Sweet! I was thinking of getting one of those for my next car (probably in a couple of years). The only thing I'm a little concerned about is the mileage. Even my Corolla (City EPA - 30mpg) gets about 22 mpg, and this is conservative driving. I can't imagine how much a performance car's mileage would suffer in the city. Stupid San Francisco hills.
Yeah, I imagine that gas mileage would suffer on the hills of San Fransico. One thing to remember too is that all these cars pretty much require premium gasoline, so filling it up every week or so isn't that cheap. Its still completely worth it though, and I think you will be amazed at how powerful and how fun this car is to drive. The build quality is top notch too, really much higher than I expected. It was at least as good as the TSX I test drove, which is saying quite a bit. The engine is smooth and reponsive with a huge torque band that begins around 2500 RPM's and supposedly goes the way to the line (I haven't been able to take it past 4000 since I'm still breaking the car in). Really, I don't think you can beat this car at its price point for power, fun, quality, and amenities (still no NAV though). I think a lot of people that would just scoff off Subaru will be really surprised when they get to see one of these up close; pictures just don't do the car justice.
As for the Acura's "look like everything else" debate. I have to say that I have to disagree. This was once the case, but the later TL and now RL are setting themselves apart. I don't know if you can say that for the TSX since its basically a rebadged Accord. The cars are excellant, and offer the most value of any luxery nameplate out there, but the FWD kills it for me.
Oh and German cars > Japanese cars when it comes to driving dynamics and luxury. But German cars are a terrible value and tend to be less reliable. So take your pick....
