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Hi all,
Well, yesterday I got a ride from a buddy in his new WRX 2004 Wagon. This car's exterior is alright for my taste, with a little spoiler on the top of the hatch lid and a redesigned hood scoop; it has a more angular look compared to the previous WRX iterations, that old school SAABers like me, appreciate.
The interior of this car is CRAP. I think there is no other way for me to describe my disappointment the style of this 25K vehicle. Everything is made from really cheap materials that feel no more luxurious than a mid 90 Honda Civic. The seats are really really hard with aggressive side bolsters that are probably meant to hold you in on those tight corners, expect that they are so narrow that an average build person (like myself) feels cramped and uncomfortable, not to mention unsettled. This completely opposite of what sport seats are designed to feel like. Also, because the car itself and the seats are really narrow (even the back part) you feel like you are really close to the door and the B-pillar when looking toward the window, and just a claustrophobic when you look the other way at the person next to you. The instruments are OK, but the digital clock with a GREEN LED looked as cheap as it does in my 93 Cavalier winter beater. I mean, Come on, for 25,000 don't we deserve a little better?!
The performance is good though, right? Wrong. This car has the tone of...well a little Japanese car! It does accelerate, no way in the manner that a Saab 9000 2.3 T does, instead in very benign way. The handling is tight but the car is so light that there is NO confidence inspiring weight that we feel in our SAABs, the WRX feel flimsy and insignificant. When going over bumps the sound inside the is like a muted tin can, and feels like you accidentally missed the protrusion or pothole as opposed to the feedback that you get in a heavier well damped 9000T.
Over all, you have to wonder why anybody would shell out this much money for so little car, I mean you can get 2 great 9000 AEROs for the money you spent on one WRX. The WRX has no luxury, little utility because of its narrowness in a wagon form and certainly no real performance that is supposed to be its selling point.
I am very disappointed, and let down by the WRX, especially because I was seriously considering buying one in Subaru or Saab form.
As for the 9-2; what I am mostly afraid of it that the entry level Saab shopper that will end up buying the 9-2 will get the wrong idea about what SAABS are all about. If they like the feel of the 9-2 they won't like the 9-3 or the 9-5. And if they don't like the 9-2 they will get the wrong impression and believe that 9-3 and 9-5 must feel the same.
Roman
87 9k T
posted by 192.223.2...
, Thu, 4 Dec 2003 06:39:42
, Wed, 3 Dec 2003 10:29:18
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