02 WRX Sdn R&T May-01 2.0 H-4/5M 0-50
0-60, s. 5.70
0-70, s. 7.80
1/4 Mile, s. 14.40
60-0 Braking, ft. 138.00
80-0 Braking, ft. 247.00
Skidpad, g 0.84
Slalom, mph 62.80
Idle, dBA 54.00
Full Throttle, dBA 74.00
50 mph, dBA cruising 69.00
70 mph, dBA coasting 73.00


00 2.5 RS Cpe C&D Dec-99 2.5 H-4/5M
0-60 s. 8.20
70-0 Braking, ft. 191.00
1/4 mile, s. 16.30
skidpad, g. 0.81
idle, dBA 41.00
70 mph, dBA cruising 72.00
70 mph, dBA coasting 71.00
Full Throttle, dBA 75.00
Top Speed, mph 127.00

That's cool and all, but it would be much better if it was the same magazine. Different magazines often come up with far different numbers.

And some of those numbers just have to be wrong. In particular the idle sound levels. I'm 100% sure the WRX is not 13db louder than the RS. In fact I'd be willing to suspect that if there is a difference it's just a couple of db at most, and I'm not even sure that the RS is quieter.

We all know good and well that the 0-60 of the RS is NOT 8.2 seconds. The only way I know that they could have gotten that # was if they had an automatic or if they bogged it off the line. I don't put too much faith in R & T and C & D.

I think the C&D driver must have smoked some good stuff before he got into that rs. I think real world numbers for a rs are 0-60 in 7.5 and 1/4 mile in 15.5. THe wrx numbers look nice though...I wouldn't mind tellin ppl about those numbershttp://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/wink.gif
keith

Yea, it's good to see info, but you can't compare two different tests that were done at two different times. Put 'em side by side and test em and then we'll actually see something somewhat conclusive, as far as quantitative tests go.

I do find it funny that you posted the slowest magazine test of a 2.5 RS I've ever seen (except for the C&D test of a '98).

But once again, most of us don't drive our cars on racetracks so those kinds of tests aren't very useful to people like me. I don't really care how fast a car runs 1/4 mile or what the top speed is. I care about throttle response, steering feedback, driver comfort, shifting ease, clutch tightness, and reliability, especially in cold weather. These are things that I rely on every single day that I get in my car. When I pay $20,000+ for a new car, it's these details that matter most to me. And it's these details that made me not want to trade in for a WRX "yet".

Why not use SCC since they have both the RS and WRX performance specs?

Because the tests were run at different times under different conditions. I have seen my 0-60 time (and 1/4 mile) vary by 1 full second with 60 degrees difference in temperature. Everything else was the same.