99 Subaru 2.5 RS vs. 97 Talon TSi (hear me out, please)

i know, i know, this is, from a certain perspective, a stupid comparison, but please hear me out.... : )

thanks for continuing to read;

ok. here's the deal. i am asking any knowledgable people out there to tell me how much it is going to cost me to mod the Subaru to be as fast as the Talon. There is an approximate 50 hp difference.

The Subaru is so much more reliable than the Talon, that i would kind of like to get one, but i also am attracted by the speed of the Talon, as well as by the lower cockpit design of the talon, which puts you down closer to the ground for the genuine sports car feel.

i am not sure how high one sits in a Subaru. i doubt it is very low. Are there any aftermarket seats that significantly lower one's seating position behind the wheel?

these are two VERY different cars. the only thing they have in common is that they could both be very good daily drivers in any weather, since they are both AWD.

so, opinions please...

The subaru sits higher b/c it is a rally based car. To get up with the talon and beat turbo the 2.5 easy enough. Build u a junk yard turbo set up and you will be good to go.

hmmm....

thanks.
that is good to know about the height.

any other opinions?

I would also say to go w/the Impreza...there are plenty of turbo kits out there and you could always, as said, piece your own together.

thanks!~

Make sure the TSi you're looking at is an AWD one; some of them are FWD. And I would go with the Impreza on this one, since I've always loved the GC8 series of Imprezas, and they are very reliable and safe, as well as sporty. Like others have said, it wouldn't be too hard to turbo the 2.5 (there are probably kits out), and that should make up for the difference right there.

thanks Kman! (And N-spdr and everyone...)

I had a 99 2.5 RS for a couple of years.

The AWD system of the 5-spd Impreza is quite a bit more advanced than the AWD system on the Talons. The combination of the diffs and transmissions is quite a bit better. IIRC, the WRC 2.0L turbo engine is a pretty easy conversion, and there is a larger aftermarket than you might originally think. Though it may not have the straight line top speed potential of the Talon, the 2.5RS is better in just about every other category.

thanks Kf!