After having my 05 9-2x Aero 5sp for 8 months now, I am totally happy with my purchase. I had my eye on the Subaru WRX wagon for a number of year now. I found to WRX to be a near perfect blend of sportiness and practicality while remaining unique. For the price, you could not beat its acceleration, handling, awd traction, and cargo carrying capability. The few things at that time that were on my wish list were a sunroof/moonroof, leather seats, auto climate control, and power/heated seats. Also, at highway speeds the car rode a tad rough and was a bit loud.

The 9-2x took what was a great car and improved on it. A little sound insulated quieted it down (but not too much - I still like to hear the engine revving and the turbo spooling). It had the option to add a moonroof, heated seats, leather seats, auto climate control. No powers seats, but I guess we can't have everything. Throw in the steering rack from the STi and let the folks in Trollhatten tune the suspension a bit, and you have an even better car.

No, it is not a "pure" Saab (whatever that really means). It is a WRX tuned by Saab. But, when the WRX is such a great car, why is this a 'bad' thing. I have owned a 1990 9000 turbo in the past, and have an 2006 9-3 2.0T alongside the 9-2x now. All three cars are decidedly different, but all share some common Saab-ness. All had 2.0 liter 16v turbo 4 cyl powerplants. All are fun to drive. All are unique. All have a great cargo room. All are safe.

To those who fuss that the 9-2x does not have a console mounted ignition switch, my old 9000 had a standard ignition switch in the steering column.

Otherwise, I find the acceleration to be fantastic. There is a bit of turbo lag and not much power is generated below 2800 rpm. This is fine for normal driving, but for spirited driving one needs to keep the revs above 3000. Passing power is great.

I have the manual transmission and gear shifts are smooth. Shifter throws are a bit longer than found in the best manuals out there, but the feel is preceise. Clutch action is good and pedal effort is moderate.

Handling is also excellent, with sharp crisp turn in's and a very responsive steering. There is some pitch and roll in very fast hard cornering but is well controlled. The steering is very precise and crisp with very quick ratio steering.

Braking power with the ABS is great and stopping distances short. Front seats are comfortable. Back seat room is cramped for three adults, and decent for two as long as both the front and rear seat passengers are not tall. Cargo space is good given the versatility of the wagon bodystyle and 60/40 split rear seats. With the seats up cargo space is good, with them down it is cavernous.

The cars controls have a distinctively Subaru look and feel. They are well placed and functional but not very 'plush'. The auto climate control works well, and the front wiper de-icer has come in very handy. The six disc in dash CD stereo is of good quality for a factory system.

My gas mileage is about 24 mpg overall (mix of city and highway with cold starts).

Ride quality is good for such a sporty handling car. There is more road noise than that found in other Saab's or premium compacts.

Visibility all around is good.
Amount Paid (US$): 20100
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: 9-2x Aero Manual