Alternatives to WRX

[senseamp]

Golf R, not sure when it's going on sale in the US

 

[BurnItDwn]

Forester XT might be up your alley, though I think it's a bit more $$$ than the WRX. Forester has a bit of body roll, and it's a bit higher off the ground, but the 2.5 boxer is a pretty sweet engine for a 4 cyl.

 

[wiretap]

Well then see the new Cobalt SS is worlds different and much faster than an Evo X.

lol, good one.

 

[Arkaign]

lol, good one.

They perform almost identically, and both are easy to mod up a bit. The Evo is a lot more high tech and a bit better made though. The Cobalt is one of the old GM holdover platforms that is basically the current gen Cadavalier. The Cruze should be a gargantuan improvement in quality, though an SS model may be a bit off, if they even bother at all. I think it's possible/probable that they introduced the Cobalt SS to fill in a gap until the Camaro came back out (the Camaro V6 overlaps somewhat with the Cobalt SS in price zone and general performance area, though the heavier Camaro isn't quite as sharp).

For Evo money I would rather have a 370Z though, unless I was up north. Whenever I can get the same performance without the use of extra moving parts and complexity such as AWD or Turbo setups, that's the way I like to do things. And of course you can always add FI to a NA car for even more power should you need it, but that's never as easy as adding boost to a vehicle that already has FI.

I think from a performance enthusiast there are lots of fun choices now.

 

[yottabit]

Honestly if you are going to be driving it in Boston often I wouldn't buy anything very nice because A) it's liable to get broken into, B) you're likely to trade paint with dozens of other cars, and C) the roads in Massachusetts are terrible with pot holes. You'll want a small car if you want to park anywhere too

I wouldn't worry too much about the winter aspect of it, Boston doesn't usually get that much snow in the winter. The best thing to do is a get a set of winter tires, that will make a big difference no matter what the setup of the car or truck.

I live in New Hampshire where the winters are worse and with winter tires on my tiny FWD Saturn I've never had any trouble

 

[T2urtle]

the best alternatives to a WRX is to either go a4 2.0T or legacy GT. those 2 are the most compatible. manual trans, somewhat sporty, similiar size, turbo and AWD . Drop the manual trans and turbo then g35x comes into play. I went g35x because its half the cost of a wrx and IS300 i was shopping for at the time.

 

[tontod]

How about the Volvo S40 T5R? Its a bit more expensive than the WRX, and slightly less power, but insurance will probably be less and overall its probably a nicer/more refined car. It has what I'm looking for - AWD, turbo, MT.

 

[Arkaign]

How about the Volvo S40 T5R? Its a bit more expensive than the WRX, and slightly less power, but insurance will probably be less and overall its probably a nicer/more refined car. It has what I'm looking for - AWD, turbo, MT.

Test it and see what you think. I think they're pretty cool, but have some savings or warranty ready for maintenance just in case.

 

[lurk3r]

Legacy GT and the Forester X use the same ~235 hp engine from the wrx and should not suffer the 'moronic kid' insurance markup.

 

[Nemesis 1]

I bought a new 370Z Nissan last week paid cash so all I carry is for insurance is what the law demands . My wife did the same thing with here New Altima. Same applies to My Ford Pichup I bought this summer . All cash minimum insurance . The $$$ we save is undeniably large .

 

[jlee]

I bought a new 370Z Nissan last week paid cash so all I carry is for insurance is what the law demands . My wife did the same thing with here New Altima. Same applies to My Ford Pichup I bought this summer . All cash minimum insurance . The $$$ we save is undeniably large .

Yeah, but if you ever wreck it, that's a really bad day.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Yeah, but if you ever wreck it, that's a really bad day.

Depends on who caused the accident . At least in MN . I know . I carried min on our T-Bird . Was second car in line to be rearended.. Totaled and the other insurance company had to pay Up.

 

[jlee]

Depends on who caused the accident . At least in MN . I know . I carried min on our T-Bird . Was second car in line to be rearended.. Totaled and the other insurance company had to pay Up.

I said if you wreck it, not if someone else wrecks it. If you are at fault, you will be SOL as far as repairing your own vehicle (assuming your state requires that you only carry liability).

 

[Nemesis 1]

What ya said true , I and my wife have never had a self wreck other than a dear running into side of car. The damage was way less than the premiums would have been . Now a Hail storm could be costly . Not . Again you save enough on premiums that what you get from insurance today to suck those little dents out doesn't pay . Premiums are way to high . Since we normally drive 1 vechile only at a time . Our way is saving us enough money were we can pay for new car in 3 short years. But ya it doesn't always work out for the good . But for us it has . Its not for everyone . But in our case its worked well.

 

[herm0016]

i did drive an 09 370Z and it was pretty awesome. If you dont need the back seats i would go test drive one.

 

[StageLeft]

Infiniti G sedan with AWD.

/THREAD

 

[PricklyPete]

Infiniti G sedan with AWD.

/THREAD

No Maxima with chains?