Looking for an all year DD

That said, the CVT automatics on the WRX are trash known for problems.
Solution: get a manual.

Get the WRX. You can make more power out of the FA with a downpipe, exhaust, and tune than you will from the stock EJ on the STi, and it'll be a much better DD in terms of comfort and reliability. You do miss out on the absolute top of the line AWD system as well as some chassis stiffness, but the WRX is still really good.

Roommate isn't a dumb guy, he does his research.

He test drove all the hot hatches, some BMWs (used), the Toyobaru, Mustang, etc. And he ended up with a mid-level (don't know the exact package but it had fog lights and a sunroof) WRX. I'd say pay the bit extra for not a base model, because buying new you might as well get it with all the things you WANT. You'll be living with it for a while.

Like another user said, it's got a better engine than the current STI and you can get some good deals on the 2016s right now. The 2016 model has been around since 2014 (i think?) so most of the "new model" quirks are ironed out.

It's not going to blow the doors off of anything anytime soon, but there's huge aftermarket and they're still pretty fun stock. AWD is a plus but he went from an Audi A4 to the Subaru, and he says it understeers a lot more, so no real drifting action if that's all you want for "sporty". But it's fast enough and seems to have a ton of grip.

>inb4 muh anecdotal evidence
Yes, because bench racing is a much better metric with which to measure a fun daily driver.

Only downside is the stereo is garbage. Sound quality is 80s tier. And the ride is a bit rough (compared to an average 4door) but better than the FiST and some other options.

What's the alternative, some euro "flaming trash heap" on wheels?

What do you mean it wont blow doors off anything soon? With a tune, downpipes and intake the wrx does 4.3 in 0-60 thats pretty fast for a 25k 4 door car

You know exactly what it meant, shitlord.

OP had asked "what's a 25k car that I can make fast for another 3-5k", I'd have mentioned that.

But there's no point in voiding the warranty on a new vehicle that doesn't need the mods to be a good, fun, DD.

LOL @ FWD

>wasting 35k on a boyracer, unreliable awd econobox
how much money do you have for a down payment? because that's your new budget.

The FA20 motor is more stout than the ancient Ej257. but if you're not into modding your cars, then go with the STI

>dd
>manual
you're special aren't you

As much as I enjoy the performance gains from the previous generation sti to this one, I can't justify looking like a father who begs for attention from the street. Even if I am a father begging for attention from the street.

Will Subaru every go back to a good looking impresza or are they just going to sink more money into the toyburu?

>Being this beta.

Isn't the WRX like 275HP now?

It's almost 2017, V6 Mustangs have 300HP and this POS turbocharged Camry hasn't gotten any better in 15 years.

Btw I hate Vapefags as much as the next guy but I gotta admit pic related is one of the best looking cars of our generation.

Seriously though Subaru, that bitch should be keeping up with Mustang GT's and you can't reliably get a little more power with 20yrs of new technology? It's barely even a sports car anymore, take the wing and hood scoop off and you have a base engine A4.

>tl:dr;
Maybe the extra $8k would be worth it in 2004 when 300HP was fast and the WRX was making 225HP with a 5spd.

This post should go in the most retarded and stupid posts of 2016. How are you comparing a fucking 40k big v8 with a small turbo 4cyl engine, second theyre not even in the same fucking classes. And 268hp is enough to have fun with in a awd, enjoy your big bloaty v8 that oversteers in every corner

I got a 2017 WRX Limited, which I think is about the same as a sport tech and I love it. The leather interior is super nice and totally worth it. I decided against the STI because of the engine and comfort. The WRX is already pretty stiff, I don't mind it but some passengers bitch about it.

You need AWD, but why do you want a manual in the snow?

Autos are faster anyway.

Stay mad sperglord, modern American godmaschibe Mustang GT beats all your shitty Nipshit

"no"

Its not about being fast, its about enjoying the car.

You bait is stink. No bite.

Being so beta that you don't use pussy

Stage 2 wrx bro reporting in.

I've got a 15 base I got for 26k out the door. I get better mpg than my buddy with a 14 sti hatch and I also make more power than his stock sti. While still costing about 4k less.

The fa 20 makes power faster and sooner than the ej. But once you start getting around 325 to the wheels they become fragile.

I love mine and am glad I got it over the sti because I wasn't planning on making a 600hp monster.

Do buy a cobb accessport. The stock map and rev hang is fucking garbage.

Overall the wrx does everything I wanted it to do and am happy with it.

>26k out the door
fuggg. What state? Here in Florida, since they're so rare dealers charge out the ass for them. my '17 base with like a couple hundred in options cost like 30K incl tax title and fees

The WRX isi the better daily and street option, builds power sooner.

>The STI is the weekend track toy.

I'm in Missouri and they didn't have aNY thing that wasn't loaded with options so I told them order me a base one I'll pay you 26k for it. If that price doesn't work don't order it

Nice. Got any exterior mods?

Just a tofu sticker on the back window and the tail.pipe are bigger than normal. But just looking at it you would think it's stock till it gets reved

I was in the same situation as you. I finally decided that for a daily driver, no the STI wasn't worth the additional cost The WRX is plenty fast and on top of that, it's using a brand new engine rather than an old outdated one. Also the STI's suspension was a lot more bumpy than the WRX's was.

And in the end, you can spend about a grand (or less) tp put a tune on it and bring it up to match the STI's power numbers.

>Or does the WRX STI's performance goodies make it worth it at $34,495

Nice grammar

>muh pigfat straight line musheen

Subaru tech here.
The new sti has the new REVISED EJ25 IT ISNT JUST THE "SAME"
Your looking at a timing belt, 305hp boxer.

The wrx has 268hp timing chain.
Been seeing alot of then have problems.

Clutch pedal assembly creaking clunking
Turbo intake boot failure
Headlight seals failing causing condensation
Rod bearing failure .
Etc

Haven't seen an sti come into my dealer with any problems yet.

I know there's no way to know for sure but do the 15's come back because of shit parts or shitty owners? If you were to guess?

Not sure if related, but as a Toyota tech we get alot of problematic FR-S', isnt it the same engine besides being NA and high compression?

WRX is much much more worth the price. the differences just are not worth it. The giant retard wing alone costs you like 2-3 grand.

besides, you should be getting a mustang anyway

i would say mostly because of shitty owners.
last week one guy put a brand new clutch in a 16' WRX
it only had 6000 miles on it.
pressure plate was completely melted or it was the fly wheel i forgot. dude does not know how to drive manual.

same engine same everything.
havent seen any problomatic BRZ yet. mostly due to that cricket chirp recall

How often are warranties denied? Any advice on going into dealer with weird shifting transmission?

if you put a COBB tuner on your car you are automatically absolved of ANY warranty other than your service agreement. (free oil changes)

i dont usually see warranty claims denied too much other than people putting 45psi in their tires and coming back 15k miles later wondering why their tires are worn horribley and that their cars drive like shit. i have seen brake pad warranty denied too like people riding brakes or stopping too hard too much

what do you mean weird shifting transmission?

>getting the inferior fwd hatch
youtube.com/watch?v=dz8iKeHAckg

So tunes are always easilly detected even if flashed back to stock?

all i have to do is hook up the SUBARU STIS system to the obd2 and i can tell if you fucked up or not.

I test drove both a wrx and sti a lot. For me the sti is a bad buy in current form. It's shit on gas milage, not that fast compared to the cost, and it rides way way to harsh. 2015 and up wrx premiums come with the sti inverted shocks and that's the car I got. I average 28mpg with 70 percent of my driving being highway. It's comfortable for long trips. It's got great ground clearance compared to other sporty cars. And it with a set of winter tires it will go through just about anything. I got two issues with it, it's got a little to much wind/road noise in the cabin at highway speeds and the oem radio fucking blows. I'm working on a replacement sound system now but I've been working to much to really take the time to do some research. I just want something that does android auto and sounds good. For comparison my 05 grand prix I had before this car had a worlds better stock radio in it as far as sound quality goes.

Another note is the sti us slightly embarrassing to drive if you are slightly older and a professional. I'm 31 and I'm in the medical field. I'd stick out so much in a sti pulling up in the work parking lot next to BMWs and mercs.

>shit on gas mileage

the sti averages 1 to 2 mpg less than the WRX

>to much wind/road noise in the cabin at highway speeds

i have only heard old people complaining of it
plus its a high compression 4 banger what did you expect?

>oem radio fucking blows
you must have bought a 2015

>Another note is the sti us slightly embarrassing to drive if you are slightly older and a professional.

i fail to see this as an issue.
a 50 something year old woman came into my dealership last month a bought a 16 STI for 45k$ CASH
she brought her 20 something year old son. the sales man thought she was buying the car for her son. nope.

How is the FA20 better?

Pretty sure it's only better in terms of satisfying cuck EPA emission requirements.

This will be the last generation of STi that has the EJ257, can't find the quote, but its from one of the lead designers.
The only real major problem I have with the modern STi is the engine, it's been a fucking great engine, but the tech in it is old.

The FA20 is a great engine, takes really well to a tune and you can make serious power out of it, the only problems I hear from it is that it sits at too high of a compression ratio at stock, I think the 2015+ WRX sits at 10:6:1 and the BRZ sits at 12:5:1.

>Btw I hate Vapefags as much as the next guy but I gotta admit pic related is one of the best looking cars of our generation.

>Not the GC8

How old are you? What's an old person to you? I'm 32 and an sti is to harsh for a daily driver for me. I had an mx5 on ebay coilovers before as a daily so I know what is rough and what isn't.

im 23 dude.
its a performance vehicle
obviously its going to be stiff.
its built for track runs hence the summer tires.
dunlop sport maxx 245-40-18 with a tread wear rating of 240.
stiff lowered ish suspension.
stiff clutch.
and old person to me is anyone 12 or more years older than me.

Let me know how your back feels in 8 years buddy.

I'm in my 30s and daily a car with stiff adjustable coilovers, solid UHMW bushings and stiff 200 treadwear tires. It's definitely more aggressive than a new STI. I'm also a skateboarder and a motorcyclist so I know when it's too much for my aging body, and a new STI is a nice cushy ride IMO.

I have arthritis is my spine that I got diagnosed with when I was 19. My back feels like I'm 50 years old so.

>sporty

Pic related. In the 80s and early 90s, 200HP made for a peppy 4-door sedan. But it is 2016.

>2016
>"murrican cars can't turn" meme

...

If you get the WRX you need to flash it with an access port. The stock map is shit, with the throttle being an on/off switch and AWFUL Rev hang at first and second gear. It is infuriating, and almost ruins the driving experience.

If you go with the accessport and have a good aftermarket tune you can make a good 50whp and 70wtq more on a stock car.

I fucking hate the Rev hang. What were they thinking?

And even in the 1990s Camry V6s were quicker than most sport compacts of the era in a straight line, what's your point?

2nd this

I feel like that much in difference warrants flying out and buying the car.

you retards are the reason I can't get a nice STI for a reasonable price and low insurance cost

RIP in peace my warranty

If they fucked up their own car at the factory, why does fixing it violate the warranty?

because you messed with ECU which they will blame for anything engine related

Any competent driver should be capable of driving a rwd car through winter. I do it every year in Canada.

There's no point in buying an STI as a daily driver. That's like buying a Mustang with the track pack if it going to be a daily driver. You don't need it on the road and any sensible person wouldn't want that suspension setup in a daily driver either. If you're dead set on the Subaru, stick with the WRX and pocket the remaining money.

>any sensible person wouldn't want that suspension setup in a daily driver either
wow you're a retard

I don't even like subarus, they're hideous and sound like asshole trumpets, but that sentence you posted is the dumbest shit I've seen in this thread.

I test drove both, but ended up buying the STI ultimately. The EJ20 / wrx has more midrange torque and FEELS faster (versus the peaky STI), but the STI is definitely faster.

The handling and transmission were the biggest differences to me. Those two alone were worth the extra cash. Also, the STI has a much larger cap on builds that can be sustained with stock internals.

I'm running a 3" turboback exhaust and tune (20 psi) and absolutely love this car.

>That's like buying a Mustang with the track pack if it going to be a daily driver

...yeah, and?

I daily an Evo most of the time. Fun outweighs comfy for a lot of people.

Too lazy to do the work yourself?

>tfw insurance on my WRX is

Lucky you. 2 out of state speeding tickets and a fender bender over 3 years and I'm at 330/mo

...

Personally I went for the WRX Limited because I wanted as many creature comforts as possible (while skipping nav) in a daily that was still somewhat comfortable, practical, and had some headroom for some small power boosts once I'm ready. Like if I can ever make it to 300-350awhp I'll be a happy camper. I know that's not OMGWTF by today's standards but that's still like fucking 350-400bhp in an AWD daily driven sedan - it's good enough.

The base STi doesn't quite have all the goodies I wanted (Moonroof, power seat), costs over $4000 more and honestly was a little too loud and too stiff for me and the STi Limited is just way too out there price-wise.

FA20 vs EJ25 or whatever, I still think that the base STi is worth every penny - all the differentials alone are easily worth it, nevermind the better gearbox and the performance oriented alcantara seats (less slippery and more interesting that the straight up leather IMO) - it just has to be what you want. Just test drive both and see whether you'd rather live with the WRX or whether you just gotta have the STi.

The only way the STi averages 1 to 2 mpg less than the WRX is if the following happens:

1. STi owner is mathing the mpg from the pump and the WRX owner is relying on the onboard computer when comparing gas mileage (the computer system underestimates by a good 3-4+mpg)

2. WRX is doing a ton of city miles, STi is doing a lot more highway

3. The STi driver is granny-footing it everywhere while the WRX owner is hooning around.

>i fail to see this as an issue.
>a 50 something year old woman came into my dealership last month a bought a 16 STI for 45k$ CASH
>she brought her 20 something year old son. the sales man thought she was buying the car for her son. nope.
there was a lan evo 10 next to me for half my yesterdays commute.
It was driven by someone woman in a nice coat who was working at a loan company.

the stock BBS wheels on the STi are so fucking pretty desu