hmm, go with my personal favorite, a Mazda 323 GTX. I had a teacher with one, just beat to heck, but that sucker could go through snow like a monkey. The most important thing in snow is the tires, high performance tires are HORRIBLY dangerous on snow! i tried haha

Wazabi -

If thisisntjared is curious about the Vibe, then he should go trolling here for info :

www.genvibe.com

CarloSW2

i was looking around at the vibes, they seem kinda sluggish. there is the one guy that has a pretty quick one, but it still doesnt seem to be a step above the civic you know?

i think i am leaning more and more towards the turbo wrx, if i can find one. i would love to have that in wagon form. out of all the other cars that it compares to the wrx gets the worst mpg, so i guess i am up for a challenge. the majority of fuel saving mods are relatively affordable so i am pretty sure i could slip them under the radar as far as the wife is concerned.

I think that Subaru did make some Impreza wagons with the WRX engine in them, maybe just slightly detuned.

i dont know about the prior generations but the 02+ wagons have the exact same engine and tuning as the sedans. there is just not an sti wagon to the best of my knowledge :)

WRX Wagon
 

That's right -- there are WRX "Wagons" -- a bit heavier, but more functional. They race well too, with the additional weight in the rear...

https://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL698.../243995315.jpg

Like I mentioned before, look into the Matrix XRS, a different drivetrain. Drawback - you have to run premium (like the WRX) BUT it's the little pocket rocket you're looking for with cabaility of MUCHO better mileage than the WRX wagon. WRX wagon is faster - but that Vibe is a dog compared to the XRS (UNLESS you looked at a Vibe GT). You'll get the 6 speed with the XRS too compared to the 5 speed in the Suburu. Still, that Suburu is one bad looking car while the XRS looks like the regular Matrix - more of a sleeper. Good one to pull a fast one on the wife like the Neon SRT4 and the old SE-R Sentra. Looks like you're getting a regular car. :D

It's what I've had to resort to now since that one time I came home with a late model Corvette and had to return it the next day, only they had sold my truck after they closed the same evening I traded it. That's a story for another day though...

WRX vs. xRS vs. RS Wagon vs. '79 Volare
 

There's still the option of the non-Turbo Impreza 'RS' version that's available in Wagon form. This year they're calling it the 2.5i.

But -- I can say the Matrix xRS AWD is a good drive, smaller, and potentially better FE.

I can tell you from experience that a turbo is hard to control at cruise without an additional boost controller, and consequently sucks down the fuel. In addition, to have the turbo last beyond 100K miles, monitoring of oil temp and proper cool-down is necessary or the hot turbo bearings can be damaged by stationary oil that burns into them (so if you can't properly cool it down, 30-seconds to a minute of idling is necessary to cool both the turbo and oil -- enter the "Turbo-Timer").

My recommendation for maximum FE is to go non-turbo. Plenty of HP can be extracted from the flat-4, 2.5L without forced induction, and still retain a decent FE. Also, turbo replacement wont be a problem after a few years.

The xRS is all-motor, right?

RH77

It's got the 2ZZ-GE. Not the same motor my old regular XR had and my Corolla has now. Still, all motor - no turbos, superchargers etc.

Also, earlier I said you could get the XRS with AWD - I was wrong :o - I could of sworn when I was looking for a XR AWD all I could find was XRS', guess I was wrong.

....and the '79 Volare had a overheating problem out of the box plus it was a gas guzzling dog. I can remember as '78 was the last year my dad worked for MOPAR as a service manager.

Slant-6
 

It was the first car I could think of with some humor attached.

Definitely not the invincible Dart Swinger that shared the same Slant-6 engine of the previous years. They also had terrible rust problems in the front fenders that demanded a recall on some models.

(sorry for the diversion [not] Jared)

RH77