not true. turbo kits on rs's have been out since early 90's and are very inexpensive and reliable. remember, while the boys in EU, JAP, and AUS were playing with the WRX, all us statesiders had were the rs to tune. there are many GC8 2.5rs's out there un the 10's (and 1 in the states that i know of now in the 9's) turbo kits are all over the place, and are comparable risk/difficulty to a GSR/GS. the 2.5 liter engine is durable, and easy to take HP from. its 10:1 compression, so you're stuck to about 5psi in boost before you need to start boring, porting and repolishing.

tranny's are good to at least mid 200's if you're not power shifteing and doing 6K drops, you'll wwant to slip more on an AWD launch anyway, so it's easier on the tranny than a FWD launch. if you're a tuner, the AWD launches will own anyone in the 60' category. flywheels are notoriously too light, and don't transfer all the extra power to all 4 wheels well once you're in the upper hp ranges.

reliability on the RS is very good. check consumer reports, autoweb, edmunds etc. you'll see subaru honda and toyota are all in the same boat. high quality, durable cars that are built to last 200K+ miles.

aftermarket support from stateside and japan is up there with any integra, celica etc. if you need direction there, i can be of assistance. but bone stock it still runs to 60 in 8 seconds. not too far from intregra territory

i like the look of the suby better, but depending on the goals/needs of your car, you've got a tough choice. the AWD is great for a daily driver, in the snow, rain, ice etc. and it also doesn't look like everyone on the road has the same car. good luck with your choice. either way, tuning is going to be fun. fore some subaru impreza input to balance out your research, try out www.iclub.com





dR