I have just had a test drive in the NEW impreza WRX.
The changes to stiffen the chassis have worked. The handling is dull but awesome. This car corners with fantastic confidence it just is not so much fun anymore.
The engine changes are not so good, where has the massive shove of torque @ 3000 RPM gone?. The car feels at least 20 BHP down.
Thats my opinion anyway.
I would love to hear other peoples experience of driving the car.

i too drove (and saw) one for the first time today when i popped into my dealer in the hope they'd finally have gotten their demonstrator.

only had a very quick drive and took it easy as it had only done 300 miles !

certainly still quick, even keeping to the 4000 revs limit but feels nothing like as quick as my MY00 and no shove in the back like mine http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/frown.gif

still feels very stable and great at cornering etc and it does not appear to tramline on poorer roads as much as my car does. the brakes too seemed better ?

oh dear about those seats though ! only 20 minutes in the car and my back was aching. they are truly horrible and i would not consider buying the car with them fitted. whats even worse is that owners who buy now will have to pay to upgrade to the better seats when they become available next april !

arranged to have the car for much longer in a couple of weeks or so when they've put a few more miles on it.

the interior is ok, not that much better than my car ? the stereo looks terrible and could be a nuisance to replace being a funny size ?

cheers

steve

[This message has been edited by Steve Perriam (edited 25 November 2000).]

Having driven the new Impreza quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, I am of the opinion that it doesn't FEEL as fast as the old car, but in actual fact there is not THAT much in it.

The new car has got a smoother torque delivery, in part due to the car now having Variable Valve Timing that the previous car did not have. And partly to do with the fact that the torque is produced lower down the rev range than before. Therefore you don't get that big shove forward that you used to get from the older cars, and so the car does not have the urgency that so associated the 1st generation cars. This is the price to pay for progress!

The car does not feel MUCH better in any one area, rather it is a bit better in ALL areas that add up to the new car being a significant improvement over the old. You just have to get used to it more, rather than basing your impressions on a quick test drive.

Also, I don't think that you will have to pay to change to the rally seats if you do not want the sports seats with the side airbags, it should be a direct swap. And they are, to me anyway, even more comfortable than the seats in my MY99.

Rob.

robmac

according to my dealer you will have to pay to upgrade to the rally seats as he says he specifically asked subaru about this !

cheers

steve

Yes those seats are very poor. My passenger was bruised on the test drive.
The car I drove had 100 miles on the clock and the dealer instructed me to give it a good thrashing to loosen it up. So I did.

Steve,

Re the stereo. By all accounts it's not "that" difficult. As you can get double DIN converters to put a single DIN sized stereo in and it leaves you with a small (all be it not very usefull) cubyhole.

Interesting to see that some people are starting to warm to the new car.

Keep the comments coming...

Its just claimed some new silverware as well.

Rob Mac mentions variable valve timing....I thought only the Japanese STi version had that?

When I test drove Quenbys demonstrator a week ago I found the seats to be ok. In comparison they felt better than those in the MY97 I had before the P1 which could be a real pain in the lower back if set up incorrectly.

As for power delivery I commented that it felt like an electric vehicle...just a constant rate of acceleration and very quiet (I had just got out of a P1).

Suspension felt good but the steering needed a lot more feel. Unfortunately there was no punch from the engine on exiting corners.

Brakes felt better due to the bigger master cylinder even though the calipers are no different. So it means they will go soggy and fry just as quick.

Steve

RobMac,

did you get to drive Goodwin's, or your own, Bugzilla on the track at Dono on Friday? Impressions?

My only observation is that the car was being driven by experienced track guys - and when it was behing me a couple of times I always pulled away (Sti).

By comparison, a UK car with APs was all over me within less than two laps (I am a slow driver http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif).

Any thougths?

R

beware the curse of double din, changed mine in my sti yesterday to find the kenwood mask was too wide and didnt fit !
had to cut the dash surround to get it in !

You have got me thinking on the variable valve timing, I thought the UK car had, but cannot remember where I saw that. I could well be wrong...

I think the guy that was driving the car at Donno was an Autocar journalist, therefore not a particularly good driver as journalists go... http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif and so cannot comment.

I drove the car at Donington a little bit a fortnight ago, as well as on the road during a Subaru event a couple of weeks back and everyone that I spoke to on the day was impressed with the car; and most of them were current 2000 Turbo owners.

As far as the double DIN stereo goes, the basic 1.6TS model has a single DIN unit with a usefull 'cubby' hole underneath it, and I would imagine that you could order the plastic mounting plate from your dealer if you had a single DIN aftermarket unit (as I have.) My car is being serviced in the morning, so I will try to find out more.

Rob.

I had double din in my Sti...

...put in a single DIN unit not problem.

If you do this is gives you somewhere to put your Knock Link and Lambda Link http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

R

PS Rob, you are very politic http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif

Look at this one

Just drove Quenby's demonstrator during my lunch hour.

I must confess to being quite impressed. It had a fluidity around the corners that my My00 did'nt have. I will also echo the sentiments that it needed more BHP and torque. I think the STI or PPP will be the one to go for. The Jap one has 247BHP so I suspect if you had a straight through exhaust system you'd get a lot of that back.

I did miss the shove in the back, but i'm sure my wife and passengers would'nt. It was deceptively fast and tempted you to go into the bends faster than maybe you should. I'm not sure what it's like right on the limit as I did'nt try too hard but I suspect it's about the same. It just does'nt seem to be trying. Now whether that's a good or bad thing is down to the driver's tastes. It seemed easier to drive and even had a 'pipe and slippers' mode for when I was in town.

It does look better in the metal but DOES need those WRC black light fittings. The bonnet looked a little bland with no vents too.

The dealer did'nt know if a PPP was in the pipeline but said he thought there probably would be. The interior still was a little plain and the seat were'nt the best.

I'd be tempted with an STI and the WRC light fittings...

Took my car for a service today and they had a WRX in rally blue with gold wheels.
Looks better in the "metal" than in mags, still don't like the lights.
You can have a test drive if you want? OK
If only all sales people were as good looking as Leigh. I'll drive down the road and then you can take over she said, she kindly stopped before we got to the twisty bits.

The interior is an improvement with silver center cosole ( not sure about the stereo ) a higher grade of plastic and a high instrument cowl.

Started the car up and the first thing is how quiet it is.
When it was my turn to drive I had Leigh hanging on to the grab handle.
The ride and handling are much improved with confidence to hammer round corners even in the wet, although there was a definate lack of steering feel.

Every report I've read apart from EVO says the engine is more responsive with more punch. Not.

When nailing it there is no shove in the back, no rapid rise of revs or speed. It is definately slower as EVO pointed out.

So overall opinion.
Smoother more refined ride, but lacks punch of the old model.
I can see a lot of rally blue ones being sold with the gold wheels and a PPP.

Listers of Worcester are having a promotion this weekend for the new Impreza. The demo car had a couple of thousand on the clock.

Jon

Drove the new car today - 4dr in Dark blue mica. Certainly looks better in real life although those front lights are definitely the worst feature. Overall quality seems much better.

Main observations:

1.Interior improved in general but preferred old model's white dials.

2. Gearbox almost the same but clutch feels much lighter.

3. Slightly quieter.

4. Ride similar to my MY98 (when it was new).

5. Handling - don't know, I didn't push it but it seems similar to MY98.

6. Performance - it had only done 14 miles so revs were limited but certainly felt sluggish compared with my own car.

Overall, it is a good car with a quality feel that my present car doesn't have, but to be honest, I was glad to get back into my own car for the journey home.

I think I'll wait for the STI.

D.