Best 2014 AWD car out there?

Rallim · Dec 17, 2013

They're Impreza's with a turbo. Impreza's are economy cars, there isn't much there for the money honestly.

Orange 94 · Dec 17, 2013

I like my mazda3 (fwd), a mazdaspeed would be awesome!
My vote is a subura though.

mcglsr2 · Dec 17, 2013

Rallim said:
They're Impreza's with a turbo. Impreza's are economy cars, there isn't much there for the money honestly.

We can agree to disagree.

Go drive an Impreza. Then go drive an STI. Entirely different animal. By that logic, an M3 is just a glorified 3-series. Why bother with one?

Edit: Oh, and that Impreza won world rally championships. Not too shabby for an econo-box.

Rallim · Dec 17, 2013

An M3 IS a glorified 3 series, especially if its an E36 lol (Coming from someone who daily drives an M5 here) I'm not talking purely about performance, I'm talking about it as a car in general, as a daily. For the price youre going to be paying for an STI, there's better options for the money in terms of speed, what you get in a car, and if you're looking at hatches, looks. Even used WRX's are stupid expensive. My friend sold his WRX for 10k, an 02. Literally the only thing it had on my old 540 was that it had AWD. Every. Single. Thing. else, the 540i had better of. Seats, gas mileage, reliability, stereo, build, ect... ect.... I sold that thing for 7500, with lower miles then his car. Oh, and don't forget insurance.

I would say I've driven an Impreza and a WRX, but different generations so moot point there really.

I love STI's and WRX's, but I think they're way overpriced and not worth getting for what you're paying for. That's just my opinion though.

Just go look at things before you pick one thing and set yourself on it. I went through probably 20 cars, just looking around before I bought anything the last time I really went car shopping.

mcglsr2 · Dec 17, 2013

That's cool - different strokes for different folks. They do hold their value (or lack of, I guess, from your perspective

) really well, another reason I got it. I haven't regretted it...yet...

Rallim · Dec 17, 2013

Lol, that is true! And as long as you like it, who cares right?

mcglsr2 · Dec 17, 2013

Yah. Don't get me wrong, I'd drive the hell out of an M3 too. Always wanted one. Maybe one day.

Orange 94 · Dec 17, 2013

+1 scubarus too expensive.

ElKabong197 · Dec 17, 2013

The biggest problem I have wit the wrx/sti, is due to their fanboyism, they are over priced. Don't get me wrong, I like them and wish I wanted a 400+/mo payment, but even the 04s with 100k+ miles still almost fetch 20k.

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1bad9d5 · Dec 17, 2013

mcglsr2 said:
Hey sorry for the late entry, been away for a bit. As Ferocious said, I have a 2011 STI sedan. I went through the same process you are talking about, when I was looking for a new DD back in 2011. I wanted AWD as well, and looked around quite a bit. My opinions, for whatever they are worth:

I have a 2011 ST, the girlfriend has a 2012 A4 quattro (which I convinced her to get). I also looked at BMW, VW, and Evo's, and WRX's. Ultimately, it depends on what you want out of an AWD system - you going to be driving in snow? I live in Florida, so I was more performance oriented, not so much bad weather oriented. Honestly, I think Subaru has one of the better AWD setups around. Most AWD systems (like the Evo, some BMWs) are actually a FWD, with the AWD tacked on. Evo's do it well. BMW does it okay. Subaru is more of a RWD platform, with FWD as well. Personally, I like that better. Audi is the same way. For Florida performance-oriented driving, any of those probably work fine for what is legal (-ish) on the street. For bad weather, I would stick with Subaru or Audi.

My girlfriend's Audi is nice - but I'm not sure I'd recommend them. They make them purposely difficult to work on - you want to change the oil? Hope you have an extractor, because if you try to remove what you think is the oil pan plug, you just bought yourself a new $1000 oil pan. The dealership recommends that you DON'T rotate the tires. And I'm sure when we put different wheels on the car they will tell us that it was a bad thing to do because it will cause this and thus. As far as the car itself, it's very nice. We like it a lot. Certainly low on power compared to my STI, however with the 8 speed auto you'd be doing 80 before you realized it (and the car is super smooth).

For me, I love my STI. I've got an AccessPort on it, and a CAI to install. It has around 280 to the wheels right now, and Good Lord does it pull hard. It's plenty fast for me as a DD right now, and all I did was AccessPort it. I don't beat everything in a straight-line drag, but once the corners or cloverleaf ramps come up, goodbye whatever it was. The traction is just utterly unreal (I currently have 9.5" wide wheels and 275 on all 4 corners). And I love the styling of the sedan. It's bulky, somewhat vulgar, has huge fenders, and I just love the shit out of it. I even don't mind the wing. I'm sure some people in other cars probably point and laugh, but that's okay. I don't care. I honestly believe the wing is necessary - on the street, of course not. On the track, where I intend on using the car at some point, absolutely. I also love that not many people around here have one. I see tons of BMWs, Audi's, VW's...not so much with the Subarus.

An Evo would be a good choice too, probably a touch quicker than the STI. But the interior in the STI is just much nicer. Since I DD it, I wanted the nicer interior. If I was buying the car just for racing, then I would have given the Evo more consideration.

In the end, if it really is just DD, go with any of the AWD cars that you like the best, with emphasis on what makes it a nice DD. I personally wanted a rock solid AWD system, and car that was somewhat unique. If you value a smooth ride and nice interior more, go with an Audi or BMW. If you want something with balls and are willing to sacrifice some of the inside luxury, go with a WRX, STI or Evo.

If you have specific questions, let me know and I'll be happy to help if I can.

hey thanks for the information man. I will ask this though. What is an AccessPort? lol how much did doing that run you?? I definitely am pushing towards the Subaru simply cause even though im American muscle at heart, the Subaru has always been in the back of my mind.. I plan on going to the dealership this week and checking 1 out and comparing with other cars for sure.. Audi is nice but I think insurance for that will kill me.. I got a quote for my stang and a STI together and it actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be for a 22 year old with everything in my name lol.. I would like to have it fully loaded, in a sense of leather is preferred since I don't have it in my stang (nor do I need it there lol) but I do need the worlds greatest leather either.. at the end of the day im probably going to go with the STI but I still wanna compare everything.

1bad9d5 · Dec 17, 2013

Rallim said:
Just go look at things before you pick one thing and set yourself on it. I went through probably 20 cars, just looking around before I bought anything the last time I really went car shopping.

I am definitely going to go check out a bunch of different cars, test drive them and see what options they have and the prices for it. I have the next couple of months to do so before I wanna make any sudden moves.

1bad9d5 · Dec 17, 2013

Sorry for the multi post reply I went blank on our to reply to multiple people in 1

ElKabong197 said:
The biggest problem I have wit the wrx/sti, is due to their fanboyism, they are over priced. Don't get me wrong, I like them and wish I wanted a 400+/mo payment, but even the 04s with 100k+ miles still almost fetch 20k.

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yea you have a great point about how much the older 1s are and for that money ill just buy a termi instead lol but for a DD that is why I wanna go new.. and hey if STIs hold their value extremely well, thatll only help me down the line. If I lease it, the car note shouldn't be anywhere near over $400 but ill know tomorrow when I go on my day off

ElKabong197 · Dec 17, 2013

the problem is, the OLD ones hold their value extremely well, im not too entirely sure about the new ones. I'm actually keeping my eye on the 2015 WRX, sposed to come with a more sti like ride, and the 6 spd manual.

Orange 94 · Dec 17, 2013

I wish ford would sell some of the euro fords in North America ... You could get a sweet sport hatch with awd.

1bad9d5 · Dec 17, 2013

either way, I need a DD.. when I turn 25 it wont matter much to me cause than I can use the Grundy car insurance which is CRAZY cheap so yea.. honestly if I lived in like florida I wouldn't care much, but living in NY its a different story, its been snowing here almost every day for the last week straight, and I hear STIs are extremely fun to drive in the snow

1bad9d5 · Dec 17, 2013

Orange 94 said:
I wish ford would sell some of the euro fords in North America ... You could get a sweet sport hatch with awd.

Yes! I would love to be able to buy that. what about the SHO? it is a pretty big ass car but it is AWD and fast

Orange 94 · Dec 17, 2013

1bad9d5 said:
Yes! I would love to be able to buy that. what about the SHO? it is a pretty big ass car but it is AWD and fast

I love sho's (well current gen and the first 2 gens), but they're huge and very pricey.

1bad9d5 · Dec 17, 2013

Orange 94 said:
I love sho's (well current gen and the first 2 gens), but they're huge and very pricey.

yea I work for ford so I think I can get it for maybe around or a little bit more than the STI but the thing is, my boy has the regular Taurus and that thing is just so dam big and I don't think I need something like that, but I love them too... the power in the SHO is amazing