SOTW: Subaru Impreza Turbo

Winter-shedding gold has been struck, reckons Shed

A Subaru Impreza Wagon really ought to be SOTW gold. It's got decent pace and character courtesy of that burbly blown boxer motor, chuckable, grippy handling thanks to that four-wheel-drive hardware and plenty of space, due to - er - having plenty of space. And that's before we mention the appropriateness of all-wheel drive in wintry weather.

So: practical, fast, fun - the holy trinity of shedding. The trouble is that Imprezas that aren't dead, dying, or dubiously modified to within an inch of their lives are pretty thin on the ground within Shed's £1K territory.

Last time we brought you a Subaru Impreza as Shed of the Week, we freely admit that it was a bit of a ratty specimen, probably suffering from the infamous 'piston slap' of late 90s Subarus. But this particular Scooby seems a whole lot sweeter.

Yes, it's done a chunky 158,000 miles, but the engine was subject to a full rebuild by specialists API at 106k miles, according to the seller (who has all the receipts and service history, so it's something you can presumably confirm by riffling through the paperwork). The car sounds like it's been pretty well looked after in general in fact, having been treated to newish tyres, clutch, front and rear droplinks, rear dampers, discs and pads by its current owner.

That API rebuild sounds like it's the source of some sympathetic mods, too, with a lightened flywheel, ported headers and an uprated fuel pump, so we imagine it's giving a wee bit more than the 210hp-or-so that Fuji Heavy Industries originally intended.

So what's pushing this car down into Shed's grubby mitts? Tatty bodywork, from the sound of it. But hey, what's a bit of rust on a Shed? Then, we suppose, there's the spectre of some fairly heavy running costs, both in everyday/fuel terms, and the looming possibility of a pricy mechanical malady. But good Shedding is all about taking a bit of a punt, isn't it?

Advert is reproduced below

Subaru Impreza Turbo with API Engine rebuild - Perfect Winter Car! (1997)
158,400 miles £1,000

Subaru Impreza Turbo, 1997 R plate, 5-door Wagon, 158k with full API engine rebuild at 106k, Red, 5-door, comprehensive service history including all bills and old Mots, Mot Feb 2013, Tax end Feb, CD player, Cat 1 with r/c/l, e/w, e/m

Full engine rebuild by top Subaru builder API now on 50k including lightened flywheel, ported headers, uprated fuel pump at cost of over £3k, standard UK car except for engine and stainless backbox, recent front tyres, brake pads and calliper rebuild, always well maintained regardless of cost - including new clutch, front and rear droplinks, rear dampers, disks and pads in my ownership.