Hmmm....I've been a lurker in this board since I got my Max last June. I know some are keen performance hounds at least interested in the new MY02 Impreza WRX, so I thought I'd post a little more info for you.

First for the concerns about whether this is the same WRX considered one of the Ten Best cars at any price most everywhere but the US...YES!!! Abroad there are a few "trim levels" of the WRX. The US spec WRX is roughly equivalent to the base WRX elsewhere (Higher-powered WRX's in the 280+ HP range are usually a result of Subie's in-house STi tuning program...kinda like SVT with Ford or I guess TRD with Toyota. Also, SPT (Subaru Performance Tuning), the U.S. counterpart to the STI accessories, is already in the works. So building a 300HP WRX will be as near as a drive to your dealership. Now I say roughly equivalent because the US WRX actually makes 10 more HP than the Euro spec one. And that is after they kicked it in the knee caps to get LEV (Low Emissions Vehicle) status with such things as a catalytic converter *before* the turbo. As the editor of Sport Compact Car noted in this month's editorial "the tuner community is going to go wild when this car hits the streets this year." I am not really much mechanically, but I daresay 300+ HP AWD WRXs will be prowling the streets Stateside by late this summer. Remember the Syclone?

Someone in another WRX thread here posted the chassis on the current RS's is a tad soft. The new chassis is orders of magnitude stiffer, boasting a 140% torsional stability increase and an 84% flexional increase in the body structure. Reviews from those who have drove it have been stellar. In fact, at the press introduction at a rally driving school in Florida recently, journalists were allowed to flog the car through rough terrain including jumps (!) and the worst that happened was two punctured tires. Impressive.

Now to the availability and those who say they'll wait. This from a reporter at NAIAS: "The WRX is priced to sell at only $23,500. A great bargain for those looking for a powerful turbo car on a budget. The price point has surpassed everyone's expectations for affordability. Best guesses on the net were anywhere between 24,000 and 40,000 dollars. Get one now, while you still can. There are 10,000 Imprezas being made for 2002, 40% of those will be WRX, and 450 will be made in a limited edition 'blaze yellow' color. I prefer to call it 'speeding ticket yellow'. Other colors will be a metallic black, silver, white and red." So roughly 4000 WRXs for the US and Canada. That is more rare than my 2000 SVT Lightning. Plan on getting one for $400 above dealer invoice? ROTFL! Good luck. Import sports cars are hot right now and this one is easily King of the Hill right out of the box. Run, don't walk, to your nearest Subaru dealer if interested. Prices were released in Canada on the 25th, so that they could start placing orders. Every dealer I called had a waiting list.

 

Hey Albertan, whats up?
How do you like your max?
I thought about a SVT Focus or WRX for a daily driver, but with my change in employer, a Maxima or G20T will be very affordable.

 

The Max is good. I was gonna sell it, but for now it still has a home. I'm in the middle of a serious dilemma though. Keep the Max or go with the WRX. My wife says I am doomed. The Max is beautiful and truly a good value, but it doesn't have nearly enough power for someone who owns the likes of Lightnings, Syclones, and Ram Air 'Birds. I was looking into the Stillen SC setup, but as anyone who has been for a ride in a Syclone knows, the AWD in the WRX will squash any Max like a bug on its grill. So performance wise its the WRX in a walk. But then there is the fact that its butt ugly from most any angle...and a lot smaller. My wife says I won't keep the WRX more than a year cause it looks like the 2001 Neon (bug eye headlamps) we bought last Fall for a Winter beater. So the WRX has the power and is also a truly great value, but is just about ugly enough that I'm not sure I'd want to be seen driving it.

So it comes down to this. Is it more important to ride in style and look straight ahead at the stop light when a 330 Bimmer pulls up along side, or to be in a car that everyone thinks is kinda goofy looking as they wonder why its walking by them like they were standing still? Am I the sane and sensible grown-up, or the crazy young punk looking for trouble at every stop light? At 31 years old, it looks like its time to get off the fence.

Mind you if anyone ever beats me in a SC max I can go hunt them down mercilessly in the Lightning...Life is Good. >=)

Oh well the WRX won't be here for a few months. Choices choices....

 

How do you guys talk your wives into getting these cars? The local Honda/Acura dealer has got 3 S2000s & 2 Type Rs and my wife is giving me serious $hit about getting one. What's the trick? Ahhhhhhh, life isn't fair.

I need to hypnotize my wife into becoming a car nut.

 

Well, I don't have convince my significant other, she likes cars, and is a powertrain engineer.

 

I wear my wife down until she just wants me to shut up and buy the car I'm jammering about. She gave me the go ahead for the AE Max, but I changed my mind afterall.

 

LOL....my wife hates cars. Or at least is completely uninterested in them. Her biggest goal automotive-wise is to have me sell our loaded '99 Safari AWD van and give her the '01 Neon I use as a winter beater. She just shakes her head as the WRX is the fifth new car I have bought in the past year ('99 Safari AWD, '00 Max SE 5spd, '01 Neon, '00 SVT Lightning, '02 Subie Impreza WRX), and its common knowledge in the household that as soon as GM announces is plans for the Trans Am (The St. Therese plant is confirmed to be shutting down and it is expected they are going to stop making them altogether after 2002) we are getting one and tucking it away in a time capsule with the Lightning. But to sum it all up in a nutshell, money is not an issue for us fortunately so its just a matter of not pissing the neighbors off so bad that noone on the block will talk to you cause they are jealous. Oh wait...that already happened a few vehicles ago. =P

As for the S2000, I drove it and wasn't impressed. It epitomizes what is wrong with Japanese sports cars...you gotta scream them up the tach so high they sound like they are gonna pop to get any speed out of them. Sure if your idea of fun is rowing the gears up around 6000+ rpm then the S2000 is for you. On the street I don't really see it as much of a threat. I bet most owners cannot drive them properly but thats just me. That's what attracted me to the Max. Its got some torque down low. Nothing like the 450 ft/lbs in the Lightning , but at least if you race a NA built vehicle they won't be laughing at your screaming rice burner.

 

LOL....my wife hates cars. Or at least is completely uninterested in them. Her biggest goal automotive-wise is to have me sell our loaded '99 Safari AWD van and give her the '01 Neon I use as a winter beater. She just shakes her head as the WRX is the fifth new car I have bought in the past year ('99 Safari AWD, '00 Max SE 5spd, '01 Neon, '00 SVT Lightning, '02 Subie Impreza WRX), and its common knowledge in the household that as soon as GM announces is plans for the Trans Am (The St. Therese plant is confirmed to be shutting down and it is expected they are going to stop making them altogether after 2002) we are getting one and tucking it away in a time capsule with the Lightning. But to sum it all up in a nutshell, money is not an issue for us fortunately so its just a matter of not pissing the neighbors off so bad that noone on the block will talk to you cause they are jealous. Oh wait...that already happened a few vehicles ago. =P

As for the S2000, I drove it and wasn't impressed. It epitomizes what is wrong with Japanese sports cars...you gotta scream them up the tach so high they sound like they are gonna pop to get any speed out of them. Sure if your idea of fun is rowing the gears up around 6000+ rpm then the S2000 is for you. On the street I don't really see it as much of a threat. I bet most owners cannot drive them properly but thats just me. That's what attracted me to the Max. Its got some torque down low. Nothing like the 450 ft/lbs in the Lightning , but at least if you race a NA built vehicle they won't be laughing at your screaming rice burner.

 

 

Yep, I think the car is a bit ugly, but will probably look better in person (especially the flares). Oh well, the Maxima was never known for its good looks anyways.

Albertan: I hear you on the jealousy thing. My wife and I only have 2 newer cars and we get all kinds of crap from workers and bosses. I had to learn the hard way to never drive a better car(s) then the boss or his boss or his boss. Why do people care?

Are you not impressed by the S2000 because it is the complete opposite of your SVT? I didn't drive one, so I'm not sure of what to expect. I'm assuming it would be a steriods enhanced version of my old GSR. The only qualm I have so far is the lack of space. I'm 6ft tall 200lbs and there isn't much room for any movement. All in all, it is a beautiful automobile, and I'm still used to revving the hell out of the old 1.8 so I probably would love it. Oh well, I'll just keep looking for a MKIV Supra. Give you lightning guys something to worry about.

 

Wow, can you say "Breakdown" time and reliablility issues for those WRX, i guess not since you own american cars, i guess you dotn' care.

btw, you must be a really good sale's person, sounds like you are selling WRX!!!just a thought

Tim

 

Wustylez: Breakdown time? Reliability issues? What makes you say that? It was flogged by a bunch of journalists through an off-road course and survived. True its a high strung engine, but its proven itself in Australia (and I think Europe) with a higher output. So I'll basically shrug off the reliability issue until someone shows me otherwise.

As for the good salesman, how do you think I afford all these vehicles? =P Seriously, I was just pumped to see such a high performance car available at such an awesome price. I was eyeballing an Audi S4 but couldn't justify the money for anything but an American musclecar, past or present. The prospect of a car that outperforms the Audi for just over half the price is amazing.

Zam: Yeah that Boss thing could be a problem. Errr....can I have a raise. Oh that Lightning in the parking lot? Ummm...its my brother's. He loaned it to me while the Neon's in the shop. lol.

Umm the S2000 is a cool ride. I just found it unnerving how hard it had to be ran to get it to go. You're hard-pressed to keep it in the powerband with a saleman beside you on the test drive. And that to me is Japanese cars in a nutshell. To get to their max HP numbers you gotta run them so hard you'd think you are doing something wrong. At least if you've grown up with American Iron.

 

Sorry man, I guess being in the States does suck for japanese import stuff like this..come on, my friends back in Taiwan had that car almost 3 years ago, and they told me that the car was a piece of ****(sorry to disapoint those who are so hyped up about such car). Subaru had that engine long time ago, like i mentioned before, they just redesigned to fit US emission regulation which equals no performance(dont' get me wrong, for states this is a Hot car,,hehe)..but compare to my friends back in Taiwan, where they are running that thing with NO Cat on it straight piping..baby..that thing is LOUD, and LOUD

Anyway, Subaru has been known for reliability issue in Asia countries..that is why I am hoping they did something to improve it for the US Spec.(i doubt it tho)

Tim

 

attn: silver bullet.

What kind of mods do you have on that SVT to run 13.20s. Just curious cause my friend has a lightning too, lightly modded that runs a 13.40.

 

That car is stupid. Cars seem to be getting faster and faster each year... why not wait until reliability is proven and until it is styled better. That car is way too ugly. I would wait a few years. All the car companies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon with these special fast cars. This is what I'm waiting for...

 

Than it already is, DOM. This turbo engine setup has been available on the JDM and Euro-spec Imprezas for years. The chassis has won WRC championships, and is the car of choice for rallyists, alongside the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and it's only gotten better.
I have to admit, I can't stand the headlights either. Since so many ppl don't like them, it's possible that an aftermarket manufacturer will cook up some headlight eyebrows to fix it, if not some different housings like they did with the previous generation Impreza.

And one more thing: The primary reason the Mitsu Lancer Evolution hasn't been offered here is because of the front bumper, and it's inability to pass crash tests here. Y'know, I'm talking about the front end with the big foglights and all. Well, if you check out the issue of Road & Track with the new M3 vs the 'Vette Z06 vs the Porsche Carrera, it has a spy photo of the Lancer Evo 7 with a front end-sans foglights-that should easily pass crash tests here. It looks like Mitsubishi might bring the Impreza/Lancer rivalry to the states after all.

 

I was going to put a deposit on one, but I will wait till June for an August delivery. I wanna place my gludes in one first. Here is what I am looking at : http://Imprezed.Tripod.com/TASSTIWrx.jpg I may not actually do the graphics, but I have my name on the list for the Prodrive body kit. I will need to find a good home for my baby : http://home.earthlink.net/~lovejoy1/maxima.html first. Everything will go except the amps, not unless they wanna pay a hefty premium for them.

Lovejoy

[Edited by Lovejoy on 01-31-2001 at 08:06 AM]