I just looked at an 06 WRX yesterday and drove it for around 15 min. I was blown away at how much fun it was, especially after driving a Camry for the last 4 years.

Anyways, I will be buying a AWD car before this winter, and was wondering if anyone had sugestions on any other cars I should look at. As of right now, I am pretty sold on the WRX, which I am sure the rest of you were, since thats what you ended up buying. I still feel as though I should try out some other cars just to make sure. Unfortunatly, it doesn't seem like there are many cars that compair to the WRX. Sure there are the Audis and Mercedes, but I dont want to spend that kind of money or bother with the maintenance hastles. My friend likes her Mazda 6, so I plan to give that a try when I get a chance.

I am interested in the WRX because it is fast, somewhat fuel efficient, and most importantly reliable. This will be the car I need to commute to work with everyday without fail.

Any advise people can give would be appreciated. As I said before I am coming from a i-4 Camry, so I just want to be sure the WRX is the right car for me before making such a large purchase.

Also, as a random question, is it okay to use regular octain gas? The salesman at the dealership said it was fine and that the car i test drove had regular in it. Just curious if this is true.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide and sorry if this information has been covered else where...I did a quick search, but didnt find the information I was after. Thanks.

 

Welcome to i-Club.
You should check out Subie Shopping in the forums.
A 06 WRX is very dependable and reliable for a DD.
As long as you do your 30K maintenance services,
air filter changes,3K mile/3 month oil changes etc. your WRX
will last a long time to come.I test drove alot of cars before
I purchased my 04 WRX and not one of them compair to my WRX
I am very happy with it.If you can get a 06 WRX you will simply love it.
That Salesman was a idiot because you should only run 91 octane or
higher in a Subaru WRX.Beware of shady salesman they will take advantage
of you.Other cars you can consider to test drive is the Audi 1.8T or the Mazda RX8.
Good luck with your car shopping.

 

Thanks so much for your help. I will look at the RX8 when I go to test drive the Mazda 6. I am really not expecting anything to compair to the WRX of course though.

That sucks about the 91 Oc, but I guess its worth the extra money for the great car.

 

RX-8 is not AWD.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

Very true but, it is a better all around car than the Mazda 6
in my opnion and I would test drive one for the heck of it.

 

SUBARU STi

LANCER EVO

AUDI RS 4

 

Uhhh yeah, but it also depends on what he wants to spend.

 

Definatly more than I wanna spend on those suggestions, but thanks for all the help guys.

 

I stopped after work today and test drove the Mazda Speed 6. 2.3L Turbocharged direct gas injection for 274 HP. Wow, was that slow compaired to the WRX. Without looking at the weight, I am assuming that it must be a lot heavier. The salesman was saying that there is almost no turbo lag because of the direct gas injection, but I honastly thought the WRX had less lag. It could just be that the WRX seemed that much faster.

The interior was very nice, especially compaired to the WRX. I also liked the looks from the outside as well. It did worry me that this was the only year they were offering the Speed version (i.e. AWD, and Turbo). I am not sure how I feel about that from a reliability standpoint. This is the first year for their 2.3L engine, although the salesman said they are putting it in another car next year.

Anyways, I am really glad I drove another car, and still would like to find 1 or 2 more to test drive. All this really did though was remind me how amaizing my time behind the wheel of the WRX was. :-)

 

hmm its not awd but should be fine in winter being fwd..SRT-4!

i'd get an SRT-4 anyday over regular wrx

 

wow.. i actually hate the interior of the SRT-4.. its too...err... Neon-ish for me Cant imagine being in one every day O.o

 

it has nice seats though....its really about bang for the buck with srt-4...i don't care what it looks like....i think my STi is ugly lol

 

That 2.3 is the same that they use in the Mazda6i and Mazda3s in N/A trim, it's used with a turbo in the CX-7 and forthcoming Mazdaspeed3. It shares achetecture with the 2.0 four found in some of the other cars (MX-5 and 3i). I would try and find a Mazda dealership who know their product line. It isn't a new engine, nor is it only in the MS6.

 

Don't forget the Saabaru and Volvo

 

I have an 06 wrx and love it....but i really dont think its gas efficient...And if you can maybe you should try getting an sti....it might be a little pricy but if your looking for looks and performance, its totally worth it to get it...