Hey guys, my names Andy im located in Richmond Indiana, just wanted to introduce myself and get some opinions: I currently have a 2006 WRX TR edition with a STi TMIC, STi Turbo, STi interior, intake, side-exit exhaust, tuned on 20lbs @ 340hp. The fiance and i are thinking about renting a house and i dont think i'll be able to afford my WRX loan/insurance/gas anymore and am thinking about selling it and getting a 01-02 S2k. I know gas would probably be about the same, as well as insurance but id lower my loan by like 2-4grand and would be able to cut my payment down. and 2 seater doesnt bother me, no kids or anything like that. Open for suggestions on if this is a good idea, im sure this site prolly has kinda biased opinions but oh well

 

Welcome and nice Suby! I can tell you right now that gas will NOT be the same. Before my gears I was able to avarage 28-30 mpg per tank the past 4 years in my S. My best friend has an 04 STI with 360whp/390wtq and she is always complaing about the milage. She is avaraging around 15-18 mpg. So I think there will be a big savings there. I know there are a lot of people who switched from WRX/STI's on here so maybe searching will find you some threads about this subject. Everyone will tell you the same thing. You will miss the torque but thats about it. Everything about the S is so much more conected than the Suby's. Its a great car no doubt. Not for everyone, but I enjoy it very much. As long as going from an AWD 4 door to a RWD 2 seater is practical for you, although im sure you thought about that already. Reliablility is great, I have 98k on mine and have had nothing go wrong, and it sees 9k every day. I can't say the same for my friends Suby... I do love driving her STI however, it is a cool car for sure. I hope this helps a bit but im at work so I better head back. Good luck!

Ian

 

Thanks Ian, yeah i should be fine with a 2 seater. Just need to figure out if my fishing pole/tackle box can fit in it and Wow, i read that they average around 20mpg so that helps with my decision alot, my WRX is getting like 16 at the most no matter how careful i drive it. The other reason i wanna get rid of it is because the motor went out at 127k and didnt show any warning signs of trouble so im always afraid its gonna happen again Haha. Yeah i think the only thing ill miss about the WRX is the AWD and Torque but oh well. Reliability isnt too great in the subies unfortunately so that could be a problem with a tight money fund as well. Thanks abunch buddy!

 

Have you driven an S yet? Of course that should be your first thing to do. I promise you will fall in love if your a "car guy". It just feels like its a part of you as corny as that sounds. A lot of people complain about gas milage in the S, but I have yet to fully understand that. However, I do drive a lot of freeway so that does play a part. But even the last couple of weeks since I installed the 4.77 gears, sitting about 4500 rpm on the freeway everyday and hard driving, im still getting about 23-25 mpg. Funny, I have been hearing about the Subaru "130" mile engine failures lately... As far as the extended reliabilit goes with the S do some reasearch on what year you want. The early AP1's 00-03 do burn some oil, so you must keep an eye on that. And they also have weaker valve spring retainers and are known to crack especially if the car was overreved. The newer AP2's 04-09 with the 2.2L fixed these issues. But again, drive both, read as much as you can and you should be able to make a decision.

 

Yeah, i know what you mean about the "part of you" makes 100% sense lol. Thanks for the tip i was thinking about an 00-03 just to get my loan payment as low as possible and its prolly cheaper on insurance isnt it? Id like to have a 04' but who knows ill just have to see what happens.

 

Welcome to the site, like the Suby!

Like they said, go drive one and if you likey...then the hunt begins. Not really the best time of year to look for a roadster with the weather turning and all, but you can still find a deal.

 

go test drive one and fall in love, but when you test drive dont make the mistake and shift at 5k cause u feel bad, redline the car and experience greatness.....

i too came from a very fast turbo car, and while the s2k isnt nearly as fast as my mr2 was, i would never go back, it truly is the greatest car ive ever driven!!!

 

Last week I sold my 2006 wrx tr stage 2 and picked up a 03 ap1 with OEM hardtop. Totally different animal. The torque is gone but the high end makes up for it. Its up to par with stage 2 wrx, but much much much funner! 18 MPG sucked on the wrx.. I get 25 easily....

 

Hell yeah thats what im lookin for. Hows the insurance compared to the wrx?

 

Hey man nice rex.

I haven't hardly any experience with s2k's yet because I'm in the market for one now but I'm making the switch from an 05 stage 2 sti. But I did go and test drive one I was looking at today. It's obvious and others have stated the torque isn't there and the power in general isn't what I was used to. That said, taking it to 9k felt amazing. And as others have said it feels much more 'connected'. Granted, the S I drove was on some low coils and my STi only had lowering springs, but the car still felt so, so much tighter. The steering felt way more crisp too.

I've heard of a few friends making the Suby to s2k switch and it seems like a common switch, and I haven't heard of any being disappointed. If some are, it was probably more that they didn't consider the size/capability aspect rather than drivability. Having driven one I'm quite excited to be sitting in my own in a month or so. Go for it if you can deal with having 2 seats and half the trunk you're used to.