda3 and trees/farmland.

I take that route to steeles when I go to FX Auto. I take Sewells to Steeles to Markham Rd to Hwy 7 to McCowen.

I only take that route because I don\'t want to go on the 407 (Costs $$$) and the 401 is back tracking south. I love that route, except along Sewells there\'s a lot of one lane areas.

[dinu01]

Originally posted by Xenon

I only take that route because I don\'t want to go on the 407 (Costs $$$) and the 401 is back tracking south. I love that route, except along Sewells there\'s a lot of one lane areas.

The 407 is getting bery expensive now. It\'s basically $1 for every exist you don\'t take:(

[Grifter]

All I have to say is, that is one sweet garage. Winning blue MZ3, white WRX. Not that I\'m dissatisfied with my MZ3, in fact quite the opposite, but the WRX is SO SWEET. Hey Xe, can your folks adopt me? :p :p :p

[FLIPDADY]

The only thing that sucks about the WRX is that it\'s on the top 10 most stolen vehicles list. Keep that car locked up!

[Xenon]

Originally posted by Grifter


All I have to say is, that is one sweet garage. Winning blue MZ3, white WRX. Not that I\'m dissatisfied with my MZ3, in fact quite the opposite, but the WRX is SO SWEET. Hey Xe, can your folks adopt me? :p :p :p


Well I\'ll be 100% honest with you. When it comes to getting off the line, the WRX is way faster, especially after 2700 RPM when you feel the turbo kick in. I was doing 160 on the on-ramp to the 401 without even knowing it. the WRX is FAST!!!

But there are certain things where my Winning Blue 3 takes the cake. The first is the Audio System. My 6 speaker system in the Sport GT has a much clearer sound and the stock speakers give an impressive bass response. The bass is clear and undistorted. The WRX at the same volume has a lot of crackling. Treble and Midrange is fine, but the bass just isn\'t as good.

The second thing... and to my great surprise.. is Handling. My Mazda3 corners noticably better than the WRX. Also the response from the steering wheel is much better. The mazda3 has less of a dead zone on the wheel. You turn the wheel the lightest bit, the car follows. The WRX has a noticably larger dead zone and doesn\'t respond as nicely as the 3.

The last thing I have to talk about is interior/exterior quality and appearance. Parked side by side, I still like the 3\'s styling better, although that is mostly because of my Winning Blue. It\'s truly a fantastic colour, however, if I were to have an Actic White Mazda3 or a Rally Blue WRX, I still think the 3 takes the looks. Interior... The Sparco designed seats are really comfortable, but other than that, the 3 wins once again. The WRX\'s guages are a boring green, as is the rest of the dash. Nothing in comparison to the tri-mode, electroillumicent guages the 3 has. Although the steering wheel and shift know are both designed by Momo, I still like our 3 spoke steering wheel better than the WRX\'s Momo 4 spoke. The 3\'s shift knob is a little fatter and shorter, fitting the contour of your hand better.

Side notes:
Brakes on the 3 are more responsive
Accelerator response is about the same... until the Turbo kicks in on the WRX, then the WRX just boots.
I\'m not used to seeing a hood scoop in my field of view (WRX)... It\'s kinda cool! :D
WRX only has 16\" wheels... that may be why cornering in the WRX is not as responsive as the 3.

That\'s my 2 sense on the two newest cars in our garage.... Next is dad.... He\'s debating between the 2005 Subaru Outback H6-3.0 or a 2005 Infiniti FX35. Although the natural response is to go for the Infiniti, but might I add that the 05 Outback is VERY IMPRESSIVE, and for bang for the buck, I think the Subie will give the Infiniti a run for it\'s money.

[///M]

Nice WRX, too bad it\'s auto. It\'d be so nice if it were manual....mmm white WRX...I wanted an Arctic White 3 but that would mean either a 3 month wait or auto.

[Xenon]

Originally posted by autoexe


Nice WRX, too bad it\'s auto. It\'d be so nice if it were manual....mmm white WRX...I wanted an Arctic White 3 but that would mean either a 3 month wait or auto.

Mom can\'t drive stick :( oh well.

[billyfo]

I went to Upper Canada Mall Monday, there were 2 Legacy on the main floor, I say it is very good looking and with 2.5 GT you can pass many cars as you want:D But price is a little too deep for 4 cyc car, I think it costs $40k for GT model.

Xenon, is your father need to have a SUV or just 4WD? why not wait for V50, similar pricing and looks better than other 2. When I go to work, there is a Volvo dealer nearby, and it shows 1 bright red S40, and for sure it looks nice.

[Xenon]

He wants something with AWD.... we\'ve owned 4 Subaru\'s (including our WRX) and thus far he\'s been really impressed, so he\'s kinda biased towards them.

My mom was considering the Volvo S40... but for the price you pay, you can get an 05 outback.

Comparison: (Volvo S40 T5 AWD- Subaru Outback H6-3.0)

$42,000 - $44,500
215 HP - 250 HP
10 speakers - 12 Speakers

Both come with AWD, a Premium Audio System, but the difference is the Outback\'s audio has a 6-disc in dash MP3 Changer... Volvo only has a 6-disc indash CD player.

Trunk space in the Outback is much larger than the S40 and it\'s a 6 cyl vs. a turbo 4.

Seeing that my dad is a Subie fan, I\'m almost sure he\'d buy an outback over the S40.

[///M]

I prefer the Legacy wagon or B4 Sedan over the Outback...it looks unnaturally raised...crazy wheel gap :p

[Xenon]

B4 isn\'t available in Canada

[///M]

Ah...my bad. I meant the GT.

[MZ3_GS]

Damn Xenon that car is sweeeeeetttttttt:)