The PH Subaru Impreza STI may have a ‘boxer’ engine but it was the outside that was starting to look a little battered recently. Having been subjected to a rain of terror by a conker tree in the carpark of PH Towers it had become as dimpled as a golf ball.
Added to this someone had clearly decided to use the car as a big red parking sensor in a carpark, leaving a 10cm dent in the front wing. This may sound strange but unfortunate as this all was the battle-scarred appearance kind of suited the Impreza’s rough and ready attitude.
The car has come in for its fair share of knocks (the other kind) in the six months I had it but it still got the job done admirably. And because it was nearing time to swap it for something new I planned a trip to Dent Wizard in Warwickshire for a makeover and a decent drive.
Yes, the Impreza’s steering is far too light, and yes, there is too much roll in the suspension, but few cars are as easy to get into and throw down the nearest B road. The engine is too quiet but what you can hear of it is strangely addictive, an industrial whirr accompanied by the woosh of the turbocharger when it finally comes on boost.
In some respects the soft-ish suspension works in the car’s favour, such as bumpy back roads, where it does a good job of keeping the car rooted to the ground. BHA obviously has traction control fitted but you’ll be hard pushed to find a situation when you actually need it, such is the limpet-like grip.
After a fair few miles on my way to Dent Wizard it became clear that Subaru STIs are now different cars to what they used to be. It is now a hot hatch: reasonably compact, fairly simple, and refreshingly honest. Take the traction control off in the wet and spend half an hour looking for the right setting for the diff and the STI becomes a lot of fun on wet roundabouts.
At all times it’s genuinely chuckable and when you want it to be it is a supremely capable and safe way of covering ground quickly. The interior really isn’t that great and I’d be held in place better if I was sitting on a stool. The boot is pretty small too and the car shrieks so ear-piercingly when you forget your seatbelt that you feel like doing ‘a Brian Harvey’.
Whether all this is worth £26,039 is, like the looks, a matter of personal choice. Part of me thinks that a Golf R32 would be a better buy but I just can’t get away from the number of times I’ve had the same silly grin on my face as I have when I arrive at Dent Wizard.
What happens once I’ve parked the car inside Dent Wizard’s facilities makes me smile even more. What I thought was a particularly nasty crunch across a crease in the front wing is sorted out in twenty five minutes. When the guy is finished there is no trace that the dent was even there. What could have been a very big job at a dealer is sorted while I wait, and all for a very reasonable £60.
I’m impressed and so it’s on to the next job – the conker roof. Unfortunately my description over the phone hasn’t really done the level of damage much justice and it is only when Mr Dent Wizard points out that the bonnet has taken a battering too that I realise this isn’t going to be an easy job. The dents are barely noticeable until you look closely but then you will see the tiny imperfections. Conker trees are evil – you have been warned.
There’s not enough time to do all the dents unfortunately this time and in the end I organise for Subaru to take on the job. A few days later and it is time to clear out the car and say goodbye.
It’s never nice losing a long termer, especially when you’ve spent eight thousand miles in it, including a trip to Le Mans last year. I hope to get hold of an STI 330 soon to find out what a bit more power can do, I’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime it’s not all bad. Sticking to the rally-vibe I’d like to introduce GKC – my new long termer. Obviously I don’t need to tell you how far back the rivalry between the Mitsibushi Evo and Subaru Impreza goes, and how many magazine pages have been devoted to the battle.
Makes sense then to find out for myself just how different the two cars are. While they were always closely matched on paper the Impreza and Lancer have drifted apart. The Evo is a 2.0-litre, while the STI has 2.5-litres, and one is a hatchback whereas the other remains a four-door saloon.
The Evo interestingly has a five-speed manual box, while the Scooby (am I allowed to say that?) has six cogs. I went for Phantom Black for the Evo which disguises the carbon fibre chin spoiler well, and many of you will notice that this only comes fitted to the 360bhp FQ360.
I did consider getting an FQ300 (300bhp) but figured that the one thing the Subaru could do with was a bit more power, so got the more powerful Evo. Makes sense? Well no not really, but who can resist a bit more power?
Early impressions are good. It seems well screwed together and much plusher than the Subaru. But then again it is almost ten grand more expensive. Is it worth it? I’m looking forward to finding out…