Quote:
Originally Posted by njccmd2002
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Shop for a used STI in stock form. Avoid cars with aftermarket power mods. You can find a lot of 2004-2008s for
under 20k... They do 0-150mph FAST, but the fuel economy sucks compared to the BRZ (at best ~20mpg stock). At under 20k, the STI is a STEAL. If you dump a bunch of money into them, some tuners have upped the MPG, but you need big bucks. Otherwise, people usually get even worse, as low as 10mpg.
I got my 2005 back in fall of 05 used with 8k miles for $6k off sticker and it came with a bunch of accessories like the titanium shift knob and boost gauge. I've done 1100 mile days comfortably from Toledo, OH to Dallas, TX and the car has been to the edge of the USA from east to west, north and south. The engines in the older cars are pretty much bulletproof in stock form. It's when dumb-asses start putting on headers and CAIs with no ECU tuning that crap starts going kaboom.
I've flogged my STI for over 90,000 miles and the engine looks like new when the oil pan is dropped. I generally get 17-20mpg no matter how gentle or fast I drive. The only thing I've done to the engine is a short ram K&N intake, which helped throttle response and maybe added a bit of power. Lightweight flywheel and the ACT Streetlite clutch made the car rev and clamp down a bit better. Otherwise, no power mods. I don't need to go over 155 MPH and the car has started up fine in temps as low as -19F last Monday... It's not a cheap car to own, but it's stupid-fun.