Thinking of 2011/2012 WRX Hatch

[kenboots10]

Hi everyone. Yet another wonderful forum that I felt I needed to join. I am very interested in Subaru's ever since my wife bought her 2010 Outback. I myself have a 2007 honda civic si and thinking of an upgrade, but not yet sure. Many issues conflicting atm.
I was interested in the new design wrx for some time, but then test drove a forester and thought maybe it would be a better car, however, been thinking and browsing their forum for awhile too and thinking this might not be the car for me. Test drove the na forester auto and it was ok, knowing my wife's na outback has decent power, but when pushed harder dies fast. So only option left is XT, but only in auto. Seeing the price of the XT I see that it is about the same as the WRX now.
I love performance, as my si is great, but have that 3rd gear issue still (hard to shift into 3rd) and it just isn't fun in the snow. My priorities if I got a new car are as follows:
- Hatch Style (for easy storage and place for my dog)
- AWD
- Accidental avoidence (acceloration/breaking/handling)
- mpg and reliability

Only negatives I see with the WRX is the cost mpg and insurance rate. Insurance for my civic is about 412/6mo, forester would be (na or XT) about 310/6mo, and the wrx would be about 490/6mo.

I have been banging my head for about 4 months not knowing where to go. Just hope I can get some good advice here. Thank you and appreciate your time and advice.

[02radioflyer]

Forester xt's are very angry shoe boxes and can be made to perform nearly any combination of uses to a high level. Possibly more so then even the WRX. Given room inside and clearance to play with.
Sadly this gem has upgraded diffs, a showcase of other mods and is a stick. But its inspirational. This greek dude is crazy.
YouTube - suba400's Channel

[kenboots10]

Well, next time I find an XT on a lot, I will test not only acceleration, but any signs of delay from the auto box. That is my huge issue for going foz route. I still have greater desire with a WRX though, just not as practical for the Mrs. who can't drive manual :P

[trelfaz]

I have had my 2011 hatch for a little over a month and love the car, the insurance is more but its worth it. and the mpg are not to bad Im averaging about 19mpg

[kenboots10]

Oh no, only 19mpg
That is another thing I am concerned about with the XT and the WRX. I would think it would be possible to hit it's highway mileage if I don't drive too insane. All the cars i've owned, plus my family have always gotten highway mpg listed. During winter or driving more stop and go I usually see a few miles under highway. Example, my civic now gets about 27 in winter, 33 in summer. On long trips during summer around 35 is easy, 37 i did once was my tops, gas station to gas station on Empty light :P

[jd92677]

MPG has a lot to do with driving style. I'm at 10k miles on my '11 and have averaged just shy of 25MPG over that time city\highway mix

[mrd]

Well Subaru is awd, and if you use its capabilities, your mpg could go as low as 14mpg, but it could be 25mpg as well.
My wrx 2011 has 1400miles and average mpg on it is 19.8, but I've seen it go 25mpg when I go easy, and my lowest on this car was 15mpg.
Wagon is good and my English mastiff fits well inside. She is 180lb baby, and she also preferred my 2003 legacy wagon, but they don't sell this car in US any more.
If you are concerned about mpg, may be a good idea to try outback sport, they can go over 25mpg

[KHP]

Hmm... I wouldn't worry too much about fuel economy. I've been continuously getting above rated 19MPG's for city driving (I'm saving highway driving until I get my clear bra this Friday). Below is my Gas Cubby log since I've gotten the car. I now have ~2400 miles on the clock. Oil changed at ~1000miles with conventional 5W-30 oil and switching to full synthetic at 3750 miles.

Temperatures from November to December were in the low to mid 20's in the mornings. Back then I would idle the car for break-in until the temp needle touches the second tick (4-5mins) before I started driving. Since the beginning of January I would only occasionally warm up the car to the second tick, occasionally to the first tick, and occasionally just let it sit for 30 seconds upon start-up just to make sure there's oil flowing in the motor(I never drove the car hard until temperature reaches ideal half way point). Fuel economy is starting to improve I haven't logged my current MPG yet. Car computer says 24.3MPG AVG right now with 3/5 of the tank left. Car computer is accurate to +/-.5MPG comparing results with the Gas Cubby App.

This may be too much detail for your MPG worries, but I thought you might find it interesting. Also I would occasionally see the MPG meter go up when I punch it occasionally compared to my friend's V8 which you would see the needle move down when he punches the gas pedal .

Attachment 94839

[kenboots10]

^ Of course, every line of advice is welcomed. The more I know about the WRX and XT, the better I can make my decision. I am currently using both this and the forester site, both really great. It must be a suby thing :P
I've never joined the civic forums cause they just kids yelling back and forth :P

[kenboots10]

I also wanted to add that if I go WRX route, it would have to be the base hatch. Just too much right now for me to spend that little extra for premium. Besides the all weather package and fog lights, only other difference seems to be the sun roof. I never seen a WRX hatch in person so I do not know how good they look, but from the pictures I would say it might look bald without a sunroof. Any thoughts?

[teflon_jones]

I'm averaging 23+ in my new STI, and with more cruise control and less city driving, I could hit 25. Not a bad trade-off for a high performance car.

[KHP]

The lack of Sun Roof wouldn't bother me even though it's nice to have. If it bothers you enough then maybe you can draw a makeshift sunroof with Sharpie's jk lol.

[jd92677]

Well Subaru is awd, and if you use its capabilities, your mpg could go as low as 14mpg, but it could be 25mpg as well.
My wrx 2011 has 1400miles and average mpg on it is 19.8, but I've seen it go 25mpg when I go easy, and my lowest on this car was 15mpg.

My MPG went up as I clocked more miles and the tune also raised it even more so you may see an increase in your MPG

[trelfaz]

I also wanted to add that if I go WRX route, it would have to be the base hatch. Just too much right now for me to spend that little extra for premium. Besides the all weather package and fog lights, only other difference seems to be the sun roof. I never seen a WRX hatch in person so I do not know how good they look, but from the pictures I would say it might look bald without a sunroof. Any thoughts?

I got the base hatch and its a great car, I am glad i bought the wrx, you will not be disappointed.

[2w0r0x9]

I still have greater desire with a WRX though, just not as practical for the Mrs. who can't drive manual :P

teach her how to drive stick..i taught my little sister on her drivers permit in 20 min. she stalled my wrx maybe twice and that was attempting to go into first up hill..