Why bother to compare the WRX and SRT-4? The only things in common are the number of doors, overall size and a turbo. Different price, different intended market, different states of tune.

My opinion: a lot of performance cars are bought by people who drive them to work and the grocery store, and are never pushed any closer to the limit than a high school kid does to his automatic 4-cylinder Accord with a couple of subs in the trunk and altezzas on the back. It happens to any performance car with a reputation that is liveable as a daily driver. They drive around town and are satisfied with the chassis tuning because they lack the driving skill to push the car to its true limits. They still can tell themselves they drive a WRX, 350Z, S4, M3 or whatever, so everything is right with the world. The SRT-4 is not for these people. It's cheap, and it takes the platform to about the furthest state of tune possible from the factory short of including an LSD. It is rough riding, noisy, and uncomfortable. It is a Neon which doesn't exactly cause a crowd of people to form while pulling up to the local Starbucks. It's a refinement be damned, let's put as much go, stop and stick possible in this thing, limited production performance model.

Take a WRX, stick on a set of real performance tires, stiffen up the suspension, unbolt the muffler and see what happens to the sales numbers. All the people who aspire to have a performance car just to have one are no longer able to comute in the thing comfortably. Not to mention the price goes up from the spiffy rolling stock and suspension tuning.

Finally, a 300 hp front wheel drive car will work fine. With proper suspension tuning and a limited slip diff the thing will still handle fine. To the naysayers: just don't buy an SRT-4, nobody is making you. It's just a car and this is just the internet. If you don't like it fine, but damn...no need to get all worked up about what some guy you've never met (that being me) types into a web page at three in the morning.

 

All good points throughout that last response, I couldn't agree more.

I think about it more and realize how much easier things would be with that car. I mean, I've already got loud, stiff, etc. Except I'm paranoid like a mother to park next to anyone, always paranoid about bad areas, etc. The R draws a lot of attention, which isn't alawys bad mind you, but the Neon would be SO much simpler. Not to mention faster. :fawk:

 

Very good points. Here's why I want a WRX. Not only becuase of the turbo and awd and all that good stuff but I take my little brother to school every morning. In order to get to his school I have to drive thru the "ghetto", aka old downtown frisco. the streets are horrible the ride is a pain in the ass (literally) in my 240SX which has a really stiff suspension. My friend has a WRX and we drove thru the same streets one time and that car is able to take the bumps soooooo much better. That's why I want, and whenever i get the money, will get a WRX. In a couple of years when I wont have to take him to that school, and I'll only have to drive on newly paved streets. Then I'll have a desrie to drive something with a really stiff suspension again.

 

Yianni64, I didn't mean to offend you. It just seems like every forum I visit holds the WRX (along with G35 and M3) on a pedistool as the performance car of the world. Just here was the place I complained about it. Sorry about that. Am I still accepted here?

(My apologies on continuing this issue)
ILuvItTheJDM... I normally would not care about your bias, but it good to have an open mind about cars. I used to be like you, I thought Japanese cars were the **** and American and Korean cars were just ****. I figured VWs were ok. Then I went and bought my first car, and I went to Honda route of course. I plopped down about 18.5k on a 1999 Accord LX. I got power everything, nice cloth seats, a nice interior, automatic. Then I realized though, I could have gotten a fully loaded Sonata. It may not have been as refined, but I would have gotten a V6, leather, CD plater, sunroof, alloy wheels, ABS. I also could have gotten a Grand Am. A friend of mine has one, got it for about a grand more than I got my Accord (bought at the same time too). It's got a V6, manual, CD player, alloy wheels, ABS, great sound system, sunroof. Yeah, it's got cheap GM buttons, the Hyundai didn't have the refinement, but the Honda didn't have the features. No car is perfect.

Anyway... 300hp FWD American POS?
FWD... yes, that can't really be changed.
American... yup, but Dieter Zetsche is making major improvements at Chrysler. I still have reservations about American and Korean cars, I know they're not as reliable as Japanese ones. But they aren't Yugos. If these cars were total crap, people wouldn't buy them. The Koreans are the fastest growing car brands in the US (minus Daewoo), and most of the top 10 selling vehicles are American. F-Series, Silverado , Explorer, Grand Caravan, Focus, Ram, Grand Am, Taurus, Grand Cherokee constantly fight for positions on the list. And VWs, which I used to think were great, have reliability worse than the domestics.
POS... no. The SRT-4 is anything but a POS.

MrFatBooty summed it up perfectly: the SRT-4 is for sport, not some grocery getter. It's to drive past all those Civic Si's, Focus SVT's, Neons R/T's, Matrix XRS's, all the small cars that want to be fast but have leather, cd players, sunroofs, sound insulation, and other crap boggin' em all down. If you loved 'TheJDM' half as much as you claim you did, you would realize that Honda ( a JDM company!) did the same exact thing with the Integra Type-R... performance first.

 

Yea, my friend just bought a 2000 GSR for herself, I was there for the test drive. I can vouch for that. My first GSR ride was after I got the R. SO much quiter, smoother, etc. The seats were letting me slide all over the place though.

I'm VERY glad I got the R.

 

LuckyDog, i didnt get offended. good post though. I choose refienment and quality over a few creature comforts.

 

So what do you have to say about people who turbo Civics?

 

Back to the main piont, stock for stock this thing will blow away its competition. RSX tpes-S 0-120mph in 28.xx seconds, SRT-4 0-120mph in 20 seconds flat. 8 seconds......thats a big f*ckin difference. It has a front mounted intercooler and a 16G turbo, so iff its anything like a turbo Eclipse( mod-ability wise) then turning up the boost should be as easy a upgraded fuel system and a boost controler and guages. Thats like $600, a 16G turbo( not sure about the SRT-4's 16G) is good for well over 300hp.

 

16g is just the type of compressor housing. Who knows what trim it is.

 

M.D., it's strange you say it's like a turbo Eclipse. The next Eclipse is supposed to move to the next-gen Lancer platform, which the next-gen Neon will be on too. Apparently the Eclipse is goin' back to it's roots.

Anyway... I just like it cause it looks purdy.

Sorry about the bad pic