by 06gtb » Tue Mar 14, 2017 6:56 pm
Yeah I started on the small Japanese FWDs too, but once you actually get a taste of power... There really isn't any going back. Even my mum, who had a K24 powered Accord Euro immediately regretted her decision to switch to auto, and downgrade to a Civic hatch.
I didn't catch whether yours was auto or manual? I've done a bit of driving in a 2014 Outback, which to the best of my knowledge has pretty much the same powerplant as our 2.5L Liberties minus the turbo, but it's automatic with paddle shifts if the driver is so inclined...
But whichever way you slice it, I found the auto just a horrible thing to drive with. Put your foot down and you wait at least a full second for some computer to realise that gear can't generate the necessary torque and thus downshift. It's part of the reason I put T5 on the back of my Lexus LS400,but even that gearbox was infinitely more responsive.
Now, the Outback and Liberty and/or WRX are very different cars built for different specific purposes, so I have no comparison, and apart from the old man's Outback I have nothing to compare it with. I haven't drive an auto since I ripped it out of the Lexus almost 10 years ago.
Do you have any thoughts on the gearbox side of the equation? I didn't even consider auto cars in my search, so I am admittedly quite ignorant on these specific cars in auto vs. manual, but a 6-speed STI gearbox has gotta be hard to beat, right??
