I currently drive a mazda3 turbo and have been contemplating a manual daily driver because I’ve been interested in owning a manual for a very long time.
After some research I’ve landed between a WRX and Si (assuming I can get one without ridiculous markup). I think both cars have strengths over the other and it’s proving to be a tough decision.
The Si seems to have cheaper recurring costs (gas + insurance), a more refined interior with better tech and ergonomics, a great shifter from the factory (though I’m not sure how big of a difference this makes for a first time manual owner) and I’ve seen talk about better steering feel. It is down on power from the 3 turbo and my non expert impression is it leans more economy than sporty.
The WRX has significantly worse gas mileage (I currently average 28.5) and current events don’t really help keep the running costs low. It’s more powerful than the Si and more in line with what I get out of my 3 turbo, all wheel drive seems like a nice to have and my 3 currently has it too. It seems like a more interesting car than the Si.
Some additional context: I live in the Midwest (Chicagoland). A generous estimate of my miles a week would be about 150-200 and I tend to run into traffic a fair amount. I also drive a bit in downtown Chicago. No loans on the Mazda. I imagine both interiors could be a step down from the 3 but I’m willing to deal with it I think
I’m really torn between the two (maybe it’s the gas prices) and combing through Reddit hasn’t really made the decision much easier lol so I thought I’d get some fresh input.