After 11 years of valiant service I feel it is time to retire "Dexter", my trusty '94 Toyota Tercel. Dexter has served me well with no problems, but I am looking for something with more excitement.

I've had my eye on a Subaru WRX wagon for some time. A friend has one and I really like it. I have also noticed the WRX seems to find some favor here as well. The one issue I have with the WRX line is an apparent lack in the luxury options department, but they seem to make up for most of that in third party accessories. The question in my mind is do I really want to deal with "accessorizing" my new car? How does that affect warranties?

I have done a little research into similar cars and I was wondering if the Empeggers would like to chime in...

My Wish list:
Priced in the $30k range
All Wheel Drive (for those snowboarding trips)
Powerful and Fun to Drive (11 years of Tercel is starting to wear thin)
Navigation Options (I've been looking at the Pioneer AVIC-N1, looks interesting?)
Basic Luxury Options (Should be simple after the base-bones Tercel (which didn't even come with a clock!))
Manu-matic transmission (Not required, but an interesting option to me)
EMPEG COMPATIBLE

The last wish should be self explanatory... I would have thought that after all this time there would be a worthy successor to by beloved Empeg. I have yet to see one.

I have briefly looked into some other options, but I would really like to hear the experiences of the Empeg community might add... Please feel free to educate me.

Thanks,