April - A4 and WRX
04-01-2002, 02:42 PM
#1
April - A4 and WRX
April, if I recall correctly you said you will be in the mountains this last weekend with an A4 and possibly a WRX. Did this happen? Do you have any feedback on two cars based on your experiences?
I am eager to hear your expert opinions.
Thanks,
Daniel
I am eager to hear your expert opinions.
Thanks,
Daniel
04-01-2002, 05:01 PM
#2
I did. Wish I'd had an A4 to drive over the same sections.
Here is an overview.
Tight twisty corners with a lot of elevation changes. Patchy pavement at times. Temp in the high 70's. The owner also has a Milano race car, so the Rex is the daily driver. Everything was stock except the tires, which were swapped to Toyo Poxes T1S. Much like in the Audi camp, many of the 'easy' mods like boost controllers and cone filters have proven problematic and shown to actually reduce power.
Styling is obviously a matter of choice. I haven't heard of anyone falling in love with the WRX or declaring it a classic;-) Paint is waaayyyy behind Audi and even looks thin ( I've heard it is ).
The interior is functional. No gee-wiz features or anything special. A few buttons for the stereo and a few dials - that's all. The seats were very similar to my Milano with vintage Recaros, so this was nice. The cloth gripped well. There was a rattle in the dash at 11,000 miles. The rest was solid. Because of the economy car roots, everything quite utilitatrian - which is not a bad thing for a device meant to tackle twisty roads. However, if you must deal with heavy traffic or long drives, the Audi is far more comfortable.
The boxer engine has an odd throb. Not intrusive, but you know an engine is turning over. The exhaust note is quiet - apparently the TV ads use the STi muffler system - look for one tail-pipe. The muffler system costs $1000 and the wheel package $3500. They don't have it much cheaper than we do. Power does not come on until 3000rpms. Below that, and the car feels like it is towing 1000lb trailer. Boost comes on very smoothly.
Clutch, steering and shifter are light like most Japanese cars. Good clutch take-up although steering a tad light at low speeds. The shifter has clean gates.
Driven with conviction and careful gear selection, the car is very good. The suspension just soaks up bumps and tells you about them, but doesn't get distracted with them. The understeer that made it so frustrating at the track is not so noticable here. The car feels light and nimble, but nowhere near so solid as the A4. On a few occasions I think the combination of weight, understeer, and lag, made the car feel soggy. It feels as if when it's not getting pushed, it is not very 'together'. There were 4 people in the car, so performance was a little blunted. This is a car that must be driven hard, to make it live up to it's potential.
I'm not sure the Audi could change direction as easily as the Subaru. You would have to work harder to get to limit in the Audi. The Rex was bred to do this. For the Audi, it is one aspect in it's broad portfolio.
The A4 has a large power shortage when looking at the 1.8t. You would need to work much harder at maintaining momentum, as the power to accelerate is not so plentiful. That said, the boost comes on much lower in the Audi, and should make the car easier to drive without thinking about rowing every few seconds. The trick would be to learn to stay off the brakes. In chipped form and with decent tires, the A4 should be able to hang. In the Rex, chipping the car runs the risk of 1st gear fragging. The case twists under load, and the gears do not line up properly. No warranty from Subaru if you break it twice, because they know you have been naughty. The V6 should nicely match the power in the Rex, given the high torque and make glorious sounds while doing so.
As a canyon carver with a wide streak of practicality, this car excells. It is a young man's muscle car. It screams fun, cheap and disposable. Enjoy it now, and in 3 or 4 years, it will be worn out from hard use. Another plus is that it isn't a Honda/Acura. Most of those cars end up being show cars or drag strip cars. The Scuby is far more capable, right out of the box and is at least as well made as those cars.
Just depends what you need. The A4 is much more sophistcated. It can carve canyons, but it may not be the fastest. It can take you on hundreds if not thousands of mile trips and leave you comfortable and refreshed. It can take your boss to lunch and not make you look like you aren't finished growing up yet.
If you want an all-arounder, consider the Audi. If you have a favourite canyon you simply must tackle every day at max speed, the WRX is it.
Next time I'll try to have an A4 at hand for a back to back comparison.
PS. I have also driven a version of the Rex around town a number of times. For city driving it can be a little short on the magic that makes it so fun out on country roads.
Tight twisty corners with a lot of elevation changes. Patchy pavement at times. Temp in the high 70's. The owner also has a Milano race car, so the Rex is the daily driver. Everything was stock except the tires, which were swapped to Toyo Poxes T1S. Much like in the Audi camp, many of the 'easy' mods like boost controllers and cone filters have proven problematic and shown to actually reduce power.
Styling is obviously a matter of choice. I haven't heard of anyone falling in love with the WRX or declaring it a classic;-) Paint is waaayyyy behind Audi and even looks thin ( I've heard it is ).
The interior is functional. No gee-wiz features or anything special. A few buttons for the stereo and a few dials - that's all. The seats were very similar to my Milano with vintage Recaros, so this was nice. The cloth gripped well. There was a rattle in the dash at 11,000 miles. The rest was solid. Because of the economy car roots, everything quite utilitatrian - which is not a bad thing for a device meant to tackle twisty roads. However, if you must deal with heavy traffic or long drives, the Audi is far more comfortable.
The boxer engine has an odd throb. Not intrusive, but you know an engine is turning over. The exhaust note is quiet - apparently the TV ads use the STi muffler system - look for one tail-pipe. The muffler system costs $1000 and the wheel package $3500. They don't have it much cheaper than we do. Power does not come on until 3000rpms. Below that, and the car feels like it is towing 1000lb trailer. Boost comes on very smoothly.
Clutch, steering and shifter are light like most Japanese cars. Good clutch take-up although steering a tad light at low speeds. The shifter has clean gates.
Driven with conviction and careful gear selection, the car is very good. The suspension just soaks up bumps and tells you about them, but doesn't get distracted with them. The understeer that made it so frustrating at the track is not so noticable here. The car feels light and nimble, but nowhere near so solid as the A4. On a few occasions I think the combination of weight, understeer, and lag, made the car feel soggy. It feels as if when it's not getting pushed, it is not very 'together'. There were 4 people in the car, so performance was a little blunted. This is a car that must be driven hard, to make it live up to it's potential.
I'm not sure the Audi could change direction as easily as the Subaru. You would have to work harder to get to limit in the Audi. The Rex was bred to do this. For the Audi, it is one aspect in it's broad portfolio.
The A4 has a large power shortage when looking at the 1.8t. You would need to work much harder at maintaining momentum, as the power to accelerate is not so plentiful. That said, the boost comes on much lower in the Audi, and should make the car easier to drive without thinking about rowing every few seconds. The trick would be to learn to stay off the brakes. In chipped form and with decent tires, the A4 should be able to hang. In the Rex, chipping the car runs the risk of 1st gear fragging. The case twists under load, and the gears do not line up properly. No warranty from Subaru if you break it twice, because they know you have been naughty. The V6 should nicely match the power in the Rex, given the high torque and make glorious sounds while doing so.
As a canyon carver with a wide streak of practicality, this car excells. It is a young man's muscle car. It screams fun, cheap and disposable. Enjoy it now, and in 3 or 4 years, it will be worn out from hard use. Another plus is that it isn't a Honda/Acura. Most of those cars end up being show cars or drag strip cars. The Scuby is far more capable, right out of the box and is at least as well made as those cars.
Just depends what you need. The A4 is much more sophistcated. It can carve canyons, but it may not be the fastest. It can take you on hundreds if not thousands of mile trips and leave you comfortable and refreshed. It can take your boss to lunch and not make you look like you aren't finished growing up yet.
If you want an all-arounder, consider the Audi. If you have a favourite canyon you simply must tackle every day at max speed, the WRX is it.
Next time I'll try to have an A4 at hand for a back to back comparison.
PS. I have also driven a version of the Rex around town a number of times. For city driving it can be a little short on the magic that makes it so fun out on country roads.
04-01-2002, 07:46 PM
#5
You folks are such outrageous flatterers( sp ? :-) Aced creative writing in school.
Too bad about not getting solo time. Oh well, maybe I'll talk to Pablo at European Car sometime - he's got an Alfa background and his Dad runs them too.
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04-02-2002, 09:16 PM
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Hey... that's my car :-)
Greetings, my name is Chip... and I am the owner of the WRX that April is reviewing here. I would just like to make a few quick remarks regarding April's review.
During the run up the mountain I was driving the car, with my girlfriend in the passanger seat, and with April and her husband in the back seat. The car was feeling a little weighed down with a full load of fuel and 4 occupants. I was driving very conservativly and not pushing the car very hard... as I tend to do when there are people I care about in the car with me.
I was also shifting early as to not jerk the peanut gallery around, and more than a few times let the revs drop a bit too low and got out of the powerband/boost.
I would also like to point out that the problems with 1st gear are almost always the result of repeated clutch drops from 5000+ rpm. The car really just wasn't designed to be raced at the drag strip, and it shows. Subaru WILL replace ONE tranny under warranty... but a repeated offense will cost you big buck$.
The WRX actually responds quite well to a variety of aftermarket modifications... it's just that the low buck, power-for-free mods (such as Manual Boost Controlers, K&N filters, etc) work just about as well as on any other car... they just don't. Done properly, the WRX has incredible potential. For just $1000 you can be making a reliable 265hp (over 18% gain) with the Vishnu Stage Zero kit (boost controler, Unichip engine management, uppipe, colder plugs, and light pulleys). So far there have been only a few occurances of blown up rex motors here in the states, and there are more than a few WRXs making 300+ awhp.
The rex is a great car for the money, and while I love the look and comfort of the A4/S4 (new and old)... I'll be sticking with the Scooby, thank you.
I realise that I am preaching the gospel to a gang of Satan worshipers here, but I just thought I'd give my longwinded opinion and ramble on a bit
Just kidding about the whole satan worshiper part, obviously. <Rant over, flame suit on>
Chip Mutza
During the run up the mountain I was driving the car, with my girlfriend in the passanger seat, and with April and her husband in the back seat. The car was feeling a little weighed down with a full load of fuel and 4 occupants. I was driving very conservativly and not pushing the car very hard... as I tend to do when there are people I care about in the car with me.
I was also shifting early as to not jerk the peanut gallery around, and more than a few times let the revs drop a bit too low and got out of the powerband/boost. I would also like to point out that the problems with 1st gear are almost always the result of repeated clutch drops from 5000+ rpm. The car really just wasn't designed to be raced at the drag strip, and it shows. Subaru WILL replace ONE tranny under warranty... but a repeated offense will cost you big buck$.
The WRX actually responds quite well to a variety of aftermarket modifications... it's just that the low buck, power-for-free mods (such as Manual Boost Controlers, K&N filters, etc) work just about as well as on any other car... they just don't. Done properly, the WRX has incredible potential. For just $1000 you can be making a reliable 265hp (over 18% gain) with the Vishnu Stage Zero kit (boost controler, Unichip engine management, uppipe, colder plugs, and light pulleys). So far there have been only a few occurances of blown up rex motors here in the states, and there are more than a few WRXs making 300+ awhp.
The rex is a great car for the money, and while I love the look and comfort of the A4/S4 (new and old)... I'll be sticking with the Scooby, thank you.
I realise that I am preaching the gospel to a gang of Satan worshipers here, but I just thought I'd give my longwinded opinion and ramble on a bit
Just kidding about the whole satan worshiper part, obviously. <Rant over, flame suit on>
Chip Mutza