Here in Israel 75 precent of 1999 impreza turbo owners by their car without ABS and Airbags, most of them prefer it because budget problems, but other "Race Drivers" claim the ABS is useless, in some cases they're right, but as you might guess most of the time you drive on public (sometimes rainy) roads. Here in Israel there is no dreams like "DONNINGTON" or "SILVERSTONE" to run wild, so the reality is quite grey.
In the UK - do you prefer with or without ABS/Airbags?

Never had a crash so I don't know the usefulness of it..

here's a potentially sick thought though..if I ever had a really nasty I would be more worried about losing my legs. If the legs got mangled I'd rather not have the airbag and say goodnight there and then.

I'm afraid I don't have the courage to re-adjust to a radically new life like that.

apologies if that causes anyone offence, but thats my opinion.

I didn't take the optional passenger airbag in my last car, but I think you'll be hard pressed to buy a decent new car that doesn't have a driver's bag these days..

Do not forget the wgiht.
No ABS/Air bag/Sunroof combination save about 100Kg!!!

AN IMPREZA TURBO MY 99 WITHOUT AIRBAGS
AND ABS ....
WELL I THOUGHT ALL MARKETS GOT AIR BAGS(AT
LEAST FOR THE DRIVER) AND ABS AS COMPULSORY
FIT . STILL I ENVY THOSE DRIVERS IN ISRAEL

OVER HERE YOU CAN ONLY HAVE YOUR IMPREZA TURBO WITH EVERYTHING INCLUDING SUN ROOF.

SPEAKING OF WHICH I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH
Mr. DUKAS ....COME SIR 100 KGS FOR ABS ,
SUNROOF,AND TWIN AIR BAGS...A BIT TOO
MUCH DON'T YOU THINK?
AND THAT IS NOT TO MENTION A/C, HOW MUCH WOULD THAT LOT WEIGH DO YOU THINK??

HAPPY MOTORING EVERYONE

Dir Mr. Aziz,

I'm sure that we both share the feeling that air-conditioning is a must in our area ( unlike heated black leather seats http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/wink.gif ).

Regarding the 100Kg different - I just compared the Israeli MY98 and MY99 spec. published by the distributor.
In case there are other differences I'm sorry not taking that into account.

Eran.

I choose mine without airbags because it is a family car that needs a rearward facing front baby seat. No ABS is a shame but my wife and I are well used to cars without.
I wont bore you with a story of how traction control nearly wiped us out in another car, but it was our main reson for buying a AWB scoob with full driver input.

hello Mr. dukas

Thank you . You are right A/C is a must in
our countries . Still I wish that I had a choice in getting the options I really
needed .
The front air bag prevents you from having
a rear ward facing child seat and subaru does not provide a disconnect system as with mercedes or ford for example.

By the way is your car fitted with remote
keyless system and do you also have cruise control .?
What is the octane rating available ?are you
using 95 or 98 un leaded?

THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES

Here in Holland most of the scoobys don't have ABS and airbags.My experience is that I drive more careful,there are no gadgets to help you .I believe that all those safety devices give you a false feeling of safety,and you will drive less concentrated.
Research shows people drive unsafer in safer cars.

I think it depends on different markets which equipment are suitable and which are useless.
The ideal Impreza in places such as Hong Kong or Singapore should be equipped with climate A/C, no passengers airbag and no electric windows/mirrors. The only thing I would keep is central locks.
You never open the windows 'cos it's so hot and you can pay tunnel/road tolls with electronic tags. Sunroofs are unnecessary if A/C are fitted.

Shame UK spec cars can't have passenger air bags as an option ie not to have it, like JamesDT if you have a sprogg its a pain in the bum,and the money is best spent on the air-con instead.
Try asking a dealer to temp. disconnect the passenger air bag (for a laugh) and you get the same response as if you'd asked for a nice discount on a new Scoob!

HELLO CLARENCE,

You have the ideal list,
But I would still add the remote option for
central door locking system, rear wiper as
seen on Japanese market 4 door impreza's,
and may be the factory cruise control.

NOW there is the perfect impreza turbo.
BUT we can not have everything in life

Impreza turbo with cruise control?
What does it good for?

HI,

YES I know a cruise control is no good
at all even dangerous to use in the city
and winding country roads but on a long
trip of 1000 km or more on straight and
mostly empty road , you will be glad that
you had cruise control , by maintaining
a fixed speed you actually control your
fuel consumption rate not to mention sticking with the legal speed limit with out
trying to check the speedo constantly.

And that helps keep you relaxed with your
attention on the road and other traffic.

BEST WISHES

Sorry, I was talking about the ideal WRX (or STi) as they are the only ones available in Hong Kong, so rear wipers are standard. Rear wipers are one thing that lots of car makers overlooked.
Remote central lock is a must if you fit an alarm, which is another must have for a turbo/WRX/STi.
I don't think cruise control was available for turbo Imprezas, not even in Japan. Still, different requirements for different markets and countries.

Most of this discussion concentrates on the air bags. What about the lack of ABS -- how much of a problem is that? Is there any rationale for them not being fitted -- like the four wheel drive system distributes power in such a way as to make ABS unecessary?? My WRX lacks ABS.

My WRX had ABS but no airbag. I can (and have) beaten the ABS by cadence braking. ABS is useless in snow and ice, in snow locked wheels will cause snow to build up in front of them giving a (albeit small) degree of resistance to forward motion. You can always disconnect the ABS anyway (or add a switch for a less permanent option).

I'd rather not have it all, modern cars seem to lack "feel" and ABS (along with power steering) only serve to make it worse.

Ken