Cobalt SS vs. WRX?? Which one to buy - Page 12

Luigi · 11-14-08, 01:49

I went with the Subaru, got a 07 WRX last winter, and its high on the fun factor, everytime i get in it and drive, It's fun.

The new STi as mentioned will be 8K off the list price, but thats because the 265hp WRX is probably a better deal still. With it making almost as much power as the STi.

Now I don't know a lot about the Cobalt, but to me, I don't like the style of them, just reminds me too much of the old cav's which I wasn't fond of. Plus being up in Canada with a bunch of snow, the AWD system is nice to have.

finalfinish · 11-14-08, 06:44

WRX Easy answer. Way, Way better of a car. I can't even begin to explain how awesome of a car mine was..... until I sold it for a lot, lot, lot more than I paid for it. You will only understand once you drive and compare them. It really won't be much of a comparison. Oh, and skip thinking about a new one just go for an 07 sti.

TH0001 · 11-14-08, 07:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by finalfinish

WRX Easy answer. Way, Way better of a car. I can't even begin to explain how awesome of a car mine was..... until I sold it for a lot, lot, lot more than I paid for it. You will only understand once you drive and compare them. It really won't be much of a comparison. Oh, and skip thinking about a new one just go for an 07 sti.

Does the fact that the Cobalt SS is faster, handles better, has a better warrenty, and costs less factor in at all in your statement that the WRX is a 'way' better car?

TH0001 · 11-14-08, 08:07

A little update...

I test drove both models and here are my limited thoughts...

Driving experience- The Cobalt has a better steering feel and seems to respond 'quicker' to changes in direction. The Subaru doesn't respond slowly, it just seems slightly dead on center compared to the Cobalt. Both cars beg to be driven aggressively, but neither are "fast". Quick is more like it, that said the Cobalt feels more powerful everywhere, and feel like a larger engine at low RPM. Very tracable at low RPM. By comparision the Subaru feels more like a turbo engine with (VERY slight) lag you can feel it really pick up as the RPM climb.

I thought the interior on both was equally cheap on both sides, but the Subies is a nicer, more livable cheap.

I had a chance to punch both of them from a stop. Both lauch pretty quick but the Subie is defiently quicker off the line because of the traction advantage. The Cobalt SS I drove had the limited slip differental, and in combination with the lauch control system on, left quickly with little drama (though a little bit of torque steer). The Subie had a slightly better shifter and was easier to power **** by a slight amount (I never missed a gear in the Cobalt, just felt a little looser). While neither is fast, the Cobalt feels more powerful and feels quicker. Around town this is more apparent as the engine feels torqueir.

After driving both the truth is that I didn't fall in love with either, so I am going to look at the Mazda Speed (which I doubt I'll like) and the Mitsu...

askjeffro · 11-14-08, 08:17

Awesome to hear you are taking the time to drive all the cars.

Word of caution on the MS3, Mazda is releasing a new redesign for the Mazda3 later this year, so if you pick up a MS3, you will be dealing with a generation older platform immediately. May affect resale if that is a concern.

Scottwax · 11-14-08, 09:02

MS3 carpet is garbage. Just vacuuming it is a huge chore.

Just FYI, the Cobalt SS already has a plethora of performance parts available since the Sky Redline and turbo Solstice have had the same engine for more than a year.

finalfinish · 11-15-08, 12:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by TH0001

Does the fact that the Cobalt SS is faster, handles better, has a better warrenty, and costs less factor in at all in your statement that the WRX is a 'way' better car?

Not at all, because that is only true of stock vs. stock. I am only speaking from quality of the build, reliability, motor strength, and overall awesomeness of the engineering of the WRX vs the chevrolet. In my experience, my 2002 WRX cost me $6000, I initially drove it nearly stock for a few months before investing nearly another 3800$ into the engine resulting in 380 all wheel hp. A set of coilovers and some sticky tires later, and my little WReX was not necessarily the fastest car on the road, but I would like to bet that it pulled my detailing trailer faster than any other rig on this board. My trailer withstood a speed test of around 140. Sold it for 12,500 a couple months ago, and that has easily been the worst decision I have ever made. I have personally never had a car that was even close to as good of a car as that. So, no, I did not factor in any of that because my cheap suby would roast any cobalt and still be way better of a car any day, and look better in my opinion. Either way I think you'll be happy with a turbo car. Nothing beats the lag while you're hearing it spool up, and then it shoving you into the back of your seat and having all four tires screaming. Cobalts were the least of my worries, my suby never lost to any Corvette including 2 C6 Z06's. So, I hope this helps you out. I don't want to seem biased because I had quite a bit done to mine, but I want you to know that the quality of a Subaru WRX is on a whole other level compared to a Cobalt. If you buy one of these two cars, you will realize one is junk, and that the other is simply incredible and that you will likely fall in love with it. I have yet to find a WRX owner that wasn't completely blown away by the incredible quality of these cars. I'm gonna shut up now

SuperBuick · 11-15-08, 08:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by finalfinish

Not at all, because that is only true of stock vs. stock. I am only speaking from quality of the build, reliability, motor strength, and overall awesomeness of the engineering of the WRX vs the chevrolet. In my experience, my 2002 WRX cost me $6000, I initially drove it nearly stock for a few months before investing nearly another 3800$ into the engine resulting in 380 all wheel hp. A set of coilovers and some sticky tires later, and my little WReX was not necessarily the fastest car on the road, but I would like to bet that it pulled my detailing trailer faster than any other rig on this board. My trailer withstood a speed test of around 140. Sold it for 12,500 a couple months ago, and that has easily been the worst decision I have ever made. I have personally never had a car that was even close to as good of a car as that. So, no, I did not factor in any of that because my cheap suby would roast any cobalt and still be way better of a car any day, and look better in my opinion. Either way I think you'll be happy with a turbo car. Nothing beats the lag while you're hearing it spool up, and then it shoving you into the back of your seat and having all four tires screaming. Cobalts were the least of my worries, my suby never lost to any Corvette including 2 C6 Z06's. So, I hope this helps you out. I don't want to seem biased because I had quite a bit done to mine, but I want you to know that the quality of a Subaru WRX is on a whole other level compared to a Cobalt. If you buy one of these two cars, you will realize one is junk, and that the other is simply incredible and that you will likely fall in love with it. I have yet to find a WRX owner that wasn't completely blown away by the incredible quality of these cars. I'm gonna shut up now

Cool. Can you give us some of the details of your cobalt ownership? Maybe some examples of how the motor blew up on you as soon as you tried to race a kid on a bicycle, or how it would leave you stranded on the side of the road in the middle of the pouring rain? Or maybe "your buddy" owned one, and "it was always in the shop, and the interior plastic felt hard". Or maybe, just maybe, you never owned a cobalt SS, and you are speaking from a completely incorrect, non fact-based point of view that "all american cars are crappy" because you or someone in your family had an american car in 1983 that had a bad transmission or something, and therefore you'll never buy one again....

finalfinish · 11-15-08, 08:29

Ok maybe it's not junk, I think that came out wrong. I just meant that in my opinion a Cobalt would feel like a tremendous step down from a WRX. I don't have a clue about Cobalt ownership, but from my experiences with Chevrolet, I would imagine it would be great. I'm just saying it is not even close to a WRX, IMO.

Accumulator · 11-15-08, 08:54

TH0001- I followed your test-drive report with interest. I'm looking forward to what you think of the other cars in that range.

I wonder if you simply aren't gonna find something you'll really love, at least not something you'll love right away, but maybe find something that'll be so easy/pleasant to live with that you *end up* really appreciating it (for what it is) because of how well it fills a certain niche. I had that happen with a VW ('87 Quantum AWD wagon)...after a few years of treating it like a throw-away beater I realized that I truly *loved* the thing far more than I ever expected to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by finalfinish

... I have yet to find a WRX owner that wasn't completely blown away by the incredible quality of these cars...

Here's one

I'm an ex-WRX owner who wasn't the least bit blown away by any aspect of the car and I'm genuinely stumped by the reference to "incredible quality"...if *I* said that, I'd mean it as sarcasm. Guess different people see things differently, and I'm open to the possibility that they've really improved them since mine ('02).

Sheesh, are my wife and I the only people who were disappointed by their Subarus?!? It's not like we don't appreciate a good, inexpensive car...

Picus · 11-15-08, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by TH0001

A little update...

I test drove both models and here are my limited thoughts...

Driving experience- The Cobalt has a better steering feel and seems to respond 'quicker' to changes in direction. The Subaru doesn't respond slowly, it just seems slightly dead on center compared to the Cobalt. Both cars beg to be driven aggressively, but neither are "fast". Quick is more like it, that said the Cobalt feels more powerful everywhere, and feel like a larger engine at low RPM. Very tracable at low RPM. By comparision the Subaru feels more like a turbo engine with (VERY slight) lag you can feel it really pick up as the RPM climb.

I thought the interior on both was equally cheap on both sides, but the Subies is a nicer, more livable cheap.

I had a chance to punch both of them from a stop. Both lauch pretty quick but the Subie is defiently quicker off the line because of the traction advantage. The Cobalt SS I drove had the limited slip differental, and in combination with the lauch control system on, left quickly with little drama (though a little bit of torque steer). The Subie had a slightly better shifter and was easier to power **** by a slight amount (I never missed a gear in the Cobalt, just felt a little looser). While neither is fast, the Cobalt feels more powerful and feels quicker. Around town this is more apparent as the engine feels torqueir.

After driving both the truth is that I didn't fall in love with either, so I am going to look at the Mazda Speed (which I doubt I'll like) and the Mitsu...

Interesting. I'm going to guess you won't love the MS3; if you felt like the WRX was dead on center or felt at all sluggish, the MS3 is going to feel really big I think.

Having driven them both do you have a list of priorities? Like are you after more responsiveness? More speed? Better interior? Better suspension? Can you live with FWD? I'm just trying to decide whether you're after more sport or more comfort. What do you think?

askjeffro · 11-15-08, 12:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by finalfinish

I have yet to find a WRX owner that wasn't completely blown away by the incredible quality of these cars.

Well, I'm a current '08 owner and while I do like my car, its quality is sadly below that of my $12k Ford Focus I bought 8 years earlier... Don't get me wrong, but for 25k, I was expecting the experience to be a lot better then it has been.