Went from BMW to Subaru

[sjwaste]

Can you elaborate, please? I'm trying to see any reason I'd prefer a child in a tin can Subbie vs. a 335i.. and we have both a 335i and a STI in our garage..

Sure, I can elaborate.

I'd prefer a child in a Subaru Outback to a 335i. It's a larger car with a higher ride, has some more vertical space in the hatch, AWD, and it costs less. A 335i has a smaller back seat - it's a compact, right?

Outback has a 5 star safety rating in everything but rollover. 335i Sedan is 4 star in everything except for side impact. Coupe fares a little better, but we're talking about hauling kids, right?

I've driven both. It'd be a lot easier to get kids and cargo in and out of the Outback. If I want to go out and have fun, I have a Supra for that.

 

[Arkaign]

Makes sense. I just don't let my daughter eat in the car, never had mess problems. Guess I'm a terrible strict father, hah.

I take advantage of BMW's Pre-Certified Used program. BMW's come with a 4 year warranty, and buying a used car tacks on another 2 years of about 85% of the same coverage (their warranty is honestly amazing, it even includes routine maintenance and oil changes.. never pay a thing). So basically, buy a 1 year old BMW and don't pay the 15% off the lot depreciation, then get a 5 year warranty.. bam!

That makes sense too. They truly are wonderful cars.

 

[ballmode]

I used to drive a Miata and S2000

then I got my very first 4 door, a lightly modded WRX with Sti Turbo, full suspension, Cobb tune, pushing about 300hp.

Torque was like wow reminds me of my SV650!

Space is like wow, I don't have to play tetris with a trunk!
At first it was bulky and I had trouble parking it, but now I wish I had the wagon to haul bikes easier

 

[Saga]

I used to drive a Miata and S2000

then I got my very first 4 door, a lightly modded WRX with Sti Turbo, full suspension, Cobb tune, pushing about 300hp.

Torque was like wow reminds me of my SV650!

Space is like wow, I don't have to play tetris with a trunk!
At first it was bulky and I had trouble parking it, but now I wish I had the wagon to haul bikes easier

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the car weigh? (if it was modified heavily, just a ballpark is fine). With the tune and the STI turbo you were only reaching 300? Isn't the stock STI 305+ HP, or do they inflate those numbers?

 

[DivideBYZero]

300HP is a great number in a Scooby. My 1st gen WRX Wagon pushed only 245hp and was as quick as a blob-eye STi.

 

[Arkaign]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the car weigh? (if it was modified heavily, just a ballpark is fine). With the tune and the STI turbo you were only reaching 300? Isn't the stock STI 305+ HP, or do they inflate those numbers?

Might be talking whp vs. crank hp, which has a bit higher losses from an AWD layout. 300whp STI is a decent boost over stock, iirc around ~255hp to the wheels?

 

[ballmode]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the car weigh? (if it was modified heavily, just a ballpark is fine). With the tune and the STI turbo you were only reaching 300? Isn't the stock STI 305+ HP, or do they inflate those numbers?

Well the car only feels like my SV650 in first gear.

I forgot to add that I have RA Gears from the japanese WRX which makes first gear longer while still getting the fuel economy of a standard WRX.

To get to the 300ish hp, I have:

VF34 turbo (spec C a japanese sti model)
STI Intercooler
STI injectors
Pulley
intake
STI Exhaust (wife prefers quiet)
Cobb Stage 2 tune

it runs a tad rich, but I've never had to put any oil in it. the only time I really get on it is having to pass somebody at a stop light but I know this might sound hard to believe but I've never launched the car as I hear WRX's have weaker trannys.

I have sways, and aftermarket suspension. It really is a sleeper since I tried to make it as non rice as possible, I don't even have the big wing on it.

5th gear is a dog, so I have to put it in 4th to pass anybody on the highway, but as a result of 5th gear I get about 27-28mpg highway on premium gas.

Had I not been able to get the parts for so cheap (buddy wrecked his), I wouldn't have considered doing this because it's not worth the money in my opinion. The stock WRX has body roll, stock turbo is not good, and braking is blah.

The car weighs about 3100lbs.
I'll post pics later

 

[ballmode]

In fact I consider the newest WRX to the GTI. If you want AWD and can live with a tad cheaper interior than a GTI (4 door), go for it.

Both in stock form have body roll, crap tires, and braking that leaves to be desired...

if you spent 2000 in both cars (GTI/ new WRX) I would do the following:


intake/ECU tune
suspension
hawk brake pads
and if you got any money left over get stainless steel brake lines

 

[zCypher]

love the subaru!

 

[Asharus]

Title sure felt misleading here. Going from a 10+ year old BMW to a brand new WRX is so far beyond apples to oranges it's sort of laughable. Frankly, even comparing your brand new WRX Impreza to a 335i boils down to only a $10,000 price difference, and the difference you get in car is almost 10-fold.. seems like a no-brainer to me..

For the sake of comparison, I drive a 335xi, my wife owns a hatch body STI-Limited, and SHE drives my car whenever she possibly can instead of hers, so I guess she would be better suited for this particular rant, but I really don't feel you accurately understand just how big of a comparison these two cars are directly next to each other. It's seriously night and day between all the trimmings Luxury and the tin-can WRX.

But hey. If you love Subaru's (and trust me, I do - we've owned 3 Legacy's!) then by all means go for it. But I would never go BACK to Subaru from BMW from a daily driver perspective.

Trust me, I've considered a 335i before I bought my 540i 3 years ago (Alpine White of course!). They're awesome cars, and yeah probably a lot nicer than a WRX. Just curious though, where did you get the figure of a 10k difference? I configured a 335xi with Nav, Satellite radio, Ipod interface, Sport Pack, Convenience Pack, Cold Weather Pack for $47,684 ($2,831 below invoice). That's a $18,075 difference to a WRX Limited w/ Nav ($29,649, $810 below invoice). I can buy a brand new daily driver with the leftover cash! Not to mention both cars are about equal in 0-60 times. I've seen reports of stock WRX running 4.7 - 5.0 and the 335 at 4.8. At least BMW finally corrected the HPFP issues!!!

BTW, i had to add all of those options to the BMW just to bring it up to par to the standard items in the Limited. Unless you want to sacrifice the Sport Pack, but who buys a BMW without the Sport Pack FFS except for name brand whores?

Edit:

You're absolutely right about the "tin can" comment though. I swear every time I fill it up with fuel, I feel like I'm going to break the fuel filler door. It feels like you're handling a piece of tin foil compared the the fuel doors on my BMWs.