I was bored this morning (as usual) so I decided to finally go drive the WRX. And of course, all they had was ONE automatic!

This car totally blows in automatic version. The handling is great and the ride is quite good considering how well it handles. It's reasonably quiet too. But man, the thing is so damn slow you wouldn't even believe it. It had 507 miles on it so I floored it out of the dealership and it felt like it was accelerating from 3rd gear until the turbo spooled up. It's got good power above 4000rpm but down low the thing feels like a Geo Metro. I didn't expect it to blast off the line (considering it was an auto) but you HAVE NO IDEA how much of a freakin' dog this car is down low. Makes the S2000 feel like a torque monster. It's a car that should NEVER EVER be allowed to drop below 3000rpm

I definitely need to check out the 5spd version.

 

That's good information. Let us know when you're bored again and drive the manny version.

 

Thats the same way the Mercedes C-Class Coupe feels. I tried to use the Auto-Shift, but shifting was fairly labourious compared to the CLS. I just floored it, ignoring the autoshifter. The car doesnt take off until 4000 RPM.

What is it about an automatic CLS that makes its low-end RPM so snappy? HP?

 

(Sorry, but everyone and their mother should know this.)

Displacement.

[ 08-04-2001: Message edited by: DtEW ]

 

Actually, low rpm torque as a product of increased displacement. But it's the toqrue.

 

Yep, I also drove an auto WRX sedan that wasn't broken in yet at the time. Small displacement, low compression, and automatic tranny definitely don't go together! I was disappointed by the power delivery, so I bought the 5 speed version instead.

Seriously, it gets better once it's broken in and a $30 boost controller get the turbo to come on sooner and stronger.