The downside to the WRX offroad is lack of ground clearance and I worry about breaking something on a big rock. I'd want to add some serious skid plates before doing any serious rally-style attacks, but I will admit to taking some turns at speed on dirt roads. It makes you giggle.

There are some pretty clean gravel roads that have good visibility. Pick a stretch and drive it first to make sure there are no obstacles. If you want even safer, go with a buddy who sits out ahead and alerts you to any traffic coming. edit: with a radio of course ...

I have never done it, but there are plenty of people having fun with dirt bikes in the NF, so why not cars?

George

You don't need awd/4wd on unpaved roads. And you don't need it to have fun. You would be surprised what a 2wd vehicle will get you out of (and what a 4wd/awd vehicle will get stuck in). Look at some pictures of the old 2wd rally cars.

Subis are good/fun in the snow. The awd provides added traction for acceleration and the ones equipped with rear lsds can slide around on throttle. However, ground clearance and snow depth is the deciding factor on getting stuck in snow. If the road is relatively flat 2wd is fine. You may spin more on acceleration, but I have never been stuck in my old VW GTI-VR6 in the midwest, even with 4-5 inches of snow.

Previous poster is right - buy what you like and is fun to drive. (Mazdaspeed 3 comes to mind - especially considering older WRX's horrid turbo lag).

Drive a new WRX. Totally different beast.

I would rather have AWD than FWD any day of the week. One reason I sold the A3 and got the WRX was that I didn't care for FWD - although the A3 was about the best implementation I've driven.

nostatic - I agree on the new WRX. Sadly my 9-2x aero is dead reliable and payment free. Maybe an engine transfer is possible when I go to sleep tonight.

I too would rather be in awd than fwd, but its still car dependent. I would take a mini over an many older quattro audi's just to to weight and flickability.

FWD is all well and good but you have to be able to deal with torque steer. High HP and FWD is not a great combination, add a turbo and it can get downright scary. I loved both of my lightly modified Saabs, but I quickly learned NOT to punch the gas while cornering at low speeds.

Is the (newer) Mini S known for torque steer?

True dat.

My brother and one of my best friends, Timmy, both got 1st gen MX 6's.

We were friends with Steve Stander at the time. (The Mazda Speed guy)

He had just left Autotrix which was a speed shop in Freeport LI that specialized in Mazda tuning.

Anyway they both moded the snot out of their cars.

Timmy's was leased so at some point he disconnected the speedo to keep the mileage low. Problem is the speedo is tied into the power assist.

One day he asks me to follow him up to Pound Ridge, he was taking a family friends Ferrari up there and asked me to drive his car.

I'm chasing him up Hutch at 100+ and the steering is coming and going the whole time. I backed off cause it was just too unnerving to be in a sweeper and kick the boost only to have the assist kick in at the same time.

Not really. There isn't a lot of power...the car is quick because of the weight balance and handling. Fun to drive. But terrible interior ergonomics (imho) and more than average mechanical issues.

great point on the FWD cars! my mazdaspeed3 had an electronic LSD that is supposed to tame the beast (torquesteer)..it did for the most part, but i still felt it, when you really hit the gas.

i love the new WRX STI. sat in one a few days ago at the dealership, when i dropped off the forester for service. wife gave me the "get the eff out of the import tuner car!" look. didnt help that i bought and sold the MS3 for a big $$ hit. pricey little car tho.

the WRX is great. todd, i love your car.