Anyone cross shop a WRX when they were looking to buy a G37? What pulled you the G37 way?

 

I did. Because in 2012, I thought the current generation WRX was really lacking in interior quality and refinement, and wasn't a step up from a performance perspective. Plus I was coming from a Legacy GT and wanted something different.

 

You're probably right that the newer ones have all that over the previous generation and I'm probably looking at it at a different perspective. I forget that the thread topic is what car can replace the G37 and I'd say the WRX/STI is not a worthy replacement for the G37 if I had to get a new daily.

Had a 2011 wrx base model and I loved driving that thing. The features it had were AC/power windows/radio and that's all. As a daily driver it was a pain in the *** sometimes but fun wise it was a blast. With the new generation STI I test drove, I didn't get that same fun feeling as the one I had and I had a base WRX. I know the newer ones have better interiors/electronics etc and probably better as daily drivers but it didn't appeal to me. I liked that raw drivers feeling it gave me .

I mean for christ's sake they have CVT options for the new ones. I think the Mistubishi Evo needs to come back to give Subaru a kick in the nuts so it can remember its roots.

 

I've been saying this to my friends for awhile now. Without the Evo to keep them in check, Subaru really relaxed and stopped giving it 100%. Pretty bad when the Evo could still put up a fight against an STI, stock for stock.

 

Pretty much the same reasons here, and I kept reading about blown head gaskets, or whatever gasket problem WRX's commonly have. I always thought Legacy GT's looked sharp, but never considered once since they're supposed to have poor handling. I'm not sure if you could echo that statement though.

Would you say the G37 is a worthy replacement for the last-gen WRX/STI? I'm real interested in hearing how they compare to the G37's, even though it's AWD vs RWD. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a 2011 WRX Limited Hatchback.

 

As a daily driver, the G37 is a worthy replacement for the last-gen gen WRX/STI. I went from WRX -> Accord -> G37x(current), and the G37 is far better as a daily and can still have some fun while driving.

But It also depends on what you are looking for though. If you're looking for the "fun factor" and can deal with it daily(manual transmission/stiffer ride/louder cabin noise), I'd get a 2011-2013 WRX/STI.

I sold my WRX because I was tired of driving a manual every day to/from work in Houston traffic. Got myself an Accord but the Accord was horribly boring to drive. Don't get me wrong the Accord was a good car but going from WRX to Accord it was completely boring/mundane. So that led me to the G37, which had some sportyness and is comfortable to drive every day.

 

Ringlands. The design of the boxer motor is conducive to blowing the ringlands (part of the piston).

I had a 2010, so the 5th gen, and the handling was absolute garbage, and at the time, limited aftermarket support. Prior years Spec.B had Bilstein shocks and were supposedly better handling, and also the STi 6MT.


I was looking at the '12 STi hatch back when I originally purchased my car. I think the G37S is a significantly better car than the previous gen WRX/STi. Except for resale, those car's hold their value better. I think the current gen STi would be a lateral move.

 

It's funny to me how much the stereotypical Subaru owner has changed in the last 20 years. I really started tuning cars with my '98 2.5RS (the one that looked like the WRC winning car, but without the turbo) and aftermarket parts were very sparse and either came from England (Prodrive), Australia, or Japan. Then the WRX came out and aftermarket support exploded like the Civic a decade earlier. We were always seen as hard working underdogs at track days by the Camaro and Mustang guys until they learned that we were faster. Now the Subarus are so far behind technologically and so slow that it is almost more of a fashion statement to own one.

I really like the RS3 too. With a tune from APR the car is an absolute monster and it has a great looking interior. I just wish it was available with a 6spd, had better weight distribution, a real set of rear brakes, and some more headroom and trunk room. Not bad, but definitely not perfect.

 

I did too. 2013 WRX wagon. I seem to remember picking the G because of the sound system and the leather.
Thinking about it now, the WRX probably would have been the more fun car with lots more room.
I'm not sure about reliability. The G has not given me a single problem.
One major thing that also pushed me away from the Subie was that it had its motor rebuilt due to some catastrophic failure. It did have a COBB exhaust which popped so nicely lol Damn it now I'm missing the way that car drove...

 

It sounds like you answered your question about reliability.

As far as how the WRX vs. G37 drives and sounds: At the limit the WRX and STI understeer pretty badly with so much weight over the front wheels. I had a WRX and STI with Cobb exhausts and my G37 with headers and Stillen exhaust sounds a lot better. The build quality and materials used inside the G37 are also at a much higher level than the Subaru. So don't worry, you didn't make a bad choice.

 

Speaking of Subarus, Car & Driver's Lightning Lap showed that the Subaru STI Type RA was actually quicker than the new Audi RS3 even though it was down 100hp??!!?? That is awesome news for Subaru. I would have never guessed that result. That means that the new chassis and engine (finally) in the next gen STI should be a contender. Fingers crossed...

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...inglap2018cars

 

I'm real curious where the WRX's redesign will go. I like the way the concept looks so far: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...t-redesign-yet

They're already not far off from the Type R or RS, so I could see the next get setting the new benchmark for awd hatchbacks.

As far as the RS3, I can kind of understand why the STI was quicker. The RS3 isn't necessarily track prepped in the way the STI RA is. I guess I'm more surprised that the TT RS and RS3 didn't have more similar times.

 

Has anyone test driven the new Civic Type R?

I haven't looked at it much or read up on it but it looks like it pops up as a top rated car in most tests. Even in the article that 4DRZ posted, it did better than the RS3 and track oriented STI. Granted you could argue I guess that the Type R is a more track oriented Civic SI.

 

tough news for the 6MT sedan crew, at least in Canada: shortly after trading my G37S in a few weeks ago, i received the following email from the Genesis rep who handled my transaction and who knew how much i had done to keep the G in tip-top condition:

"First brace yourself. Something electrical shorted out in the engine and started
a fire. It’s at ICBC determining if it is a write off. "

now that was crappy news. the car was in near 'mint' condition with under 100k kms on it. would have been nice to see it move on to a fellow enthusiast. i'd like to know what the he!l happened though. after 8+ years of ownership that thing was near bulletproof, so for something catastrophic to occur so shortly after leaving my hands initially made me suspicious. not sure what they'd have to gain by risking some insurance fraud, but come on man!

 

The RS3 had a lot of collaboration with the legendary Hans Stuck for handling, has 8 piston front brakes,and a brand new 5 cylinder engine with 100 hp more than the STI and accelerates to 60 almost 2 seconds faster. It should have walked all over the STI. The TT RS was faster due to stickier tires and lighter weight.

That sucks man. Sorry to hear that.