Seen lots of pictures about the new Impreza(MY01) but i've seen nothing on the interior. Have Subaru addressed this well known and loved? weakness? I suspect it will have the same styling and switchgear as the new legacy.

Now I don't want or need an ultra plush interior but one that stayed rattle free for more than 10 miles and did'nt look like the inside of a matchbox kit car.

The money is spent on what you cant see - & gets my vote every time.

Ro.

The most important question is ..... Have they kept the 'Bright' button ???

Ian.

Ro,

Agreed...but having driven an Audi A3 1.8T for the last week, I think Subaru could tgake some lessons from them.... The car was fast, grippy and nice to drive (not in the same laegue as the Imp, but good). It was also...quiet, refined, felt and looked nice, had a good stereo, no wind noise and build quality felt very very solid (as my leg can attest to after shutting one of the doors on it (yes Im a spoon))

I know you pay for the hidden extras, but it would be nice if instead of having to totally 'outdo', for example, the latest generation Evo, they said "this car handles and goes like a dream, lets concentrate on making the interior nicer so it doesnt detract from concentrating on the driving bits" I think it would then win hands down against competition as it would seal the only chink in the 'jap supercar' armour...

just my thoughts though http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif

and Im sure I'll get a round of 'you know what you're buying when you pay for it' remarks!!

Night

I don't think the interior looks that bad, and in any case I drove VW's and Audi's and I'm not impressed to say the least.
Audi is bland from the inside, and unless you add auto climate control and leather seats it looks awful, I drove a Passat and it ratteled and the fit and finish was awful the shift knob stayed in my hand and take a good look at those tweeters covers, looks like a kid made them in his kindergarden.
all that without even saying how they drive.
So I'm not surprised at the J.D.POWER resualts, I am at Audi/VW prices.
Don't take for grunted all the press crap I would take any Japanese car anyday.

elondan,

Have to disagree. I drove a Passat TDI recently and the interior/exterior were the best things about it. The steering was woefully light, the brakes were overservoed and the engine wasn't as good as I'd expected.

The interior was a bit black (but then it was a black car, so what do I expect?)but the detailing and build quality was faultless.

Given that most people buy cars without a test drive (yes, really!) it's no wonder that VW sell so many of these.

Beautifully built, shame about the anaethsetised driving experience.

Nick

My only reservation about buying an Impreza was the interior, but now I actually quite like it. OK, some parts are a bit cheap (my main criticism is about the sun visors), but I don't think that Audis look any better.

I am amazed that Subaru haven't increased the price more than they have. If they put another £5K on the price then they would still sell every car that they are allowed to import.

If it's true that MY01 is a new design rather that just a few tweaks, then I suspect that the price will go up significantly. Anyone care to comment?

I had a kit car for four years, and redesigned and rebuilt the dashboard. I'm now doing the same with my dad's (cheap) Cobra replica. I make damn sure that every switch is in a logical position for whether or not I'll need it in an emergency or at night, all dials and lights are visible, and the whole lot fits together behind the dash (not easy).

As far as I'm concerned, my Scooby's got a long way to go before that happens. Coupla fog light buttons tucked away somewhere down on the right, the hazard and heated rear window buttons grouped together (why on earth?), and the stereo so low down that I'm almost examining my toenails before I can work out how to change the station. If there's anyone here who can make aftermarket dashboards, I'll help you for the design; we could make a fortune! Switches are easily moved with wiring loom extensions, we can keep the vents where they are, and just swap the stereo and the top storage bin (though I've yet to work out how to stop the stereo cooking on hot days in that position...)

Materials I'm not worried about. Wind noise can be irritating, but isn't awful per se. More irritating is the fact that there is no pocket for any atlas/docs bigger than A5. Subaru do seem to have been masters at filling up the space with the most useless storage space available.

Come on guys; if I can do it, it's not that hard!!

BJH

As the new car is based on a Legacy floorpan I would expect this to have an effect on the interior, possibly to the extent of using the legacy dash.

The current legacy in lux pack form is lovely piece of kit inside, and I hope the new impreza will have a few more luxuries like real climate control, heated seats, decent ice and factory leather.

Take a look in a lexus 2000 thingy and the interior in that is second to none and it's japanese.

Subaru could do worse than offer 2 packs like the Evo VI, a basic version to appeal to the 1000's of enthusiasts they already sell to and a lux pack to tempt buyers away from their plush VW's and Audi's.

Kevin.

How about the option to not have a radio with the car. Should save a few hundred http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif.

Then I can leave the space for the machine gun/tyre slasher/rocket launcher/oil slick
switch gear for the next James Bond movie http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif

Can you imagine the girls getting out of the Z3/Vantage/Esprit to get into a Scooby Bond car ?

'James, what do you think I am ? A hairdresser ?'
or
'The Lotus is so....eighties, don't you think ?'
or
'Decadent capitalist pig. I could feed my family for a year with the money from your fuel bills'.