On the market for a hot hatch and I was taking a look at the used market for used Subaru WRX's, focus ST, velosters, ect ect. The WRX for me would be the best choice due to performance, awd, and its got one of the bigger hatches. But every WRX I find in my price range has 90,000 plus miles. Assuming the engine has been kept close to stock, how long can I expect that engine to last me if I keep up on regular maintenance.
Anonymous
Most of these cars have been raced or driven hard and they are known to drink oil. Expect to rebuild or replace the engine when you get a used one. You can get a compression test and a leakdown test done on the engine before buying.
?
One of the big flaws of the flat four engine ("boxer" - in the old days it was called a "pancake" engine, but that wasn't sexy enough so they changed it) is that even if meticulously maintained, when they get up to really high mileage they start to loose compression and burn oil because the cylinder bores become oval. The cylinders are horizontal and gravity never, ever sleeps. There is slightly more wear at the bottom side of the horizontal cylinder than at the top so it becomes oval.
If I wanted a sporty hatchback I'd get a SAAB 9-3 2.0T. But I'm a SAAB guy and don't really care about AWD. 99% of the time it's not necessary. You should also consider a "Saabaru" - the SAAB 9.2X. It's really a Subaru WRX with some modifications by SAAB - nicer interior and as I understand, they modified the handling geometry for the better. They are hard to find though.