RX-8 or WRX?

The suicide doors on the RX-8 are easier there ignorant. You have to have the front doors open too, making a HUGE opening!

I look at the WRX/RX-8 think like this. The WRX has all of the better numbers on paper and is a hoot to drive. The RX-8 just makes you want to drive it. It feels special and exotic.

I still can't decide. The bugeye WRX's just evoke so many good rally thoughts and the wagons are just sweet for everyday livability. I'd have a white 03 wagon with gold BBS's... Then again a black RX-8 with the Mazdaspeed kit and staggered gold BBS meshies...

Oh hell, just buy them both!

pigeon wrote: Miata. On a more serious note, I realize this isn't a general "what car" thread, but for a daily driver 80+ mile commuter, I'd look at an '02ish BMW 330i, they'll fit into your price range with under 100k miles on them and are much better commuters than either of your choices yet still retain RWD goodness and sporting potential.

I think Car and Driver tested a 330i in their fleet a few years ago and got 25 mpg around town!

Im not going to say that FWD or anything else is better in the snow, but my Escort wagon with snow tires on the front and worn all season on the back is just a blast. Lots of over steer, but its mostly power off over steer, not power-on. Kinda like a Porsche...? For delivering Pizzas in the snow, I love it.

Joey

P71 wrote: The suicide doors on the RX-8 are easier there ignorant. You have to have the front doors open too, making a HUGE opening!

I'd still want to try it.. No need to buy a car and then 2 months later realize its a beeotch to put your little on in the back.

That's why I said bring your car seat. From what I've experienced it's really easy with the RX-8. The Subaru is OK, depending on the seat. The wagon is easier but not RX-8 easy.

I just bought an Rx8. I picked up a 2006 with 17k miles for $15k.

P71 wrote: That's why I said bring your car seat. From what I've experienced it's really easy with the RX-8. The Subaru is OK, depending on the seat. The wagon is easier but not RX-8 easy.

thats cool. It's not something you would think of as being easy. One of the reasons we didn't buy a honda element(aside from it being ugly as sin) is the rear seat access for a car seat. Ohh yeah and the gas mileage is lame.

on another note. Kiddo gets born in less than 3 months... How is the seat going to fit into the back of the civic hatch... hmmm

I have an '04 WRX that is used for daughter-toting duty. It is Cobb stage 2 and returns 20-21mpg mixed aggressive driving. It is impossible to drive a WRX gently. If you try to baby it, you will hate how it drives...especially with the stock engine tuning. The clutch engagement is harsh and the driveline is touchy at low RPMs. If you drive it aggressively, then it is great. I don't mean hooning around, but it needs a decisive right foot.

The stock engine tuning is kinda choppy at mid-boost, mid-rpm acceleration. Cobb stage 1 smooths that out.

Good cars for the money. I'm enjoying mine.

But without mods, it will understeer as bad as any FWD in the snow, unless you are planning on a skid. If you overpower it around an intersection at city speeds...understeer. If you tromp the gas and break the rear loose, then the weak center diff will throw the power to the back and you'll be oversteering like a RWD car.

The automatic cars had a better center diff, and their cheaper....if you could live with an auto.

ReverendDexter wrote:

iceracer wrote: RWD sucks in the snow.

This always bugs me. ...Guess what? Some of us DON'T LIKE FWD IN THE SNOW. I *hate* FWD in the snow, and there's NOTHING anyone could say to sway me else wise.

well..I hate YOU in the snow!

I'm kidding you there. It's a discussion board. People discuss. But think about the problem if we actually solved things here. We would be out of things to discuss in about 5 years!

Woody wrote: Getting a rear facing car seat in the back is a bit of a pain, but not impossible. I have to slide the passenger seat pretty far forward to make it work. This makes it difficult if I have my wife with me as there's also not much leg room behind the driver's seat with me driving. I suspect that it will be better when we can switch to a forward facing child seat.

An excellent friend of mine from H.S. has a 7 month old. They have the same problem with a rearward facing car seat in a Mazda 3 hatch. The passenger seat has to go almost all the way forward to fit that monster in the rear seats facing backwards. The 3 hatch isn't a small car either. I wonder if a dog style harness would work in it's place....

Tyler H wrote: ...The automatic cars had a better center diff, and their cheaper....if you could live with an auto...

In my experience the stock auto is gutless off the bottom...

Slightly OT, but relevant to the car seat issue. A big part of the reason we upgraded from an Escort wagon to a Mazda 6 wagon when our first was born was how poorly a rear-facing seat fit in that car. Almost all compacts have trouble fitting rear-facing car seats.

Back on topic, I've driven both RX-8s and WRXs, but have never owned either. I'd pick the RX-8 every time. In fact, hearing that '06 cars with 17k can be had for $15k has me scratching the old noggin and figuring out how to rearrange the garage. (It doesn't help that my wife suggested the same thing last night.)

Another note on the rear facing seat:

It is awkward to put in and out, but it is in no way uncomfortable or unsafe for the child. And it's only an issue for the first year and then they can face forward.

And, I guess that I have to agree, the WRX is not easy to drive smoothly at low speed.

My Rx8 reminds me of a Miata on steroids. The Rx8 is much more fun to drive than a WRX, IMO.

Tyler H wrote: The stock engine tuning is kinda choppy at mid-boost, mid-rpm acceleration. Cobb stage 1 smooths that out.

Good. I was a little worried but hadn't bothered to figure out if that was normal.

Woody wrote: Another note on the rear facing seat: It is awkward to put in and out, but it is in no way uncomfortable or unsafe for the child.

Although it may be uncomfortable and/or unsafe for the front seat passenger whose knees are up against the dash and whose face is 4" from the airbag.

joshx99 wrote: ...The Rx8 is much more fun to drive than a WRX, IMO...

We disagree on that point, but I'm admittedly not much of a magic triangle fan, either.

I really wish I could say RX8 b/c I really love the rotary and that car is very entertaining to drive. However, with kids a roomier car like the WRX wagon would probably be more practical and easier to live with.

Maybe take a look at the BMW or Audi wagons also. I have a 99 Audi A4 Avant (wagon) and its very comfy and roomy and reasonably fun to drive.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Here's how I sum things up at this point.

The WRX wins points since it's available in wagon for more space, gets better gas milage than the RX-8, still relatively fun to drive, but it doesn't handle exactly like a RWD in the snow. I test drove a few WRX's before my daughter was born, and I liked the stiff ride, heavy clutch and responsive throttle. In fact I drove one back to back with a E46 325 sport, and I thought the WRX was a better and more fun car to drive. Another good point for the WRX is it can tow a significant amount (up to 2000 lbs, it think), which would be nice to use for home improvement projects.

The RX-8 drives like a sports car and will still fit a car seat in the rear. I think it's still a dead heat.

How easy it is to get the kid or the seat in and out of the car is a minor issue. Normally we drive my wife's Fusion when we take our daughter somewhere. In fact the Focus was my wife's car which we planned to keep as the primary baby hauler, but after only a few weeks we bought the Fusion so my wife wouldn't have her knee's in the dashboard with the baby seat in the back.

You need a lot of room to fully open both doors on the Rx8.

I just picked up a '04 wagon last month scored a pretty good deal on it.The dealer even paid me back for the parts I had to buy for it.I'm really digging it so far.The rear facing car seat thing does kind of suck but that's my only complaint so far.

I keep hearing all these complaints about the rear facing child seat causing problems with the front passenger seat and I just can't figure out what the problem is.

I have 3 kids age 5, 3, 1 that fit in my 2000 Impreza Outback just fine. The rear facing seat goes in the middle where the seat can be cinched down BETWEEN the two front seats minimizing the interference with the front seats while keeping the seating angle for the child seat where it's appropriate.

If you have only one child, this is ideal for another important reason, it keeps the baby as far away from the sides of the car as possible improving their chances of avoiding injury in the event of an accident.

My other two kids sit on either side. We've made several trips in the Outback Sport from the Bay Area to Disneyland in LA and packed all our crap in the back of the wagon INCLUDING the stroller.

Obviously, my vote is definitely for the WRX wagon. A minor tune to smooth out the daily drive and that thing will be the bomb.

If/when I need to replace the motor in the Outback, I'll be sourcing a late model WRX drivetrain so I'll have the best of both worlds. Outback ground clearance and WRX power baby!

How is either option going hold up over time. I put 20,000-25,000 miles on my car each year, so will the WRX and RX-8 survive to 200,000 or 300,000 miles. I would like to buy this car and keep it for a while.

Another option, should I wait for the Toyota/Subaru JV sports car to come out in 2010 or 2011? I could just keep the Focus and buy a cheap Miata for RWD fun. Why does the answer always come back to Miata?

I don't think either car will hold up for 200-300k. Japanese stuff just isn't built like it used to be. In my experience, the Accord it the car that best fits rear-facing child seats, gets more than 25mpg and will go 300k. But what fun is that? (I've had two of them and they just...wont...die...)

If you're handy with a wrench, then you can keep either car on the road for a long time. I was troubled (and still am) at the number of blowed up WRXs that I read about on NASIOC. How much of it is idiot kids?

A thing to keep in mind on the '02 WRX is that their first gear was very, very weak. It's prone to "munching." You step on the gas and the gear just eats a plate of death.

The RX-8 will get mid 20's fuel economy if you stay at 65 on the highway. Any more and it will go down faster than a whore who was just paid for a 5 dollar quickie. And that's fast.

I've already stated that of the two choices you've mentioned I'd take the WRX, and I don't want to really throw other cars in the mix, but what about an '04-'05 Forester XT?