I used to have a 2006 Land Rover LR3. It was the first SUV I've ever owned, and never really drove that many at all. I though I would be able to get used to it's bulk, the slowness, and the the terrible mpgs.....I could not. Every time I drove it I really hated it. Don't get me wrong, the LR3 is a great car for the money. It has tons of nice features and extras and in the short time I had it, it served it's purpose well. The only quip I have is the seats are too short, I'm average height (5'10) and the seats did not properly support my legs, which led to discomfort on long drives.

So day after day the driving experience got worse and worse, and I found myself DDing the 996tt just to avoid suffering in the SUV. Out of sheer curiousity I looked up my payoff amount, and the trade in value on the LR3. Amazingly I had very little negative equity that I could easily cover if I were to trade it in. I was tossing up tons of different ideas on what to switch to:

S500
E350
CLS
7 series
5 series
S4
E55 AMG (least likely)

I figured those would be expensive to maintain, and would probably get boring too (cept the e55). A coworker mentioned the fact that the specific years of Benz' I was looking at were during the Chrysler years. So they advised to avoid those years like the plague. So a lightbulb went off in my head - something fun to drive, practical, cheap to maintain, perhaps moddable? Aha!

I decided on this:














And the family:



Now I have more turbos than a Bugatti Veyron. Not for long though, as the rx7 is going bye-bye.

I was really surprised at how cheap all the aftermarket parts are for this car. I was planning on chipping the 996tt very soon, but for the price of that I could get the following for the STi:

shroud
sways, front strut
catback
tune
up-pipe

!!

 

what all are the mods?? I think I see some aftermarket horns there right? Were hoping to get an STI in the summer

 

nice selection! congrats!

how does it drive compared to your other cars?

 

http://store.crawfordperformance.com/store/products/367

 

"boxer content" led me to think you got a Boxster. The STi is a MUCH better DD. Sick car...and looks awesome in white

 

Lots of snails in that driveway!!!



And I love the horn peering out from behind the grille! Nice ride

 

Awesome!

 

nice choice

 

You see any reason to keep the 996tt after modding the STi slightly? I came from a stolen 993 to the S2000. I am curious if there is a reason to own both cars.