try it, might luv it
2point0 said:
Hey guys, this is my first post.
I have a 2003 5-speed WRX sedan. I might have to get rid of it soon and I am looking for a nice comfy automatic to drive.
Obviously I do not expect performance to be as good as the 2.0 turbo and AWD, but I want something fun to drive. Heres what I am looking to get and my questions:
Mazsa 6s.
Automatic/manual mode
Leather/sunroof
sedan
1.) How is the performance on the automatic (honestly). I owned a 99 Grand Am GT and had okay accell with 205lbs ft tq. Hows the ride quality of the 6s? (city/highway)
2.) Hows the future of modding the V6 looking? Not too heavily, but a few bolt ons? I heard a clip of the magnaflow exhaust, sounded really nice!
3.) Can it out accell a current gen Grand Am GT?
I love the interior of this car lol. What kind of prices am I looking at for the above? (new? maybe used if I can find one I like).
Thanks in advance
I had one for about 6 months before I crashed it in the snow (now have a M3) I test-drove a WRX 2 times. The WRX has that great all-wheel drive and the turbo of course, very impressive on a small car with wide tires. But it's just a bigger, heavier car than the WRX. The specs at most sites say different but I compared the specs on a friend's Civic coupe with after a race and, according to the door numbers, my automatic 6 weighted almost 1300 pounds more than his manual, I believe.
But the ride is incredibly smooth. It's even better than the 3 I have now. I had read about "BMW-like" ride on the 6, but for those of us in the lower end of the car market, you don't know what that means until you drive it. The best combo of being smooth yet letting yu feel the road I've run across. Stuck to the road so well I was surprised the few times it slipped around VERY sharp turns. If feels so good you wish it had 500 hp just to teach those top-end Audi snobs a lesson. But I've had it up to about 115, 5 short of the electronically limited 120 and it felt very comfortable up there. One thing I did not like, though, was a slight hitch in its stride while in heavy city traffic or highway stop-n-go. It's a pain and maybe a little dangerous. The M3's better for that. Maybe it's better in stick mode;-)
And with the lapis blue, I got complimented on/asked about it about once a week, often when it was sitting in a lot with cars that cost 2 or 3 times as much. The WRX blue is nice, but not so nice 5-year-old girls were pointing to it and saying (true story), "Mommy, look at the pretty car."
The specs on the S automatic say about 8.1 0-60. It felt good from 0, better than zoomy, made many a car show it some respect, but not so much to press you back in your seat. But so little torque steer you could ram it up to 80 with only 2 fingers on the wheel. Specs I could find on the stock new Pontiac run about the same, maybe a tick faster depending on which model. But it's just not as nice of a car. The materials don't feel as good, the gas tank is smaller, it doesn't have the automatic headlights off or the engine immobilizer (makes your car so much harder to steal that some states FORCE insurance companies give you a discount), brakes that feel so good I was more worried about people hitting me in the rear (I've read 119 feet and I believe it), great crash ratings (body shop guy was shocked I walked away; called my boss to make sure I wasn't dead), no annoying daytime running lights, blah, blah... And the <bleep>ing alarm doesn't go off when you lock it and then USE THE KEY TO GET INTO THE TRUNK (unless my test drive was mistaken, I'm looking at you, 2002 WRX drivers).
It's a heck of a car for the dollar. Have you seen that Ford Freestar commercial about the compartments in it? I wasn't impressed, because the 6 had just as many, and it's not a van. Other than the turning radius and the hitch in its step, I'd be married to it ... Go test-drive one and get them to let you take it out on the highway. Then imagine if you dropped a turbo in it... Wait until the mazdaspeed6s come out <drool>...
P.S. Don't know about the mods, but look for one a little later in the build (problem with rust in the very first ones) with a good warranty left on it. That roadside assistance is part of the value.
