Like the title says, a few days ago I did some test driving. Now, for comparison my current vehicle is 97 mazda b2300 rear wheel drive truck, which I think puts out around 140 hp.
So basically all these cars are a dramatic move up from my current situation. I would like your guys' advice on these cars on things like long term reliability, or any other factors you think I should be aware of. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the cars in the order that I test drove them (all models are manual transmission):
06 Subaru Outback Sport SE
- The power was ok, but seemed to be lacking in 2nd gear
- The gas mileage was decent
- AWD
- kind of boring to drive.
06 WRX Sedan
- Insanely powerful
- The thing ate a LOT of gas, but I was driving it pretty hard.
- The manual transmission is really clunky and the throws are longer than I expected.
- Interior is extremely bland, and the shifter doesn't even have a knob on it.
- There is still noticable turbo lag, but it's not as bad as in previous years, or so I've heard.
- AWD
06 VW GTI
- No noticable turbo lag. Constant power.
- Good amount of power, but obviously not as much as the WRX
- Smooth manual transmission, much shorter throws than the WRX, nice shift knob, a pleasure to drive.
- Attractive interior.
- Got good gas mileage.
- Xenon lights come standard.
- It was a 2 door model, and from what I understand most of the incoming 07's will be 2 door models as well. I would prefer a 4 door. In typical coupe design, the doors of the GTI were on the heavy side, but it wasn't too annoying. It's probably something I could get used to. Also, the seatbelt in the GTI is a little far back, I had to turn my body to reach it.
- Only FWD, the model I drove had optional 18" alloy summer tires. From what I understand most of the standard 17" alloy wheels are also summer tires. Living in seattle I would probably have to get a set of all seasons for at least october to april, maybe I would just keep them on all the time.
Right now I think I am leaning towards the GTI. With the WRX I would definitely have to get a short throw shifter to make daily driving tolerable, and I would also have to install a shift knob, and I'd probably want to install xenon lights too. This stuff is already included in the GTI. Plus I'm not sure I want to constantly be feeding the WRX;s hungry appetite for premium. I would also be putting premium in the GTI, but the mileage is much better.
That being said does anyone know what the quality of VW golf/gti's are nowadays? I heard they are manufacturing them in germany currently, but that doesn't completely wash away my concerns over quality issues.
If anyone has any comments or suggestions please post them! Thank you.
