RE: SOTW: Subaru Impreza Turbo

[GravelBen]

johnpeat said:

The majority of Scoobs would be stuck pretty quickly as they run massive wheels, PHAT tyres with no profile etc. This also applies to almost every X5, Q7 and ML I've ever seen (someone local to me got stuck last year on a residential street with about 4" of snow on it, in an ML - it was really, really funny).

4WD is no use when you're sitting on 4 inflexible steamrollers with contact patches twice the size they're meant to be (and thus way less traction) - never mind snow tyres

The widest standard tyre size I've seen on a Subaru is I think a 235, but most are narrower - the SOTW example looks to be running on the original spec 205/50R16.

[ScoobieWRX]

johnpeat said:

ScoobieWRX said:

I used to go out looking for deep snow in my scoob just to see if i could get stuck. There are lots of country roads around here that don't even get a look in from gritters or ploughs and don't see a lot of traffic either. Last year the snow was the worst we'd had for some time and i never got stuck once.

In fact while those around me were floundering up steeply inclined ice and snow covered roads the scoob just kept on going and going....on summer tyres!!

I've got a Surf now and where i take my dogs into some working woods/forest for walkies it's usually untouched virgin drifted snow when it does come. Unless you've had a 4x4 you have no idea what it's like to have the confidence to go into deep snow or up icy roads, or muddy tracks come to that, knowing 100% you just won't get stuck or come a cropper!!

Get a scoob whether it's the Impreza, Legacy or Forester, NA or FI, they are all very capable on the slippery stuff, and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner!

The majority of Scoobs would be stuck pretty quickly as they run massive wheels, PHAT tyres with no profile etc. This also applies to almost every X5, Q7 and ML I've ever seen (someone local to me got stuck last year on a residential street with about 4" of snow on it, in an ML - it was really, really funny).

4WD is no use when you're sitting on 4 inflexible steamrollers with contact patches twice the size they're meant to be (and thus way less traction) - never mind snow tyres

I was running Bridgestone RE040 225/45/17 summer tyres on my WRX wagon winter 2011. I've always run summer tyres (mostly Toyo T1R's), right the way through every winter we've had since i bought the car in 2005. My outlaws live in Pitlochry and i've done a few winter visits up there in my wagon when it's snowed heavily but not quite heavy enough to close the A9. My Brother In Law has a farm up the hill just the other side of Moulin off the road to Edradour Distillery and they get some proper snow up there even when everywhere else has just a sprinkling. He was always impressed with the way my car coped with the weather up there.

Might be something to do with the Limited slip diff at the rear of a WRX being a big help. STi's are even better with an LSD both ends. Clearly Subaru symmetrical AWD suits the car very well, something Subaru got right first time and has stuck with since the early days, same with their engine design/layout.

I'm not the only Subaru owner that's had the same quality experience through the winter even with summer tyres.

I've no ideas what tyres are being used but i think this video sums it up really well.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eG_sD8yD40

[EarlOfHazard]

I heard the reason that Imprezas give off the unique sound is down to unequal exhaust manifolds. Hence why 911s don't sound like Imprezas.

[Ti22]

can't be bothered to wade through all the pages but as I have a totally standard 97 wagon I bought a year ago with all the stamps and 117K I feel I can comment!

it's the mid facelift model, so has the newer dash etc. the only thing 'old' is the bumper (changed 98 on)

MPG - I average 27 in mixed driving. you can get it over 30 if you try. On a 200+ mile thrash (and I mean thrash!) it used around 40 litres.. go figure.

decatted and with an uprated fuel pump it realy is 95% of all the car you'll ever need!

[Sbloxxy]

Just sold my Impreza 2000 Turbo Wagon a few weeks ago and I still kind of regret it. It was pretty close to shed territory, 1996 UK model with 120,000 on the clock and a full service history. I paid £1300 for it and it was a massively capable car, very quick and with a ridiculous amount of sheer grip. On a wet 'B' road, it was staggeringly fast.
The killer for me was the fact that driven sensibly, it was actually a little dull (apart from exhaust burble). To make it really come alive, you had to drive it hard and then it was undoubtedly a blast to drive. But that meant the fuel consumption fell through the floor into the high teens.
In the end, I tenatatively advertised it on one of the freebie sites, thinking that if I got the right money, I'd let it go and if not, I'd enjoy it a little longer. I think I got £1550 for it so off it went. Replaced by a £1000-worth of very boring Golf TDi, remapped to 150bhp, excellent mid range torque and 60mpg - but dire handling.
The secret of buying a decent Impreza seems to be avoiding the various chavved-up cars along with tinted windows, monster exhausts, huge dump valves etc. More than most other cars, when you buy an Impreza, the previous owner is a big part of the whole deal.

[Ti22]

Oh and to really put the cat amongst the pigeons I'd ask anyone thinking of getting one and thinking they all drive the same (classics and bug/blob eyes) to drive them! the classics are a very different drive to the later cars! (less lag, lighter car etc etc)

[s m]

KB_S1 said:

Pentoman said:

I love this road test. How they got 5.8 seconds for the 0-60 I'll never know - it's just barely powerful enough, in reality. They must have done a huge clutch dump from a lot of revs, and even then the figure they managed is still good going. The 0-100 time shows a more realistic measure of how quick it *feels* (and, really, how quick it is) - 18.7s isn't that rapid, nor's 137mph. An Audi TT 225, or 2.0 fsi feels noticeably sprightlier.

I have seen a couple of magazine tests that were even quicker.
Evo quote 5.4 and 14.7 for the 99/00 spec car.

Yes, bear in mind that Autocar test was a very early L-reg UK spec one - very lethargic in 5th Gear and quite slow from 60-100.When they tested the revised model in Feb 98 ( a 5-door ) it was nearly 100kg heavier ( 1306kg ), even quicker to 60 ( 5.5 ) and 3 seconds faster to 100 ( 15.8 ) with 6 mph more top end ( 143 ). Still all from 208bhp. For whatever reason, gearing etc, the early L/M regs seem a lot slower than later cars with similar power.
Autocar also tested a 22B, WR Prodrive and WRX STi that same year ( 1998 was the beginning of the surge in Impreza/Evo coverage in the media )and they were all quicker to varying degrees. The Sti jumped to 60 in 4.6 and onto 100 in 12.3 with its extra 70ish bhp. Lightning quick even today

[aggraa]

i bought a 95 unmolested wrx wagon last october for £840, on my way back from liverpool to collect it ,stopped to fill it up and steam coming out of the bonnet, header tank leak... £25 from a breakers and it hasnt missed a beat since.
two trips from uk to bulgaria where i am using it as a daily driver in the mountains.
fuel costs across europe are pretty much the same as when i have driven over land rovers(discos,defenders) and pajeros...but i arrive here 2 days earlier wishing i lived in southern turkey so i could keep driving!
so far i have upgraded the brakes to ones off an 05 sti and got a set of summer 18inch oz prodrive wheels with yokohama tyres.
i live at an altitude of 950 metres and at the moment the temp drops to minus 20ish every night.
starts first turn of the key every morning and the grip levels with winter tyres is impressive,so far never needed snow chains .
the next upgrade is adjustable suspension to raise the car for better ground clearence and to get some bf goodrich tyres on for next winter.
couple of days ago i had to clear the boot of bits that had become detached from the car from driving through snow...wheel arch liner,sill trim,windscreen trim and the rear foglight.
i have had fast cars in the past(porsche,lotus) and while this car hasnt got the handling finesse of a sports car i know that whatever is happening outside with the weather i have a vehicle that has the grip to get me about and i dont care if it costs me an extra 2 litres+/- fuel , i will not be stuck on the side of a mountain waiting for help.
yep.... f***kin love mine!!!

[johnpeat]

GravelBen said:

The widest standard tyre size I've seen on a Subaru is I think a 235, but most are narrower - the SOTW example looks to be running on the original spec 205/50R16.

How many 10+ year old Scoobs do you think still have original rims?

One Scoob forum I used to haunt had a sticky thread with the letter you used with your insurer to declare non-standard "but of identical value and function" alloys (to avoid silly premium increases - they said)

[KB_S1]

johnpeat said:

How many 10+ year old Scoobs do you think still have original rims?

One Scoob forum I used to haunt had a sticky thread with the letter you used with your insurer to declare non-standard "but of identical value and function" alloys (to avoid silly premium increases - they said)

When I bought mine it had 18" wheels with 215/35/18 tyres.
I swapped it immediately back to the original 6 spoke 16" wheels on 205/50/16.

Massive difference for the better.

[WeirdNeville]

Ti22 said:

Oh and to really put the cat amongst the pigeons I'd ask anyone thinking of getting one and thinking they all drive the same (classics and bug/blob eyes) to drive them! the classics are a very different drive to the later cars! (less lag, lighter car etc etc)

Yup - thats one of the reasons I went for the Prodrive Upgraded car: I wanted the safety of the post 2000 models (reinforced B-pillars, to the point jaws of life don't go through them! 4 start NCAP) but to keep the power to weight honest despite the 1,400 Kg's.

I took it to a friend yesterday, he's had STi-RA's (1995 ish import) and an RB5 classic, he said mine felt as quick, but with more lag and softer delivery .

I think one of the defining features of these cars is the gearbox ratios. The Type RA was insane, geared to redline at about 130 and doing 4,000 rpm at 70 on the motorway, it went like a bat out of hell and through the gears like a sports bike.
In contrast, mine has quite a leggy nox, giving you 'iron fist in a velvet glove' shove in-gear.

When traction isn't an issue, and the engine has a lot of torque, the gearbox basically defines your performance under acceleration. That's why these cars punch above their weight in the 0-60's.

[ScoobieWRX]

WRX's are doing 30mph in 1st, 70 in 2nd, 100 in 3rd....Quite leggy really when you compare it to the STi that needs a 2nd gear change to hit 60mph and tops out at 70 in 3rd. Hence why there's not a lot of difference in standard 0-60 between the two, newage cars that is.

[Kingers]

Well, I just bought one yesterday! Bright red too. Its a '99 saloon uk spec with just 64k miles on it.

2 owners from new, all the old mot's and history to support the mileage. The car is unbelievably fresh, never been in the wrong hands and well minded. The timing belt and pump was done 5k ago, the clutch has no slip or judder and bites in the middle. It drives very tight and just went through the nct (mot) a few weeks ago. New front callipers, disks and pads.

Body is very straight and original, interior is incredibly clean. The only mods are a mongoose back box and an air filter. It sounds gorgeous and it drives just like it should. An oil change and a set of rear pads are due and after that I am thoroughly looking forward to bursting my scooby-cherry!

So thanks SOTW.

Edited by Kingers on Tuesday 30th October 23:00

[marshall100]

GravelBen said:

Absolutely - I have to wonder sometimes when I see comments on here about 4wd not being an advantage in the snow whether they've ever driven a 4wd car in snow, or at all for that matter.

It's why I cling on to my forester, as cars were being abandonded last year as the snow and ice caused chaos, I just drove on by. Also has a nack of towing my quad out of a field on a trailer when other 'proper' 4x4's are being tugged out by a tractor.

[BILL PAYER]

Monster44 said:

Can't argue with the value this shed offers but I never bonded with my W plate UK 2000 Turbo saloon. Too much understeer, savage thirst, terrible build and weak brakes.

Sounded great with a replacement rear exhaust silencer though!!!

I made a similar statement about my old w reg wrx on another thread a few days ago and was called a troll and had my car history slated for my efforts ,but found it much the same as you rattly plastic heavy controls and spongy brakes.

[Rich_W]

Sadly although I love the Saloon Impreza, the estate version always looks a bit ungainly to my eyes. Think it's because the D pillar is thinner than the C pillar.



becomes rough paintbrush swap around.




So what are the alternative smallish Turbo estates out there? Japanese or European?

Edited by Rich_W on Saturday 11th February 17:24

[WeirdNeville]

Rich_W said:

Sadly although I love the Saloon Impreza, the estate version always looks a bit ungainly to my eyes. Think it's because the D pillar is thinner than the C pillar.

Any 'estate' car where they've used the back doors from the saloon variant looks compromised, IMO.

Rich_W said:

So what are the alternative smallish Turbo estates out there? Japanese or European?

I really can't think of many/any.
The mitsubishi Galant VR-4 is a bit bigger, as is the Legacy. They're probably closest to the Impreza.
The BMW 328i offers a bit mroe refinement and a smidge more room but there's not much in it.
And the Volvo V40 T4 offers Turbo and thirstyness but compromises body control. There is a V50 T5 awd variant which I've only ever seen one example for sale. They'd be fun and come in around £6-£7k.
Audi S4 Avants are probably the closest in terms of size, ability and performance, but were never touted as handlers in the way WRX Subarus were.

[Motorrad]

KB_S1 said:

When I bought mine it had 18" wheels with 215/35/18 tyres.
I swapped it immediately back to the original 6 spoke 16" wheels on 205/50/16.

Massive difference for the better.

16s are the best wheels for the 'classic' impreza, lots of idiots think bigger wheels offer a performance advantage but as the USP for this car is that it offer high performance in all conditions why fk it up with low profile/wide wheels?

[mark morris]

Shocked to see how cheap they are these days
I paid £17k for a 2 1/2 yr old 97 p reg red saloon

Mark

[Mitch2.0]

Nice picture Mark.

I love it when people post old (as in older than 10 years) pictures of their cars. The houses, the pavements, the road - nothing else looks different. If you look at a picture from say 15 years ago of a residential street there's nothing there to say it's not a picture from 2012 unless there are cars in the shot.

Look at the cars in the background, that was someone's brand new Mirca, I bet they were really chuffed with it.