I bought the 06 Impreza wagon, after I looked at Mazda (3 and 5). I've been been a satisfied Protege owner since 1994.
AWD and side airbags helped decide me, and a bit more usable room in the back of the Impreza with the seats up.
Then there was the dealer.
The Mazda dealer here is of dubious honesty/competence in the service department, in my opinion. They wanted to replace $1800 worth of fuel system when the Mazda failed to start in January. A private garage replaced the plug wires. For less.
The sales guy was right out of the old days. He had to rush back to the sales manager to check on everything we discussed. Hell, son, it's a $20,000 automobile, if you haven't got the authority to make a decision, then let me talk to someone who does. I could never get a delivery date pinned down. In August, it was somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks for the 2005 Mazda3. Maybe. Sort of. And he kept talking about the low financing and monthly payments after I said several times "I'm paying in full. You want a cheque, a certified cheque, or unmarked fifties?". He didn't quite show the little woman the makeup mirror on the back of the sun visor, but that may have been an oversight. All he needed was a Herb Tarlick plaid jacket.
Subaru dealer was laid back, sometimes to the point of unconciousness. They ran out of 05 wagons in August. I checked around and couldn't find any either. He said back then the first 2006 five speed wagon he was getting in would be sometime in October and it would be red. It was, so I bought it. And I didn't need a certified cheque.
So with a whopping 200 kliks under my belt, I can say that the 2006 Impreza wagon is much quieter than a 1994 Protege with 293,000 kliks. We'll see how the servicing goes. And I haven't tried the airbags yet.
