Well,

I don't own an EVO, and that seems to be the problem... I recently purchased an 02 WRX wagon for my wife. Seemed like a great car choice from the rave reviews, etc, etc...

Well, I am thouroughly disapointed in it. There is no usable power under 3500rpms, and then you have maybe 4K to 6K to play with as a window of opportunity.

Needless to say, a little more torque would be great to exit some of the tight corners I drive on.

I mean, it feels really weak stock (I don't want to mod). In comparison, I test drove an EVO in February and was blow away by the presence of the motor anywhere in the RPM range. Very little lag, great steering response, etc... The WRX feels heavy as a tank, very dead feeling as far as handling goes, sketchy brakes (even after replacing pads and rotors all the way around + fluid).

Now, I won't even talk about the crappy interior! Coming from a GTI VR6, I felt like the WRX was a rental car! I could go on and on, but I think I am done venting for now... Personally, I thought the EVO interior was very nice, and not cheap looking at all. I must be biased!

In any case, lesson learned. I will probably trade for an EVO in December.
Thanks for reading! Now, anyone else feel that way?

Steev

 

No offense, but those are things that could have easily been noticed with a test drive and a good hard look at the car. You bought the WRX on reviews only, it sounds like, and now your disappointed. Its tough luck, but thats what you get. Its like buying a new video game just because all the mags love it, only to get it home and find out you hate it. It sucks, but thats what happens. I've done that a few times, and its a biatch. Now I make sure I know what I'm getting before I buy anything like that, video games or cars.

Hilg

 

man i have no idea what u are talking about "heavy as a tank" well i know the sedan is very light and handles like a dream through the corners.My bro and 3 friends have thenm and they love tem and so do i. Wish i bought one.U may lack torque cause it is a wagon and seem a little heiver cause it is a bit longer.

 

You sure you didn't buy an Impreza wagon by mistake?

J/K man, sorry you're not happy with your wife's car.

- Steve

 

Is yours an auto or manual. i have driven wrx's in the past and they were plenty of fun. not quite as fast as the evo, but still can hold its own

 

I test drove a WRX sedan and after driving it all I could think was "this car does 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds?" My 1993 Sentra SE-R felt much quicker. On the highway it wasn't much better. I was driving along at 60mph in 4th and floored it and the car just sat there waiting for the turbo to spool up. It felt like a Ford Escort. You really have to adjust your driving style to the engine by downshifting a lot. In the end, I ended up buying a Forester XT because of the tons of torque available. Much faster than the WRX.

 

Do some exhaust mods and you will be pleasantly surprised how the WRX will wake up. My old WRX felt the same way when it was stock. Add TB exhaust and an MBC and it felt like a different car.

 

This is the mistake I made as well. Owned and wrx, test drove an evo. This is the ultimate senario for going into debt I think. I hated my car afterwards and my WRX was far from stock. Just remember this: these cars aren't meant to be compared. It's like lining up a mustang gt and a camaro ss, similar markets but not a fair race.

Follow sr20det91's advice, turbo back and mbc, and you'll have new beast on your hands. You'll also find out how crappy the stock suspension is once you up the power a bit. I did cobb sway bars and springs/w Rota wheels and loved the results.

I still have the sway bars if you would like to buy them PM me and I'll e-mail you a picture.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and constructive criticism.

You are right, I should not have bought it on mag reviews only... as I said, lesson learned. Furthermore, it was winter when I test drove the car, so I really had no idea how the engine felt under proper grip conditions. Also, you are right again... I do end up shifting a lot to stay in the power band. However, sometimes a little torque would help out.

In any case, I had an opportunity to get an EVO and passed it up for the WRX because it was a better deal. I won't do that again!

Do you guys recommend an ECU reflash and an exhaust to make this thing more livable while I still own it?

 

oh,

And I personally feel that the car feels like a tank because I don't care for the suspension setup.
At the limit it feels like this:

Understeer...more understeer... and then bam! A little 4 wheel drift followed by the tail end wanting to do its own thing...

I am not a good driver, but I can still have an opinion...

 

I don't like your wrx, if that makes you feel better.

 

yes, yes,

Sway bars would help...

 

"I don't like your wrx, if that makes you feel better."[I]

Actually, it does... make me feel better...

ducaticorse, what duck do you own? I have a 750SS that is a blast to rid on the back roads...

 

i used to own a WRX wagon too. it was my first car and i loved it. i did a bunch of suspension mod to it and it made the car feel great. exhaust and intake helped a bit too. interior was kinda crappy but then again i bought the car for performance. Once i got the EVO, there's no turning back now.


btw, if you want front adjustable sway bar 23-25mm, rear at 23mm, holla. i'll throw in end link for the front and back and the rear sway mount......all by whiteline..

 

When I was in the market for a new car, I of course checked out the WRX before I wound up at a Mitsu dealer one fateful night. I was talking to one of the salesmen on the lot and told them that I was looking to buy my first manual shift vehicle and the WRX was everything I wanted in a car (AWD being the #1 issue, fun being #2). He nodded and listened to me and then told me that the WRX is not a good car to start learning stick in because the 2.0 liter engine in the normal WRXs doesn't put out enough torque and can sometimes make getting going a trying prospect. It really said something to me that a SALESMAN was telling me that the torque on his $25k car was lacking...

However, I've heard very few complaints about the WRX in general... maybe you should do some research, maybe go back and test drive another WRX wagon and see if it acts the same, maybe you've got a problem with the car?