[11Past9]

A friend of mine might be selling his truck. It is a Toyota Xrunner with all the bolt ons you could think of. He is seriously considering a Mazdaspeed3 but I would like the opinions of you guys. His budgets is around $17,000.00

My opinion:

He lives in a state where it rains, and snows a lot. Between May and July all it did was rain. FWD is just not practical considering how much it precipitates but I fail to even see the comparison between the three cars... The MS3 has had a solid amount of cars with transmission problems, and grenading. The stock turbo/engine is pretty much maxed from the factory and the stock internals aren't so hot. The TMIC IMO is just plain stupid, why? an enclosed hood with a TMIC... hmm. Here are the performance specs of the 3 cars

EVO VIII:

0-60 MPH: 4.8
1/4 mi: 13.1
60-0 Braking: 109 ft
Skid Pad: 0.97g
Slalom: 71.7 mph

STi:

0-60 MPH: 4.7
1/4 mi: 13.1
60-0 Braking: 114 ft
Skid Pad: 0.92g
Slalom: 69.8 mph

MS3:

0-60 MPH: 5.8
1/4 mi: 14.4
60-0 Braking: 116 ft
Skid Pad: 0.87g (same as a stock 2005 SRT-4)
Slalom: 67.0 mph

-He is under the impression that the EVO and STi are very expensive to maintain, he mentioned "the clutch and the labor that goes in it and how expensive it is"

-He said finding an EVO for $17,000 or so with lower mileage was RARE and then I found 4 solid examples with under 50,000 miles

-He refuses to test drive the EVO and STi. He has yet to ever even drive one of the two, but he has driven the MS3

-He insists that the 2008+ MS3 won't have transmission or engine problems, but Mazda has proven time and time again to either ignore, or NOT be able to fix the woes of cars previous production years.

I personally think he is batty for even considering the Mazdaspeed3, the only reason to justify it IMO over an EVO or STi is that it would be newer, for a similar price. But newer to me doesn't mean much to me in regards to what car is best... it just means, well... newer. The performance advantage the EVO and STi have over the MS3 are so significant I don't even think the MS3 should be in the equation. Things would be different if EVO's and STi's where still $30,000 but they are dirt cheap now and he doesn't want to buy brand new. What do you all think?

[Garduna]

I say go with the evo without a question. just my personal choice

[footie]

I say buy none of the above, the EVO is too extreme unless your really into the hardcore experience of driving, the STi is only slightly less extreme and the Mazda is fwd which is useless in the snow.

Get a used Golf R32 instead.

[11Past9]

Originally Posted by footie

I say buy none of the above, the EVO is too extreme unless your really into the hardcore experience of driving, the STi is only slightly less extreme and the Mazda is fwd which is useless in the snow.

Get a used Golf R32 instead.

Used R32's are still fetching almost $25,000.00... they are not even comparable to the EVO and STi in terms of performance, he hates VW too.

[Muffnbluff]

If he can find a stock '04-'06 STi I'd vote for that, obviously. The EVO VIII is capable of insane power, but the VIII was just too econobox and the drivetrain in those cars suck. The MS3 is a great car for the money, but I could not live with FWD again.

And a R32? Are you kidding me? Those cars are pathetically slow. Besides, I'd trust the reliability of a Subaru over a Volkswagen anyday.

[EpicE90]

Ive personally driven an 06 sti before, and im sorry but it was the biggest POS i ever drove. Understood its not going to be quite the build quality of an audi, mercedes , whatever but the entire car just FELT like it was going to fall apart . It had good power but i dont know i couldnt live with it everyday. I have never driven an Evo, so cant compare in terms of build quality etc. But as eevryone else has said im sure its just as harsh as the Subie , if not more. My vote goes to the Evo though. You can pick them up pretty cheap right now. And on a track they own face.

[footie]

Originally Posted by 11Past9

Used R32's are still fetching almost $25,000.00... they are not even comparable to the EVO and STi in terms of performance, he hates VW too.

Fair comment. Without knowing the person I can only put my own preferred choice forward, I find the EVO and STi too extreme as a daily driver and agree that the Mazda would be of little use.

If your looking awd then the choices are very limited and mainly it's Japanese.

[Year's_End]

STi - Not the bug-eyed one.

[Artmasterx]

What about an 05-07 Subaru Legacy GT? They are mod-friendly and good cars, albeit not the most exciting styling... You should be able to find a decent specimen for under 17k with not too many miles.

[RENN Spec]

Evo just because I have one.

[McMuffin]

If it has to be one of the above i'd say go with the sti. Like mentioned above, drivetrain on the evo suck bananas!

[RENN Spec]

If he must..... get a sti, make sure its an 05+ since the 04 still has the retarded 5x100 bolt pattern.

[11Past9]

Myth:

EVO driveline sucks...

Fact:

The 5 speed in the EVO is actually a stronger transmission than the 6 speed in the STi, it may have some synchro quirks but it is not a often occurrence. The 6 speed in the MR is the weaker. The transfer cases are actually strong, but when people are making huge power, they need to be upgraded to a shep.

Myth:

STi + bugeye

Fact:

U.S. does not have a bugeye STi

The Legacy GT is "too bland" for him in regards to styling. Personally I don't care anymore, like a guy said on EVOm.net... let him buy what he wants and look on the bright side, how great is it going to be once he reaps the horror of regret and you get to say I told you so