New wheels more shiny than the last
So I’ve decided to take the plunge. After hearing rumours that some bigger wheels may give the Impreza’s steering a bit more feel I ordered a set of five spoke ‘Lusteric Silver’ 18”s from Subaru (£250 a wheel), which were fitted last week.
Of course the wheels do give the car a bit more visual impact as they are an inch bigger than the standard multi-spokes and fill the arches more substantially. With one thing or another I haven’t actually managed to drive the car much since the wheels were fitted but my initial reaction is that the steering has more feel and the ride has improved. In fact one of the biggest criticisms of the STI was the rather lifeless steering which can leave you feeling disconnected from the action.
Other than that life’s been good in the Impreza. I’ve become really attached to it this month, driving it as much as possible, and enjoying its versatility. It’s focused enough when you need it but easy to live with day-to-day. You can use the mid-range thump to cover long distances effortlessly or get fully involved if the mood takes you.
Car looks tougher on 18" five spokes
BHA has split opinion in the office the same as it has on the threads that accompany my long term reports and it would be fair to say that Garlick is not its biggest fan. He doesn’t like notchy gearbox, says the interior is low-rent and generally feels it doesn’t live up to the hype. RacingPete on the other hand likes the Impreza more and more every time he drives it, always trying to grab the keys if he is going for cross-country blast.
Me? I think the meaty, rifle bolt gearchange is perfect, with almost a competition feel to it. I’ll agree about the interior though, it can be a dreary and uninspiring place to be. But perhaps because I have been spending time apart from the Impreza I don’t notice the hard plastics and mock chrome, instead reacquainting myself with the way it goes. Recently I drove to Oxford to test the GBRoadster and took in a mix of motorway and B roads and can honestly say I loved every minute of being in the BHA.
New rubber begging for the track
The huge levels of grip mixed with a compliant chassis make it a hoot on unfamiliar backroads. If anything the chassis could handle a lot more power and now, even driving everywhere with the traction control turned off and the Si Drive Sellotaped into ‘Sport Sharp’, it is very difficult to get anywhere near the Impreza’s limits. But as an all-round package I think it works – it’s practical, insanely fast and on the right day a lot of fun.
The car was also put on festival duty a couple of weeks ago and swallowed up a decent amount of camping paraphernalia, three humans, and essential Wellies. It was pouring with rain as I headed down to Southampton to get the ferry but whereas other traffic was taking it gingerly, the Subaru’s surefooted four-wheel drive system gave me the confidence to push a little bit harder. The only other car that seemed to be doing the same was a silver Audi S3 whose occupants were clearly very late for their ferry.
But not everything has been rosy this month. A few of you may remember that the brakes started making an odd grinding noise a while back and I was assured by the local Subaru that although they weren’t supposed to do that, they were safe to use. Well, I finally got round to taking the car into MKG3000, the local Subaru garage in Strawberry Hill, for them to change the pads.
STI proving easy to live with day-to-day
They had warned me the first time around that brake pads weren’t strictly covered under warranty but indicated they would probably change them free of charge. ‘Your pads were burnt and cracked,’ said the man at the garage when I went to pick up the car. Burnt and cracked? That doesn’t sound good. ‘You obviously enjoy your car,’ he said, ‘but that shouldn’t happen.’ The pads were changed for free and on the way home I realised just how spongy they had become, the new pads biting nicely.
The new wheels have some rather special Dunlop SP Sport 600 tyres on them so I’m hoping to take the STI to a track at some point very soon to see how well they work. All in the interests of science of course.