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Bugeye vs Blobeye vs Hawkeye

26K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  zax 
#1 ·
I am in the market for a new car. I plan on buying a wrx. Is there any differences in the drive quality for the different years? Smoother ride, Better Handling, etc. I know all the info and stats but i am looking for opinions from people who have driven the 3. Thanks for reading let me know if you can help.
 
#5 ·
In my friend's car with a hybrid 2.5 you can easily start in second on flat ground, with my 2.0 it can be done but the clutch won't like it much. Above 2800 rpm they are similar to drive unless you are at WOT. Also, you really notice the AC or defrost being on while driving in the city with the 2.0. On the other hand I get much better fuel economy than the hybrid motor on the highway. 5-6 mpg or so

When my car was fully stock it felt exactly like a stock 2005 that I drove a few times. I have never driven a hawkeye.

UEDan, you just have to let it rev haha but yes, switchbacks are particularly irritating especially due to not being able to easily shift into first while moving and 2nd is basically useless below 20mph on a significant incline.
 
#8 ·
In my friend's car with a hybrid 2.5 you can easily start in second on flat ground, with my 2.0 it can be done but the clutch won't like it much. Above 2800 rpm they are similar to drive unless you are at WOT.
LOL, my hybrid 2.5 was nothing like the 2.0 it replaced, at pretty much any rev or throttle level. Better low end torque by far, and then insanity after 3000 rpms. Which turbo was he running?

The 2.0 liters in the 2002-2005 cars are quite anemic in some ways, stock. A simple move to stage 2 (turboback and a flash) makes for a much more drivable car, IMO.
 
#10 ·
Okay, gotcha. I'll bet it spooled very quickly in the rev band. I had an 18G, bigger injectors and a custom tune, so a little bit different.
 
#11 ·
The hawkeye is the best of the breed, it's only fault compared to the other cars being Subaru's error in increasing displacement rather than decreasing it.

I'd be tempted to say a hawkeye with a bugeye nose swap would be perfect, but the hawkeye has better headlights than the bugeye so functionality would be reduced.

Buy the newest car possible.
 
#12 ·
I'd be tempted to say a hawkeye with a bugeye nose swap would be perfect, but the hawkeye has better headlights than the bugeye so functionality would be reduced.
I'm always going to favor the bugeye nose, if for no other reason than the larger driving lights. From a visibility point of view, they were hard to miss, and they were the last generation of WRX to feature that rally'ish, unusual feature. They went itty-bitty starting with the Blob. Pretty sure large fogs/driving lights were a defining characteristic of the car going back to 1992.
Also, I have to say that I'd be a bigger proponent of the Hawkeye nose if they hadn't done that strange thing with the grill. I still hear a different name in my head when someone mentions "Hawkeye" on here.
 
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