02 wrx vs 94 celica, after 1 month of ownership..now pics Options

[Rayme]

So yea I had the WRX for a month now and I'm pretty used to it now, and can finally make a good comparaison of the cars. I know it's kinda "unfair" I should compare a gt-four, but bouhou toyota, it's your own fault to not have brought them here and killed it in 99! And I know alot of celica owners will eventually upgrade to a better car and a wrx seems like a good upgrade if you're into rally car, turbo and boost...mmmh

Fuel efficiency and Insurance:
First off, the wrx drinks alot more gas, especially in the city It litteraly feels like it has half the MPG the celica had. On the highway its not too bad, I did get the advertised 27 mpg, maybe a little less because of cold temperature and winter gas. Also the insurance I pay is almost twice as what I paied with the celica, (which include collision that I DIDN'T have on the celica). So if you can pay of the car payment, be ready to spend around 100$ more a month on gas and insurance!

Power:
Perhaps this is the biggest change, the WRX feels very much like the 5s-fe under 3000 RPM but after that its a party up until the 7000 rpm redline, and god does that engine like to rev! It's so smooth! And the sound..orgasmic for a 4 cylinder (even on stock plumbing).

First gear really pull you in the seat thanks to no wheelspin, but it's a boring gear its too short, 2nd gear is also very impressive. The third gear will bring you in a flash from 80kmh to 140kmh, passing on the highway makes me smile all the time now..!

The only thing I "hate" is the engine response, the 5s-fe just pulls you when you go at WOT, the EJ20 has like a 0.5 - 1 second lag because of the boost.

Transmission:
This took some time to get used to, the gears on the 5s-fe are much much shorter than the WRX and I keep getting into a much taller gear than I should be (and I hear the drivetrain rumble from bogging). The celica hits around 70-80 in second gear and the wrx will hit 90-100 in second, etc..with 3rd and 4th.

I heard about how fragile the tranny is on the WRX..compared to the bullet proof toyota tranny, but its mostly due to stress from launching the car and just bad driving (it's not very forgivable), and also power upgrades..I can live with that since I don't go race and don't plan on power upgrade..pretty fast as it is

Handling:
This suprised me, the WRX feels alot more better in cornering, the car feels lighter because it just so tight, the celica even with the drop springs feels more combative in the turns (more steering input is needed), the WRX just feels more go-kart-ish vs the celica who feels heavier. It must be a combinaison of the extra stiff chassis and lower center of gravity of the boxer engine/transmission, and also the suspension of course.

Overall / fit and finish / interior:
The car reminds me alot of a Toyota as far as material quality and assembly goes, but the toyota wins here, like the wipers / signal controls and dashboards buttons feels more upscale. The stock Celica stereo speakers does sound better than the wrx, which really suck.. The car is also generally more silent and feels way more luxurious than the celica, which sounds..well, old and you can easily hear the engine and more road noise.

Style:
This is a personnal taste..the celica does looks better as far as sports car silhouettes goes, but the wrx just looks like a monster, which I love

Hope this entertained you guys.!

EDIT: Just a note to you guys who will say stuff like, why didn't I swap a 3s-gte, or stayed with toyota. Lets say it first, everything from toyota from the past 10 years or so is boring IMO, I was personally not interested in a 1.8 honda inspired engine. Lexus? not my style...
And yes I could have swaped a new engine in, but that would have still left me with a 13 years old car that's rusting and depreciating every year, and I have no garage to work on. I needed a change, getting a car that will still be worth something in 4-5 years from now is important since I have a house I need to pay and need a reliable car to get to work, not everybody's living at their parent's and have disposable income. And dumping 5000$ in an old car to go faster..is not a good way to spend money IMO, in 2-3 years from now I would still be paying the loan and would probably think I was stupid to spend that money on a swap. There I said it!

This post has been edited by Rayme: Jan 3, 2008 - 6:18 PM

[95CelicaST]

Rayme, like I told you over on NASIOC, I too have made the Scooby jump. I got an '03 Platinum Silver Metallic WRX wagon - no one suspects the turbo wagon!



Reading over your post, I wasn't suprised. I too went through the same comparisons - except I was comparing the 20V.

I went with Subaru for a new car not because "everyone's doing it", but because thats what I grew up on. My mom had a 93 Legacy LSi wagon, and now a 99 Legacy 2.5GT. My brother had a 95 Legacy L, and now an 04 Forester 2.5XT. So after being raised on Subaru, it was time to get one.

To get a bit of a feel of the power difference after it goes down the AWD drivetrain, my friend, with is 93 SE-R and I headed to a backroad and had a spirited jaunt. We went from a roll, because coming to a dead stop looks very suspicious. I was suprised to see he kept up with me, however the difference in weight (almost 2000lbs) and drivetrain (FWD - AWD) was the cause. From a stop I'm sure the WRX would kill, but this wasn't a race.

For style I didn't care about what WRX I got. I hate the 06 and on, so anywhere between the Bugeye (02-03) or the Peanut (04-05) was fine for me. I always loved the wagons, and sedans are great too, but the deciding factor for me was the fact that the sedan rear seats do not fold down, which I needed.

Interior-wise I much prefer the Celica. Much more sporty, however my bad back says the WRX seats are leaps and bounds better than Celica seats.

As for the transmission, I opted for the '03 because of the transmission upgrades from the '02. Rule of thumb is to shift lightly in 1st and 2nd, and you'll be okay from thereon. The problem is that when you dump the clutch in an FWD car, the excess power is burned off by spinning the wheels, in an AWD car there isn't wheel spin, so the excess power travels down the drivetrain and is absorbed in other transmission components.

Handling was a step down for me, but that was because I went from AGX's with Eibachs and sways to stock, but stock for stock the WRX handles a bit better. Even for a wagon!

Overall I was very happy with my purchase. I feel as though (at least for now) that I am done with major modifications to my cars. When thinking about upgrades for the wagon I see a Cobb stage 2 suspension package (sport springs, endlinks, sway bars, bushings) and a set of Rota, Prodrive, or OEM BBS wheels. Tint the windows just a little. MadDad turbo-back exhaust, and a Cobb intake... of course this is all with a Cobb Accessport V2.

EDIT: And insurance-wise... I get mucho discounts for it being 4 doors, a wagon, ABS, AWD, All the airbags, newer vehicle, good student discount, etc.

This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Jan 3, 2008 - 3:00 PM