BigBeans
10+ Year Contributor
- 1,423
- 27
- Aug 16, 2009
-
I am in,
Rhode_Island
So i'm planning to sell my DSM in the near future, as well as my '11 Silverado. I've been trying to figure out a replacement vehicle, and keep going back and forth between a real car and a decent economy car. If i go with a real car, it has to be a good all-around street car. So far i've driven a 5.0 Mustang and a '12 WRX, so i thought i'd share my impressions.
5.0
A week or so ago i went to the local ford dealer. The sales guy i got was awesome, really chill guy. He knew i wasn't there to pull the trigger, but was more than happy to take me on an extended test drive with some nice back roads so i could get a good feel of the car.
For the practical stuff, the visibility is good for that style of car, and the build quality/road noise was decent, but it's no luxury car. Seats were not especially supportive or well bolstered, but were comfortable and held you in place well enough. The Shaker audio system is solid, and i didn't notice anything about the interior that i wouldn't want to live with daily. Yes, some of it isn't the best quality, but it's a car that can hang with M3s for 1/2 the cash, so you have to have reasonable expectations.
Onto the good stuff.
The first thing i noticed pulling out of the lot was steering weight. It had good weight to it, not the crappy, numb, over-boosted steering American car companies seem to love. Nice.
The steering offered good feedback and the suspension was great. It was never harsh, but body roll was minimal. The car felt planted in the corners, solid, and correct.
Braking was ok. The car i drove did not have the Brembo brakes, so it had 18" wheels with mediocre factory rubber. The car had plenty of clamping force even with the standard brakes, but felt like it had a little too much mass for the rubber. I'm sure the Brembo pkg, which comes with 19" wheels and real tires would completely eliminate this problem.
The clutch is light but grabs hard, the shifter is tight and notchy with very short throws. The car i drove had 3.31 gears, which are simply too tall. The car felt like it would have benefited from a lower gear. After some research, it's clear that a 3.55 gear option is the way to go for my needs/wants.
The engine is very good. It doesn't have much off idle torque like a GM LSx engine, but the mid-range is very impressive and it pulls hard until just before the shift point. It's no torque monster LSx, but compared to turbo 4-bangers the mid-range is amazing. The car is quick all around, and can get you into the triple digits before it even dawns on you that you're on a public road.
Overall, i like the car a lot. I liked it most not for the engine, but for the fact that the car actually has communicative steering and proper suspension, and paired with a great engine that makes it a fantastic package. My only criticism is about the one i drove. Long gears and too little grip from the tires, both of which could be solved for under $2k in factory options.
Onto the '12 WRX
I'll begin with the styling. The new WRX looks fantastic, super aggressive from every angle. Climb inside and the leather seats are awesome, well bolstered, supportive, and still comfortable. Overall build quality wasn't bad, but not substantially better than the Mustang.
The sales guy Kevin is a friend of mine (and serious car enthusiast) so this drive was a little more fun than you're supposed to have.
He drove first, and banged a few gears. I could tell from the passenger seat that the shifter sucked. We got some gas and switched, and sure enough the first thing i noticed was that the shifter felt weak, almost plasticky. It was also imprecise. I couldn't step into the car and rip quick shifts, it was a numb shifter and would take some getting used to.
I floored it in 2nd leaving the gas station, and was immediately disappointed. It's not like i was expecting it to be anywhere near as fast as my Talon, but it really isn't quick. At all.
After a few pulls through a few gears i quit going WOT. It was so anti-climatic i got bored after a few pulls.The car was also heat soaking and starting to get noticeably slower after only a few minutes of fun. It had decent 5th gear torque on the highway, but beyond that i can't say anything good about the motor. It would take at least another 100whp for me to even start being entertained by that car.
The suspension was also poorly done. The body roll wasn't horrible, but it was far too much for a performance car. The car had a great wheel and tire package so it had decent grip, but the suspension was not up to par.
Brakes were excellent. Good rubber and good clamping force, paired with communicative brakes made a panic stop solid. They did something right.
Heading back to the dealership i did a 5K launch from a red light. The under-dampened suspension allowed a bit of wheel hop, even though the tires were barely broken loose. By 40mph it's time for 2nd gear and time to take a nap. I had open road ahead without a car in sight and i let off in second because there's just no point in flooring it to red line in the upper gears.
I rolled a window down to let the clutch smell out of the car and we headed back to the dealership. We sat in the car for a minute and you could see the waves of heat coming from the hood scoop...pretty sad that the intercooler was that hot when it had a few minutes to cool before we got back.
It would cost at least $5k in mods to make that car as good as the mustang is right from the factory, and considering the WRX i drove was $30K, that's totally unacceptable.
Subaru missed the mark, plain and simple. The super aggressive looks and seats are great, but they're just a tease. It's like pulling the bra off a girl and realizing it's an add-a-cup. It's a poser's car, not a driver's car. Any way you slice it, it's not a 30K car. The prospect gets even worse when you think about the fact that you have to put pistons and a clutch in it just to make 300-350whp reliably. That's dropping $1000 right off the bat before you can even start doing any real mods.
No thanks.
5.0
A week or so ago i went to the local ford dealer. The sales guy i got was awesome, really chill guy. He knew i wasn't there to pull the trigger, but was more than happy to take me on an extended test drive with some nice back roads so i could get a good feel of the car.
For the practical stuff, the visibility is good for that style of car, and the build quality/road noise was decent, but it's no luxury car. Seats were not especially supportive or well bolstered, but were comfortable and held you in place well enough. The Shaker audio system is solid, and i didn't notice anything about the interior that i wouldn't want to live with daily. Yes, some of it isn't the best quality, but it's a car that can hang with M3s for 1/2 the cash, so you have to have reasonable expectations.
Onto the good stuff.
The first thing i noticed pulling out of the lot was steering weight. It had good weight to it, not the crappy, numb, over-boosted steering American car companies seem to love. Nice.
The steering offered good feedback and the suspension was great. It was never harsh, but body roll was minimal. The car felt planted in the corners, solid, and correct.
Braking was ok. The car i drove did not have the Brembo brakes, so it had 18" wheels with mediocre factory rubber. The car had plenty of clamping force even with the standard brakes, but felt like it had a little too much mass for the rubber. I'm sure the Brembo pkg, which comes with 19" wheels and real tires would completely eliminate this problem.
The clutch is light but grabs hard, the shifter is tight and notchy with very short throws. The car i drove had 3.31 gears, which are simply too tall. The car felt like it would have benefited from a lower gear. After some research, it's clear that a 3.55 gear option is the way to go for my needs/wants.
The engine is very good. It doesn't have much off idle torque like a GM LSx engine, but the mid-range is very impressive and it pulls hard until just before the shift point. It's no torque monster LSx, but compared to turbo 4-bangers the mid-range is amazing. The car is quick all around, and can get you into the triple digits before it even dawns on you that you're on a public road.
Overall, i like the car a lot. I liked it most not for the engine, but for the fact that the car actually has communicative steering and proper suspension, and paired with a great engine that makes it a fantastic package. My only criticism is about the one i drove. Long gears and too little grip from the tires, both of which could be solved for under $2k in factory options.
Onto the '12 WRX
I'll begin with the styling. The new WRX looks fantastic, super aggressive from every angle. Climb inside and the leather seats are awesome, well bolstered, supportive, and still comfortable. Overall build quality wasn't bad, but not substantially better than the Mustang.
The sales guy Kevin is a friend of mine (and serious car enthusiast) so this drive was a little more fun than you're supposed to have.
He drove first, and banged a few gears. I could tell from the passenger seat that the shifter sucked. We got some gas and switched, and sure enough the first thing i noticed was that the shifter felt weak, almost plasticky. It was also imprecise. I couldn't step into the car and rip quick shifts, it was a numb shifter and would take some getting used to.
I floored it in 2nd leaving the gas station, and was immediately disappointed. It's not like i was expecting it to be anywhere near as fast as my Talon, but it really isn't quick. At all.
After a few pulls through a few gears i quit going WOT. It was so anti-climatic i got bored after a few pulls.The car was also heat soaking and starting to get noticeably slower after only a few minutes of fun. It had decent 5th gear torque on the highway, but beyond that i can't say anything good about the motor. It would take at least another 100whp for me to even start being entertained by that car.
The suspension was also poorly done. The body roll wasn't horrible, but it was far too much for a performance car. The car had a great wheel and tire package so it had decent grip, but the suspension was not up to par.
Brakes were excellent. Good rubber and good clamping force, paired with communicative brakes made a panic stop solid. They did something right.
Heading back to the dealership i did a 5K launch from a red light. The under-dampened suspension allowed a bit of wheel hop, even though the tires were barely broken loose. By 40mph it's time for 2nd gear and time to take a nap. I had open road ahead without a car in sight and i let off in second because there's just no point in flooring it to red line in the upper gears.
I rolled a window down to let the clutch smell out of the car and we headed back to the dealership. We sat in the car for a minute and you could see the waves of heat coming from the hood scoop...pretty sad that the intercooler was that hot when it had a few minutes to cool before we got back.
It would cost at least $5k in mods to make that car as good as the mustang is right from the factory, and considering the WRX i drove was $30K, that's totally unacceptable.
Subaru missed the mark, plain and simple. The super aggressive looks and seats are great, but they're just a tease. It's like pulling the bra off a girl and realizing it's an add-a-cup. It's a poser's car, not a driver's car. Any way you slice it, it's not a 30K car. The prospect gets even worse when you think about the fact that you have to put pistons and a clutch in it just to make 300-350whp reliably. That's dropping $1000 right off the bat before you can even start doing any real mods.
No thanks.
