Protege5 vs. Subie 2.5 TS

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December-18th-2001, 10:10 PM

#16

JJB

Protege Owner

Join Date: Oct 2001

Posts: 731

Quote:

Originally posted by G-00
All of you are looking at the Impreza in the wrong light. As an owner of both cars the Subaru is quicker, handles much better, and there is nothing like feeling the power of AWD pull you out of a turn at 70mph. However I am basing my experiences on the RS I own and not the newer style Impreza. I also must agree with the idea that the new Impreza is not that attractive and that is one reason I still have mine rather than a WRX.

I'm a big fan of Subaru cars and whilst I think that the Impreza RS is a really fun car to drive (a couple of friends let me drive theirs) I would say that the dry weather on-road handling of my P5 is actually better. In an auto-cross all bets would be off and I would prefer to be behind the wheel of a 2.5RS... though I have not had the chance to get the Mazda out there yet

December-18th-2001, 11:06 PM

#17

rowan

Protege Owner

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: Toronto Ontario Canada

Posts: 619

I was seriously looking for a 97-99 2.5 RS for a while .. but they're damned impossible to find! And are almost all selling for about the same as a P5 anyway. I'm sure it would have been totally worth it, and I see a lot of them every day around where I live .. plus there is a big Subaru Club already in Toronto, but the availability wasn't there .. and I can see the hatchback of the P5 coming in handy...

December-20th-2001, 09:57 PM

#18

Megatron

Protege Newbie

Join Date: Dec 2001

Location: Three car lengths ahead of you; Dallas, Texas

Posts: 2

I thought hard about the P5, but ended up going for a 2.5 RS. It's heavier, and the brakes can get overworked REAL quick, but the RS is a great platform to start from. The car's been out for over a year in Japan AND in Europe, and there are lots and lots and lots of parts for it. The engine only puts out 165 hp, and that's run throught all four wheels, but there are turbos, intercoolers, etc. you can buy, not to mention engine swaps(if you can afford them) with cars like the WRX STi. Plus Subaru has a six cylinder in one of their Legacys that bolts right in. There are also lots of tuners that deal strictly with Subarus like Scoobysport and Cobb Tuning.

The real clencher for me though, was all wheel drive. It's the *****. Powerslides, lift-off oversteer, power-on oversteer, it's a blast to drive. With a stiffer suspension and bigger brakes (and maybe an engine swap), the TS/RS will be a force to be reckoned with.