This is background information, if you don't like stories, skip down to the next paragraph.
So I've been looking for a vehicle to add to my garage for the last few months, I'm a college student and am transferring schools this year and will have a 120 mile commute daily for school for the next few years. Currently I drive a 2000 Forester, hit 200,000 miles a few weeks ago and I love this car. It's still running strong after being ran hard for the last 35,000 miles that I've owned it for. I headed to Prime the other day and test drove the BRZ and the WRX 5-door. I would add the XV and FXT to my list if they had manual transmissions available (XV does yes, but not in Limited trim). Also worth mentioning is that I will be keeping my Forester and using it as a winter beater, I'll drive whatever new car I get on clear days but the Forester will be driven in snow and the new car will be getting snow tires just in case.
First impressions: I absolutely loved the BRZ, I'd never really driven a sporty vehicle so it was definitely a lot of fun but I was also too considerate and was afraid to take the cars past 4K because they're new and I didn't feel like beating on somebodies new car (especially since there was a 0% chance of purchasing these cars since they weren't what I wanted). The BRZ was great, I loved the seating position, I'm a skinny guy (6' 135 lbs) and the seats fit me perfectly. The car felt great, very tight and precise. The WRX on the other hand was kind of sloppy feeling in comparison, everything seemed to have some play to it, nothing a STS, bushings, and some other mods couldn't fix but still didn't compare to the BRZs overall feel. Both cars have their ups and downs to me though...
BRZ Pros/Cons: Pros:
Interior is great (vs. other Subarus)
Car looks great
34 MPG
Coupe with enough room to fit some stuff in the trunk
Rarity
Very "connected" feel, everything feels precise
HIDs
Keyless entry
Cons:
RWD
Cargo space (I ride mountain bikes, ski, snowboard, and do a host of other activities)
Lack of a good back seat (no 3+ person road trips)
WRX Pros/Cons: Pros: AWD
Turbo
Cargo space (I can fit 4 mountain bikes in my moms 09 OBS)
Has a real back seat Moonroof
Cons: 25 MPG (could be tuned for more, yes)
Insurance is higher
Doesn't look as great (interior and exterior)
"loose" feeling
I went out and test drove these two cars again as well as a few others (GTI, Focus ST, Veloster Turbo). The 370z and Miata PRHT were also on the list but I didn't test drive them because I kind of ruled them out already. I liked the GTI but it's a VW...great when it works, crap when it doesn't. The Focus ST was good at first impressions, but the follow through sucked. FWD and the complete crap interior didn't help it at all. The Veloster was a joke as well, interior was alright but the car just felt weird. Miata got thrown out because I can't put a roof rack on a convertible (which I might do if I get the BRZ), and the 370z I didn't go for because of the lack of interest I had in it.
So basically I need help deciding between the BRZ and WRX. I know they're very different but I just can't make my mind up. I've driven them both again yesterday and this time around I wasn't scared to get on the gas pedal (the sales person drove the car to a parking lot off the dealer property before I drove it and he got on it from the get go on a cold motor). The WRX was a lot more fun this time since I got to use the turbo, but still lacked some feel. The BRZ was also more fun. No matter which one I get I'll be installing an exhaust, intake, and doing a tune pretty quickly. After that I have a whole list of mods and on the BRZs list there is the plan of a supercharger/turbo kit down the road.
C/N : BRZ vs. WRX 5-door vs. other. 120 miles/day, keeping current Forester for bad weather days and equipping snow tires on whatever car I purchase.
So I've been looking for a vehicle to add to my garage for the last few months, I'm a college student and am transferring schools this year and will have a 120 mile commute daily for school for the next few years. Currently I drive a 2000 Forester, hit 200,000 miles a few weeks ago and I love this car. It's still running strong after being ran hard for the last 35,000 miles that I've owned it for. I headed to Prime the other day and test drove the BRZ and the WRX 5-door. I would add the XV and FXT to my list if they had manual transmissions available (XV does yes, but not in Limited trim). Also worth mentioning is that I will be keeping my Forester and using it as a winter beater, I'll drive whatever new car I get on clear days but the Forester will be driven in snow and the new car will be getting snow tires just in case.
First impressions: I absolutely loved the BRZ, I'd never really driven a sporty vehicle so it was definitely a lot of fun but I was also too considerate and was afraid to take the cars past 4K because they're new and I didn't feel like beating on somebodies new car (especially since there was a 0% chance of purchasing these cars since they weren't what I wanted). The BRZ was great, I loved the seating position, I'm a skinny guy (6' 135 lbs) and the seats fit me perfectly. The car felt great, very tight and precise. The WRX on the other hand was kind of sloppy feeling in comparison, everything seemed to have some play to it, nothing a STS, bushings, and some other mods couldn't fix but still didn't compare to the BRZs overall feel. Both cars have their ups and downs to me though...
BRZ Pros/Cons: Pros:
Interior is great (vs. other Subarus)
Car looks great
34 MPG
Coupe with enough room to fit some stuff in the trunk
Rarity
Very "connected" feel, everything feels precise
HIDs
Keyless entry
Cons:
RWD
Cargo space (I ride mountain bikes, ski, snowboard, and do a host of other activities)
Lack of a good back seat (no 3+ person road trips)
WRX Pros/Cons: Pros: AWD
Turbo
Cargo space (I can fit 4 mountain bikes in my moms 09 OBS)
Has a real back seat Moonroof
Cons: 25 MPG (could be tuned for more, yes)
Insurance is higher
Doesn't look as great (interior and exterior)
"loose" feeling
I went out and test drove these two cars again as well as a few others (GTI, Focus ST, Veloster Turbo). The 370z and Miata PRHT were also on the list but I didn't test drive them because I kind of ruled them out already. I liked the GTI but it's a VW...great when it works, crap when it doesn't. The Focus ST was good at first impressions, but the follow through sucked. FWD and the complete crap interior didn't help it at all. The Veloster was a joke as well, interior was alright but the car just felt weird. Miata got thrown out because I can't put a roof rack on a convertible (which I might do if I get the BRZ), and the 370z I didn't go for because of the lack of interest I had in it.
So basically I need help deciding between the BRZ and WRX. I know they're very different but I just can't make my mind up. I've driven them both again yesterday and this time around I wasn't scared to get on the gas pedal (the sales person drove the car to a parking lot off the dealer property before I drove it and he got on it from the get go on a cold motor). The WRX was a lot more fun this time since I got to use the turbo, but still lacked some feel. The BRZ was also more fun. No matter which one I get I'll be installing an exhaust, intake, and doing a tune pretty quickly. After that I have a whole list of mods and on the BRZs list there is the plan of a supercharger/turbo kit down the road.
C/N : BRZ vs. WRX 5-door vs. other. 120 miles/day, keeping current Forester for bad weather days and equipping snow tires on whatever car I purchase.