To Buy or Not to Buy....

[dficken]

Hello everyone. I am currently in the market of buying one of two cars. Either the Protege5 or the WRX wagon. I have been doing tons of research and am currently leaning towards the protege5. I like the exterior styling of both (both are unique) but like the interior of the mazda better. I test drove both of them the other day and was impressed with all the features of the protege5. But the power of the WRX blew me away. I am curious if I could ask for other opinions here. Considering you had the extra 5 grand for the WRX, which one would you have bought? It is a tough decision for me at the moment.

I would either pick a stick on the WRX or a "sport" auto and leather interior on the protege5. (btw, has anyone driven with the sport auto yet? If so, what do you think?)

I have a 77 Trans Am that is 80% restored so if i purchase the protege5, i could use the extra cash to finish it. But the protege5 is lacking power. The other question I had was, do the few standard "bolt on" mods bump it up that extra notch? Also, I would be very interested in the turbo kit, but would be worried about reliability. Afterall, the car will be my daily driver for quite some time (hopefully). Any comments on reliability on specific kits?

All in all, I am just looking to see what others would do in the same situation.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your responses.

Regards,
dficken.

 

[Sir Nuke]

I am not sure about "if i had the extra funds"....the P-5 is better looking in my opinion..

as far as the tranny....GET THE STICK!!....that sport auto will not give anywhere near the enjoyment in driving the car as the stick will.

Power...sure...would I like about 30 to 50 more horses? DAMN STRAIGHT SKIPPY....however...if I already had 180 to 200 horses I would be saying the same thing...

this is going to be your daily driver....it doesn't have to be a screamer.....but if you live somewhere that has some twisty roads...you will absolutely LOVE the mazda...it handles like a slot car....its sticks to the road so well.

as far as the bolt on mods....well I have just a few....and I have no real idea how much they have helped....but I know the good old "BUTT DYNO/FUN METER" stays pegged quite a bit of the time.

 

[sundevilMP5]

well both cars are great performers...the wrx is a blast to drive and you can't beat the awd...but it is expensive...

the protege is also a blast to drive less performance but with the money you save you can bump it up a notch...i'm not sure about to the the level of the wrx but still enough to have a sweet ride...

you're looking at saving a good $7k if you go with the p5...that's a lot of money to save and use for mods or something else...

even if i could have afforded the wrx i think i still would have bought my p5 because it just looks too darn good...and it's so much fun to drive...

dollar for dollar the protege is one of the best buys you can get

 

[dficken]

Yeah, the protege definitely is the "smarter buy" (considering all the extras you get). Plus I live in STL so the AWD isn't that important.

How much more HP do you guys estimate you can get with the "basic" bolt on mods? Also, do you still consider it to be just as reliable as stock? (As I stated b4, it will be my daily driver).

And... about that sport Automatic. Sir Nuke, I know a stick would be more fun, but unfortunately I hit rush hour twice a day and I can't stand driving a stick in rush hour. That is why I was questioning the "Sport Automatic". (I agree that the standard auto isn't that great... that is what I test drove). But I was thinking the Sport AT would be a half breed a make it more fun than the auto but less that the stick. That's my guess anyway. Has anyone found any detailed info on the sport AT or drove one? I would like to get some more info on it.

Last, I was wondering how reliable turbo kits are. I seen various brand names tossed around. But I was curious if I eventually go that route, would the reliability still be there? Just curious. (Sorry about all the questions, but I am old school... ya know, like rebuilding the quadrajet on my T/A that I have had since High School... so this is a new stepping stone for me)

Anyway, I appreciate all the feedback. Keep it coming. And I don't mind if it is biased. I kinda expected that posting this question in a protege5 forum. Maybe this is my subliminal way of confirming the purchase of the protege5.

Thanks again,
Regards
dficken.

 

[tom@kartboy.com]

either choice we have parts for you

personally if you want a decently fast car get the WRX. the mazda is a great car but the little motor needs some help.
if this is your DD then i would stay away from a aftermarket turbo. you will allways be dicking with it.. TRUST ME
i have a 99 Impreza with a aftermarket Turbo. running about 14 pounds 9 about (400 ish) and i have to constently play with it.

the wrx has great power and with a Vishnu stage one kit it will have about 300+ HP RELIABLE


we have a MP5 its a great car. but i see if you start squeezing some higher power from it i see the parts bill going out the roof..

have you looked ovar at the iclub.com?

tom@kartboy

 

[KamalaMP5]

I have the Sport AT, first one off the truck in Massachusetts! I live in the Boston area and this place is wall-to-wall traffic and I would lose my mind driving stick in this town. I'm also fairly new to stick driving, fine slamming through the gears getting on a highway, but I've been known to stall in traffic. The Sport AT has been alot of fun for me so far (1500 miles in 3 weeks), I really enjoy being able to control my gears on the highway, great to drop into 3rd and punch past people.

 

[sundevilMP5]

oh yeah i forgot to mention i-club.com...it's THE place to go for subaru enthusiasts...i'm ASUscooby over there...great people(well most of them) they're super helpful lot's o knowledge...of course on either board you're probably gonna get a biased opinion...but still let us know what you decide to get

 

[tttP5]

IMHO.... if I had the money I would have got the WRX wagon (i think wagon looks better than the sedan, although the sedan has a cool aftermarket wing) because its is 225hp stock, and plus AWD for drifting

but if u really wanted to grab attention, get a P5, cause the big air dam at the front looks cool, and with the extra money u saved on the WRX u could use that on exterior mods and mod the F*** out of it.

also really think it out before u make your purchase.... I had second thoughts about 1 week after buying P5 cause I could have bought the 2.5RS, although less pretty but 160hp stock. but now I'm happy with the P5 cause it probably the best looking car in its class

 

[dficken]

KamalaMP5,
Question about the Sport AT. Can you still down shift to slow down with that tranny? Also you said that you have been known to stall. Have you noticed "a certain something" that you were doing to get it to stall? Also, does it happen often?

Man this is a hard decision!

Tom@kartboy,
So you're saying "any" aftermarket turbo would make it less reliable? I was thinking about something similar to the mazdaspeed. I guess my main goal would be to get an additional 30 HP (from everything) and keep it reliable. I would be satisfied with that since its a daily driver. Anyone think this is possible?

Thanks again for everyone's replys.
regards,
dficken.

 

[KamalaMP5]

Sorry I wasn't clear... I have a tendency to stall in traffic while driving a true manual, because I'm still a rookie on a manual. I didn't want to combine the frustration of sitting in traffic driving a stick with the expense of chewing up a clutch, so I compromised by waiting it out for the Sport AT.
Generally with the Sport AT, you can shift to the gear you want when you want, but it will not allow you to do particularly nasty things like downshifting into 1st at 70. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I have some errands to run and I'll check it out in the owner's manual and post later. I should note that there can be a slight delay (2 seconds or so) before you can downshift from 2 to 1 once you've gone from 1 to 2, but the book says it all, so I'll get that for later.

 

[dficken]

That will be great. I will look forward to your next post.
Thanks,
dficken.

 

[TexP5]

P5 v. $$

I think this is really a cash question...How do you want to spend your money whether you have it in hand or not? For background let me say I'm a car guy, have owned a Celica GTS, a Supra and a 944 Turbo in my pre-married w/kids days , I have a P5 and our other car is a 99 Volvo S70GLT. I love horsepower as much as the next guy. BUT...in reality how much do you use?

Stop light dragging demands HP but for normal city driving and even those weekend chances on a curvy country road the P5 has as much power as you need. It won't chase down 911's or anything, but this is not a SLOW car and it's lack of outright horsepower is easy to overlook when you consider the handling (which honestly makes me giggle sometimes it's such a fun car to drive) and good looks. I shopped around for several cars and the P5 was my choice as the best total package, I could have gone several thousand higher had I wanted to.

I read somewhere a long time ago (I think in Automobile Magazine) where one of the writers had a "Beer and Pizza" standard for car purchases. Comparing the cars and then looking at how much beer and pizza he could buy with the cost differences. The cost difference between a P5 and a WRX is a LOT of beer and pizza. It's likely that the price of the Subie would START at a figure higher than my total loan costs and my car is well equipped to the point that I even have the dealer installed leather seating. Obviously, I took the P5 and the beer and pizza, but you might rather have the horsepower...cars are NEVER apples to apples comparisons unfortunately. ( I guess this wasn't really any help huh? lol)

Anyway...you'd be happy with the P5. It's a really nice car to drive and live with. I'm sure Subie owners love their WRX's also. It's your call on the beer and pizza!

 

[Sir Nuke]

Tex, I actually think you answered the question quite nicely....

he makes some excelent points....you have to figure out in your own head what REALLY makes the difference to YOU.

I too could have easily gotten a higher dollar model...after all...I got two P-5s at the same time....but had I done that...my wife would be having all the fun in the car she drives EVERYDAY..and I would still be driving my old pickup truck and NOT have a toy of my own!! lol....we don't have that many twisties here near the gulf coast...but the ones we do I use the p-5 to its fullest....and yes....it makes me giggle sometimes too....it is without a doubt....an E-TICKET ride!!

:{D

 

[lpsalsaman]

To Buy or Not to Buy

Tex and Nuke are right on the money. Tex also states a true fact, how much HP do you really need? When you think about it, here in the states you can only take chances when trying to go all out on the roads. Unless you hook up your car for club races and take it to the track, so you can enjoy the speed. Otherwise, a P5 with some mods and it looks will be fine. Not mentioning the price which is also a real good deal.

 

[APEXistud]

I say go with the P5 if you don't really care about performance. The WRX wagon is fun, but you could find yourself breaking the bank if you decide to mod it. I would get a P5 if I knew there was more aftermarket available. Seeing as how there isn't, I'd rather have a WRX Wagon since I care more about performance. Here's my friend SubyWan Kenobi's wagon. He selling it now though any takers...

Tha wagon will be missed, but he wouldn't get rid of it unless he had something better in mind.

 

[lpsalsaman]

To Buy or Not to Buy.

Yo APEX, I see you working bro! The WRX on the pics looks badass. However, I think the person who started this thread wanted suggestions because he is confuse between spending the money and performance. I like performance just like everyone else, but when you can only afford a certain amount of money then it becomes a little different. If the dude has the $$$ to spend then, go for it and buy WRX if not then take the best deal for the $.

 

[sundevilMP5]

yeah...just because i bought a P5 doesn't mean that i don't want a wrx...just couldn't afford it at the time...i still do want a wrx...but tuition isn't free...so for now the p5 is a better choice for ME...

 

[redwagon02]

If I had the money I would have went with the WRX (sedan cause box fenders=yummy), but got the Protege5 instead. Absolutely no regrets though .

 

[TexP5]

Redwagon...I clicked on your photo album and looked at your pictures. Car looks nice. Do you have it lowered at all? It looks lower than mine?

 

[redwagon02]

I have Eibach pro-kit springs. Thinking of getting ground controls though. Since the rear fenders are lower than the front ones.The front of the car looks a little too high.