Only if I could have everything... I want a used NSX so bad but can't. RX8 or STi:(

uhhh
 

First of all i can't believe you said the RX-8's cloth seats were cheap...it's really nice and if you can't afford the 4k extra for the GT package like me, who cars. Also if you think that the STi gets more respect than the RX-8 you're dreaming...unless you like in Hickville. Would you rather have a cheap fast POS that will be boring in 50k miles(STi) or would you rather have beauty and prestige and have fun for a lifetime.

Welll if all you want is cheap fast fun.... the Dodge SRT-4 comes in. There is someone on the forum who drives a modded one and it sound faaaast. BUt the ride sucks and interior is just as bad... but it is fast.

If you're really that picky about the STi interior and exterior, just wait for the Subaru Legacy coming into the U.S. soon.

2.5L Turbo 250hp.

http://www.need-desire.com/main.html

That's a Legacy.

Navyboy, it's a freaking Mazda not some luxury nameplate. Car enthusiats have a ton of respect for the STi, which you clearly are not. Your comment about an STi being a POS and the RX-8 lasting a lifetime goes to show you have no clue what you're talking about and.

I can't wait for that. And by the time it gets to these shores it won't be a real b4 legacy. It will underpowered or overpriced.

SRT4 has horrible interior, FWD, bad crash rating, neon looks. It is very moddable and fast but thats beyond the point.

Navy, I never said the RX-8 cloth seats were "cheap." I said i preferred the STi's seats. I'd rather not flame you.

Also I'm unsure with the resell value of the RX-8. The RX-7's kinda flopped. Subaru is planning to end production of the STi due to low sales so I think it can retain its value. They only released it to protect the WRX from the EVO (but it seems to have not).

Subaru is starting production of the MY05 STi this week. It's believed that there will be an option for a spoiler delete, though many people claim the spoiler helps keep it stable at speed. Also, there's rumor that they will all have stereos, and there will be am option between blue and black carpet. These are all rumors, but one thing is for sure, there is a MY05 STi and no confirmed plans for there to not be a MY06, though production after that will probably slow or halt in order to make changes for the revamped MY07 Imprezas.

The Legacy will not be underpowered nor overpriced and it should make be on sale in the US in a couple months. It's already been confirmed to have 250hp but that may be underrated. The Forester XT was rated at 215 with a less aggressive version of the same engine and is really making closer to 240hp.

mhmmmm
 

haha sorry wrxboy, it was 3am and i was a little....wasted.hmm but anyway the STi isn't a POS, but it def. is not as nice of looking car as the 8. And i LOVE my 8's interior thank you very much, and IMO it's safe to say it's better than the STi...but that's just me. oh...and if you drive the rotary right it can last for a very long time.

mhmmmm
 

haha sorry wrxboy, it was 3am and i was a little....wasted.hmm but anyway the STi isn't a POS, but it def. is not as nice of looking car as the 8. And i LOVE my 8's interior thank you very much, and IMO it's safe to say it's better than the STi...but that's just me. oh...and if you drive the rotary right it can last for a very long time.

It's ok Navyboy. I'll take an intercooler sprayer, boost guage, and DCCD, you can have your better formed plastic, sunroof, and other meaningless stuff to look at.

I recently got rid of my '02 WRX in favor of an RX-8. I haven't driven the STi, so I can't make any claims as far as power/handling of that model. I think any comparison between these to vehicles comes down to appearance. Having owned a WRX, I can say that the looks are really pretty good, but I got tired of them after about 18 months. The novelty of a sleeper car wears off fairly quickly when you realize that the average joe (and more importantly to many guys, jane) won't know that you have anything special. In addition, the interior just feels so much nicer when you're surrounded by black leather. And in response to IkeWRX's last post, I think I get more excitment hitting the open button on my nav system than I would if I was spraying down an intercooler.

Disclaimer: I still like WRX's, and would probably own an STi if I won the lottery and had a 20-car garage to fill.

another sorry to Ike, but I'd rather see my tach go up to 9 then push that fast and furious IC spray button.

disclaimer: we all still like you Ike.

Hey man, high reving cars are a lot of fun. But how fast those revs get up there is what's more fun to me. I'll take a car that only revs to 7500 over a car that revs to 9000 if the 7500k redline car has just as much or more or a useable powerband. Or even better I'll take the one that gets to 100 a lot faster and can still attack the twisties. But we have choices because not everyone likes the same thing, which was kind of my point with the last post.



Durahl, there's nothing sleeper about a WRX anymore. Though there is still the ocassional unsuspecting meathead, or someone that knows nothing about cars. I could care less if the average Jane or John know I have something special. This whole thing of impressing non car enthusiasts with your car is nonsense to me. I despise jackasses (not saying you are one) that buy a car or look at a car as a status symbol, I buy my car for me and no one else. Plus, I think it's safe to say the novelty of just about any car wears off after 18 months, you may still love that car but it will never give you the excitment it did in the first year or so. Unless of course you heavily mod it, which is one of the reasons I love my WRX. If the speed loses some of it's luster, I mod it... That's one of the great things about turbo cars in general is how easy and cheap they are to mod. I personally disagree with the leather as well, I've owned cars with cloth and leather and I'll pick cloth every time. You slide around in leather more when driving agreessively and have to deal with more extreme temps (cold and hot), as well as general sweaty discomfort. As for Navigation, if I wanted a luxury car, great. If I have a sportscar I'd rather have fun getting lost.

Having said all that... I'm happy you prefer your RX-8 and found a better car for you. Both the WRX and RX-8 are great cars in their own respect and it just makes me happy that as a consumer there are so many wonderful cars to chose from. It's a good time to be a car enthusiast!

Ike

Yea you're right the WRX is a great car. I was this close to buying a WRX, about 50/50 with the RX-8...then i took it for a test drive. My dad got pretty pissed after i took the freeway on-ramp at 6-mph, that's what impressed me, didn't slip an inch.

6 MPH huh, I'd be pissed to if I were your dad ;)

IkeWRX: I don't want to get into a big argument, so this will be my last reply in this thread. I'll have to disagree with your non-sleeper treatment of the WRX. In my opinion, the label refers to a vehicle with appearances that belie its true power. You interpret it as having to do with the reputation of the vehicle itself and whether someone knows what it is. Well, having owned a WRX, I can still spot an Impreza from a distance and not know whether it is the WRX or the base model (ie: from behind or in a parking lot where the scoop is not visible, and where it may be difficult to see the badge). I don't know about you, but I don't think an RX-8 can be confused with a mediocre sub-compact sedan. The WRX can, and therefore I still believe that it is a sleeper. (Obviously this wouldn't apply to an STi with its giant spoiler)

And with that, I will withdraw from this argument. :)

Ehhh, it's not really an argument, just a discussion. When I think sleeper it's a car that others just won't know what the car is capable of. The average person that is even a little bit into cars is going to know what the WRX is capable of stock. I guess what I'm saying is the WRX was just looked at as another Impreza by everyone when it first hit the roads, it was the ultimate sleeper than. Now people see any Imprezza and start thinking I wonder if that's a WRX or an STi, because they know full well what the car is capable of (in other words the wool over anyones eyes). To me that makes it a car that everyone is on the lookout for rather than a sleeper.

I get where you were coming from, we just have a different way of looking at sleepers :)

speaking of sleepers, it's time for me to go to sleeper.

G'night, and ditto :)

Keep in mind the WRX is running RE92 tyres, they are very bad on grip. The RE040 that are on the 8 is not all that great either but much better than the 92s. As for the STI RE070 it is some serious tyre.

BTW if it didn't slip an inch you are not going fast enough. :D

Yep, put some better tires and a rear sway on and it's a whole different car.

I had to make the same decision about a month ago btw the STI and the RX8. I was coming from a 3000GT vr4 so I knew what real horsepower was. I was very impressed by the performance of the STI. Great power. But the styling both interior and exterior was horrid.

Once I looked at the RX8 I fell in love. But the performance was mediocre. Its great fun to drive, but just doesnt have the punch until u get up in the high rpms. On the twisties, the performance of both cars is even.... but straightline the STI wins out.

In the end, I could get a GT RX8 for about $1500 less than the STI. Plus, if I had gotten the STI I would have had to buy an audio system for $1000. Also, the RX8 came with leather for cheaper. Total of about $3000-3500 difference in value. I figure if I put all that money into mods, the RX8 will be just as fast. Then it will be perfect

I made the mistake of talking a bunch of my friends into buying a WRX... usually they don't listen to me. So when I was ready to go buy a car the WRX simply was not on my list anymore (I am the person who wont order the same food as you do at a restaurant).

All of that being said:

The STi is one kick ass car, I certainly would not bitch about owning one. I have owned a Sub before, rock solid reliability, great for winter driving, nothing bad to say about them really.

Why I chose an RX-8 over an STi besides all my friends owning WRX's really boils down to a couple points.

I live in a warm climate, I still associate Subs with winter cars, I don't plan on living near snow ever again :).

I also have owned some Mazda cars, completely reliable as well, I know Subaru usually scores just a little bit higher on most consumer scales of reliablity, but nothing significant.

Test drive of the 8 hooked me... The 350z was nice, the new Maxima was a contorted clown car, The WRX was nice as always, the STi was impressive, the Acura RSX was ok; Also the Mazda dealship has this empty residential zoned area right next to it. It's like an autoX, simply awesome, if you are near Austin go hit Premier Mazda just for the test drive. I also took out a Mazda 6, nice car, nothing compared to an 8 of course.

The STi is a sleeper, I gave one of my friends a ride to the tire shop to pick up her car, one of my co-workers said something to the effect of "Take is slow so she doenst freak out".... I then explained the reality of the situation to him. 90% of the world has no idea that the STi is faster than a Protege, depending on if attention is what you are seeking, is either a good, or a bad thing.

I am trying to add something new to the thread, looks, performance, interior, handling, has been done to death.

You can't go wrong either way, both are great cars...

Oh then final clincher for me was that I got my 8 for Invoice because my place of work is entitled to the "S" plan ~3k less than MSRP. (That never hurts ;) )

Did I mention that my dream car in college was a 93 RX7?

Everything you said is what is going through my mind right now.

I'm just unsure of the reliability of this new rotary engine [mazda is great, but a 9krevving rotary is kinda uncharted territory (hence engine design of the year)]. And the fact that the STi just won car of the year (road&track) is making it harder.

tell me about it. I got a chance last night to ride in my buddy's EVO. I didn't like the wing or the garbage interior, but that car is extremely fast. I have some regrets as well, but I know that the 8 was the best choice for me in the long run.