cool555

I know this is a distorted comparison, but I'm in a weird state of mind, lol. I currently own an 09 MDX and an 08 BMW 750i sport. I used to have an 03 WRX, and then an 05 G35c 6MT.
I'm not as happy as I thought I would be with the BMW, so I'm getting rid of it and would like to get an AWD manual transmission daily driver. I transport my kids to daycare, and drive about 70 miles everyday for work.
I want to know how much fun the 6MT TL is, and if its fulfilling compared to the STI fun. Any info would be greatly appreciated. (And I realized this info will be biased due to the TL forum).

Edward'TLS

This topic has been discussed before. Use the following link :

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/subaru-sti-2012-tl-858727/

sneek

As a former STI owner, I can tell you that they car is a lot of fun and it is pretty good on gas. One thing I really hated was that the car understeered a lot. Other than that, I think their AWD system works pretty well for those slippery days

I also enjoy driving my SH-AWD TL, but it is a different type of fun. The car is much more refined, but it handles well. The TL has much less driver feedback, but it has a much more luxurious. One thing to consider is where you are in your life. I make road trips with my director, so the STI would be a bit too immature/boy racer for my job.

cool555

Thanks for the response. What year was your sti? Im not too concerned about image or fuel economy, but ride quality is important. I heard the 13 sti drives better than the previous iterations. Thanks for the link with the STI vs TL comparison. Im still going crazy trying to figure out which one I want. There is also the whole debate about waiting for the tlx or new wrx/sti model...Great time to be a car nut, lol.

potmilkz

although i have a tl.. i would vote STI BABY!

sympley

I was in the same boat and went with TL. STI was just to rough and boy racerish. It is a beast though, the adjustments for differentials and other tech things are pretty cool. Super fast car.

23109VC

as everyone has said.. it all depends on you and where you are at in life. If I was 25 I'd probably vote STi. I am 40... I vote TL.. but that's ME.

I have driven the Sti's, EVOs.... they are fast but very different. They are more boy racer.... with mods you could easily make an Sti blow a TL off the road... but when you just want to cruise on the freeway, or you have passengers that aren't 21 or under... the TL is a more impressive car.. a 16 year old will think your STi is "the bomb".. but your 35 year old co-worker will say "hey this TL is a nice car"... what do you want? that all depends...

the TL is probably not as fast...but is fast enough and handling is great. I find my SH-AWD TL with 19s... flat out RIPS through turns... handling is amazing for a car it's size. SH-AWD is truly amazing. just like your 09 MDX handles great for an SUV..wait till you experience it in a stiffly sprung TL!

one big consideration between the two is passenger room / trunk space. given that the TL is a larger car - you will have a lot more rear passenger room and probably more trunk space. for sure the rear seats are bigger. like you, I have kids. I have 3 of them. mine are all grade school aged.. and like you I have an MDX in the garage too.

My wife drives the MDX daily.. the kids are in it when my wife shuttles them to school or to soccer practice, etc. We use it for our really long trips / vacations. But when I picked my daily driver - while I would have loved a two seat roadster... I wanted something that would fit the whole family and something we could use as an alternative to the MDX. For our short trips - it's nice to be able to keep the miles off our SUV. I can easily fit the whole family into the TL for a weekend trip or other commutes. an STi might not be so good as a second "family car"... it might be okay to shuttle a couple kids to school... but a 4 hour road trip could be tight.. depends on how many kids you have and how big they are. my three kids would be too tight in an STi for a longer trip. I recently took the whole family on a weekend trip, 5 hour drive each way and we all fit into the TL.. no problem.

if you want to occasionally NOT take your MDX on a decent sized road trip... consider if the STi woudl work well for a "backup" family car... it's nice to have both cars available for that duty....

good luck... either car will be fun.

types1fan

I do have to say that the STi in a sedan form is a great looking car, I was parked in front of building that I live in and a white STi drove by me and if I could of turned my head all the way back my eyes would of followed it. Beautiful looking car, make the best choice that fits your lifestyle.

Hapa DC5

from a 7 series to go back down to a Subaru? That's one hell of a leap.

saturno_v

I can repeat verbatim what I said on the other similar thread:

Totally different experience...my wife own an STI while I own a TL 6MT...

The STI is insanely fun but for me the noisy stiff ride gets tiring after a while.

As we joke with my wife "A very different interpretation on the 300 CV 4 door theme"

I should stress even more the "tiring after a while" factor on the STI.....fun fun fun but I would not take it for a road trip even if the seats are quite comfortable.

Personally I consider an STI like other more extreme sports car like a 370Z or a Cayman....despite the more obvious practicality compared to these two (you can do a big shopping trip and seat 5 people on a pinch) I would not consider it a good daily driver and my wife is starting to agree....

The last point is for Bear-AvHistory which thinks I'm an anti-BMW ......actually if you do not need the extra space and comfort of the big TL and you want a smaller, more agile very fast accelerating car, the much better choice for a daily driver between an STI and a BMW 335 is the 335.....the ride is more comfortable and "tidy", not as noisy, it is a much more "civilized" car, mpre refined depite being extremely fast....at least I'm talking for the E90 3 Series which I know quite well...the new F30 I heard is a bit softer around the edges and slower compared to the E90

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

One hell of a leap backwards.

mY sLOW UA6

It's a little off topic, but have you ever considered an S4. I know I may be a little biased seeing as I own one but they handle well (better than the mentioned cars), can fit five people comfortably, and in my opinion a better rounded car.

cool555

I would love t

cool555

I would love to get into an s4, buts its too expensive for me. Thanks for all the responses. The only mt TL in my area (nj) are white and I wanted another color. My mdx is white. The BMW 7 is a great handling luxury car, however I'm getting tired of the ex

cool555

Sorry, I'm typing from the phone. Yea, so the problems were getting expensive and I'm worried about its reliability in a few years when the cpo expires. I don't really care about image, and as long as the car meets my needs - I'm good. Thanks for all the replies. I'm still debating but I do like the community aspect of this forum.

sockpuppet

Having driven both, I'd have to agree that it depends on where you are in your life. The Subaru is nice (I've always been partial to them), but if you have anyone to transport, especially kids, the TL is a better way to go.

Besides, although the OP doesn't care about image, I've always seen the STi as a car that makes one look like they are trying too hard, while the TL makes one look like they don't have to try at all.

Mr Marco

^ this

potmilkz

personally i see it as sti and evos are for douchebags..

you see them all over socal with their loud BOV and their HKS 5 inch power exhaust revving up all over the place

although i would go STI.. it really depends on what you plan to do with your car..

LawnPro

If your going to be hualing kids around - the TL will be roomy. And you can't beat a shawd with the 6MT.