Ralliart is a sports car and they know it. Do they expect you to drive like a Grandma?

 

Most car companies do. Hell, Nissan refused warranty work on GTRs that used the factory launch control.

 

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...ng-cruise.html

this is with an upgraded turbo which spools slower and also adjusted timing which will contribute to the added mileage keep in mind.

 

So my roommate (OP) convinced me to sign up and give my 2 cents. Now before I say anything I should state that I'm by no means a fanboy of Subies or Mitsus. I had friends in school that had Evos and Lancers as well as WRXs and STIs. I knew that at some point I would get one just because I liked the looks, power, and that they had a cool social element to them (usually enthusiasts buy them). So I finally got a decent job and researched the RA, WRX, GTI, and MS3 to death. After careful debate, I chose the WRX. I know I made the right choice for me.

I know the differences between the the WRX and RA have been covered pretty extensively in this thread so I'm going to just say what I like and don't like about my car.

Likes:
1) 265HP stock with a powertrain that can handle significant upgrades without major work to things like the transmission. (I owned a 79 El Camino at one point with a stock 305. I new that if I wanted to up the HP I would have to drop in a new trans and upgrade the rear differential to compensate for the extra torque and power. All that really discouraged me from ever really investing in the car).

2) Amazing handling and suspension with AWD. I live in SoCal, but my family all lives in Oregon. So tomorrow, I'm leaving for a Christmas vacation and driving up to see them... ~800 miles. I know that with all the snow and various other road hazards that I'm no doubt going to be running into, AWD is going to come in really handy.

3) Tons of head room. I'm Swedish by decent and have a fairly tall torso. Some cars have almost no head room at all, like the Hundai Genisis (you have a be a lawn jockey to fit into that thing!). Having that cavernous cab is a huge selling point for me.

4) Rally inspired safety features. One of the things I learned after I had already bought the car was the fact that my WRX had a really high safety rating. My dad actually told me about the reinforced top of the car that was developed to prevent the roof from crushing in case of a roll over. Many cars don't have that apparently.

5) AUX audio jack. I know its simple, but living in the city and having an iPhone with Pandora streaming into the car beats the hell out of any local radio station.

6) Gauge cluster. I know it's simple, but I love seeing that huge tac dead center.

7) Ridiculously comfortable seats. One thing I cant stand in a car is bad seats. Im sure that a pretty common feeling. The seats in the WRX grip the hell out of me in tight turns, and for some reason just seem to work with my build. I love them!

Some stuff I don't like:

1) Lack of "standard" features that come with cars with lower price points. I would think that in this day and age, things like bluetooth integration would be standard in new cars... especially in California with all the cell phone laws.

2) No 6th gear. This drive I'm taking to Oregon in the morning would be a lot more economical with a 6th gear... /sigh

3) Mufflers: looks and sound. I know it's something that's easily remedied, but I still haven't gotten around to putting in a cat back. The stock mufflers on the sedan are just plain embarrassing looking.

4) Weak sound system. I sprung for pretty much the base model WRX because my credit at the time wasn't so great... The stock sound system in the car is just plain bad.

I'm sure there's more pros and cons I could come up with, but I think that covers the major bases. I told my roommate that he should test drive the RA to see how he likes it. He's already driven my WRX a few times and has his own list of pros and cons. They're both great cars IMO, so in the end, it's up to him.

-Seth

 

A 6th gear would be nice but 5th is at least relatively tall. Try driving a Miata, then you'll see what short gearing really is .

 

Yeah at 70mph I'm at about 3k RPM... would be nice if I could cut that in half with a 6th gear.

 

The WRX hits 60 mph in well under 5 seconds according to MotorTrend and Car and Driver:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...n_changes.html

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test

On par with the '09 STi:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...spt/index.html

And definitely better than the EVO X.

 

Now I got the Test Drive on Thursday in Anaheim.

 

Yes, they do.

I'm at about 3k at around 70mph in 6th too. While I don't know for a fact, I'm sure it really doesn't make much of a difference except my 5th isn't as tall.

I always go off of manufacturer claims. Not what one magazine does once with one or a few cars. Trust me, the WRX is not on par with the STi or Evo, according to my first hand experience. At least go off of Edmunds instead of CD and MotorTrend... Or even go off of Automobile. There's plenty of reasons I didn't renew with CD, even for 10 bucks for a full 2 years.

Edmunds:
"In testing, our WRX four-door accelerated to 60 mph in a brisk 5.2 seconds on its way to a 13.7-second quarter-mile at 98.7 mph — easily outperforming the Subaru's nemesis, the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart."

 

I am a former 2004 srt-4 owner who got an IX MR earlier this year.
I've read through your posts and I am still not sure why you want to get rid of your srt-4? I suspect you will not be happy with the power of a Ralliart and once you mod it you are left with no warrenty again...

Is a GSR X out of your buget? To me the price difference between the evo and ralliart is not enough to justify getting a ralliart, expeically if you really want a manual transmission.

 

And want more power while maintaining a factory warranty.

 

Since the SRT-4 is heavily modified it is not a daily driver and not worth it to me to de-mod it.

I am not looking for a dragster I am looking for a car with some pick up and go. I do not plan on modding the new car.

The GSR X would be in my budget but since my credit problem 2 years ago I doubt I can get a loan for it. Plus I really don't need that much power...it would be nice, but not worth the extra 6-8k.

 

hm at 3000RPM in 5th im at 87mph

 

I'm in the same boat right now. My budget doesn't really allow me to dump money into the car, so having something decent on a budget is where it's at. I need something that I can drive in traffic and take cavernous California potholes without worrying about the suspension. The car is already damn fast stock, and with a couple little things (I've only added a cold-air intake so far), it's not hard to get just a little extra out of it.

 

Well, it sounds like you know it won't be as fast as the SRT, without modding and ruining the warranty. But I'd take a shot at a GSR before just going with an RA, especially if your credit 2 years ago is the only thing holding you back. Going for a car with much less power than what you are used to, even if it is a better DD, is rarely fun.