just wondering, some guy i kno believes his car is so much faster than mine in every aspect, 0-60, handeling, top speed, eh u kno... just wondering, how is the competition?

The competition needs an education.

you should see the things he said... he told me that i should have gotten a del sol (no offence to del sol owners)...

Your boy is slow and I'm not talking about his car.

the altima and rs compare in some points but very few....you'll get a lot more inside the altima for the price of an imprezza... but you dont get awd, i think the altima is a bit bigger deffinatly more room in the back seat power wise altima also has an edge i think.. 2.5S has...165-170 and 3.5SE has i think it's 270 where as imprezza you get 165, 227, and then the amazing 300... i wouldnt think people shopping for an altima would really consider the imprezza but some do.. my dad had one customer this summer take a 2.5S over an RS( they traded in a 2000 M5 and got a 350Z and the altima) i spent all summer in both the altima's and the imprezza's.. i am quite sure i will buy a wrx but i would consider an altima 3.5SE with the 5-spd

The 3.5 altima is fast, I'm pretty sure it's good for mid 14's just like the maxima. That would be the only thing it does better then the Rs. :disco:

One of the managers where I work was debating getting a 3.5 Altima or a WRX and ended up getting the Altima for the nicer, more spacious interior (he's a family man). Although, with all the snow we've been having recently here in CT, he's wishing he had gotten the WRX!

If I were you, I'd get the RS... but then again, I am a bit bias'd :p

Tell you what, I work on Subarus and drive Nissans (2000 Sentra SE and 2000 Maxima 5 speed). I love Nissans. These are the third and fourth Nissan I've had, including the 300ZX twin turbo. I will start replacing my Nissans with Subarus as soon as I can afford it.

The V6 being discussed here is a bigger version of what's in my Maxima and it's a joy. The smoothest thing next to a BMW, BUT, the 5 speed sucks. Subaru gear boxes are MUCH more fun to play with. I have test driven both a Sentra Spec V and an Altima 2.5S. The quality of the newest Altimas (or Maxima) is not on par with Subaru. Frankly, the Altima has more room than either an Impreza or a Legacy (for that matter) and the 3.5 5 speed is faster than any Legacy currently sold (by a looooong shot) and probably faster than a WRX, but if space isn't your primary concern, Subarus are MUCH more fun to drive. Personally, the car I'd love to have next (if I can afford it) is a Forester XT. What an utter gas. If you haven't driven one, do it.

Raptor

2.5S is 170 HP 4 banger
3.5SE is 255HP V6

Wait 'til summer and the Legacy's will be giving some reputable cars' a run for the money. 2.5L turbocharged 250 hp, 0 to 60 quicker than a BMW, a Porsche and I believe the ad also said 350z (not sure exactly which Porsche or Bimmer). Not to mention the new styling and features.
There is an ad webpage link from the Subaru website about the '05 Legacy debut. I think it was www.need-desire.com
I was impressed-even though I am biased toward Subaru.

One more thing...

I think the RS's have more of their 165 hp going to the wheels than most cars. I have a friend with a '99 Accord V6 and I can easily take him 'off the line' only thing is he can catch up (but not pass me) once his VTEC kicks in (those Accords are supposed to have about 200 hp) if that tells you anything.
Again, Subaru's (in particular the RS, since I have one) are very fun to drive with a manual tranny.

Originally posted by Raptor75104
The smoothest thing next to a BMW, BUT, the 5 speed sucks. Subaru gear boxes are MUCH more fun to play with.

I hope your not generalizing nissans gearboxes? I have a 96 240sx 5 speed and it is the smoothest tranny I have ever used. I know people say their trannies are like butter but it is slides in with almost no effort and even when you are hard on it, it still reacts the same.

Comparing Altima to Impreza is like comparing Civic to Insight. One is a mass market product, the other is niche product.

With that said, if your buddy said he can whoop your 2.5RS with his 2.5S, you need the same stuff he's smoking. An Altima is at least 300lb heavier and everyone know AWD launches better.

But if he has a 3.5SE 5spd, that's a different story. It can run consistently mid-6 in 0-60. Even the 4sp auto and pull a 7.3 all day, any day. If traction and driver are not at issue, a 2.5RS will have no chance against a 3.5SE and with a WRX, it will be pretty even. But don't forget, WRX and STI both cost ($3K and $17K in $cdn) MORE than a fully loaded 3.5SE and rightly so.

Granted, the 5sp tranny is notchy in the Altima and nowhere as smooth as Honda/Subaru trannies.

My parents own a 2002 Altima 2.5S. It has 175 HP and 180 Torque. Front wheel drive cripples it's off-the-line performance.

The 2.5RS has 165 HP and AWD.

If the race is at high speeds and not so much on turning ability, I'd put my money on the Altima. As only NASCAR considers that a race, I'd assume the race would be more involved. I'd put my money on the RS.

The altima has the crappy unreliable qr25de in it. If you were smart at all you'd steer clear of anything powered by that engine. There have been so many major recalls on that engine. It's known for burning oil and the precat breaking up and destroying the engine. I spent most of the year I had my spec v waiting on engine parts and trying to get the pos to stop burning oil. Most nissan dealers suck, their techs knew less than me, and nissan usa really doesn't give a **** about your problems. If you get that car you're buying a car with a ton of known major engine problems. Most every spec v owner is on their second engine or had major parts replacement done. Plus the resale value is non existant since the altima is a fleet/rental car too. The rs is a bulletproof, reliable, great resale value car. Plus you get awd which is a billion times better than that open diff in the altima.

B-tapper,

Good to see a fellow Pittsburgher here! (I was born in the steel city, raised in Johnstown, and am now rotting away in the Texas panhandle.) Just curious, I too just bought an 04 TS (5M) and I too had seriously considered both the Spec-V and the Altima 2.5S. What's your assessment of how the TS stacks up to the Spec-V in terms of acceleration, cornering, top end, etc.? The Spec-V's reported torque steer problems along with the problems you cited regarding the engine itself scared me away from both of the Nissan products.

Best,
Viz

When my spec was running and it wasn't raining or snowing it was a fun car. The torque steer is awful on it though. I've had my wagon for a week so I really haven't had a chance to run it hard yet, but it doesn't seem all that much slower than the spec v. The ts definitely handles better. Plus I can get it out of my driveway when it snows. Still wish I kept my rs and never traded it in on that nissan though.