If you're focused, it's ok. Try to do an emergency stop in traffic with kids the car. I'm talking about a situation where you can't avoid hitting something. An ABS evo is going to hit the obsctacle at a considerably slower velocity. A crash at 30mph has a much lower risk of injury than at 40mph.

That's different. Of course you'd not want ABS in the snow or gravel where locking up the wheels provides greatest grip.

Don't get me wrong. I spent a hard winter in chicago and have been out in 20" + inches of snow many, many times. I was just pointing out that lack of ABS makes the car much more dangerous in the rain than most people realize.

 

That's what I meant. Are there not huge customs and registration issues with importing a car from the US?

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I should annotate this comment. Most native New Mexicans have no clue how to drive when it is wet. This makes it significantly more likely I'll be in an accident on the public roads. Combine this with the lack of ABS and the fact that when it rains here, it stops within about 10 minutes, and you see it's a very sensible decision to not drive in the wet.

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That must be my problem <grin>.

I have my kids in the car every day. I can't recall when I was last involved in that kind of traffic situation, if ever. I don't mean any offence when I say that I get the feeling were not on the same page. Regardless, I think your comments are extremely relevant to the topic under discussion.

I don't typically drive on gravel so I can't comment, but I have been driving on snow and ice for the past 25+ years. ABS is very helpful to the average driver, and sometimes would be helpful to me if I had it, as would having 4 snow tires. My dad, for example, who is getting on in years, hasn't had winter a fender-bender since he's had ABS. That's saying something ;-).

 

No we are here under the visiting forces act so we arent held to the same import regulations and taxes. All we have to do is a partial light conversion, SVA (single vehicle aplication), register it and then get road tax. In all, it will cost about $400-500 USD.
When we return to the USA, uncle sam picks up the shipping cost for us.

 

I agree with you. I don't think I could ever have another car w/o ABS. Its one of those things that you don't need, until you NEED it. It rains here all the time and the roads are terrible. When I bought tires for the WRX last year I called up Tire Rack and asked for tires with excellent wet grip. Nothing else was a consideration.

 

I don't know if anyone remembers how ~20 years ago there was a big debate happening, just as ABS was becoming more widely available. Some asserted that ABS will have a negative impact on driver competence to the point where new drivers will not know how to effectively modulate their brakes. There were editorials printed in the major auto magazines seemingly almost every month, arguing for one or the other. I thought of this as I was reading this thread.

 

my rs is my daily driver and i love it, not having power windows and door locks is no big deal , i love the sound and i put in my own radio, not having a wing is a plus for me cause it draws less attention

 

sti is much more of a family car. just get it in the right color

 

Wow, what a deal. I'm jealous.

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Thanks ELECTRICIX for the info on the turbo.

Bonestock, good luck with your decision. I would definitely go with the IX over the RS. The ABS is worth having in your climate (not to mention all the other amenities) and especially since you will occasionally be having your kids in the car.

 

I absolutely love this car, once I got a radio installed it was all good. Don't really miss anything else such as power windows and etc. It's a great day to day driver car in my opinion. The price for performance is unbeatable.

 

my RS is fine for the couple days a week i drive it. kinda wish i drove it more.

 

I've been taking vacation days just so I could spend more time driving. The RS is an amazing machine.

 

Yeah I think no power windows and stuff would get old on a daily driver, I would go with the SSL. And turbo spool shouldnt be an issue, just dont put the petal to the floor. BTW I was very suprised when I bought my EVO at the amout of interior and trunk space.