ok fellas, here's the deal. i'm ready to sell my nissan xterra to buy a car. i found a used WRX:

2004, 7,000 miles, no sunroof -- price: 19,900$ (can talk those bastards down to 19k easy) this is really cheap for a wrx

or i could get a brand new 2006 TC. price: 19,500$ (roughly) that includes automatic transmission (i suck at stick shift, but i might get one..), the big spoiler (might go for the tiny one instead), and the foglights.

now, the WRX is a stickshift so if i get that i will have to bust my ___ to learn how to drive it (tried testdriving it and the clutch is so sensitive that i can barely get it into 1st gear).

on the other hand, the WRX has alot more HP, is a good bit faster, is cheaper, has AWD, is a sedan (i prefer 4d. if the tc came as a sedan i would buy it in a heartbeat), and the financing is going to be roughly the same APR as the TC's....

pros for the tc:
it is a 2006 model, it looks hot, it has stock mp3/cd player, has ipod connection, has 2 sunroofs, has that toyota reliability, i like how the trunk allows really easy access to the back seats for additional storage (going to college in august).

either way, the car is going to have to last me 5 years and at least 100,000 miles. racing is not really a priority for me in the least bit, but i don't want some slow ___ civic (i swear if they had a civic with 160ish HP i'd get that).

i want a car that can handle the highway at speeds anywhere from 65-90 (there's a long empty road on the way to my university) without hassle. my xterra can't accelerate for ____ once it hits 75ish (maybe it's just wind resistance?)

anyways, what do you guys think? or should i consider something else?

 

i'd go with the wrx.

 

^^^Agree with Maximus96

 

wrx for sure...is it an sti?

 

consider the WRX will probably have a higher insurance cost being that its a turbo detuned race car basically. my heart belongs to subaru and always will hahaha. i bought the xB instead cuz it was way more affordable for me. in the future i WILL own a modded out the ___ STi or at the very least a WRX. but thats for my 30's. im 24 now and have to consider $$$ first. the scions are way cheaper to upgrade also.

check out wrxtuners.com and vividracing.com. you'll see impreza parts arent cheap. plus id imagine they are harder to work on since its a boxer engine mounted low in the chassis. if you have the $$$$$, get the impreza, if you dont, get the tC

 

WRX forsure, those things are super fun to drive. Its a rally car, so if you learn how to drive it, it will make any other car you drive in the future unfun. My friend has one and he slides his back-end out around corners all the time. But then again, he knows how to drive.
FYI, they do make a civic with 160 HP; Civic SI. but i dont really like the looks of it. Square backs are not for me.
Sedans better than coupe's? hmmm...i dunno about that.. My TC looks way better than any sedan ive ever seen on the road. even the new A4.
anyway, thats my 2 cents.

 

wrx for sure. i just traded mine in for the tc. it had nothing to do with the wrx, it was a personal life thing. the wrx was the best car i ever owned and ever will.

insurance surprisingly went down like $50 moving to the tc. the only thing that really saves money is gas. the tc u get 29ish to the wrx's 23ish. plus the wrx i ran 93 octane, while u only have to run 91, i ran 93 for better performance.

parts, u can actually find wrx parts for cheaper than the tc. i mainly went used to save money and never had a problem. not to mention the subaru community is a million times larger than the scion. just check out www.nasioc.com and u'll see the size of the forum compared to here. nasioc is like the 6th most visited forum in the world.

overall, they are both great cars. the wrx is just more bang for the buck. the wrx comes standard with side airbags, while the tc doesn't. the tc has the sunroof, but i could care less about that. the tc has the mp3 stereo, but the wrx has a 6-disc...much nicer if u ask me. other than that they are very comparable on features.

when it comes down to it the wrx just blows the tc away in performance and driveability. there is just no comparison. the clutch is much much better on the wrx. it handles better as well. the all-wheel drive of the wrx is amazing. it was the best snow car i ever owned. it went through anything and everything. not to mention the market for parts is huge for the wrx, so u can find anything and everything. i'm struggling to find anything i'd even want to put on my tc. oh yeah, turbo...biggest selling point. gotta love the boost.

i'd say wrx in a heartbeat. the only thing i like about the tc over the wrx is the stock look. i like the look of the tc right off the lot. i was never a fan of the wrx's looks until i started to modify it. get the wrx, trust me on this. i've owned both and the wrx is far superior. i do like the tc, but the wrx is on a whole different level.

 

buying aftermarket parts is not an issue for me because i don't plan on modding anything. this is a car for college and while i love the WRX's power and handling, i have a really hard time driving it (noob at stick) so i can't really guage how much i would enjoy the car. i wish i could learn stick on someone else's car and then decide but i don't know anyone with one.

thanks for all the replies fellas

 

Well people can't say you didn't get an unbiased opinion, you're on a tC forum and everyone picked the WRX. This is ScionLife, isn't it?

 

i woud get the WRX

 

Practice practice practice....I never owned a manual and bought an auto for my tC. Learning to drive stick will have bumps in the road, but don't not buy the WRX because you can't drive stick. Practice practice practice and you should have basic operation probably by the end of the first or second day.

 

the wrx has one of the easiest clutches to learn on. it's so much easier than the tc. i've been driving stick for years and i still haven't figured out the tc clutch entirely.

 

wrx is faster and more fun, is 4 wheel drive and subarus are reliable cars. stick is no big deal to learn. wrx all the way....7000 miles is new, heck i'm at 4000 in two months.

this is a no brainer.

 

Whoa, be VERY careful with this car. You should be able to get it into first as easy as slidding a knife through butter. Also, $20k is pretty low for a 2004 with only 7k miles on it. A lot of new WRX owners (mostly kids) destroy the clutch or tranny because they race them. You just can' t do a 6000 RPM clutch drop on an AWD car and expect it not to smoke.

Get that thing checked out by a Subaru dealer before you put any money down.

Other than that, I regularly drive both a 2005 WRX and a 2005 tC. They both have their charms, lower insurance and higher gas milage not being the least of the tC's charms. The WRX has power and agility but the tC has sexy looks. The engine in the tC is nothing to sneeze at and it is a blast to drive.

I enjoy both cars equally. At that price I would choose a new tC over a used WRX. And it comes with auto everything.

 

its being sold at a used toyota dealership... should i still ask to get it checked at subaru ?

 

Did they check the clutch and tranny?

 

tC w/ scionsport.com stage II turbo kit

 

I say that it depends on your priorities. How important is the new-car warranty to you? How important is a low insurance premium? How important are 4 doors?

I was faced with virtually the same decision when I was buying a car, and I decided to go with the tC because it was roughly $75-100 cheaper PER MONTH in insurance and I get the full new-car warranty (5 years on the powertrain in the case of my tC). It was purely financial for me. I fully plan on buying either a WRX, Dodge Charger R/T, or Pontiac Grand Prix GXP in about 2-3 years. Unfortunately, it looks like GM has killed the only platform capable of producing a new Camaro anytime within the next 5-10 years...

 

the WRX is a better car, we all agree. but i think that the tC suits your needs more than the wrx.

the wrx is a race car, and was probably abused from the previous owner. you said your not even into racing or anything, so why do you need a wrx? and the tC gets better gas milage and its buily by toyota so it will last you 5 years & 100,000. not sure about the wrx since you dont know how the car was broken into. and since you are not that good with stick, the tC will be more practical for you and easier to drive. especially if you plan of keeping it for a while...

just my 2 cents...

 

I had an '85 Corolla that made it well into the 200k's, almost 250 before it died. Do you mean 100k with out any major problems? Cause I fully expect the tCs with the Camry engine to last a loooong time. :-)