Want some feedback from Impreza owners

[WeirdNeville]

TameRacingDriver said:

What are the brakes like on these? Prone to fade?

I'm definitely warming to the idea of an Impreza. How big is the boot (it would be useful if I could fit a bicycle in there - maybe a wagon may be the way forward - but I prefer the look of the saloon).

Oh, and thanks for the review. Very helpful thanks!

Wagon takes bikes whole, lying flat. It has split fold rear seats. Not sure what the pass through hole is like in saloons, I suspect it's not great but you would no doubt be able to get a bike in one with the wheels off. I've nver not managed that in any car!

My brakes are fine for road use, I've given them what I consider a good on road hammering and had no issues with fade (i.e. mountain pass driving for 1 hour+ without issue, at considerable speed but without full bore braking the whole time). I do consider them the weakest part of the package overall though. One of my recipts states that it's had uprated pads fitted at some point, I have no idea if they're what's on it now. They have a nice firm pedal and good feedback, but perhaps lack the brick-wall bite you might want considering how fast it can propel you to the horizon. That said, I had to do a proper emergency stop from 80ish when someone coming towards me made a spectacularly ill advised overtaking attempt, and I had the car fully laden. It stopped with a minor ABS activation in a perfectly straight line and without drama, and as quick as I could have hoped for. I don't know how repeatable that is. If you were tracking it then serious brake upgrades would be in order - Brembo 4 pots off of an Sti, good pads, braided hoses IMO.

For your budget - £2k-£3k you can get nice one owner bug eye WRX wagons with low milage. I was initially looking at those, but ended up spending a bit more to get a more recent car for no good reason.

[rb5er]

VinceFox said:

rb5er said:

VinceFox said:

I'm sure others will have opinions on this as well, but imho if you're spending circa 3k on a performance car and buy wisely i would suggest the m3 might be less financially ruinous than the impreza to maintain/improve.

The opposite of this is true. Like for like condition wise the m3 will cost much more than an impreza to maintain.

Edited by rb5er on Saturday 5th May 12:03

Not sure on this, i'd be interested to do the comparative numbers.

How much is a clutch? Brakes? Transfer box? Turbo? Genuine question, not a wind up but i would have thought the impreza presents far more opportunities to go wrong in a bigger way financially.

For reference, my m3 evo went in for its mot this morning and nothing came up. In the last three years i've done front brakes, radiator, clutch and a coule of oil changes so i'd have to suggest theyre a bit of a safer bet for running costs. In fairness though, although ive driven imprezas ive never owned or run one so i'd be open to being told otherwise

In the 3 years i have had my impreza i have only had to do brakes, tyres, oil changes and a rocker cover gasket. Parts are cheaper than in an M-car. In that time i have only ever had to replace a bulb for an m.o.t. So its cost me much less than your m3. My legacy had head gasket failure when i bought it, £850 later i had the engine out, head gaskets and many other gaskets replaced, new clutch, cam belt, tensioners , fluids and filters.

They are far cheaper to maintain than an m3 unless the bottom end goes in which case you will get a proper big bill but still not as big a bill as if the m3 engine goes.

My friends 328i has cost much more to maintain than my impreza too.

I have never heard of anybody replacing a transfer box and turbos are readily available cheaply. Brakes and clutches are cheaper than on an m3.

Edited by rb5er on Sunday 6th May 09:16

[rb5er]

nottyash said:

The Legacy does drive better in my opinion. It doesnt roll like an Impreza. Do an internet search and see why many owners opt for Whiteline anti roll bars.

In your opinion fair enough. A very rare opinion to hold though. I'd suggest your suspension was knackered if you were experiencing much roll.

[5paul5]

Currently on my 6th Impreza turbo, 4 saloons, 2 wagons. Have achieved 30 MPG in all of them if driven like a vicar. However thats not easy in these cars as they beg to be driven hard. Problems? apart from servicing nothing whatsoever. My current steed is a 20 year old import which is thrashed around the track on a regular basis, its completly reliable and just passed the mot with no advisories.

[VinceFox]

This is all news to me, i'd only ever heard stories from owners about high running costs! Perhaps standard is the key here.

[rb5er]

VinceFox said:

This is all news to me, i'd only ever heard stories from owners about high running costs! Perhaps standard is the key here.

I have known high powered ones to still be infallable. I believe things will start to fail if you get too close to 350bhp in a classic, gearbox being the main thing. But then so would most cars when you add 100bhp or so.

[VinceFox]

rb5er said:

VinceFox said:

This is all news to me, i'd only ever heard stories from owners about high running costs! Perhaps standard is the key here.

I have known high powered ones to still be infallable. I believe things will start to fail if you get too close to 350bhp in a classic, gearbox being the main thing. But then so would most cars when you add 100bhp or so.

That sounds familiar. Next door neighbour of my parents has an early one with "over 300" bhp. It's always in bits.

[5paul5]

paulmoonraker said:

Use somebody like Keith Michaels for scooby insurance. Mine was 700 quid including track days and Nuremberg Ring cover (33, garaged, no poins, 6 years NCB). Ask to speak with Gary Moulson.

In my newage it was easy to get 30MPG on a run providing you stick below 80. However, round town it was shocking.

I found Keith Michaels to be pretty useless TBH, only insurance company including mainstream that refused to quote me, im over 40 with a clean licence !

[paulmoonraker]

5paul5 said:

paulmoonraker said:

Use somebody like Keith Michaels for scooby insurance. Mine was 700 quid including track days and Nuremberg Ring cover (33, garaged, no poins, 6 years NCB). Ask to speak with Gary Moulson.

In my newage it was easy to get 30MPG on a run providing you stick below 80. However, round town it was shocking.

I found Keith Michaels to be pretty useless TBH, only insurance company including mainstream that refused to quote me, im over 40 with a clean licence !

Did they give you a reason?

In the main they seem to get good feedback from the Jap car owners.

[paulmoonraker]

VinceFox said:

This is all news to me, i'd only ever heard stories from owners about high running costs! Perhaps standard is the key here.

In terms of petrol - yes.

I have had two over 4 years and 60K, and the only thing to go wrong was a split radiator hose. Of course, this is not including wear and tear items...

[5paul5]

paulmoonraker said:

5paul5 said:

paulmoonraker said:

Use somebody like Keith Michaels for scooby insurance. Mine was 700 quid including track days and Nuremberg Ring cover (33, garaged, no poins, 6 years NCB). Ask to speak with Gary Moulson.

In my newage it was easy to get 30MPG on a run providing you stick below 80. However, round town it was shocking.

I found Keith Michaels to be pretty useless TBH, only insurance company including mainstream that refused to quote me, im over 40 with a clean licence !

Did they give you a reason?

In the main they seem to get good feedback from the Jap car owners.

Just said they were unable to quote me on the car, like i said had a quote from all the others i tried, ended up with Autodirect.

[Bungleaio]

Keith Michaels couldn't match the price or policy that greenlight do for me.

[nottyash]

rb5er said:

nottyash said:

The Legacy does drive better in my opinion. It doesnt roll like an Impreza. Do an internet search and see why many owners opt for Whiteline anti roll bars.

In your opinion fair enough. A very rare opinion to hold though. I'd suggest your suspension was knackered if you were experiencing much roll.

No suspension was fine on the 2 ive owned and the 2others I have driven. They are all wallowy, and it was confirmed when I joined a Subaru site at the time. I was recommended Whiteline ARBS as they would sort it out. The members actually said the STI's are like it too, but Ive only driven an imported V5 classic and it felt fine to me.
Probably a rare opinion because the GTB and B4 are very rare cars, dont you think?;)

[GravelBen]

The Gen.3 Legacy was when they switched to multilink suspension in the rear while the Impreza carried on with Mac struts until the hatch came along, certainly it made for much better roll control (with relatively softer springs/ARBs) compared to the Gen.2 Legacy which shares the Imprezas Mac strut setup.

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 7th May 11:32

[rb5er]

As good as a Legacy is for a large car with or without extra roll resistance a legacy just does not feel as tight and poised as an impreza.

Its not just a rare opinion to hold because the cars are rare its just well known they are very similar cars but one offers (well known) more taught handling and is a fair bit lighter, the other is more spacious, luxurious and practical.

Both great cars but just extra roll resistance does not equal sharper handling. And the steering rack on a legacy is much more vague.

[WeirdNeville]

rb5er said:

Both great cars but just extra roll resistance does not equal sharper handling.

This.
I don't know why people see body roll (or lack thereof) as the sum total of a cars handling! It's an essential part of a car going round a corner!

[GravelBen]

rb5er said:

And the steering rack on a legacy is much more vague.

For sure its a slower geared (and lighter) rack than the Impreza (and the STi quickrack is fantastic), but no way would I call it vague.

Actually I guess it could do with the wrong tyres - I had no confidence at all in the front end with T1Rs on the front and RE001 on the back, it was horrible. Can't blame the car for that though.

Overall handling-wise I don't think I've actually driven a regular WRX to compare but the STi-RA was a much sharper, more focussed car as you'd expect (and would be my Subaru of choice for driving fun). I'm not sure why the big reaction to nottyash saying he prefers the feel of a Legacy to an Impreza anyway, personal taste and all that - the Legacy Bilsteins do an excellent job, in fact I'd say my GTB has the best balance of body control and bump absorption that I've found for a road car.

ETA: rb5er I see you have a 2.5gx Legacy, have you tried a GTB or RSK for comparison? If not its a bit like me comparing mine to an Impreza gx.

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 7th May 13:33

[CaptainSlow]

You want an Impreza with cheap insurance?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-Subaru-Forester-STi...

(ok not the actual one as it has a heathermillsomatic)

[nottyash]

GravelBen said:

rb5er said:

And the steering rack on a legacy is much more vague.

For sure its a slower geared (and lighter) rack than the Impreza (and the STi quickrack is fantastic), but no way would I call it vague.

Actually I guess it could do with the wrong tyres - I had no confidence at all in the front end with T1Rs on the front and RE001 on the back, it was horrible. Can't blame the car for that though.

Overall handling-wise I don't think I've actually driven a regular WRX to compare but the STi-RA was a much sharper, more focussed car as you'd expect (and would be my Subaru of choice for driving fun). I'm not sure why the big reaction to nottyash saying he prefers the feel of a Legacy to an Impreza anyway, personal taste and all that - the Legacy Bilsteins do an excellent job, in fact I'd say my GTB has the best balance of body control and bump absorption that I've found for a road car.

ETA: rb5er I see you have a 2.5gx Legacy, have you tried a GTB or RSK for comparison? If not its a bit like me comparing mine to an Impreza gx.

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 7th May 13:33

I noticed rb5er has a 2.5GX so thats maybe where he isnt comparing apples with apples.
Have to agree though the steering on the Legacy is over assisted, its too light at low speeds.

[TameRacingDriver]

CaptainSlow said:

You want an Impreza with cheap insurance?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-Subaru-Forester-STi...

(ok not the actual one as it has a heathermillsomatic)

I quite like that actually.

I think overall though, ideally, I'd want an Impreza STI, as I just prefer the look, and they are in my eyes starting to achieve cult status - a rally icon if you like.

What is the Forester STI like in comparison?