RE: RIP Subaru Impreza

[tonkaplonka]

It's a big shame. I loved my MY00 Uk turbo. I sold it 4 years ago and have been aching to get back in one again. I really couldn't justify it. 20something mpg, £450 road tax. Threat of engines blowing and Subaru not honouring warranties.
I bit the bullet and bought a MK3 Focus ST2. It's not the same, but it's brilliant. Still miss my 4wd grip though.

[Raitzi]

vrsmxtb said:

consider for a new car.

And for a reason. There has not been much new interesting stuff from Subaru until BRZ.

[ARAF]

I don't know why people make such a song and dance about the tax. £9 per week doesn't go far.

I'd have a hatch. I quite like the look of them.

[CHIEF]

Subaru made the hatch to go more 'mainstream' sadly the people they aimed the warm models at stuck to their Civics and the diehard Scooby performance junkies turned away in their droves.

The best incarnation was the Japanese spec Hawkeye. I drove a lightly modded Spec C and it was one of the best cars I have ever driven even to this day.

[The Hypno-Toad]

A very sad day.

I had the pleasure of working in a showroom which sold what I would call the proper Impreza back in the day and it was an amazing machine for the time. The P1 is still one of the best cars I've ever driven.

However, now Subaru have blinked, whats the betting that the RX-8 and the 370z will be next on the chopping block?

[Morningside]

WHAT?!?!?! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

What a great, great shame. It will be a pity to see them missing off the roads in years to come.

Maybe now is the time to 'rescue' one?

[British Beef]

SDK said:

NickGibbs said:

But not in snow, no.

For what, 2 weeks every year and paying £££'s to run it unused for the remaining 50 weeks.
Plus, having the BMW in snow is an excuse to stay in bed

To be fair, the Scooby will extract low 5's to 60 regardless of damp surfaces. 2wd cannot compete in that test, simple physics dictates this.

So factor in snow and damp roads and you will find the scooby is probably faster in the all important 0-60 sprint, 70% of the year in most parts of UK than a 135 (or an M3 or M5 for that matter).

[dimik]

the problem is that the original impreza was a bootful of fun that could run rings around more exotic machinery of the day - there was no need to get the higher end models, the base 208bhp was a laugh-a-minute. That's just not the case now, and the competition is a lot more attractive. Subaru need to focus on the BRZ and, regardless of what is written about it in some of the press, that car is FUN - just like the original Impreza

[Oddball RS]

British Beef said:

SDK said:

NickGibbs said:

But not in snow, no.

For what, 2 weeks every year and paying £££'s to run it unused for the remaining 50 weeks.
Plus, having the BMW in snow is an excuse to stay in bed

To be fair, the Scooby will extract low 5's to 60 regardless of damp surfaces. 2wd cannot compete in that test, simple physics dictates this.

So factor in snow and damp roads and you will find the scooby is probably faster in the all important 0-60 sprint, 70% of the year in most parts of UK than a 135 (or an M3 or M5 for that matter).

Some sense at last!!!!!! you cannot compare a RWD car, not matter what badge it has with a 4WD car, try them both on a damp / wet / leafy / potholed country lane and you will see why its a pointless comparison. And not its not that i like one more than the other. Yes Scooby's are pretty naff inside, and the 1 Series looks like John Merrick.

[TomTVR500]

[/quote] agree about evo

I got one off those fat ugly saloons .... It's ok, great to drive comfy refined still stands out from bm's etc. but compared to my old rb320 no where near as much fun (which I had kept the RB) 4.4 secs 0 to 62 and it did it and it felt like it. [quote]


I feel rather bad now

I am sure that if I had bought one I wouldn't have been disappointed and I agree entirely that they stand out much more than a sporty BMW, they certainly have the likes of an M135 licked where character is concerned

BUT, like you said yourself....... RB320!

[gsrgeoff]

blahblop123 said:

it had 276hp when the first wrx sti came out, and 20 years on its gone up to 300.

I think you'll find the first sti's were 240bhp V's the Evo 1 at 250bhp.

For all that expect prices to rise, dream on.

Just because neither are being sold anymore their prices won't rise for a long time to come (10 year IMO). Most are rusty tat boxes modded to death that no-one wants or can afford to run.

The few immaculate, low mileage, standard cars will still command a premium though.

[AndyT77]

bigaoi said:

"the car doesn’t stack up well next to the latest generation of bruiser hatchbacks, in particular the faster, more powerful BMW M 135i, which costs three grand less at £29,995."

Still lots of performance, plus four-wheel drive, turbo boxer engine, and tough-as-old-boots build quality for only £3k more than a BMW hatch - bargain (and no I'm not being sarcastic, I think it's a good buy).

But have you bought one? The problem is as quoted 'people aren't buying them anymore.'

Good buy or not, Subaru are doing the right thing if the model is not selling as expected.

[Richard330s]

Very sad indeed, but I may be biased. Admitting my bias, I own and love new model hatch 09 330s STI.
Living in the North. All weather traction and bulletproof build / mechanical reliability is hard to beat and I can get 30mpg on a run.



The data would indicate that they are now a rare car indeed, in modern form. In the first 9 months of 2012 of 370 ranked car models sold in UK 'Impreza' (including all models) ranked only 260 selling only 173 cars. The very common 1 series BMW ranked 15 and sold a whooping 25,000!

http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2012/11/01/uk-9-mon...

Pos Model 2012 % 6m
280 Subaru Impreza 173 0.0% 265
15 BMW 1 Series. 25,128 1.6% 15

Both cars talked about in the blog are good PH motors and to talk about the M135i without mention of its terrible face/nose/front end is a little remiss, when rubbishing the WRX/Impreza. Have BMW sorted the awful offset pedals of the1 series from the driving dynamics gurus?

As raised by a previous comment blogger.......
where does that leave prospective purchasers of 4x4 performance cars between £30-55k in a manual form? Which have been a key PHer obsession for many years:

- no New EVO
- no New STI
- MINI (no thanks)
- Volvo S60 Polestar (£300k is a bit out of budget.)
- Ferrari FF - ditto the polestar
- Audi RS5 - pretty dull & numb & automatic.
- Audi RS4 - ditto & automatic & 'Harris loved it! Not.'
- No BMW options (exc fugly SUVs)
- Porsche 911 Turbo? Positive manuals available...
- Porsche Panamera 4S?
- Porsche 911 4S?
- Nissan GTR? Auto but brutal




Do love the FF....

[MrTappets]

I wouldn't be surprised if they pull out of UK altogether within 5 years

[dave escos]

the 1st ones were what rally enthusiasts wanted,they looked right and after the version 1's they started going down hill and looking cheep and tacky,the hatchback imprezas looked like a focus and tbh subaru have always been good at producing a winner and replacing it with a shocking looking new model. So its the designers fault they don't sell, if people want cake give it to them but if it looks awful don't expect them to swallow it.

[Moobs]

lost my support when they changed to equal manifolds for the uk versions.

[alphaone]

No more TVR and no more Imprezas, my garage is beginning to look like a museum!

[Hellbound]

MrTappets said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they pull out of UK altogether within 5 years

They shouldn't. They should be doing amazingly well in most of Europe, apart from the Med. If they do pull out it'll be because of their diesel engines, dealer network and marketing.

[marshall100]

And that folks is how you balls up an amazing brand in the space of 20 years.

What on earth is the world comming too??

[TomTVR500]

alphaone said:

No more TVR and no more Imprezas, my garage is beginning to look like a museum!

Keep it that way! For god sake!
Its all the better for it.