LikeEmFast

Personally I am a shocker with cars. Had 81 of them and I am 43, and not a car dealer. Hmm a Sigma. Suprisingly many years ago I was looking for a Sigma turbo. Back when they were considered quick. Been there on the WRX too. Suprisingly people used to panic when I drove it hard. But it is a WRX, you should look after it. My take on that was "It is here for a good time, not a long time". Had the XR6 turbo for a couple of years too. Got over it, as I do all the cars I have owned. Suprisngly of all the cars I have owned I kinda miss my hot EH I had when I was 20. Also I have to buy a V6 Capri GT someday. Had a thing for them for years and never bought one. Nostalgia :D

If I coulda afforded an EVO I woulda been there Seriously considering the Lancer Ralliart next year though.

Standard prices excluding On Road Costs. Did you actually read the options on each? Had I wanted a standard WRX they offered me one for $39,000 on road. Tynans Sutherland are a good yard to hit at the end of the month.

Well my options on the day were: WRX with factory sat/nav, aftermarket wheels, aftermarket suspension, tinted windows, factory leather. End of month deal. New price was $53K drive away (thanks to all the options) Had them down to $45K. Which was damn good deal in anyones books for a brand new highly optioned Rex. Along comes my XR5. 4 months old, 1500kms on the clock, factory leather and reversing sensors, mats weather shields etc etc. Again the dealers love to give deals at the end of the month. $36,990 and do a deal at $35K. Then add a sunroof for $2200. So A drive away on a virtually new car for $37,200. No denying the WRX was a great car. But on the day it was just not $8,000 greater. The biggest letdown with the new WRX is the loss of the WRX sound. Just dampens the driving experience. Basically I would have been paying $8000 to get to 100kmh .9 of a second earlier. Through the corners the WRX is good, but didn't seem as good as an older Rexxy I used to own. Had the Mazda dealer been offering a better deal on the day I might have been in the MPS, but ya gotta take whats there for the best value.

I didn't like the VW at all. Particularly when I weighed up the price difference. If I was spending VW money the WRX wins every time and still leaves cash over.

I have to agree there. I drove all the hot hatches before I got the Ford. The MPS is an accident waiting to happen in the hands of anyone besides an experienced driver. The torque steer on them is horrifying when you plant it. To make it worse I took one on a second test drive in the wet, as I did all the hatches, and the torque steer problem was multiplied by 3. To make it worse the steering wheel is a thin standard Mazda 3 wheel simply wrapped in leather, that gives you nothing to grip when the beast is trying to drive you everywhere you don't want to go. Come on Mazda, not even a sports wheel. The MPS and the HSV VX-R are both unrefined torque steering cars that really need some work to make them worth the $40K asking prices. All these comments from a person who wasn't going to buy another Ford because I have been hit so heavily on resale market on the previous XR6 Turbo and 2 Fairmont Ghias. In the end the XR5 won out for being damn fun to drive. Not as quick as the others but a better package.

That is actually a good thing. After directly comparing one to a WRX as my next purchase I chose the XR5 for a few reasons. Yes the WRX was a little quicker all round but the XR5 was no slouch through the corners in the wet either. The WRX that I was looking at getting was $8K more than the XR5 I bought. It wasn't $8K more worth of car. I then compared insurance. WRX was $250 more per year. Doesn't sound a great deal but at the rate I get that is 25% dearer. The AWD cars use more fuel on average. I don't drive much but still a consideration. Now the big one. Service costs. The WRX servicing is almost double because of the AWD. The XR5 is a nice balanced package for the cost.

Hehe. A CAI is my first upgrade I want to do. Not paying $400 to $1000 though. I will make one and give it a run on the dyno to see if I know as much about airflow as I think I do After that I am going to look for a Dreamscience tuning box. Stupid me didn't get up early enough the other morning and missed one on Ebay UK for $350 cheaper than a new one. Paid $24 today for a mod that everyone running $600 plus boots on their car should do. A simple change from air in the tyres to nitrogen. Cooler running temps and more consistent pressure. Here are some more pics of the car now I have it home and the sunroof is fitted. http://morecars.com.au/index.php?option=co...6&Itemid=29 And a teaser pic or 2.

Well I flew in from Thailand today and went and picked up my new baby. The wife and kids suprised me by catching a train up to the airport so we could all go pick up the Focus. On the way home I found it to be a great car to drive and the addition of the sunroof has really put it in another league. The 6 stacker MP3 player is great too as I bought back heaps of MP3 discs from Thailand. The Ford dealer could have detailed it a bit better though, so tomorrows job is a nice clean and run up some more K's before I decide to sit down and start working again. More pics to come soon.

If it wasn't for the steering wheel and the fact the seats just didn't suit me in particular I may have bought one. In my case the leather recaros in the Focus are really comfortable, but for some reason the Mazda ones just dug into my ribs badly in 2 spots. As for the steering wheel Mazda really should have done better in a car costing $40K. A lot of it was economics as well. If I was to have bought the Mazda it would have only cost $2500 less than the WRX deal I had lined up. If it came to that the WRX was the winner every time. At a lot less money I am happy with what I found . On aother day another car may have been the best deal.

Funnily enough I was originally looking for a Mini. Even hada nice one lined up in Melbourne with all the extras I wanted. Was hard to find one with Chrono Gauges, Chili Pack, Sunroof and Harmon Karmon Stereo system. I have to agree they are a great little fun go kart type exprience. Only thing that finally turned me away from them was the limited back seat room. Even though my kids are only 11 and 9 I really didn't feel like having to get out to let them out etc etc. Also I like the Focus as I can still transport the family and if we decide to go away (as we do often) we are not confined to taking the wifes station wagon all the time. The Mini was definately limited in that area.

It isn't as fast as the T in a straight line but I live near Macquarie Pass and other fun type roads. I like corners and so does the 5. Have to love the sound of it to. So well thought out to get it sounding so sweet.

More power that you cant get to the ground properly and more torque steer is about all. Drove all the hot hatches over the last few weeks to end up in my own XR5. The Mazda has sub standard interior and isn't worth the money. I got offered a far better WRX than the Mazda could be. In the end the Ford was the best bang for buck.

Well I sold my XR6T a few weeks back (finally) at a huge loss ($20,000 devaluation in 24 months) and have been spending a few weeks deciding what car to get. Tried all the hot hatches and my impressions are as follows. Mazda3 MPS: Great little performance car if you are only after speed and don't mind torque steer. The interior leaves much to be desired and the seats even dug into my ribs. Not supported, just dug. I hated the steering wheel which looks like a standard cheapo Mazda 3 unit just wrapped in leather. Expensive Daewoo Astra HSV VX-R: Beautiful looking car and performance to boot. Again it has major torque steer problems. The das is shocking as I couldn't read the important Aussie speed numbers. It is done for Europe with big 40, 80 and 120. I had to lean forward and squint to see if I was doing the speed limit. Honda Civic Type-R. Love the space ship look and the trendy interior. Dash sets whole new standards in quality. Sounds like a formula 1 car in minature. But not a good everyday car as you get sick of the sound after a short while. Subaru WRX. I almost bought it as I got offered a great deal on one. Factory Leather, Tinted Windows, $5K in aftermarket wheels, Factory suspension upgrade, Factory sat-nav and more. Retail of $52,900. Had them down to $45,000 today. No denying it is a really nice car. I hadn't even considered the XR5 after diong my arse on my 3rd Falcon...until yesterday. I found an Electric Orange one for sale locally and it was a great drive. It was an 06 with 21K on the clock and no options. Had the dealer down to $32K. Drove it, loved it. Say no more. Well except that cruise control issue. But I have found where to get the aftermarket one fitted. Today I looked on carpoint and lo and behold I found even better. A dealer in Parramatta had one that was an 07/07 build with 09/07 compliance. First registered 10/07. The owner bought it and couldn't afford it 3 months later so they sold it back to the dealer. It is Electric Blue with factory leather, reverse park sensors, factory mats and like brand new with only 1500kms on the clock The dealer wanted $36,990 for it. Initially they thought it was a 01/07 build so I offered $34,000 for it. They came back with $35,000. I also said I wanted weather shields, bonnet and headlight protectors and an electric sunroof. A deal was finally struck for $37,300 with all of the above. I drove to sydney for a look and to my suprise we checked the build plate and I got an LT, not an LS :D Here are some dealer pics.

I bought a roof mounted 10 1/4" one myself to put in. It was going to be a 20 minute job until we discovered Ford bolt the interior light in, not just screws. So the headliner had to come out. So one thing led to another and 2 amps, 4 speakers, a sub, a roof mount dvd and facility for the playstation later it is finally all in the car

Well I have been pretty lucky so far. 2005 XR6 Turbo MK II Yesterday they did a few adjustments to stop the door trims creaking. Thursday it goes back in for: New headlights as both leak and fill with water, and or condensation at the carwash or after rain. New brake pads (premium brakes) because one of the front ones squeals. Glad they are doing this because the standard ones are almost stuffed anyway. Go price some premium brake pads, ouch.

I have owned over 70 cars so I tend buy what I like at the time. But the cars previous to my T in the last year have been a VY Series III Monaro and a VY series II SS. I would have kept the Monaro except practicality was just not its finer point so I drove the VZ SS and the T. Well no points for knowing which was the better car.

Some still get a hole in the roof. Personally I avoid them ones.

Mine is also an ex cop car. Doesn't really worry me because I know it wasn't highway patrol and is from the country. And yes, the premium brakes are an added bonus.

Ok to throw another spanner in the works I have seen 03 models with them too. I am starting to be certain that Ford have a big pile of seats and it is the luck of the draw. Maybe with the earlier models they used Fairmont seats (prior to upholstery) when there was a shortage of standard ones.

There is quite a lot of MKIs with them. Suprised me. I looked at a lot of 2004 models and about 40% had them.

Yeah I know the MKIIs got them, but what about the 2004 and 2003?. Some have them and some dont regardless of option levels.

I noticed when I was looking for my T some cars had a centre rear armrest and some didn't. After looking at heaps of them it had nothin to do with having leather or cloth, or luxury pack, year model or series, or anything at all. I even asked a Ford dealer or 2 what their verdict was. Well it is not an option, yet some have them and some dont. Anyone know why this is? I assume they just do a random seat fit on the production line.