Post by AKLGT on Oct 1, 2006 23:40:26 GMT -5
So, after being bored yesterday and going for a test drive in the Evo9, Phil was upset that he didn't get to go.
Today, we decided to do some "research" on 6 spd AWD vehicles for me to replace my LGT come next fall. I'm still hell bent on my Spec B, but after driving that Evo9, I thought maybe I should consider other like vehicles. Of course, the Ion Redline isn't 6 MT or AWD, but it does have a supercharger and i was just curious...
Evo9 MR
I've already added my main comments in another thread, but driving it for a second time today... WOW! :thumbup: i've not driven an STI yet, nor a WRX, but just WOW! Pulls hard in low gears, very similar to mine, but then it just keeps pulling in 4th - 6th, unlike mine (damn auto!). the 6 speed is so much fun, i miss it soooooo much!
Phil still hasn't changed his mind, but had to admit he was loving it, especially when he got it sideways going around a corner. the salesman (i used to work with him long ago) was having a great time too. LOL. Phil didn't care for the interior but like the exterior, whereas I don't care for the exterior and liked the interior. Downside, i LOVE my girlie amenities like power heated leather seats, sunroof, etc. no such luck on the Evo9MR. the price of the MR is a bit steep, $36K ($41K with the dealer mark up). still, just an awesome car! it gets my two :thumbup: :thumbup:
Mazdaspeed 6
For fit and finish, the Mazdaspeed 6 is a beautiful car. from the exterior to interior, it was top notch. however.... they had so many cool nifty gadgets like memory seats, window memory (from the key fob) and the one we test drove had a spiffy credit card type key thing (but no actual key). as long as you have the credit card dealie bob, you just turn the knob and away you go. what they failed to do, even with all these great things on the car, the drivers seat was power while the passengers seat was manual. :hammer: that made no sense to me! LOL. It had a very cool pop up screen available for Navi and that would have been PERFECT for me! however, it was a $2K option and they didn't order it because it doesn't work up here (DVD based).
driving the Speed6 was smooth and classy, very refined. it wasn't choppy or fast like the Evo9. To me, it was slow, but then again I am running stage 2.5 in my Legacy GT, even though it's Auto. I was a bit disappointed when it came to the power. Ya, I know I was kinda coming off the Evo9 and comparing it to my stage 2.5 Leggy, may not have been fair. It's been since May since I added power mods, but I think even with the car stock, my LGT auto would have been very very close or similiar to power and torque on the road, even though on paper, it would seem the Speed6 would be a little faster. then again, on paper, the Speed6 is very similiar to the Evo9 as far as power and torque, but a very very different car.
Phil said he could definitely tell it had a lot more power and oomph (this was before he drove the Evo9) and I must be smoking something. Of course, he's used to driving his vibe and I'm used to driving my LGT. still a beautiful car no doubt and worth taking a look at if you are interested to spend about $28-$34K. all in all, i'd say the exterior and interior are both :thumbup: but the power was a bit more lacking and i'd give it a :thumbdown:
[Saturn Ion Redline
We actually should have test driven this car FIRST before anything else. Going from a Speed6 to Evo9 to Redline put the Saturn in a very poor position. It is hard to compare after you just finished driving an Evo.
Exterior was nice, not too bad at all, no hideously HUGE wing! LOL. the interior was odd with the guages in the center of the console and a boost guage on the steering column. i couldn't figure out where to look and hardly even looked at the speedometer because i kept looking down at the boost guage instead of the tach! =( i definitely did not like that! and no center armrest over the console. how wierd is that? =(
obviously, it is not fair to compare the FWD redline to the Evo, Speed6 or even my LGT. in comparison to the vibe, it was only so so. I felt that the vibe and even the vibe GT would be a better comparison. so, i will compare the power and torque to that. I'll be pretty frank, it sucked. I thought the supercharger is supposed to give you more low end torque and power? even after gunning it (not fully on it), it felt sluggish and slow. practically no torque either. =( when we looked up the specs back at the dealership, all the power and torque isn't even reached til well over 4400 rpm! Phil said it was peppy, but he didn't see it as much of an improvement to his vibe with intake, exhaust and unichip. however, the price was only $22K so quite affordable.
overall, if they had the Redline available at the time I purchased the Vibe GT, it would have been a formidable contender. as for at this junction in life, it wouldn't be on my list of things to consider. the interior was :thumbdown: and the exterior was just so-so. the power and performance was still :thumbdown: as I feel my Vibe GT and even Mav's base 5 speed with basic mods was equally zippy. the price however is a definite :thumbup:
Today, we decided to do some "research" on 6 spd AWD vehicles for me to replace my LGT come next fall. I'm still hell bent on my Spec B, but after driving that Evo9, I thought maybe I should consider other like vehicles. Of course, the Ion Redline isn't 6 MT or AWD, but it does have a supercharger and i was just curious...
Evo9 MR
I've already added my main comments in another thread, but driving it for a second time today... WOW! :thumbup: i've not driven an STI yet, nor a WRX, but just WOW! Pulls hard in low gears, very similar to mine, but then it just keeps pulling in 4th - 6th, unlike mine (damn auto!). the 6 speed is so much fun, i miss it soooooo much!
Phil still hasn't changed his mind, but had to admit he was loving it, especially when he got it sideways going around a corner. the salesman (i used to work with him long ago) was having a great time too. LOL. Phil didn't care for the interior but like the exterior, whereas I don't care for the exterior and liked the interior. Downside, i LOVE my girlie amenities like power heated leather seats, sunroof, etc. no such luck on the Evo9MR. the price of the MR is a bit steep, $36K ($41K with the dealer mark up). still, just an awesome car! it gets my two :thumbup: :thumbup:
Mazdaspeed 6
For fit and finish, the Mazdaspeed 6 is a beautiful car. from the exterior to interior, it was top notch. however.... they had so many cool nifty gadgets like memory seats, window memory (from the key fob) and the one we test drove had a spiffy credit card type key thing (but no actual key). as long as you have the credit card dealie bob, you just turn the knob and away you go. what they failed to do, even with all these great things on the car, the drivers seat was power while the passengers seat was manual. :hammer: that made no sense to me! LOL. It had a very cool pop up screen available for Navi and that would have been PERFECT for me! however, it was a $2K option and they didn't order it because it doesn't work up here (DVD based).
driving the Speed6 was smooth and classy, very refined. it wasn't choppy or fast like the Evo9. To me, it was slow, but then again I am running stage 2.5 in my Legacy GT, even though it's Auto. I was a bit disappointed when it came to the power. Ya, I know I was kinda coming off the Evo9 and comparing it to my stage 2.5 Leggy, may not have been fair. It's been since May since I added power mods, but I think even with the car stock, my LGT auto would have been very very close or similiar to power and torque on the road, even though on paper, it would seem the Speed6 would be a little faster. then again, on paper, the Speed6 is very similiar to the Evo9 as far as power and torque, but a very very different car.
Phil said he could definitely tell it had a lot more power and oomph (this was before he drove the Evo9) and I must be smoking something. Of course, he's used to driving his vibe and I'm used to driving my LGT. still a beautiful car no doubt and worth taking a look at if you are interested to spend about $28-$34K. all in all, i'd say the exterior and interior are both :thumbup: but the power was a bit more lacking and i'd give it a :thumbdown:
[Saturn Ion Redline
We actually should have test driven this car FIRST before anything else. Going from a Speed6 to Evo9 to Redline put the Saturn in a very poor position. It is hard to compare after you just finished driving an Evo.
Exterior was nice, not too bad at all, no hideously HUGE wing! LOL. the interior was odd with the guages in the center of the console and a boost guage on the steering column. i couldn't figure out where to look and hardly even looked at the speedometer because i kept looking down at the boost guage instead of the tach! =( i definitely did not like that! and no center armrest over the console. how wierd is that? =(
obviously, it is not fair to compare the FWD redline to the Evo, Speed6 or even my LGT. in comparison to the vibe, it was only so so. I felt that the vibe and even the vibe GT would be a better comparison. so, i will compare the power and torque to that. I'll be pretty frank, it sucked. I thought the supercharger is supposed to give you more low end torque and power? even after gunning it (not fully on it), it felt sluggish and slow. practically no torque either. =( when we looked up the specs back at the dealership, all the power and torque isn't even reached til well over 4400 rpm! Phil said it was peppy, but he didn't see it as much of an improvement to his vibe with intake, exhaust and unichip. however, the price was only $22K so quite affordable.
overall, if they had the Redline available at the time I purchased the Vibe GT, it would have been a formidable contender. as for at this junction in life, it wouldn't be on my list of things to consider. the interior was :thumbdown: and the exterior was just so-so. the power and performance was still :thumbdown: as I feel my Vibe GT and even Mav's base 5 speed with basic mods was equally zippy. the price however is a definite :thumbup:
.
next time, we'll be swapping cars for a few runs... just so he can drive mine and see how it runs and i can drive his and see if i can beat his best time! LOL