for a 2005 subaru WRX. Just wondering if anyone has traded for one, and your thoughts on it. Just looking for something that would be better suited for winter driving, and more practical.

Thanks.

 

With all due respect, i don't think Virginia winters justify "needing" to switch to an AWD car. If that's your main reason, just get yourself some winter tires + rims and you'll be more than fine !!! I own a 2003 WRX (stage 3 mods....315 hp at the crank) and will be changing to a 350Z in about a year or so. I will also be driving my Z in the winter, and am not one bit hesitant to do so (having driven a 1998 Z28 Camaro through 2 of our Montreal winters). If however you need the space, then ok the WRX isn't a bad idea. Be ready to say bye bye to the sweet looks of the Z and hello to the square sedan look of the WRX.

 

My advice....Dont do it I just bought an 05 Z (my second) the dealership also sells Subaru so I was checking out the wrx's apart from the hp what is there to like about them the styling imo is damn ugly and whats with the big ugly a$$ spoiler on the back, $33 grand is alot to pay for a box on wheels.buy the G35.

 

Z and STi are two differnt cars. The Subaru is smaller, cheaper, louder, and has 4 seats / 4 doors. It's "sorta" a sports car, but really it's a small sedan that's tricked out. There's a specific segment of buyers that the STi and EVO are targeted for. And that's younger kids that want bang for the buck.

The Z is more grown up. More forgiving. Perhaps the numbers aren't as impressive as in the other two, but things slike styling, prestige, heritage (35 years), and the fact that the Z is a true sports car (2 seats) wins my vote. I'm more mature and therefore I make decisions that are different from my 23-year-old brother-in-law. Who, would choose the EVO over the Z.

Yet again, to each his own. Drive them all. Make a decision that suits you best. No one has the same requirements. Satisfy yours with your own experiences in each car. If AWD and snow are your concern, then it's down to 2 (STi and EVO). If practicality is your concern (4 seats, usable trunk) then the Z drops out again. You know what you need.

Also think of the resale value. The Z is way up there. The others are not.

Each car can hold its own against the other two, mentioned here. The STi and EVO are more rice to me than the Z. Perhaps that's why I wouldn't get them.

Good luck.

 

heres my personal experience
when i first when car shopping after owning a 1985 s10 pickup with a posi rear and a worked 350 this is how it went down

i was going to buy a brand spankin new 350z off the lot when i was just coming out of junior year in highschool, i worked my *** over i had 10 grand to put down on a car i was set. mom was going to co sign yadda yadda, well she ended up talking me into getting a cheaper car so i finally agreed with her and thought you know what thats probably a wise decision. so i ended up buying a 2002 subaru wrx with 29000 on the odo. whelp let me tell you something, that was the biggest mistake of my life and i shall never listen to my mom when it comes to cars. My subaru has been the biggest money pit i've ever invested in. its broken more times then my 85 pickup. If your ever thinking about getting the WRX since thats what you stated, DON'T. the trannies are GARBAGE they fall apart, if all your gonna do is drive it like a grandma's car it'll be fine for daily driving. But if you wanna go out and have some fun on the weekends doing auto x or dragging it, your car is gonna live a short life. I've never dragged or auto x'd my car, did a little street racing like highway from a stop light the highest i ever rode the clutch out was 5g's and it wasn't side stepping i like rode it out so it wasn't a shock. whelp needless to say all the synchros along with a whole bunch of other parts took a crapping. 2400 dollars later and its back on the road and its still a pos.


now 350z definitely refined, im buying one soon as spring comes along and im getting rid of the wrx.
350z tranny is like a hot knife through butter, wrx tranny is like freaking trying to cut through brick with a dull butter knife. sometimes the tranny is spot on, and others its a pain in the butt to get into gear.
i will give teh wrx props for its engine, its strong its fast, and with an exhuast it sounds MEAN i love the boxxer sound. i would rather have the boxxer sound over a v8 its just amazing.

but all in all the wrx is what people have said, its a powerful engine stuffed into an econobox car. The tranny is WAY outdated for what they have it doing. The tranny they have is i believe used in the 2.5rs which doesn't have a turbo and they said that in that car its pushing its limits. so the tranny just doesn't belong.



now looking at an sti now thats two totally different options and i was faced with this decision when i decided to get rid of the wrx.
i drove my friends sti and its amazing. the looks are amazing but to each their own. I ultimately decided on the z because of this, the z is just gorgeous more so than the sti could ever be. the z has a 6 cyl which i like cause 4 cyl just arn't my thing. Plus z comes in leather. z has navi. so has all the cool things. plus i hate AWD it sucks so bad, its so boring and i live in jersey right on the ny border and i get TONS of snow. trust me you can make it around in rwd its not a biggie, snow tires and or chains they work wonders.

sorry for the long post i hope i helped you with your decision.
Matt

 

don't think about it. go ahead a do it.

 

yeah, you guys are helping. I think I will just stick with the 350...maybe get some all season tires so it will be a little more driveable in the winter. Thought of also trading in on an 05 350 enthusiast, since I have the base now. The biggest things right now also, are the lights and no cruise...the halogen lights are kind of dim at night. thought about just getting some different bulbs for it since the HID kits are illegal now.

 

I'm surprised that the Z doesn't have dual HID (low and hi beams). It's cheaper to insert a lens mirror / tilt mechanism rather than have 2 sets of lights. The FX45 has a brilliant solution to this. Uses the same bulbs and the same optics, just flips a mechanism inside the housing to provide hi beams. Elegant, simple, less-costly than two bulbs for lo-hi beams.

 

My condolances if you decide you have to go to the Subaru.

 

I'm not sure why people still compaire the Z to the WRX. The comparision is between a sports car to a 4 door car. I guess in comparision with power but still the Subaru is not a sports car. I bought a used tacoma for a winter beater, while the Z is resting and saving mileage for over usage. I think that if you plan on trading in a realistic vechile look into getting a 330IX or maybe the 4matic. My girl has one its a blast to drive. Good luck in your decision.

 

If you do trade, just make sure you give all of us sports car drivers ample time to laugh at you as you drive by in your shoe-box!!! .

I'm just kidding, really. Do what you gotta do, but I would consider buying a 1 or 2 thousand dollar beater for the winters here in VA (Mine is a 97 Ford Probe, runs like a champ). If you 'get' your Z at all, you're not going to be happy in a Su-box-ru. If you were never a true Z lover to begin with, then you won't miss it. You decide. Good luck.

 

I have a regular WRX and a 350z currently, I traded in my 03 350z for an 04 STi last Dec. last month I traded in my STI for an 05 350z. You will be unhappy with a regular WRX. I can only comment on these 3 cars performance wise on how they compare for auto-x. In Stock form with R comps only, I would say the Z and the STi are about equal. Although on street tires the STi is faster. The regular WRX has to much lag and driving it well is a test of speed maintenance. The Z is easier to drive fast on r comps.
The Z comes so under tire'd from the factory that I feel that is the single biggest reason it has some performance deficiencies.

I think the STi and the 350z are really pretty close performance wise. For me I also like the way they look equally. I think the build quality on the 350z is slightly better, and the engineering quality on the subaru is slightly better.

The thing about it is I could fit an ez-up 4 race wheels, 2 chairs, cooler, air tank and my helemt in the STI and regular WRX. The Z is another story.

I bought this 05 350z because I think it may be the car to have this year in BS, we will have to wait and see how things go.


I don't think you will be disapointed in the STi at all. The WRX is an excellent girl car, (my girlfriend drives it as her daily right now)
but I wouldn't want to have it as my auto-x/fun car permanently.

 

I feel like I need to put in a little input because unlike most people here I actually have spent A LOT of time in both of these cars.

I have owned an 03 WRX for two years now, and haven't had one problem with the vehicle at all. It sounds like the above guy Matt doesn't know how to drive a stick, or the person before him really beat up that car. I'm sure he was probably the typical high school kid doing 5500rpm clutch drops. Unlike MANY MY03 Z owners my car has been absolutely perfect....and it's far from stock. Now are you comparing the STI, or the WRX to the Z???

That's the question?

The facts are the Z will always look better than the STI, but the STI will always out perform the Z. The STI is a sports sedan so yes it is more practical. Four doors, seats five, and has a pretty good size trunk. MPG's are about the same for both vehicles, and the Subaru internals are really very proven. With the 30k you spend on the STI, you get a sub 5 second car from 0-60, low 13's in the 1/4 mile, Bembro Brakes, BBS Rims, seating for five, better insurance rates, and the wonderful sound of that spooling turbo!?!?! There is no car company out there that can offer that other than Subaru! Keep in mind also some of the accolades that Subaru has won with the WRX. Automobile of the year 2002, and one of Car and Drivers best picks two years in a row 02 and 03!

So good luck in you decision....either way you will be getting a wonderful automobile.

 

ok first of all telling me that im some typical hs kid that does 5500 rpm drops when i said right above that i never side stepped the car.
also i am giving my experience on MY car not everyones.
hey heres an idea for you, go over to nasioc.com (if your so into the wrx you should already know it by now though) and do a search on trannies and look at what the people on there think about their trannies or is that wait they don't know how to drive stick either.

put us in a car and i bet ill school you driving stick and yes i would put money of that as well.

so don't say i don't know anything about driving or that i do something stupid to kill the car, its a proven fact that the tranny that is in the wrx is the WRONG TRANNY its a tranny from a different car and they put the tranny in there to save money. why do you think if you were to take a subaru into a dealership to get fixed that they give every excuse in the book to not fix it, cause they know its the wrong tranny they did it to save money.
you can ask anyone!!!!!!

just because you got one good wrx doesn't mean their all good trust me cause i've talked to plenty of people that hate subaru's becuase of their crappy trannies.
im just gonna end this discussion because theres no reason for me to get even more heated over this.

 

I dont think the STI is cheaper than a 350 in price with an MSRP of 32,295 its more expensive than most 350 coupes.

 

The regular WRX tranny isn't that great. Mine does not like being put into 1st when moving over 10 mph. Although to counter that point my 03 Z had to have the tranny replaced 2 times. I know alot of the 03 Z trannies where having this problem. The STi tranny on the other hand is flawless. It is one of the best trannies I have ever driven. It is far superior to the 350z tranny.


I'm sure you have mad shifting skillz yo!

 

A good set of all-season tires was all my Z needed to get through a VA winter. Just keep your foot out of it and stay clear of the SUVidiots that think 4wd makes them invincible. NVA seems to have more than its fair share of those.

 

Go for it....Subaru makes a great grandmal shopping car .

 

Maybe it's just me, but I've never driven a stick car that likes being put in first above 4mph. Unless I am autocrossing I try not to downshift into first.

NzZ