Some old man with his head up his ass plowed in to my 2002 Spec V w/less than 20,000 miles. Except for some minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises I'm OK (thanks primarily to the side airbags), but the car is totalled. It's 110% his fault, so it will be time to start looking for a new car again as soon as the crooks at his insurance get things finalized.
I'm posting here because I'm hoping some folks here might be able to give me some 1st hand experience because I've now narrowed my search down to 2 different cars...the SRT-4 and the WRX.
The Spec V was fast when I bought it (mainly because my prior ride was a '91 Buick w/200k miles on it
), but it came up a little short in the horsepower dep't over time. For those interested, it was a great little car, with an amazing Rockford Fosgate sound system, impressive handling, and comfortable seats. However I never really fell in love w/the shifter or the overall gearing. Like "Car and Driver" said, you never really forget that it's just a small car w/a big engine.
Whatever car I buy, I WON'T be modifying it. I will be leaving it as stock because I intend to lease. Please keep that in mind if you have recommendations.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanna make the right decision this time around. Thanks in advance.
EDIT...I added a picture of my car.