Integra Type S vs Rex

[Autonomy]

Hi All,

 

I am thinking for buying a new car and i have narrowed down to two choices which is the Honda Integra Type S and the Subaru WRX.

 

Went to both showrooms and this is what i gathered:

 

1. Integra Type S $93,500 with $1,500 cash rebate and free 1st year insurance up to $2000.

 

2. Rex $98,000 with $2000 cash rebate and free Open Cat. COE

 

As prices of both are more or less the same, which is a better buy?

(In terms of resale value, maintenance cost, petrol consumption, insurance etc)

 

Any advice from owners or friend's friend who own either one of the cars?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Yongwd]

the choice is obvious. WRX

[Mondeost220]

are u more into performance or into looks?as most performance oriented people, they choice wld easily be the rex cz just topping up a few k they are able to get 220hp turbocharged 4WD toy. For the integra type S, its a sporty car, nt sports car. Able to provide some spirited driving to an extend and thatz the most it can go...solid and luxurious interior is one of the nice things abt the type S...to me..both type S and rex are in a different league unless ur compare type R with rex...

 

in terms of maintenance cost, the rex be more of a drinker and more ex to maintain due to its 4wd drivetrain and turbocharged boxer engine...but what u get in return is scary acceleration!For the integra, with the I-vtec, its able to produce some amazing horses for a 2.0L NA engine and yet is fuel efficient..

 

insurance shld be pretty on par for both cars and i tink the integra wld b mre expensive due to it being a honda (duh!) and also its a 2 door coupe...being classified as sports car which it isnt really 1....

 

bmw320i is currently driving a MY03 rex...u might wanna hear his comments...surprisingly from what he said, the rex is able to return around 500+km from a 60L full tank..nt bad for a turbocharged car.

 

so the main thing is wat u wan in a car..looks?style?performance? both e rex and the integra are good buys...u wnt regret

[Pioneer]

Yeh man! My heart goes to Rex.. but starting to see too many rex on the road.. beginning to think that integra is nicer to see..

 

If u want..zoom zoom zoom..REX is the better choice..

[Oneofakind]

Integra type R has decent performace but type S lets just say even a stock Integra type R would be blitzed by a Rex....a type S? Smoke also cannot smell. No offense but IMHO an Integra type S is more of a poseur car.

 

It all boils down to whether u want performance or economy? Integra IS would be easier on the petrol but if u do not mash the pedal in the rex and just drive smoothly, u should do fine, about $400 a month in petrol....quite okay. Insurance wise, expect to be clobbered if you are below 30 with 0 NCD, expect to pay way past $4000 per year. Should be the same for both cars

 

If ur serious about performance get a Rex....no doubt about it. Maintenance wise, it all depends on how u drive....if u are not lead-footed, both cars should be fine with REGULAR maintenance My neighbour has a 1997 STI that runs fine to this day. When I drove it, I could not tell it was so old, it still dispatches the century in sub 5 seconds Of course since we talking about high performance car, u do have to factor in significantly higher running costs as opposed to a family sedan. U should be prepared to shell out $2000 (minimum) per year for maintenance and parts after the 1 year warranty goes. This figure an estimate form friends who drive Rexes.

[Mondeost220]

u can easily mod ur choice after u get ur ride to distinguish urs fromt he big crowd of others...lower it, slap on some gold/white 17inch rims..and u get a sporty looking fine handling car

[Pioneer]

ya i know.. but stilll is becoming so common nowadays with its low price...

[Accordvtec]

  Quote

Hi All,

 

I am thinking for buying a new car and i have narrowed down to two choices which is the Honda Integra Type S and the Subaru WRX.

 

Went to both showrooms and this is what i gathered:

 

1. Integra Type S $93,500 with $1,500 cash rebate and free 1st year insurance up to $2000.

 

2. Rex $98,000 with $2000 cash rebate and free Open Cat. COE

 

As prices of both are more or less the same, which is a better buy?

(In terms of resale value, maintenance cost, petrol consumption, insurance etc)

 

Any advice from owners or friend's friend who own either one of the cars?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

the Type S is now going for $90K for the manual & $91K for the auto.WRX is going @ $96K..

I was in a similar situation 2 years back..Wondering whether to buy the WRX or the Intgera Type R.I chose the latter.Simple reason.I want to try the idea of driving a 2-dr sports car...at least once in my life...

Well,if you have commitments & tend to ferry people(faimly,in-laws,etc),then the Integra is not so suitable....Same goes if you plan to have a new member to your family...which is what happened to me...the car had to make way for a new member to the family...

thinking back,I though if I had bought the WRX, I would have been able to keep the car.But think again,I would have lost lots of $$ becos I would have bought the bugeye WRX9then model in 2002) @ $120K... & see what is the price now...$96K..

at least for the integra,the price is hovering around the same price that I bought,even up till now.Well,the choice is yours.

Given a choice,I think the WRX would be a all-in-one car...

fast,4dr,reasonable price...

but the only setback is you can't sell the car easily due to:

1)mkt flooded with it.

2)brand new is very cheap....

[Lala81]

The IS is not performance vehicle. not TC-ed. 160 bhp for 2.0L NA engine with auto transmission is good but nowhere near the Rex. The iVTEC is a smooth engine.

Resale for IS is prob not as easy as compared to type Rs. maintenance is q low, its just an ordinary sporty car. FC wld be normal for a 2L. the interior is really nice even for IS. decent leg rm for rear passengers even if its 2 door.

insurance is >3500 i wld say depending on ur NCD n age. So too for subaru

 

Rex is a performance car. high insurance high maintenance cost (comparatively) crap interior. but its 4 door n the ride is definitely harsher lah of corse. Resale of a WRX ... wat resale value? if u dun kick in the turbo, i'm sure it has decent FC. but then if u dun kick it in, wats the pt of buyign the car. btw it looks like crap but ahbengs seem to love it ... basically ...

 

they are v diff cars. engine, category, comfort level, looks. onli similar in pricing. Honda makes street cars so it doesnt really have any competitors in the WRX or Evo categories of rally AWD cars running arnd on the street

 

basically integra is something i wldnt mind owning in singapore but the WRX ... maybe if i live in aussieland

Edited November 21, 2004 by Lala81

[Guyver]

  Quote

Hi All,

 

I am thinking for buying a new car and i have narrowed down to two choices which is the Honda Integra Type S and the Subaru WRX.

 

Went to both showrooms and this is what i gathered:

 

1. Integra Type S $93,500 with $1,500 cash rebate and free 1st year insurance up to $2000.

 

2. Rex $98,000 with $2000 cash rebate and free Open Cat. COE

 

As prices of both are more or less the same, which is a better buy?

(In terms of resale value, maintenance cost, petrol consumption, insurance etc)

 

Any advice from owners or friend's friend who own either one of the cars?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Do u want a 2 door or 4 door? I personally prefer 4 door car... so WRX would be my choice...

[BMW320i]

hmmmm I'm not sure if MY05 WRX hit the shores of Singapore yet but Australia's got it.

 

Well upon getting the car, first of all the power delivery is simply amazing and I think modeost had a bit of fun with it . Stock standard should be 17" rims and come with RE050. The handling is superb however I haven't pushed it to the edge yet. Your ride height is gonna be about 6 fingers in front and 5 behind so you might wanna lower it.

 

Interior wise, I think its alright. Nothing much to talk about really. Sound System is pretty good for a stock one. There's cruise control.

 

The FC pretty good. Currently my driving profile is 10.2km daily and having to pass through about 14 roundabouts a day. So thats quite a bit of stop and go driving. With that profile, I'm getting 450km out of 60L with ocassional spirited drive . The only way I got 500km is because we drove 400km non stop at 80-110kph (within speed limit) with extreme spirited drive coz we were late for the rally. The other 100km is pretty much stop and gos. The petrol I'm using is Premium and its just about the most expensive petrol other then diesel. I'm not sure whats the quality when compared to Singapore's but my friend's legacy can use 95.

 

1 more thing you should note is that the MY03 (not sure about 05) is that you'll find difficulty in engaging Reverse gear occassionally. This is due to the design of the transmission. If you can't engage Reverse gear, don't force it or you'll simply hear a "crank" noise. "Not Good".

The only way to rectify is to release and depress the clutch and try again. The clutch on WRXs are pretty stiff. So if your stuck in a stop and go traffic. amen. Don't worry. I got used to it.

 

Once again, not sure about the MY05. But you should be expecting 2900RPM doing 100kph due to close gear ratio. If your accelerating at 100kph, there is a noticeable whining noise which apparently is normal.

 

The Brant Security System is quite a pain in the arse coz you have to key in your 4 digit code before you can start the engine. Not sure if Singapore has it. MY03 and earlier models will have problems with the security system if the battery is dead but anything later then MY03 is fine.

 

Thats just about a brief detail of what the WRX is like.

[Autonomy]

Thank you all for your valuable comments. For me, I dun mind whether it's a 4 door sedan or 2 door coupe cos i don't have any commitments yet. For insurance, i've checked and it actually cost for more the DC5 cos it's a coupe with sunroof.

 

Went to test drive the Rex. As i opted for the MI class, it comes with the high mount spoiler, 17inch rims and all the body kit. Thought the interior was ok. But performance wise, WOW! Especially at around 3000rpm when the turbo kicks in. Got a kick out of it. The only gripe i have is that the clutch is very hard. If stuck in a jam, that's it. Also very worried about the high maintenance cost of owning a turbo car.

 

As for the DC5, cannot test drive yet. So only sat in the car. Really like the interior feel of it. Feels like sitting in a sports car. Also i think the exterior looks more happening. Maybe like you guys mention, it's more a poseur car.

 

Petrol consumption wise, think DC5 can hit about 10-11km/L but Rex i think at most around 9-10km/L. DC5 petrol tank only 50L where else Rex 60L.

 

After all this, still undecided. Damn! got to really consider harder.

[BMW320i]

You have got to be lucky coz mine MY03 came with the low spoiler. The clutch is indeed stiff but you'll get used to it like I do.

But do take note as mentioned earlier that there is difficulty in engaging reverse gear due to the design of the transmission. I'm not sure whether it is the case for MY05.

 

As for maintenance, the tyres should last you 33,000km + before you change em. I would say 2yrs depending on driving profile. The FC on my rex is excellent I would say considering its turbocharged and squeezing 450km from occassional spirited drive. If your driving up KL, the mileage would be even better then 500km at 110kph with hard driving. If you intend to modify the car, then you should know warranty is void and if anything happens, maintenance fees will ultimately hit the roofs.

 

As for me, my car is stock and ever since I purchased this car, I paid nothing but fuel.

 

When I bought the rex, I could really tell the difference why people are willing to pay between $150,000-$260,000 for a BMW 3 series when they can get a more powerful car that cost $140,000. (earlier price)

So I guess it really comes down to what you need and want in a car. For comfort wise the rex is pretty comfortable as both me and modeost drove at 1 stretch 200km non stop. My non bias point of view is that the Rex's interior is nothing to shout about. So if design isn't what your after, then it should be a problem. I think the MY05 looks are better then the MY03 of coz so I guess its personal preference.

 

Having said all these, I'll still stick to BMW when I fly back after studies

 

Good luck with the find. Nothing beats sitting at home finding ridiculous reasons to drive the car even though its 5 mins walk away

[Vamp]

If u could afford it, why not try the Subaru Legacy 2.0 GT at below $120K now? This car gives the conti cars a real run for $ in terms of comfort and finishing and the performance is close to the REX.

 

IMHO, it is a much better car than the BMW 3 series, Audi A4 or Volvo S40s and more affordable... Definitely a more Stealthy Sports Car. Get a test drive and u will know what I mean.

 

[BMW320i]

nah. I haven't test drive the legacy but if you've pushed the 3 series to the edge, you'll know the handling is superb with 50-50 weight distribution. Stability at high speed is excellent and I've tested it personally.

[Mondeost220]

MY05 got red brake caliper...aka fake brembo look ...it seriously looks weird on a subaru blue rex

[Autonomy]

Was looking at the WRX blue actually. Only limited units left according to the SE. If i missed it, have to wait for next shipment. But if i get it now, they can hand over the car before x'mas.

[Mondeost220]

go get it man..with the instantly low price of e rex...these few remaining stock wnt last long