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Old 08-10-2005, 05:42 PM
nordique14's Avatar
nordique14 nordique14 is offline
Who watches the watchmen?
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Posts: 642
Welcome to the SVX Network. Hope we can answer some of your questions. I guess I will be the first to offer my thoughts. <edit - dammit, not the first to post...maybe someday >

I think your main concern is that it handle like a sports car. If you expect it to drive like a S2000 or STi, then you will be disappointed. This car is a more a GT car - a great sporty tourer, but not a true sports car. If you demand a stick shift, then you may be in trouble. The SVX lacked a manual transmission option from the factory. A few people here have converted to a 5-speed stick.

The car is also very heavy with the majority of the weight over the front end. Carving through the twisties is not the purpose of this car. Much like the stock STi, understeer is the dominate handling characteristic, but even more so with the SVX. The front tires give up pretty quickly. Although the aftermarket is small for a rare car like this, there are several things that would help to ”sport it up”, including CPU tuning, adjustable Koni shocks and stiffer springs.

A SVX with the right tires will handle almost as well as the Forester in the snow. But as you mentioned, it does not have as much ground clearance needed for heavy snow days. I love my SVX and driving it to Tahoe for some skiing is a great pleasure.

If you get a chance, take one for a test drive and you will quickly determine if it is right for you. As you already own a Forester, S2000 and STi and are looking at a SVX, you obviously have good taste in cars. Good luck with whatever you get.

-Matt

Last edited by nordique14; 08-10-2005 at 05:52 PM.
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