i'd go with the impreza because subaru's are just about as reliable as hondas, it's a nice car and it's pretty easy to build for turbo if you want to go down that route
the sentra se-r is all look at me i'm cool and nothign to back it up
the civic si is pure function, and it's a hatch

 

you are going to be unimpressed with the si. you are going to be unimpressed with the 2.5 RS. GET A WRX.

 

You cannot get a WRX for $16-20k unless you went with a used one which is a definite :nono:

 

save up then h:

 

The Sentra sits liek a 4x4 with the 17's.

I'd get the Civic, stay Honda.

 

lol. Thanks for the advice guys. I definitely don't want to spend more than $20k. If I do, it's only if I wait till the Fall and get the CTR. hehe.

 

my friend has a 2.5RS....its a decent car and he's beefed up the suspension pretty damn seriously....but the engine sucks. and put a custom turbo kit on it? sure... and kiss the tranny and engine goodbye. of course, you can put on a turbo kit on it and drive it slow and cautiously and talk about how it lasted x-amount of miles, but if you drive it the way it was meant to be while on boost, its gone.

i cant stand the new Si still. id get the SE-R hands down. the CTR only manages to make the new EP "acceptable" aesthetically in my opinion. the SE-R to me delivers the best all around in looks and performance in comparison to the Si.

 

Wow...the first pro SE-R comment. I was wondering how long it would be till someone picked it over the Si. What can't you stand about the Si, though? Is it the body style?

 

let me put it this way. the only thing i like on the new Si is the steering wheel, taillights, and H badge. everything else like performance, exterior design, interior design, etc. sucks ass in my opinion. sure, the interior is designed to be very ergonomical, but it still looks like ass.. *aside from the center console shifter for just a novelty benefit* its still a civic, and the Si is supposed to be the performance model available in the states, yet its slow and weighs like a boat. the factory wheels are ugly as heck. the headlights are ugly. sure throw in some HID's and itll lessen the ugliness simply because the person will be distracted from the headlight housing design and more attentative to the light emitted itself. the seats look like retarded S2000 seats. sure, they might be comfortable, but just like the rest of the interior, its still ugly as heck. oh did i mention its slow? yeah, some people say "well its a new engine give it some time"... ok...then why is it stock for stock, my car which is a 4door integra sedan with a bone stock B20 can whoop a bone stock Si hatch? the K20 is supposed to have more torque and the wow-factor of "i-VTEC" with a shorter geared tranny. the new Si still gets a big :down: from me.

 

Mazdaspeed Protege? I'd go with the Civic for quality, Sentra for looks.