Safety
The WRX has standard dual front and side air bags, ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution with assist and seatbelt pre-tensionners. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) awarded the car 4 out of 5 stars (a good result) for the driver and 5 out of 5 stars (a perfect result) for the passenger in a frontal impact. The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has rated it "Good" in its category.
Conclusion
It is not often anymore that I am saddened when I return a test car. Usually, I look forward to whatever is next on my schedule. This time though, a void was created in my young soul.
Even though this car has a hold on me, I can not help being bothered by the price of the car. At $35,495, a Legacy 2.5GT is only $1,300 more. Its interior is nicer, the chassis is more modern and is just as quick. Worse, for the WRX, a Mazdaspeed6 retails for only $500 extra. I
will be driving it in a few months but as far as I understand, it may have become the new benchmark in the Japanese muscle car group for North America.
Subarus are good cars generally speaking although some maintenance parts are quite expensive. Considering the fact that the cars are reliable and robust, the cost of ownership at the end of the line is about average.
I will close in saying that I wish that Subaru would allow us to get at least one of the special versions of the WRX and STi that they reserve for the Asian market; I think we deserve it.
Good stuff:
Power
Handling
Traction
Looks
Not so good stuff:
Lower seat cushion too short
Turbo lag
Dated interior
Competitors:
PT Cruiser turbo
RSX Type-S
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V
Honda Civic Si
Chevrolet Cobalt SS-SC
Mazda6 Mazdaspeed
Volkswagen Jetta GLI
 |
Conclusion
It is not often anymore that I am saddened when I return a test car. Usually, I look forward to whatever is next on my schedule. This time though, a void was created in my young soul.
Even though this car has a hold on me, I can not help being bothered by the price of the car. At $35,495, a Legacy 2.5GT is only $1,300 more. Its interior is nicer, the chassis is more modern and is just as quick. Worse, for the WRX, a Mazdaspeed6 retails for only $500 extra. I
will be driving it in a few months but as far as I understand, it may have become the new benchmark in the Japanese muscle car group for North America.Subarus are good cars generally speaking although some maintenance parts are quite expensive. Considering the fact that the cars are reliable and robust, the cost of ownership at the end of the line is about average.
I will close in saying that I wish that Subaru would allow us to get at least one of the special versions of the WRX and STi that they reserve for the Asian market; I think we deserve it.
Good stuff:
Power
Handling
Traction
Looks
Not so good stuff:
 |
Lower seat cushion too short
Turbo lag
Dated interior
Competitors:
PT Cruiser turbo
RSX Type-S
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V
Honda Civic Si
Chevrolet Cobalt SS-SC
Mazda6 Mazdaspeed
Volkswagen Jetta GLI
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