RE: RIP Subaru Impreza
Discussion
Hot1 said:
This is getting sad can we stop this BMW vs Subaru! How about we make this a positive discussion and talk about past and current owners fond memories of their imprezas and why it's a great car! Some owner pics would be good 
Indeed, this thread seems to be veering off course!Back on the Impreza - I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in this thread earlier, but a lot of folk buy Impreza's to tune them.
It's 'relatively' easy to get more power out of them and the after-market parts industry for them is great. Yes I know there is a lot of tat out there, but there is also a selection of very tasty parts to uprate your Subaru.
peter450 said:
Chris71 said:
Sad news, but inevitable I fear.
The last-of-the-line WRX STIs were a bit of a return to form, but unless you were in very slippery conditions the only thing they really offered over the current uber-hatches was character.
As for the BMW, well it is phenomenal value for money. You can spec them to way over £30k, but there's not a lot you'd consider essential that isn't covered in the £29k-ish base price and, officially, the WRX STi costs £33k or thereabouts.
Based on recent experience of both, I'd say the BMW was the quicker car on a dry road. It's also comfier, better built, more refined, nicer to listen to and (probably) significantly cheaper to run. But the Subaru has that fantastic 'rally car for the road' feel that makes the BMW seem a tiny bit anodyne in comparison. I can see why people would still pick it over an M135i or a Focus ST.
The M135 is an impressive car, if it had the looks of a Brera or 159 it would be nigh on untouchable, but it's by far the worst looking car in it's segment, just my opinion but one shared by a few othersThe last-of-the-line WRX STIs were a bit of a return to form, but unless you were in very slippery conditions the only thing they really offered over the current uber-hatches was character.
As for the BMW, well it is phenomenal value for money. You can spec them to way over £30k, but there's not a lot you'd consider essential that isn't covered in the £29k-ish base price and, officially, the WRX STi costs £33k or thereabouts.
Based on recent experience of both, I'd say the BMW was the quicker car on a dry road. It's also comfier, better built, more refined, nicer to listen to and (probably) significantly cheaper to run. But the Subaru has that fantastic 'rally car for the road' feel that makes the BMW seem a tiny bit anodyne in comparison. I can see why people would still pick it over an M135i or a Focus ST.
I cant argue with RWD and a 300hp + straight 6, but the looks are a massive turn off for me
Agree an Alfa version (with RWD plus equivalent levels of performance) would be rather special. A latter day SZ would probably have a price tag to match, though, sadly.
I think the question of image has sidetracked this thread somewhat. Imprezas have never been pretty cars, nor have they been the nicest to sit in. They are about driver appeal and blistering pace for an affordable price.
Sadly, it's the affordable bit that I think the problem is. Whilst the Impreza used to bother M3 and M5s in the 90s, it's sat on it's laurels and been left behind. The hot-hatch market in particular has eaten into it's share in quite a big way. Why pay £32k for an Impreza when you can get the likes of a Mazda 3 MPS, Focus RS or Megane RS 265 for a lot less? Ok, you don't get quite the same experience but you aren't far off it and you don't have the bills to go with it either.
It has nothing to do with image or badge-snobs and all to do with the performance market. If there affordable alternatives that do 90% of what you can do, you're in serious trouble.
Sadly, it's the affordable bit that I think the problem is. Whilst the Impreza used to bother M3 and M5s in the 90s, it's sat on it's laurels and been left behind. The hot-hatch market in particular has eaten into it's share in quite a big way. Why pay £32k for an Impreza when you can get the likes of a Mazda 3 MPS, Focus RS or Megane RS 265 for a lot less? Ok, you don't get quite the same experience but you aren't far off it and you don't have the bills to go with it either.
It has nothing to do with image or badge-snobs and all to do with the performance market. If there affordable alternatives that do 90% of what you can do, you're in serious trouble.
^^some valid points you've highlighted.
Perhaps the opposition has caught up with the Impreza to some degree.
I do remember when lots of the grey import classics came into the market. At the time they were some of the quickest cars around. Many of the specials boasting 280+BHP and getting to 60MPH in under 5 seconds easy.
Perhaps the opposition has caught up with the Impreza to some degree.
I do remember when lots of the grey import classics came into the market. At the time they were some of the quickest cars around. Many of the specials boasting 280+BHP and getting to 60MPH in under 5 seconds easy.
gatster said:
RIP. I still miss mine, in most respects the best car I ever owned. The fact that nearly everyone I know hated the looks but couldn't believe how quick it was (but still hated the looks), just added to the charisma IMO.
Couldn't put it better myself. Still miss mine and have been promising myself a WR1 for years. Of course I promised myself a P1 for years before that...
Pr1964 said:
So the choice is pretty limited..
Unless you have another option for me ???
Then you should have kept your dick in your pants or at the very least thought about contraception, then all these wonderful, technically brilliant and desirable cars like Subarus would have been at your disposal instead of driving round full of frustration in a flawed off roader like an X5. Unless you have another option for me ???
Edited by CHIEF on Monday 17th December 14:08
Dr Imran T said:
^^some valid points you've highlighted.
Perhaps the opposition has caught up with the Impreza to some degree.
I do remember when lots of the grey import classics came into the market. At the time they were some of the quickest cars around. Many of the specials boasting 280+BHP and getting to 60MPH in under 5 seconds easy.
I'd dispute some of that. The standard Impreza Turbo was never hugely fast @ 214bhp and there were plenty of far quicker cars around at the time.Perhaps the opposition has caught up with the Impreza to some degree.
I do remember when lots of the grey import classics came into the market. At the time they were some of the quickest cars around. Many of the specials boasting 280+BHP and getting to 60MPH in under 5 seconds easy.
However high end models could destroy nearly anything in the real world and it still remains the same today.
The Impreza STi 340R can still demolish pretty much any hot hatch. Can someone name me another hot hatch in the real world that can compete with it? I'd hazard not many, certainly none of the ones list above can.
There are several problems with the latest breed including the eye watering costs when combined with very high fuel/tax costs that put lots of folk off these cars.
The new looks I think are pretty decent but then I like the look of my classic so maybe I should be disqualified on the grounds of taste
Pr1964 said:
ScoobieWRX said:
This thread was doing fine till a BMW owner chimed in with "Chav Tat".
I know you shouldn't tar all BMW owners with the same brush but this particular comment is used so often by them that's it's become really old and tired and i generally try and just ignore it.
If you bothered to read my posts you'd see that I'm genuinely sorry to see the impreza die in the uk pointing out that the majority of potential buyers were not buying because the impreza has a chav image and is to most eyes pig ugly.I know you shouldn't tar all BMW owners with the same brush but this particular comment is used so often by them that's it's become really old and tired and i generally try and just ignore it.
Edited by ScoobieWRX on Sunday 16th December 23:38
I don't think any impreza owner would if being honest disagree with that observation. Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder....
Pointing out that a particular car has a poor image here in the uk and that has caused it to have poor sales is just being honest .
The fact that many previous impreza or potential impreza owners have bought other brands comparing those other brands to the impreza and referencing chavs driving with their baseball caps on "and we all know that they Have! " its just the comic truth and part of why here in the uk the impreza sales have collapsed.
Harry Enfield would confirm that.... Comic element.
As for what others own and drive no need to bring that into this thread it's a tread about the failure of the impreza not the failure of other brands making a comparison is as far as it shoud go.
...
Am I embarrassed to be driving an X5 yes but less than I would be driving a people carrier or an impreza .
But as explained its a matter of choosing the least bad apple .....
In an ideal world Subaru would make a 7 seater 4x4 wrc car designed by an italian design studio with an economical robust engine and high quality interior ... But they don't ..... Maybe they should
would probably sell as well as the ugly profitable X5 ..I've read all your posts with interest so no worries there. I am however genuinely sorry that you drive an X5. My condolences.
The decline of the Impreza is very easy to trace and began around the beginning of the millennium right around the time they stopped making the classic Impreza and classic it was. Small, light, decent handling and with enough power and pace to worry junior supercars but at a price affordable to the common man, they were the ultimate everyman hero car and nothing this side of £25k could touch them. The fact that they were also cleaning up in the WRC meant that almost every young male aspired to own one.
However with each subsequent version released, they became more expensive, heavier, more thirsty and more importantly not much quicker. This meant that the competition caught up and it became more and more difficult to justify the cheap rent interiors and big running costs. They then gave up on the WRC and with it, and kudos that the Impreza carried and that was the nail in the coffin.
They totally forgot about why the Impreza was such a success in the first place, trying to take it "upmarket" was totally the wrong move. They should have stuck to the winning bang per buck formula which served them so well for decades and they could have carved themselves a nice niche rather than trying to compete with the big boys which was never going to end well. Shame as the affordable, practical, performance saloon now seems to be a thing of the past.
However with each subsequent version released, they became more expensive, heavier, more thirsty and more importantly not much quicker. This meant that the competition caught up and it became more and more difficult to justify the cheap rent interiors and big running costs. They then gave up on the WRC and with it, and kudos that the Impreza carried and that was the nail in the coffin.
They totally forgot about why the Impreza was such a success in the first place, trying to take it "upmarket" was totally the wrong move. They should have stuck to the winning bang per buck formula which served them so well for decades and they could have carved themselves a nice niche rather than trying to compete with the big boys which was never going to end well. Shame as the affordable, practical, performance saloon now seems to be a thing of the past.
torqueischeap said:
Have you actually driven an impreza in the snow? Useless,
Most of my driving in the Impreza is during winter and especialy in the snow. It is brilliant, only problem I have ever had is when the snow gets deeper than the gap between the road and the front spoiler. I live on a unadopted road full of pot holes, when it snows it never gets cleared or gritted and the snow and ice last for weeks after its cleared everywhere else. Last year I used the Impreza to pull a Honda CRV out of a hedge after it had skidded on the lane.
My car is a bog standard 220bhp wrx, with normal road tyres on it.
If you think they are useless in the snow Id suggest you look at the way your driving it!
Ordinary_Chap said:
I'd dispute some of that. The standard Impreza Turbo was never hugely fast @ 214bhp and there were plenty of far quicker cars around at the time.
However high end models could destroy nearly anything in the real world and it still remains the same today.
The Impreza STi 340R can still demolish pretty much any hot hatch. Can someone name me another hot hatch in the real world that can compete with it? I'd hazard not many, certainly none of the ones list above can.
There are several problems with the latest breed including the eye watering costs when combined with very high fuel/tax costs that put lots of folk off these cars.
The new looks I think are pretty decent but then I like the look of my classic so maybe I should be disqualified on the grounds of taste
Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I meant the classic shape wrx and type r etc. The UK spec was not the one I was referring to... Agree they can still beat most modern hot hatches too. However high end models could destroy nearly anything in the real world and it still remains the same today.
The Impreza STi 340R can still demolish pretty much any hot hatch. Can someone name me another hot hatch in the real world that can compete with it? I'd hazard not many, certainly none of the ones list above can.
There are several problems with the latest breed including the eye watering costs when combined with very high fuel/tax costs that put lots of folk off these cars.
The new looks I think are pretty decent but then I like the look of my classic so maybe I should be disqualified on the grounds of taste
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