nuclearmoose

Took one (a wagon) for a test drive last night, here are my thoughts:

- It felt more solid than I thought it would. Pretty quiet inside at highway speeds, but noticeably more body roll than even the stock S4 in the corners. Nothing some mods can't fix though...

- 0-60 was nice, even cruising on the highway wasn't bad, but 60-100+ is where the S4 really shines. WRX loses in the torque department.

- I actually liked the engine sound, there's something about those boxer soob engines. Turbo's doubley so.

- Clutch felt a little light, and the shifter felt nice, but I'd miss the 6 speed. I'm sure the short throw kit for the wrx feels even better. I hate the little teeny know they have on there though.

- Ergonomics: pedals were nice, much easier to heel&toe than the S4. Steering wheel felt about the same - nice and comfy, but I wonder how the seats would be on long trips... I thought the gauges and general layout were good, although definately not as nice on the interior as the S4 (duh).

- Call me crazy, but I don't think the wagon looks too bad. I love the Paul Hogan-inspired fog lights. Wonder if the stock headlights could be replaced with Xenons?

The dealer offered me the following deal for a trade: Base WRX Wagon + $9000 for my S4. My S4 is a Silver 2001 with 18K miles, completely stock. Black leather, all options except phone & nav.

That didn't sound too bad to me considering I only paid $38K a year ago, but I told them I'd need another $1000 back. Their appraiser wasn't onsite last night, so this was without him actually seeing the car... A 02' WRX + $10K for my S4 sounds tempting... Whatdya think?

NM

Bill In SoCal

Sounds like you may be convincing your self cause you want the cash.

nuclearmoose

Granted, the wrx wagon isn't that much bigger than an S4, but the hatchback would be ideal for my new dog He seems to have a taste for leather too...

I keep asking myself if I want one really nice car, or two somewhat nice cars... My plan would probably be to get the WRX and a '69 Camaro or something similar to tool around with in the summer.

I love the S4, but I'm not absolutely crazy about it like some people...

NM

John CC

especially for the money! I looked at the wagon myself a month ago and liked it quite a bit. If you need 02 model wagon, I would rather get the wrx instead of an s4 wagon (for change since you already have had the s4) and to save $$$. You have to realize though that you will have to spent close to 4k for wheels/tires/suspension and another 2k for chipping etc to make it even/faster than a chipped s4

If you need a hatchback and do not need a very practical car, go test drive an m-coupe as well. I needed a hatchback and after test driving the wrx and owning an s4 for the last 2 years it felt pretty good to drive a high revving n/a motor and a light car...

John CC

what kind are you getting?

quattroinAK

my brother has one and i race him in my s4 all the time. i usually win but not by much. the wrx is nice. you just have to decide how important the "luxury" aspect is.. i like my leather seats.

nostatic

after a brief stint with an '87 911, I decided I wanted something under warranty, and with better creature comforts for my commute (ie functional AC, etc). New Z3 coupes can be had for under invoice ($34K), and used M Coupes can be had for around $30K. I think I could live with a 2 seater (have to get the passengeer airbag defeated so my son can ride with me) and keep the 4-runner, but today the wife suggested just getting the WRX and selling the 4-runner. One point being the WRX is cheap enough that I really wouldn't care about dings/dents/etc and could flog it. With the 911 it was so nice I hesitated driving it to work, the store, etc.

At $24K for the WRX, it is hard to pass up, and a bit tough to rationalize the extra $$$ for the style/cachet of the BMW

nuclearmoose

Silver of course
I'd just get it stock since all the mods can be added later anyway. At least that's what the dealer said - is that true? Only options I really wanted were the dimming mirror/compass, gauge pack, and the short shifter.

nuclearmoose

Exactly - and I need AWD. Do a LOT of driving in the snow

TOASTY

it sounds like you want money and dont care about all nice things that set the S4 apart from everything else. i also drove the WRX wagon and ive also driven a honda civic.... the only difference is that the WRX is faster and has awd. many of the guys who have WRXs are people who would DIE to have an S4 but couldnt afford it.