WRX or Ralliart. Buying my next car and I need help.
 

So here's the deal. I fell in love with a wicked white 09 Ralliart in Vancouver last month but was unable to drive it. I drive a 08 Civic SI which I am now trying to sell (don't worry about that part).

All the reviews I have seen compared the 09 Ralliart to the WRX, claiming the WRX was inferior until the release of the WRX265. There is no Mitsubishi dealer in my town but there is a Subaru dealer and just today, I was able to test drive a silver WRX265 5-Door.

The WRX 265 looked a little plain. The jarring and beautiful flares of the STI are lacking and the added badges simply don't offer enough to get the WRX away from its humdrum Impreza body styling. That being said the 225/18 performance rubber were welcome and the dark 18" wheels looked fantastic. The front intake for the turbo was massive. I sat down and was immediately unimpressed. The seats are comfortable but the lack of any worthwhile bolsters was not confidence reassuring. The center dash and console were positively boring. I immediately got turned off by the massive shifter. Although light, the foot tall handle required a massive throw to get into gear and felt spongy and floaty as I moved it. In gear, it felt loose. Altogether, a far cry from the precise feel of the Civic SI's 6-speed.
At first, I thought the car felt underpowered. When I returned the Civic, I realized this was incorrect. What I managed to determine was that I was missing the sudden snap of the Civic's engine, which the WRX lacks. Even when you slam onto the gas, you get a "building surge" and not a "snap" This is obviously because I am used to naturally aspirated cars and no turbochargers but I still felt there should have been a more noticeable surge when the pedal is pushed. I was discouraged by this because it made the car almost feel like an automatic. The traction control system is an on switch that saps the power if a wheel breaks. The first time I tried to really push it with it on, I was stonewalled by massive understeer, way more than I would have liked. With these tires, it should have done better. I am not kidding; I slid right into the left lane. With TCS off, I still noticed some understeer but the back finally started to come out to balance the vehicle.
The exhaust and engine are so quiet, I couldn't tell how fast I was going. The suspension was also extremely soft. The steering wheel offers substantial feedback which is welcoming, even as the wheel would often jerk almost out of my hands. This is required since the suspension is so soft, I had very little transmitting into the cabin.
The Subaru WRX 265 has some strong points but I found the entire experience underwhelming. A strong engine is mated to a weak transmission through a soft suspension to awesome tires. The interior is bland and clumsy. Although there is substantial power, the lack of noteworthy grunt in the low end is disconcerting. When I returned to the civic, I was reminded of my amazing transmission and instant power on tap, like a switch, when above 4,500 rpm. The WRX is far more powerful but not more comfortable. Increased legroom is welcome but not at the cost of seats with no side support. The throat crunching acceleration is awesome but with a massive throw from a clumsy gearbox, it makes shifting a real chore. For a sticker price 7,000 more than the Civic, I honestly expected a lot more. What worries me now is that so many reviews have claimed the WRX 265 far superior in a driving experience than the Ralliart. If that is true, I have to balance if this increased cost is worth it.

I have sat inside the Ralliart and I like how it looks and feels. I love the transmission but all reports say it is underpowered and undertired and overweight for a car that is 1400 more than the WRX. I am not looking at a unbias conversation. I want someone to convince me why a Ralliart is the single, best choice over the WRX. I love the Ralliart style. I hate the WRX's look. I want to claim to like it for more than that.

Well WRX is a great car but I don't like hatch back and I think for it is small compared to the family of Lancers the big brother Evo X, the mid brother ralliart, the hatchback ralliart and the small brother GTS.

If my Base Lancer ES drives good I bet the Ralliart is better and the Evo X is Great.

Have you tried driving the Ralliart With 2 fingers on curves. drive it with 3 wheel motion meaning the other wheel is on the air. (check top gear Evo 8/9 versus lambo).

The 650 watts rockfosgate system is the best, NAV is brilliant except for the damn blue tooth but with DVD what else can you ask.

I drive Honda,Toyota, Nissan except for Subaru. The handling of the Lancer's is very soft
does not have hard steering. that's why you can use 2 fingers on curves.

I will buy the Ralliart and buy it BLACK or Red with pin stripes.
Lots of story to tell but no time to write it down

UNDER POWERED. that's funny I was tailing a 2009 BMW M3 Alpine Edition the other day. I was just tailing him to avoid being stop by unmarked cruiser.

By the way the Lancer wants to handled ROUGH like a rally car. Handle it rough it performance better.
Down shifting on 4th gear is the favorite. The engine is loud?

What difference does it make driving a Lambo and Ferrari. they are louder than the Ralliart and cost a fortune
Sports Sedan are loud and you are GOING TO PUT PERFORMANCE PARTS anyways. so your car will be louder.

beat, every time i read your posts i never understand what u are trying to say.

my wife has a lancer GTS and it is good for what it is. i have not driven the ralliart, and if it were me, i would spend the extra money to just get an evo. they dont make the ralliart in manual.

my wife's GTS has pretty good handling, as well as precise, responsive steering. i havent really felt understeer in her car at points that i was expecting to feel it. i do no know how this would translate into a ralliart, but im trying to help with what i've got

Thank you for the compliment. I wonder why some people understand me but not you.

Probably you just want to be Cynical. Tell me what part of my grammatical errors that you didn't understand? LOL

Have you tried driving your Wifey's Lancer with 2 fingers. try it you will be amaze?
you will understand what I'm trying to talk about. if you just read it you won't.

if you see a speeding BMW try following him/her. you will test how fast the Lancer GTS.

WRX hands down especially the hatchback LOL, I haven't test drove the ralliart though :) but I did test drive the WRX and oh boy oh boy that car has superb handling and fast too :)

BTW I own a GTS :)

Ralliart!
 

I have to admit that I have only sat in the WRX, didn't drive it. (it was sold)

I did however testdrive the Ralliart - it was great! I have a traffic-laden commute so the dual-clutch caught my attention - I just can't do a manual in all that stop & go everyday.

If you are looking at a 4 door, then you must NEED 4 doors and some room - the lancer body/trunk has plenty of room - i have two kids and no problems - the WRX felt small.

I don't get the "under-powered" comment. It was a rocket, handled very smooth and grabbed the road as I'm sure the WRX does. The Ralliart "shot" off the line.

I think the lancers look better (personal pref.) and the performance difference CAN'T be noticed unless your racing - and if you are you are, you buying the EVO.

I ended up with a fully-loaded GTS, due to price and the fact that I couldn't afford to turn around and by a new set of "winter" tires a few months after buying a new car. (perf. tires on Ralliart - All season on the GTS.) Plus the "fully-loaded" for a lot less $$$. I miss the Ralliart/Evo hoodvents everyday that I look at my GTS, although it still looks great. The Rockford is amazing and the nav is great.. if only I can get DVD in motion off - I'm not buying my kids LCD-Headrests and no "I" don't need to watch DVDs while driving but it would be nice for the rest of the fam.

If I had a few extra $$$, I would have bought that Ralliart in a second - it was an AWESOME drive and to me, simply looks better.

Good luck!