Subaru Impreza WRX

Price Paid:  $19500.00 from Ann Arbor Subaru

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 TS Sport Wagon, AWD Automatic

Strengths:
Cute, AWD in Michigan is great, very reasonably priced, fun to drive. Its a wagon but doesn't really look mom-ish, especially with the spoiler and alloy wheels. Gets about 27 mpg in mixed driving, bad for a small car, but great for a car with AWD.

Weaknesses:
Road noise, no window frames, interior lighting (lack thereof).

Summary:
What a great little car! This will be my intial review and I will update after 10000 miles. I was getting out of the SUV class and could find NOTHING that fit my search model (young and sporty, reliable, with some hauling room in it) and was ready to give up and keep my SUV until someone suggested this. Seats fold down so there is almost as much room in the rear as the Explorer Sport I gave up. Ann Arbor Subaru was much much nicer than the Lansing dealership. If you aren't going to be racing around and want to save some money, get this over the WRX.

Similar Products Used:
Ford Explorer Sport, Ford Taurus

Price Paid:  $19700.00 from Ann Arbor Subaru

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 Impreza TS Wagon

Strengths:
Price, space in back with seats down, not everyone has one, fun to drive, AWD, and its really cute!

Weaknesses:
Stupid cup holders and visors. Noise above 70 mph is more than I expected, but at slower speeds not an issue. Stereo is pretty junky, need to upgrade.

Summary:
LOVE IT! This is my 6000 mile marker review, and the only blip in my satisfaction has been minor regret that I didn't get a WRX. The TS is well worth the money so far, it is very peppy, corners well, and is handling well in the snow. Gas mileage has been about 25 city, 28-29 highway. Seats have conformed well to my behind, unlike Toyotas, which never seem to conform, just get squishy. Only major complaint about car is the stereo, it just sucks.

Similar Products Used:
Ford Explorer sport and taurus.

Price Paid:  $26000.00 from Jenson Motor Center

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 WRX Wagon

Strengths:
Get up and go speed. Gas Mileage (compared to the landcruiser). Racing seats, steering wheel and gas pedals.

Weaknesses:
Cup holder is in a very bad spot above the stereo, you can not take out the CD without removing your drink. No pause button on the stereo, in order to stop a CD you have to turn off the stereo

Summary:
I went from a 89 Toyota Landcruiser to this awesome Subaru

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $23619.00 from Stevens Creek Subaru

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Impreza WRX Wagon

Strengths:
- AWD - POWER - Plenty of interior room for a compact car - Rear seats fold down easily - Driver's side height-adjustable seat - Super easy to do your own oil changes - So many aftermarket parts available - Convenience and cargo room of the Wagon - Looks

Weaknesses:
- Tires - Turbo Lag - Brakes could be better on this car - Stereo could be better - Econo Interior - Antenna location - Cup Holders

Summary:
Awesome car. I've owned trucks all my life, so this is my first real little sports compact car. It's everything I want in a car! Power, handling, comfort, convenient (Wagon), etc... I race Mountain Bikes, so I need space to put all my equipment. The Wagon is perfect for that as it has plenty of space. I also installed a Factory Hitch, and use a SportWorks rack to carry my bikes around. Now I can get to the trailhead in style and FAST!!

Similar Products Used:
none really...owned truck all my life.

Price Paid:  $36000.00 from Ottos

Strengths:
Steering, Power, Breaks , visablity, and seats.

Weaknesses:
Wind noise in wagon. Could be the roof rails. Some turbo lag with auto. It can be surprising when power is needed in a hurry. Would like better quality carpets and plastics. Sunroof would be nice. The paint looks very thin .

Summary:
Best steering car we ever had. The ride seems just right and is very stable at any speed.

Similar Products Used:
Subaru SVX.