My stream of conscious writing-style in all it's glory...I'm definitely not a writer, but here goes (this was an e-mail I sent to a couple of my friends this morning):

Saw some posts yesterday on AudiWorld and on the I-Club web sites saying that some dealers were receiving shipments of WRX's. Took a chance and drove over to Rafferty Pontiac/Subaru (Route 3 in Newtown Square, PA) and sure enough, they had just received their first delivery that day. Walked around back with the sales guy (Ed Osborne) and saw a Sedona Red wagon (manual trans), 2 blue sedans (pre-sold), silver sedan (pre-sold), black sedan (automatic) and a couple of RS sedan's also. I asked about taking the wagon out, and salesperson said no problem.

My impressions of the interior:
Seats -- Very comfortable. Grippy cloth....black bolsters with a blue/black material on the "body" of the seat. Nice Momo steering wheel. Unfortunately it still had the plastic cover on the wheel so it was hard to judge how grippy it was. Stereo sounded OK (this wagon had an upgraded system with an amp and a subwoofer, also had a security option). Stereo sounded a bit "boomy" for my taste, but overall not too bad. I'd say the Monsoon system in my brother's GTI is better. Other interior trim pieces aren't up to Audi standards...cheap feeling dash & trim material, sun visors felt skimpy and driver's side wasn't lighted (not sure if passenger side is). Shifter felt pretty nice....very mechanical feel, fairly short-shifts. Nicer than my brother's GTI...felt similar to my A4 with the UUC short-shifter, although the WRX may have slightly shorter shifts. Rear hatch area seems pretty big. I threw the rear seats down and the load floor is pretty flat. The more I looked over the car, the more it's econo-car roots showed through. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the materials in my A4....but honestly, the GTI materials seem much nicer for similar $$$. So OK, the interior is just so-so (IMHO)....what I'm interested in is the performance. Let's go for a drive....

Driving Impressions:
Clutch take-up is decent....similar to my A4 in that it takes up pretty high in the pedal travel. Seems to take-up over a slightly greater distance so it's pretty easy to pull away from a stop without jerking the car. Headlights are pretty good, I turned on the "driving lights" and wow, those really add a lot of light to the pavement (mostly right in front of the car). High-beams suck though...the driving lights go out when the highs come on so it seems like there isn't that much light. The high-beams are much, much worse than my European headlight high-beams. But maybe that's an unfair comparison. Engine sound is very present in the cabin...it's a very mechanical sound, kind of "rough" and "agricultural". On top of that is the "whine" of the turbo as it builds boost. One review I read mentioned that it sounds like the whine that a straight-cut gearbox makes....that sums it up perfectly. I thought my A4's engine was kind of noisy....the WRX seems twice as loud....a luxury car this is not. Power delivery seemed pretty linear....hard for me to tell when the boost really came on, but it seemed to be more above 3,500 RPM's. I was a bit under whelmed with the performance...it didn't really feel like 227 hp. My chipped A4 (Garrett 1.0 bar) felt quicker in comparison. Keep in mind this car was straight off the truck with all of 14 miles on the odometer. Plus I had the sales guy (perhaps 185 lbs) in the passenger seat. Steering feel is outstanding....much, much nicer than my A4 which seems way over boosted in comparison (in the A4's defense, I've driven several other A4's that had much better steering feel compared to mine). The WRX had a very connected feel which was just great. Handling also was very nice. The ride was firm, but not harsh. Bumps were absorbed better than my A4 (H&R sport springs/Bilsteins) which would tend to "crash" over those same types of bumps. WRX cornered very nice...felt like a more nimble car compared to my A4. Brakes seemed pretty strong also.

Overall I was very impressed with the steering & handling. Power wasn't quite up to my expectations....but in all honesty, I was being pretty easy on the car (although I did get it up to maybe 4,500 or 5,000 RPM on at least one shift). I'd have to take the car out again to get a better feel for the power. It certainly wasn't slow....just not explosively fast as I was expecting it to be. This is a similar impression I got when I test drove an S4 sedan last fall....it felt quick, but not as fast as I was expecting. Perhaps it's me babying the cars on test-drives...I dunno.

We pulled back in the lot and the sales guy said he had to run inside to handle a new-car delivery. He let me keep the keys and I crawled all over the car for the next 30 minutes. Had the hood open checking out the engine. Right after our drive I popped the hood and felt the intercooler...it was cool to the touch (ambient outside temps were about 40 degrees). The hood scoop actually diverts about 85% of the air into the intercooler, the other 15% is directed to blow onto the turbo...nice touch. Sat in the backseat (with the front seat adjusted for me), enough room for two, pretty tight for three. Legroom in back was maybe a bit tighter than my A4. Rear seatback is pretty upright though. Played around in the hatch area, putting the seats down....removing the cargo cover, etc. Basically poked and prodded the entire car. The more I poked and touched, the more I came to appreciate the build and materials on my A4. The plastics on the WRX seemed thin and cheap whereas my A4 has substantial plastics that seem more robust and have a nicer "feel" to them. The dash for instance on the A4 is a nice matt, soft-plastic material while the WRX is more of a hard plastic. Even compared to a GTI, the materials are really a notch or two below what VW is doing on their interiors.

So the $1,000,000 question is.....am I going to buy one? My answer today is, probably not. If my A4 were to get totaled tomorrow, then my answer might change. But I've got my A4 nicely modded right now and it has so many nice features (heated seats, trip computer, moon roof, etc) compared to the WRX that I just can't see myself getting rid of my A4 for the WRX. As nice as the handling and steering felt on the WRX, I'll probably keep my A4 for the time being.

Although I haven't test drove (or seen) a WRX, I'm guessing that you are too gentle on your test drives with the S4 and the WRX. I think the performance on the WRX will be a bit slower than the S4. As for the interior, I think Subaru's target market for the WRX is not one that would be concerned with interior finish. If I were in the market for a car that performed well and didn't care about the interior, I'd get the WRX. I have a friend that fits that target and he's getting one. He's going with me when I pick up my S4 Avant. I might try to swap rides with him so I can test drive his car and he can test drive mine.

If you read Subaru's marketing materials, the WRX is taking direct aim at the A4 and BMW 3 series. I find that odd because, aside from performance, there is <b>nothing</b> about the WRX that would appeal to a BMW driver.

Great car, though. If Jon wasn't putting a turbo in his RS, I would imagine a WRX would be sitting in the garage right about now.

I think the people they will actually get are what I stated.

As I said, their target is off-base. People looking at BMWs aren't going to buy a Subaru, especially one with a cheap interior.

Not the same build quality. Not the same materials quality. Not the same price(some are getting the WRX for around $22.5K). Not the same goals.

Subaru marketing screwed up if they think they are competing with the A4 and 3-Series. Maybe if they put another $5K into the interior they would have a valid case.

I have always been a fan of Subaru's individualistic approach to engineering/performance. It has resulted in some good, reliable, albeit unusual, cars. This same approach to design has always been a stumbling block for me. The quirkiness has never morphed into cute IMO.

The WRX strongly exemplifies both of these Subaru traits ---very good engineering/performance and odd -here comes the quintessential Japanese tricked out econobox- design.

The time has long past that I want something fast and ugly. I wouldn't ever drive something that ugly, no matter how fast is was or how well it handled. I want a car, like my A4, that I admire its looks every time I see it.

That being said, I congratulate Subaru for an exciting, well-priced product and I hope they sell all they can possibly make.

My $.02

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it needs LOTS more power but I drove it to Tahoe and it was great on Hwy 80 at 85mph. Very taut and responsive and holds the line very nice in a big sweeper. For $24.5k fully loaded it is hard to dislike the car. Nice forest green and she deleted the little fin on the back so it is quite clean looking.

on their brochures and various publications, they kept on taking shots at the A4 and E46 Xi's, especially when it comes down to performance and pricing.

somehow, they fail to see that the Rex will not beat either car in anything else.

its funnier when you see people on the i-club forums bash audis. i'm sure Jon's been through it all. saw him post a few time =)

We get 11.4" rotors front; 10.3" rear but only 2-piston calipers up front while many parts of the world get the 4-pot's with 11.7" rotors. The good thing is, the STi 4-pots are readily available and pretty cheap.

I've been drooling over the turbo Imprezas for years now and I will eventually supplant my A4 1.8T with this car. Drivability wise, I believe this car will be much more fun than the A4. The A4 is a far more refined car but nothing beats the WRX for a pure sports sedan experience for minimal bucks.

The way I see it, the WRX is a pure sports sedan. You give up looks, some refinement, luxury, prestige to have performance above all else. Part of the reason I bought my Audi is to experience the mystique of fine German engineering...but I feel that a more raw sports car experience is what I am after. I love the fact that you can easily dial in oversteer in the Subaru whereas Audi Quattro's tend to understeer too strongly. Although I love Audi's fine interiors and styling, I think the car is still a bit too refined out of the box. A modified A4 will only equal a stock WRX in driver involvement, and the sky's the limit with all the Sti parts you can eventually upgrade to.

So I don't think Suburu is too off the mark comparing the two. You *will* see people cross shopping the two cars. The two cars are obviously different but I've personally compared far more different cars myself. Having said that, if you *Have* the money to buy a BMW 330 or Audi S4, it's a hard sell for people to swing for the uglier WRX. But for me who's looking for bang for buck, you can't beat the Suburu.

...and it works on people like me. People always seem flustered when a cheaper lower prestige marque is compared to a higher marque. But I think in this case, Suburu has a lot to be proud of. For me, the comparison is perfectly valid.

The WRX is more a car where someone wanted a sporty sedan, but has a hankering for a musclecar.

Anyway- the whole genre of cheap superfast sedans will take on its own comparos when the new EVO, the 4motion Golfs, SERs, FocusRS, etc hit the showrooms.

I really don't understand....why do we not get any of the Higher performance models on Anything here???

oh well, Stage III going in before end o' the month!!

Finally!!

Actually, I drive a BMW right now and I am looking at the WRX, or the A4 as a replacement.

For me, service is also part of the equation and the local BMW dealer has TERRIBLE sales people -- I HATE dealing with them. However, the local Audi/Porsche dealer has one sales person that is GREAT (he used to race Porsches when he was younger) and a test drive is also a driving lesson.

Quality of materials is another factor but so is everything else. On the whole considering the cars, the dealerships and the prices, the A4 and the WRX are in a dead heat with BMW in a distant last.