Friday 30th August 2013

Subaru Impreza 2.0 ... diesel? Spotted

Seriously? Diesel Subaru? asks one PHer - yes, says Dan and here's why

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I'll always champion an underdog but even at my most enthused and passionate I realise I'm going to face an uphill challenge convincing the PH audience 12 grand on a grey hatchback Impreza with a diesel engine under its bonnet is a sensible way to spend your money.

Where to start? Well. It's a five-grand saving over a Golf GTD of the same age. And you're unlikely to meet another one coming the other way.

No?

No.

She's no beauty but she's got talent

OK, how about stating that were I still living at the Stokesley end of the B1257 I've just put forward as a Dream Drive and had regular cause to use this and the many other fabulous roads in the area this car would be pretty high on my shopping list? So, in response to Gavinio's "Seriously? Diesel Subaru?" post in the comments thread that followed the answer is yes. This is the perfect Subaru for a Yorkshireman in a hurry, and not just because it'll do 50mpg and keep his wallet in his pocket. Where it belongs, obviously. I've run a proper JDM WRX in the past and could tell electric car owners a thing or two about 'range anxiety' too, not to mention the difficulty of finding a petrol station selling super out in the sticks.

That's by the by though. Bonnet scoop or not this isn't a diesel WRX or even a car with any real performance pretensions. What it is, however, is the perfect tool for the job. Want to set 'ring lap records? Fine, buy a GT3. Want to quietly make proper progress along a road like the B1257? Then this is your car.

The diesel Impreza is a classic example of a car that makes way more sense out on the road than it does on the spec sheet. Indeed, by the latter measure it's seemingly a tragi-comic desecration of all Impreza fans hold dear. 12 grand for an unloved, four-year-old diesel hatchback with 150hp and a 0-62 time of nine dead? When you can buy a similarly aged 2.5 petrol WRX for less?

It'll look better with a coating of grime

But on a road like the B1257 a car like this is an absolute weapon. Subaru's still unique boxer diesel probably loses them money on each unit sold. But unlike the grunty but clattery 170hp 2.0 TDI found in the GTD and endless other VW group cars it's a diesel with real charisma, spinning up the revs cleanly and with something approaching a power 'band' rather than fat lump that lands in your lap at 1,500rpm. Add to that a nicely snickety six-speed manual in the traditional Japanese mould, lovely floaty suspension with lots of travel to soak up those broken surfaces and gaping potholes and, of course, four-wheel drive traction to haul you through all weathers and you've got the perfect B-road tool. Plus nifty stuff like those heater elements in the windscreen to stop your wipers freezing to the screen on frosty mornings.

This is the exact opposite of the tied-down, firmly sprung 'sporty' vibe we're led to believe is the be-all end-all of performance driving. You drive this car on your fingertips, the light steering just one of the directional tools at your disposal and dampers and body control as comfortable at full extension as they are in maximum compression. You start the turn early with a car like this, setting it up way before the apex, swallowing mid-corner yumps like a rally car and keeping your foot in all the way. And nobody will even notice you passed.

This is a car to be used, abused and never cleaned. It's a tool for a job, pure and simple. You'd have to be thick-skinned, belligerently opinionated and very reluctant to spend any more of your hard earned than is strictly necessary at filling stations.

So yes, Lancashire-based vendor or not it's the perfect Yorkshire Subaru.

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SUBARU IMPREZA 2.0 D RC
Engine: 1,998cc flat-4
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Power (hp): 150@3,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 258@1,800rpm
MPG: 47.9mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 155g/km
First registered: 2009
Recorded mileage: 40,000
Price new: £20,000
Yours for: £11,950

See the original ad here.

[Axionknight]

I was interested in what you had to say, till you called this car "a weapon", which it clearly is not.

[freshmicropig]

Axionknight said:

I was interested in what you had to say, till you called this car "a weapon", which it clearly is not.

Agreed

[Prof Prolapse]

You're a weapon.

No but seriously, it's a slow diesel car. I was with you on the manual is dead thing but this is tripe.

[Dan Trent]

I knew I'd face an uphill struggle with this one!

Dan

[Krikkit]

I usually agree with you Dan, but that is a bloody awful thing. Even for a tight-arse Yorkshireman that's a hard sell.

[Prof Prolapse]

Don't ever change Dan! They love a good argument around here!

[GranCab]

"Paper bag on head" sort of car ... all it needs now is the personalised reg. T1GHT

[greeneggsnsam]

Don't particularly agree, but an excellent argument and very well made!

[74merc]

I wonder if the Impreza is fitted with the same chocolate clutch that the Legacy diesel has?

Edited by 74merc on Thursday 29th August 17:16

[aarondbs]

I agree that its the perfect car for the B1257 but how many people live on this road. Probably the same number as Subaru sold and we now know where they all went.
It's really not a car for me. It has no redeeming features that I can think of.

[Celtic Dragon]

I loved mine until the engine went pop just out of warranty. Would have been a car I kept for 10 years, sadly not to be. I swapped the grille on mine for 1 of the Sti and it did improve the front no end.



I now drive a Skoda.

Edited by Celtic Dragon on Thursday 29th August 17:27

[Bionic Billy Nav]

£12k really? You'd get a decent 320d for that money and they are everything this isn't but hey great story anyway Dan....

[JamStar]

All of the BMW One Series articles on here lately have actually started to make this Imprezza look quite nice in comparison. I used to think it looked shocking.

[CliveM]

Remember the 306 diesel - this seems to be the more modern equivalent.

The flaw in Dan's argument is probably just that the price is still too high. Anyone that concerned with saving money would buy an older car, as whatever this saves in fuel will be more than offset by depreciation.

[micawrx]

Do Golf drivers by Imprezas or vice versa??

[80quattro]

CliveM said:

Remember the 306 diesel - this seems to be the more modern equivalent.

The flaw in Dan's argument is probably just that the price is still too high. Anyone that concerned with saving money would buy an older car, as whatever this saves in fuel will be more than offset by depreciation.

306 TD's were great cars, handled well and had more grunt than most diesel hatches in their day.

[Motorrad]

Prof Prolapse said:

You're a weapon.

To be fair it's more of a tool than a weapon- I'll let other people draw their own conclusions about the writer
of this piece.

I ran the 2.5 petrol version of this car in the states for 30k miles. It was unstoppable yet uninspiring. Given the prices these UK diesels go for only a nutcase or red diesel user would go for this over a WRX.

[TooLateForAName]

74merc said:

I wonder if the Impreza is fitted with the same chocolate clutch that the Legacy diesel has?

The chocolate engine would worry me more. The number of subaru diesel engine failures and the attitude of IM was enough to put me off the diesel legacy as an option.

[Benbay001]

What other 4x4 hatchbacks are there?

[Motorrad]

Benbay001 said:

What other 4x4 hatchbacks are there?

Petrol ones, with turbos, made by the same company which are much more fun to drive.