RWD Coupe vs AWD Sedan vs FWD Hot Hatch

[Silp3]

e36 m3. Its cool to have a brand new car. But money can be better spent else where like hookers and blow. not to mention you do things two ways: the hard way and the easy way. The hard way makes you appreciate the easy way. The easy way lacks the desire progress.

drive the piss out of the m3, learn experience make mistakes, then buy an FR-S.

[BRZerk]

from what you have listed
brz
wrx
gti

what i think you should look into
focus st
2013 civic si (dont hate, great car that is affordable as a new grad)

i was in the same position as you and i REALLY wanted the brz but being from Pittsburgh meant DDing it in the snow. I am ok with it and its really not bad. I figured if there is any time to be impractical its right now because in 5 years im going to have a different set of requirements for my car. i test drove the focus and the si and they didnt sell me. i sat in the brz and loved it from square 1.

keep in mind the WRX is going to be expensive unless you want an econobox interior.

[Turbowned]

The WRX is going to be roomier and more livable as a daily driver/commuter than the BRZ just because it's a normal sized, 4/5dr sedan/hatchback with a good sized trunk. However it feels cheaper than the BRZ interior-wise, gets worse gas mileage and isn't as fun to drive.

Mitsu Lancer and Mitsubishis in general have horrible resale value, so best to scratch that off the list. Same goes for Hyundai, especially the Genesis coupe since the twins came out.

"VW's are expensive to maintain" said everyone I've known who's ever owned one. Also, see my avatar about how I feel about front-wheel-drive.

All of these cars have been compared to the FR-S and BRZ in the past and the FR-S/BRZ have always come out victorious. Need we say more?

So I'm a little biased. I would say get the BRZ, or the WRX if you value the extra space and power over handling finesse and fuel economy.

[pwned88]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

The WRX is going to be roomier and more livable as a daily driver/commuter than the BRZ just because it's a normal sized, 4/5dr sedan/hatchback with a good sized trunk. However it feels cheaper than the BRZ interior-wise, gets worse gas mileage and isn't as fun to drive.

Mitsu Lancer and Mitsubishis in general have horrible resale value, so best to scratch that off the list. Same goes for Hyundai, especially the Genesis coupe since the twins came out.

"VW's are expensive to maintain" said everyone I've known who's ever owned one. Also, see my avatar about how I feel about front-wheel-drive.

All of these cars have been compared to the FR-S and BRZ in the past and the FR-S/BRZ have always come out victorious. Need we say more?

So I'm a little biased. I would say get the BRZ, or the WRX if you value the extra space and power over handling finesse and fuel economy.

Last time I checked the genesis was faster 'round the track


If money was no object IMO the WRX is probably your best bet for a general purpose car, and weather conditions will never really be a concern.

The lancers just don't get the job done vs. the subie for the price.

The genesis makes a nice daily but the back seats are a definite issue and the openings make carrying larger things difficult (lots of space, but useless if you can't get the item into the car)

I haven't driven a BRZ/FRS yet, so I can't attest to daily driving, but they are a very small car, so keep that in mind.


As for the FWD, I can't support a platform that powers the wrong wheels..

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by pwned88

Last time I checked the genesis was faster 'round the track


If money was no object IMO the WRX is probably your best bet for a general purpose car, and weather conditions will never really be a concern.

The lancers just don't get the job done vs. the subie for the price.

The genesis makes a nice daily but the back seats are a definite issue and the openings make carrying larger things difficult (lots of space, but useless if you can't get the item into the car)

I haven't driven a BRZ/FRS yet, so I can't attest to daily driving, but they are a very small car, so keep that in mind.


As for the FWD, I can't support a platform that powers the wrong wheels..

haha.

[stilletto]

Currently in the SAME predicament.
Have driven and owned FWD, RWD, and AWD Vehicles, but can't decided which rules all.
I've owned somewhat fifteen cars in the past ten years, and NEED to find something that I'll actually keep.
Last four were, in order, a Nissan 350Z (2003), Honda Civic Si (2009), Eclipse GST (1997), and currently daily drive an Eclipse GS (2008). GST was heavily modified, and a weekend car, while the GS was/is my daily.
Eyes are set on an FR-S, then potentially another daily after a year or so, but both GTI/GLI have been tempting me.
Tough Cookies.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by pwned88

Last time I checked the genesis was faster 'round the track

Lots of cars are faster around the track, but they aren't remotely as fun to drive. Hence why in all the subjective testing, the FR-S/BRZ are preferred.

[pwned88]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Lots of cars are faster around the track, but they aren't remotely as fun to drive. Hence why in all the subjective testing, the FR-S/BRZ are preferred.

See, subjective is different. There's been lots of comparisons that are based on data and/or raw performance. I'm not preaching, I just hate inaccurate statements when someone's looking for good info.

[Turbowned]

I would agree with that. It's been said a number of times that if a prospective buyer is only concerned with getting the fastest lap times for their money, they should just buy a Mustang.

Originally Posted by pwned88

I haven't driven a BRZ/FRS yet, so I can't attest to daily driving, but they are a very small car, so keep that in mind.

You haven't lived, sir. A good friend of mine dropped his Gen like a sack of potatoes when he got his BRZ. He ended up trading the Gen for an R32 Skyline GTS which he still doesn't like as much as his BRZ, lol.

[shu5892001]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

I would agree with that. It's been said a number of times that if a prospective buyer is only concerned with getting the fastest lap times for their money, they should just buy a Mustang.


You haven't lived, sir. A good friend of mine dropped his Gen like a sack of potatoes when he got his BRZ. He ended up trading the Gen for an R32 Skyline GTS which he still doesn't like as much as his BRZ, lol.

+1

Test drove a '13 Gen Coupe Spec R before buying the FR-S, Floored through 1-2-3-4 and felt nothing like a 274 hp should, more like 220. I have driven TTS, Speed3 and WRX which all made similar power but they felt significantly faster. The steering wheel had little to no feedback, felt the same as the ones found in family sedans and the clutch and shifter had no feedback. I wasn't even sure if the gears were fully into the gates, the shifter felt not even close to the accuracy of the FR-S.

Needless to say, I bought a FRS right after and understood all the raves lol.

[LeeMaster]

To the OP, you should be asking yourself, do you need more room? Do you carry a lot of stuff? Do you find yourself needing to put big things in your car? Do you have dependents or are planning on having dependents anytime soon? Do you want to track? Do you want to have fun? How concerned are you about gas mileage?

BRZ = limited space but you can put backseats down. Gets pretty good gas mileage and looks good.

WRX = bigger space than a rwd coupe, but you cant fit a big screen TV in the back like a hatch. Suffers from gas mileage compared to the other two.

Mazdaspeed 3 = has the biggest space(In the trunk) and has a turbo(No awd??).

[CrazyChen]

When I was shopping for cars, in the end I was cross shopping the ralliart and a fr-s (and very slightly the Nissan JUKE, I don't really like anything about the JUKE, but I always find myself looking at their front ends when driving past).

I liked the ralliart over the wrx simply because the ralliart looked better, even though its not built on a evo chasis. In my opinion, if your buying a wrx just because you can upgrade it later on, you might as well buy a sti/evo because the end price is gonna be the same if not more, or just wait and look for a older generation sti/evo that's been babied on ebay or craigslist as a project car.

I ended up with the fr-s though, and looking back, I feel that I made the right choice. The fr-s is not practical, not as safe as the AWD options, way too small (my friend whos 6'6 doesn't have nearly enough leg room in the front and the back seats are just for show). It is however enough, and on top of enough, it is fun. Being young and without family, I don't need practical, and with the safety features on, the car is very easy to drive in bad road conditions. The car is big enough for me to be perfectly comfortable while driving (which i spent a while sitting in the show room car to make sure)

The biggest thing that sold me on the fr-s is the way it looks. It looks like a proper sports car, not a car with a lot of styling, or another American muscle. Sure in a few years you'll see them as often as miatas, but right now the twins are still very unique on the roads, and I doubt they'll ever be as regular a sight as American muscle

Short version:
Winner: FR-S. Enough for everyday commute. Enough for driver+1. Reminds you that your driving a sports car every time you make a turn.

Twins vs Genesis Coupe: Twins. When you sit in the car, the twins feels like a sports car or roadster with a top, while the gen coupe feels like my Altima. and I can get away with just carrying one passenger at a time.

WRX vs Ralliart (Ignoring Mod potential): Ralliart. Ralliart looks meaner and stock performance are similar, WRX with a better chasis, Ralliart with a more sophisticated transmission

FWD: None, I specifically didn't want a front wheel drive car this time since I already have a beater and I didn't need the practicality these hot hatches offered