[Goose]

I Live in Winnipeg Canada... The coldest major city in North America .... I have a wife an kid (7 months) and am getting ready to graduate from med school. The question is: Can I completely replace my nasty 2001 Hyundia Elantra with an Sti or will I be buying a play car? I like the 4dr option... Could you imagine being smoked by a car with a car seat in the back? The evoVIII isn't known for snow driving... and is a savage on the lower back while driving in rush hour... for you guys with wrx's what ya think would my wife kill me after a long road trip?

 

[91TB78]

The WRX is actually a decent long-distance traveller. I don't own one, but one of my best friends does and he has put more than 35K miles in one year.

Its going to replace my practical and reliable Honda Accord for daily use.

 

[CloNeGTS]

I'll be using the STi as a daily driver and possibly a long distance driver.

I use my 2k Celica for the same now. 56k miles in 3 years....even with I/E and full suspension, she's a great highway car. I can't believe the STi will be much different....except better in every way!

 

[miked801]

Roll Call - Where's everybody at?

i think it depends on how much you care about the performance. it's not gonna be a bmw or lexus, that's for sure. you're probably fine with the trade-off, but your wife may not be.

 

[alfredob1]

It'll be my daily driver and long trip traveler as well.

 

[chawklit]

you should maybe consider an A4 or an S4 too. they're probably more roomy than an STi

 

[MKIVSupra]

My STi will be replacing my daily driver also. Not sure what your wife will think of the seats. What is she used to? Will she mind a little harsher ride? There will have to be some sacrifices to have a car that performs like the STi. It does sound like you could use a nice STi baby seat though.

I don't think an A4 or S4 will have much more room. For a sort of example, a friend of mine went from a Nissan Sentra to a WRX and he said the room is the same. I think the front had less room but the rear seats had more, or vice versa.

 

[YBnormal07]

I've got an 02 WRX with a wife and 2 kids...3 and 4 years old.

Child seats fit fine in the back and plenty of room. Kids love the turbo sound and like the feel of acceleration. Wife says "whatever you like dear" <great gal!!!!!!>

Winter driving is spectacular. Plowed through almost 2 feet of snow last week to get out of my driveway. Got floated once and had to dig out a bit, but steady back and forth and eventually I made a path down a 50 yd driveway.

Gas mileaage is fine. Averaging about 21 mpg. (other vehicles are a Lightning at about 15 mpg max, a van at about 20mpg, and a Cuda at about 9 mpg...hehe)

Ride is spectacular for the performance. Comfort is best I've had (which includes audi, porsche, t-birds, suv's etc.)

Overall...about the only thing I would improve are a fold-down rear seat, another dc outlet (phone and valentine detector) and an upgrade on the suspension as like all subaru's, the rear tends to sag a bit over time. Oh yeah...more power!!! Never enough of that!! :lol: Everything else I could think of adds more weight, and I'd rather have the trade off of improved performance.

Cheers,
Scott

 

[Goose]

Thanks guys.... alot of poeple who hear that i'm finishing med school laugh and say buy a lex, or merc... I guess that most people don't realise that pay for doc's sucks in Canada.... was looking at a Jetta VR6 with 4motion but man they aren't pretty... and the HP isn't that outstanding.... I talked to the wife.... and the Sti is a go!!!!

Someone mentioned that to rear seats don't fold down..... Has that been a problem for anyone?

Does everyone use Premium Fuel as per factory rec. ? Premium is 94 octane here can I get away with 91?

 

[CoOlSlY]

Just want to let you know by the way... I live in Quebec, (still cold and snowy (another 35cm of snow last weekend) but not as Winnipeg!)...

Canada will *NOT* receive the Evo VIII, you would have to import it if you would want one... Mitsubishi Canada confirmed the news the day after the Evo VIII was released.

I was considering the STi but I went out of the loop last week when I saw the car, I will probably go with the S4, and if over 68000$ CDN$ i'll go with the S60r.

Please no flame, the STi is very cool, powerful, good looking, but I'm a representative who often have people in my car and go see a lot of customers and I would have to stealth the STi a bit to make it more like a ordinary car but hey, it is *not* a ordinary car ... Like my 02 Z06 Vette, I was almost never driving it since it was non-sense to go see customers with it and I promised myself not to do the mistake again...

Btw, I will continue to post and read the forum out here for sure 'cause I love the car

Sylvain

 

[chawklit]

I'd go with the S4 over the s60r.

 

[yxan2]

S60R all the way especially since the new model S4 wont be turboed anymore

 

[91TB78]

Well both the S60R and the S4 are about the same performance I would go with the better price. Audi does make nice interiors..but the S60R looks nice too.

 

[Marine06]

I would go for the S4 also. The S60R is nice but it was too luxury for my liking. Also, the dash covered too much space. It reminds me of a camaro but not as extreme.

 

[SnowbordrWRX]

Someone mentioned that to rear seats don't fold down.....

Yep, the don't fold down, just like on the WRX. But the STi also doesn't have a trunk pass-through. That's a problem for me since I lose a third of my snowboard-carrying capacity.

 

[cotmfk]

I think you'll be able to completely replace the Elantra with the STi. It's quite a nice upgrade! You'll have plenty of performance AND safety!

 

[Goose]

YIPPY>>> korean rust machine will be retired as soon as possible... I have to wait to make sure I get a job when I'm done school, but (may need to hold out for a 05) I'm hooked... The canadian version has a past through, stereo, and heated seats..... NO HID