Humble, standard and original Impreza Turbo 2000

Humble, standard and original Impreza Turbo 2000

Author
Discussion

jonesof63

947 posts

136 months

Sunday 19th June 2016
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That's very nice, it's good to see an unmolested example.

InitialDave

11,853 posts

118 months

Sunday 19th June 2016
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AntiLagGC8 said:
A 2006 WRX in standard form is a pretty dull drive so I can understand. I drove one for a month and whilst very competent, I found it pretty underwhelming and it felt in no way special.
While I had strong suspicions that either an STi (particularly with the benefit of the centre diff) or having a tune/other mods would be better, I found the car fundamentally unenjoyable, and I wasn't interested in spending more money to maybe make it good.

Perhaps I got a bad one, but I'd made my choice based on advice of experienced Subaru owners (including someone who's rallied one "properly"), and they all said a 2006 WRX was the ideal all-round Impreza to try.

andymc

7,334 posts

206 months

Sunday 19th June 2016
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are there any garages still selling unmolested examples?

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 20th June 2016
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InitialDave said:
Nice to see an original/preserved one. Not common I see a turbo Impreza that doesn't immediately bring the word "tt" to mind.

I did own a 2006 WRX for a while, but I thought it was fking awful and really don't understand the appeal!
To be honest I didn't really see what all the fuss was about with mine either and I sold it after 22 months, most I have ever lost on a car!

At the time these won the JD powers survey every year due to fanboy owners and with the rave reviews you would expect the performance of a 911 with the build quuality of 90s Merc. In reality they were not that quick, not very economical, needed servicing every 6 months and the cabin quality was very cheap and cheerful.

Then the Civic Type R and Clio 172 came along with similar performance in a much cheaper package.

Love to drive one again but wouldn't own one. Strangely enough, about 10 years later I got a call from the dealership asking if I was interested in owning one, must have been a very slow day to dig up records that old!

LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Monday 20th June 2016
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Joey Deacon said:
To be honest I didn't really see what all the fuss was about with mine either and I sold it after 22 months, most I have ever lost on a car!

At the time these won the JD powers survey every year due to fanboy owners and with the rave reviews you would expect the performance of a 911 with the build quuality of 90s Merc. In reality they were not that quick, not very economical, needed servicing every 6 months and the cabin quality was very cheap and cheerful.

Then the Civic Type R and Clio 172 came along with similar performance in a much cheaper package.

Love to drive one again but wouldn't own one. Strangely enough, about 10 years later I got a call from the dealership asking if I was interested in owning one, must have been a very slow day to dig up records that old!
A 172 has siimilar performance to a Scooby? Having owned both I know that's not even remotely true!
6mth service interval, really?

Smitters

3,995 posts

156 months

Monday 20th June 2016
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Lovely example. I assume you're vigilant regards rust then, as they seem to be suffering for their age now. Mind you, a 15 year old car that will drive our potholed roads as well as that will is a rare thing indeed. Almost as rare as 30mpg in one of these...

Here's my old one. Turbo 2000 Wagon, H&S backbox, new air filter and it made 226bhp according to PowerStation's rolling road. The dark blue plus wagon appearance meant I never really suffered from little-man/must-race syndrome. This was truly the best car I ever owned, though I suspect there are some rose tints now (and some rust). I'd really like a P1 WR or RB5 in totally stock form one day.

I'm Stroud OP - so will keep an eye/ear out for you.


Prohibiting

Original Poster:

1,734 posts

117 months

Monday 20th June 2016
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Lovely looking Wagon.

Regarding rust on these, yes they're hitting 16+ years old now so the inevitable bubbles will try to make an appearance. You can't tell from the pictures but mine has a little 5pence size on the roof and it's just trying to start on the arches (no blistering yet) which I intend to get properly sorted ASAP to preserve the car. Most people with these cars let rust take hold and don't spend the money to get it sorted...

TommoAE86

2,659 posts

126 months

Monday 20th June 2016
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Rensko said:
With unmodified cars in the minority - surely values will go up!
Love seeing another standard example, like you I've kept my R33 standard which is highly unusual. I'm not sure on the values going up the "classic" bubble is meant to be bursting soon according to some people. Only thing I can see helping values of some cars like this is that the USA might want it (if it's never been sold there) and it needs to be in standard condition for first arrival I think.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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LordHaveMurci said:
A 172 has siimilar performance to a Scooby? Having owned both I know that's not even remotely true!
6mth service interval, really?
Yes, classic service intervals are/were 6 months/7500 miles whichever is sooner, here is the proof : http://www.subaru4you.co.uk/service/book-1999.shtm...





rb5er

11,657 posts

171 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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Joey Deacon said:
Then the Civic Type R and Clio 172 came along with similar performance in a much cheaper package.
They really aren't comparable to either of those cars in anything other than 0-60 times (and even then only for a standard UK turbo). With 240bhp they are doing it in 5 seconds.

daniel-5zjw7

598 posts

100 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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Lovely car :-)

I've had two classics, a 1997 UK turbo and a 1993 WRX Type RA (the latter was featured in EVO magazine last year).

I would also say DON'T remap it, the way forward with yours, and what I did with my UK car, would be to complete the Prodrive package (of which it appears you already have the exhaust), with the Prodrive ECU and Prodrive intercooler y pipe. The ECU should be plug and play for your car being a later model, and makes a very nice difference to performance and driveability. I personally believe on an otherwise standard UK turbo you don't need any more power than that of the prodrive spec and makes for the perfect balance.

The other bonuses for you would be that the prodrive ECU's are generally cheaper than a remap and if anything it will add value to the car rather than the other way round.

Of course after saying the above, are you sure the car doesn't have the full PPP fitted and not just the exhaust?




tonyb1968

1,156 posts

145 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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rb5er said:
Joey Deacon said:
Then the Civic Type R and Clio 172 came along with similar performance in a much cheaper package.
They really aren't comparable to either of those cars in anything other than 0-60 times (and even then only for a standard UK turbo). With 240bhp they are doing it in 5 seconds.
The trouble is that Joey is correct, a standard UK turbo/bug/blob wrx are not that fast, the likes of the clio sport, honda civics and 306 rallye/gti were good enough to give them more than a run for their money without losing ground to the Subaru.

I had the same, a honda civic vti, all 160bhp of it gave my MY00 turbo (standard v standard) a very hard time, I couldnt gain on the vti and that was a 215bhp car, one of the reasons I went PPP was for the extra grunt.
Unless you had a JDM import or a 22b/P1, hot hatches had you fair and square on the performance front.
Then you had the slightly wooly steering on the UK turbo's, going from my PPP'd turbo to a JDM STI Spec C, night and day, total beast in comparison.

The turbo 2000 was great when it came out in 1994 but it only ever gained 7bhp between then and 2000, by that time hot hatches were getting 30+ bhp hikes and being more focused (with better brakes and handling).

Its an iconic classic in the making but its not THAT good as cars of that era go.

Smitters

3,995 posts

156 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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All fair points IMHO re hot hatches. I was kept honest by my mate's Clio. There was a power difference, but it was only really noticeable if you did a full-bore standing start and used AWD to your advantage too. In gear, it was all too close for driver ability not to be a massive factor and fudge the power-difference completely.

I would argue however, that the Imprezas in 99-00 were better ground-coverers. They ran smaller wheels and were better damped, so while they lacked feel in the steering, they were more forgiving over a range of roads. Smooth tarmac is a different matter, but where I live, we don't have much, so hey ho. There was also that noise - so much more character than a hot hatch, to me at least.

7,500 mile servicing. I'd forgotten that. Those rose-tinted specs really kicking in!

rossub

4,400 posts

189 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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daniel-5zjw7 said:
Lovely car :-)

I've had two classics, a 1997 UK turbo and a 1993 WRX Type RA (the latter was featured in EVO magazine last year).

I would also say DON'T remap it, the way forward with yours, and what I did with my UK car, would be to complete the Prodrive package (of which it appears you already have the exhaust), with the Prodrive ECU and Prodrive intercooler y pipe. The ECU should be plug and play for your car being a later model, and makes a very nice difference to performance and driveability. I personally believe on an otherwise standard UK turbo you don't need any more power than that of the prodrive spec and makes for the perfect balance.

The other bonuses for you would be that the prodrive ECU's are generally cheaper than a remap and if anything it will add value to the car rather than the other way round.

Of course after saying the above, are you sure the car doesn't have the full PPP fitted and not just the exhaust?
I know what you're trying to say, but as its not PPP from the 'factory' and doesn't have the certificate from Prodrive, it wouldn't have the same kudos as an original PPP car.

The PPP map is generic - it's just plug and play 240bhp and therefore doesn't take into account the particular breathing and fueling of the individual car.

A tailored map will give more power than that and be better all round.

daniel-5zjw7

598 posts

100 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
tonyb1968 said:
rb5er said:
Joey Deacon said:
Then the Civic Type R and Clio 172 came along with similar performance in a much cheaper package.
They really aren't comparable to either of those cars in anything other than 0-60 times (and even then only for a standard UK turbo). With 240bhp they are doing it in 5 seconds.
The trouble is that Joey is correct, a standard UK turbo/bug/blob wrx are not that fast, the likes of the clio sport, honda civics and 306 rallye/gti were good enough to give them more than a run for their money without losing ground to the Subaru.

I had the same, a honda civic vti, all 160bhp of it gave my MY00 turbo (standard v standard) a very hard time, I couldnt gain on the vti and that was a 215bhp car, one of the reasons I went PPP was for the extra grunt.
Unless you had a JDM import or a 22b/P1, hot hatches had you fair and square on the performance front.
Then you had the slightly wooly steering on the UK turbo's, going from my PPP'd turbo to a JDM STI Spec C, night and day, total beast in comparison.

The turbo 2000 was great when it came out in 1994 but it only ever gained 7bhp between then and 2000, by that time hot hatches were getting 30+ bhp hikes and being more focused (with better brakes and handling).

Its an iconic classic in the making but its not THAT good as cars of that era go.
Would have to disagree. I personally believe the classic Impreza was every bit a great car of it's era. It simply cannot be compared to the likes of a clio 172, yes in the right conditions there wouldn't be much between the two in outright performance but it has little relevance, many turbodiesels of the time would in turn of kept a 172 honest but that doesn't mean they were comparable.

Also it's worth remembering the turbocharged Impreza (240bhp off the bat) hit the streets in Japan back in late 1992, cars came a long way between it's launch and eventual replacement in the UK circa 2001.

With the mix of a turbocharged boxer, permanent 4wd and saloon body it was and remained a pretty unique package, and what mustn't be under estimated was it's any weather capability, yes in stock UK form it's 200 odd bhp wasn't earth shattering, but the beauty of it was that in almost any condition and any gear, you could use all of it.

rb5er

11,657 posts

171 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Indeed. In gear performance time are very different, much more torque makes a big difference.

Impreza does 60mph in around 6 seconds, the clio nearer 7 seconds. Thats quite a difference and in gear is quite a gulf again.

Carlson W6

857 posts

123 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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This is my one.
Bought new by me.
Full main dealer history currently looked after by Bell and Colville.
Upgraded to WR Prodrive spec before delivery.
Currently on 70K
Never used a drop of oil.
Standard apart from Prodrive upgrades.



rb5er

11,657 posts

171 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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Headlights aint standard, neither are the foglight covers or alloys. Nice car though.

AntiLagGC8

1,724 posts

111 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
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rb5er said:
Indeed. In gear performance time are very different, much more torque makes a big difference.

Impreza does 60mph in around 6 seconds, the clio nearer 7 seconds. Thats quite a difference and in gear is quite a gulf again.
I've owned a Civic Type R and driven a 172 extensively and can say the Impreza is quicker about 90% of the time and is just far more capable in all weather and road conditions.

The standard turbo also had a significant advantage in its AWD platform and very low cost tuning capability.

Still I did love my Civic Type R and still think they are great!

Prohibiting

Original Poster:

1,734 posts

117 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
rb5er said:
Headlights aint standard, neither are the foglight covers or alloys. Nice car though.
Yes, they're factory upgrades. WR Sport- extremely rare and worth a lot to people in the know!

http://www.subaru-impreza.org/downloads/WR%20SPORT...


Carlson W6 said:
This is my one.
Bought new by me.
Full main dealer history currently looked after by Bell and Colville.
Upgraded to WR Prodrive spec before delivery.
Currently on 70K
Never used a drop of oil.
Standard apart from Prodrive upgrades.


Stunning. Will you swap me your Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs? biggrin

Your Turbo 2000 is the "creme de la creme". Most people don't know what the WR Sport (Prodrive upgrades are).

Please post some more pictures smile

Edited by Prohibiting on Tuesday 21st June 20:44