I HATE the seats in the SRT4. The WRX and STi seats are soooo much more cumfy. I am not a big guy, 35 waist with braud shoulders. My petite g/f felt cramped in it. Interior felt kinda cheap too (minus Auto Meter).

Nick

 

i used to sell dodge. . . i now sell subarus. . . my friend used to be a mechanic for a dodge dealership. he now works with me. bottom line. . . subarus are engineered much better. the quality control is so much better. ask any service dept. subarus have awesome welding contruction- every generation has had at least a 30 percent improvement in chasis rigidity(from 03-04- it was even made better-stiffer) here is the pepsi challenge: look up www.kbb.com - compare the 2. as awesome as the srt-4 may be. . . i'm sorry, but its still a dodge.

 

The only good dodge has either a big V8, diesel, or Viper motor.

Nick

 

dorrington- Here's my opnion on the 4 potential cars you mentioned (Audi A4 1.8T, GTI 1.8T, SRT-4 and WRX)

A4: I had an A4 w/ an APR chip. If you want luxury, this is the car for you, AWD, xenon lights, and nice interior. However, it's very expensive to make it go fast (Your looking at over $10K parts and labor to make it just as quick as a stock SRT-4 or WRX).

GTI 1.8T: It's quick and less expensive than an A4. I drove my friends car after some mods (Nuespeed chip, suspension and exhaust). It's not as quick as the stock SRT-4 and WRX. Plus, it's more expensive (German parts aren't cheap).

SRT-4: I test drove one when I was looking for a new car. It's pretty quick, but the torque steer is apparent (FWD). Plus, I can't get over the manual rear window rollers. I say it was like driving a Prelude w/ a Drag turbo kit. The only negative I can say about the SRT-4 is that it's by Dodge. I'm was apprehensive about buying a car from a company that is known for ther unreliability.

WRX: I ended up buying this car. To compensate for the more expensive "brand new" price difference w/ an SRT-4, I bought a used one (original owner bought an STI). For me, it was a blend of the A4 (AWD) and the quickness of the SRT-4 and GTI. With any compromise, you'll never get the best of one thing, but you'll get a good helping of everything. That's my $0.02, hope it helps.
-Soren

 

Whipped bad on a modded SRT-4 on the freeway on the way home from work today. I have a 2002 WRX sedan with a gutted up-pipe, 3" APS Turboback, and COBB stage 2 AcessEcu refash. He was tryin' real hard but in the end he just couldnt' hang!

 

Just a couple quick points and my opinion:

"Car-Stats.com Report for 2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4
Obtained from C&D December, 2002
0-60: 5.6 Transmission: Manual
1/4 Mile: 14.2
1/4 Speed: 102 "

"Car-Stats.com Report for 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX
Obtained from C&D October, 2001
0-60: 5.4 Transmission: Manual
1/4 Mile: 14.1
1/4 Speed: 96 "

Just saying that the WRX is a slight amount quicker, but in the real world, not important numbers.

Basicly, I think they will both feel the same.

Now I like dodge alot, and I like subaru a lot (just got a 2002 RS). Now after driving my dad's dodge ram and my RS, subaru is definetly built much better. I have looked at and liked both cars a lot, neither is a bad choice. But if I had the extra money, I would get the subaru because it is nice, reliable, and AWD just rocks. If you don't want to spend as much, get the SRT-4 and be happy.

I really think you would be happy either way.

And I don't see a SRT-4 beating an STi, 4.9 0-60 and a second faster in the 1/4, just not a comparison. But with mods, I could imagine it, if you could get traction.

But I would get the WRX if for nothing else, so your not confused with a stock neon, and that does bring up the point that neons that are only a few years old, are only worth a couple grand, and subarus are worth a lot more then that.

Just test drive both and get what you want.

 

First off it's a dodge, I don't have any interest in driving one. Second, it's a dodge that you can obviously see that they're cutting corners, power front windows, roll down back windows what's up with that??? Makes me think, what else did they cut corners on, well we know they cut corners on safety, but what else will we discover, I'm sure quite a few more things. This is the formula I usually go by.......

japanese car quality >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> american quality

Don't get me wrong, I love America and what America stands for, we just don't make cars as well.

 

Actually the Neon doesnt have power windows in the back because they couldnt fit the motor for the system in the door because of its shape.

_justin

 

exactly they cut corners

 

Dont dog on american cars b/c there are a few bad ones. The Hummer, Viper, Ram SRT-10, Lightining, Grand National, Corvette, Camaro/ T/A, CTS-V, Escalade, Mustang Cobra, Ford GT, Wrangler. These vehicles are all excelent in their own way, and cheaper than their foreign competitors. Take a look at the Viper, it is faster than almost any other car in the world and is still sub 100K. Look at the Hummer, nothing else in the world even compares. Look how fast the Z06 is and it is sub 60K.

Nick

 

True True, I didn't say that there was not any high performance american cars, all I said is about quality, and quality only I did not mention performance. I'm ******* on their crappy build quality, yes they have gotten better, but still japan is on top in that segment.

 

if i am not mistaken i think america leads globally in terms of profit when it comes to auto manufacturing- which does lead to one final question... does america have build quality and pride as the main priority? or is it profit?

 

I keep hearing people make this statement, but where is the info to back it up? The national crash test website(http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/) doesn't list it as a SRT-4, but rather a base neon. You have to figure that some of the SRTs come with side-impact airbags just like the wrx. The same goes for the EVOs, the website says lancer and not evo, so what do you go by. The SRT's also have a reinforced b-pillar to account for extra safety. So when you make a statement, also provide some sort of proof besides word of mouth.
EDIT: Actually, I just noticed that the EVO is listed, but has not been tested for the most part.