Yes, I have done research and seen a few articles, but I'm curious as to peoples' experiences with these two cars.

I did get to drive the Ralliart Sportback (it was an auto. I'm sure the 5-spd is much more fun) and I thought it was pretty great. The closest I drove to an Impreza was the Subaru Forester, but that car has a different feel to it.

Anyone driven the 2.5RS and liked the Ralliart that much more? Up where I live, it rains and snows quite a bit (Canada, eh?) so I'm thinking AWD might be something to consider.

 

i like the rs more. feels torquier. awd...
guess you can't get the evo there, but why not a wrx or sti
dunno about bottom of the line models.
Kinda like getting a hatch back mercedes just gives off a mixed message

 

I bought a Ralliart, because it has a sportier suspension (but not too sporty, so my *** isn't sore after the commute!), is faster, and, IMO, looks better. Around here (Washington, DC area) AWD does more harm than good on anything < 200 HP. The weather just doesn't get that bad around here that often, and when the weather's nice AWD just slows cars like the 2.5RS down.

On the other hand, I probably would've strongly considered the 2.5RS if I lived up north. It all depends on how much you care about bad weather performance...

Oh, and yes, manual transmissions are _much_ more fun than automatics The Ralliart's shifter is by far the nicest shifting one I've used too.

 

I really oughta go and learn how to drive manual. Automatic trannies tend to give a bad example of what the car REALLY feels like. Especially the auto tranny, which uses the 90/10 AWD split vs the 50/50 MTX AWD split.

Given that we get a ton of run up where we live, and considering how sometimes it snows (most of the time, it just ices over), I wonder how much of an advantage AWD would have.

 

DEF RALLIART!!!

AWD will treat you better in canada, but in cali... doesnt do me any good when we see more sun than any other weather condition. 2.5rs is defianetly slower and doesnt feel redifined as the RA. It does have AWD... but that depends on you and your living conditions.

A guy in the RA forum traded his RA in for a 2.5rs wagon, and he even said, he traded it in because he needed more space and the RA wagon was only a auto and he wanted a stick wagon. He also said it was faster and the shifter felt better. I think he said if the RA sportback came with manuel, he would have bought that instead.

RA owns the 2.5rs in the 0-60 and 1/4th if you like to know

 

maybe look into a used impreza wrx turbo...1-2 year old cars are pretty good deals for the prices compared to buying new.

 

true, but then there's the added cost of 91/93 Octane gas and way higher insurance.

 

yea, true. Just take some time and figure out percisly what you WANT.

a phrase someone said to me awhile back, that I won't forget

"Don't settle for anything less than you WANT''. If your choices are all reasonable and attainable then decide what you like best, and get that.

Try and test drive all your options, and then decide . Even if you think an option is 'out of reach', with a little planning it could easily become a viable option.

 

RS is AWD launches better. but also costs a bit more.

 

true that. I'm still trying to find out what it is I want, I guess.

I think what may make the difference is the pricing of both, and whether Mitsu or Subaru will cut a deal. Or maybe I'll buy my dream Geo Metro...

I'll have to admit, though, that the Ralliart Sportback auto was a blast to drive in the city.

 

I would go with the suby hands down. I drove one they are pretty nice and handle really well without having a stiff suspension. It has a good amount of low end has v6 grunt in the low

I also drove a regular lancer (2002 OZ rally) and was really disapointed , it's slower than a civic dx... and did not appeal to me really much.

 

Ralliart is way different from the regular Lancer.

and from driving both an automatic tranny 03 Forester (same engine as Impreza 2.5RS) and an automatic tranny 04 Ralliart Sportback, the Ralliart is DEFINITELY more sportier. However, I think teh automatic tranny in the Subaru sucks up a ton of power.

 

^^^ it does, gotta put all that AT power to 4wheels.

 

I'd say learn to drive stick first. Driving manual in the snow, with a little practice, is much easier than driving an automattic. Slowing down can be nicer because you can downshift and let the engine aid you. That has helped me in the past when i come to a snow covered down-hill road, sometimes brakes just make you slide.

Before buying the ralliart, i test drove the 2.5 rs, sentra spec-v, toyota celica gts (way too expensive), and the honda civic si. The order i would go in from ralliart on down would be::

1) ralliart
2) spec-v
3) 2.5 rs
4) civic si
5) gts

the 2.5 rs just lacked in the get-up-and-go department. It felt sluggish, kind of like it was way underpowered to be driving all 4 wheels. It handles pretty well. the civic was too expensive and ugly, but had a nice feel to it. the gts was just way too expensive for what it is. the spec-v and the ralliart was a tough one for me. They are both quick off the line, almost identical. The spec-v had a 6 speed which was cool, but the evo shifter in the RA really cought my eye. In the end, i like how much more refined the ralliart felt. the spec-v feels sloppy.
AWD is a nice thing to have i'm sure, but its not needed and it kind of ruins the performance of the 2.5rs. i bet you could drive through 3 feet of snow no problem in the 2.5rs though :-P


p.s. i drove the 5/6 speed of all these cars, so i have no clue on how the auto version of each is.

 

comparing a Forester automatic (same engine as 2.5RS) to Ralliart automatic, I also found the EJ25 a bit sluggish. However, it stuck to S-turns and corners like they were nothing!
Ralliart was definitely way more lively!

However, the automatic EJ25 bogs down the engine a lot. Supposedly the manual tranny is supposed to bring it to life but... maybe that isn't the case?

Civic Si and Celica GTS are just waaaay too expensive. Or atleast beyond a certain price point.