DarkForce

Hi there,

Was out at a photo shoot for Evo magazine with my DBM MY00, along with a Silver MY01 WRX today. The location was some very sweet roads by Glenshee. I got to drive it quite a bit, on some really challenging roads, and got a good impression of what the new model is like - especially as i drove it back to back with my car.

Starting off, the interior is of a better quality, feeling quite a bit more solid that that of the earlier cars. Not having white dials isn't really a problem, as the silver effect of the dash goes a long way to lightning up the atmosphere. Driving position seems similar to the MY00, with the seat perhaps feeling a touch higher.

Starting up the engine reveals one thing straight away - its a lot smoother than the previous model! Revving it produces a reasonable growl, but it's nothing like the roar that even a standard MY00 can muster. I still remember when i first got my car - I used to blip the throttle just to feel the car torquing That is no more!

Driving it is quite a similar experience - the whole driving experience feels smooth. It doesn't really crash over rough terrain as the MY00 can do - even although it's fitted with 17" alloys. I was gutted about one thing though, the turbo whooshing noise we all know and love has gone! Completely! However, the car feels like a more polished article, at least where refinement is concerned.

Next we move on to what is probably the most important issue to a lot of people on this BBS - giving it the full moo on a country road. In this respect I can say that the car disappointed me - big time. Don't believe what you may have read in the press - the MY01 WRX is slower than the MY00 Turbo, by quite a considerable margin. The urgency of 3rd and 4th gear just isn't there. I found myself a number of times having to change down into 2nd to keep a reasonable pace, when I had done fine in 3rd in my car. The real test came when i was behind my car, driven by Evo's professional driver, myself driving the MY01. We were leaving a village, doing 30, and after the national speed limit sign, we gunned it at the same time. Basically, I was really struggling to keep up - the MY00 was just getting further and further away. The driver also commented on the speed advantage of the MY00, also saying it felt more focussed - although he did commend the chassis stiffness of the MY01.

All in all, i can see the differences between the cars clearly. The MY01 is a more refined, smoother, easier car to drive. But it isn't as fast as the MY00, both in acceleration and in cross country squirts - and feels distinctly average compared to the way in which the MY00 can put a grin on your face.

The MY01 WRX is now a saloon car which happens to go pretty fast, and there are plenty of other car which do that.

Rich_R

Cheers for the review - think I will stick with my MY00 for a while longer.

Do you think that the MY01 understeered less as is claimed?

Rich

CB1

Interested to read your views especially as you own an Impreza. However you have confirmed my worst fears. I just knew that the new Impreza would be like you described. Better built, but less of a ***** out car. This, the sole reason I purchased one in the first place. For me, an Impreza is the nearest us mere mortals can get to super car performance without the super car costs. A Rally car for the road.

Sadly, like BMW when it bought out the MkII M3, they sold out from the MKI. Subaru has done the same. And why? well quite simply they will sell more cars as Mr. 2.4 Children will now consider one.

As I have a company car (Slow but very comfy Merc.) My Impreza has always been a weekend car for pure enjoyment, I don't even drive it that quickly. But it is nice to know, that when conditions permit, it can go supersonic and leave me stunned! even after 2 years of ownership.

I just get the feeling that I never want to drive the new Impreza. So when I sell my STI my last memory is one of "Most mental 280bhp rocket I ever went in"

Any idea's what I can buy next.....even a Carrera will seem tame next to an STI

I'll stop now, cause I'm rambling.

RIP MKI Impreza......the King is dead.

CB
P.S. I think the new hot Focus is an insult. FWD and 170BHP.....Mr. understeer

jeremy

Prodrive,

Is anybody out there? Can any of your people give us some hope? You've been testing these 01's for quite some time now. What do you think, can the 01' be modified and focused into the drivers car the previous was?

steve down under

Having now owned my MY01 for 500km.WOW!
ok my first scoob but holy shi*t,goes like stink,but no doubt will get used to it,so will need more power.
As we speak BPM,APS and MRT performance companys down here in oz are frantically working on mods to boost power as they did on previous model.
Before if you spent AUS$3,500-$4,000 you could bump to approx 205 kw (sti power)
hope same is true of new model as there is more power leerking.

Kevin2000

I have been driving the MYO1 in Ireland for over a week and I also drive a MY00 and the difference in speed is only slight.Apart from that the new car is superior in every way.

NAF

Kevin2000 wrote :" I have been driving the MYO1 in Ireland for over a week and I also drive a MY00 and the difference in speed is only slight "

Kevin,
Have you been driving the MY01 Turbo Impreza & comparing that to your 1.6 MY99 Car ???
Cos I imagine the speed difference then would be SLIGHTLY in favour of the new car...
Or have the new 1.6 Imprezas arrived earlier into the country than was previously expected ???

Regards
NAF
MY99 Impreza 1.6GLi


[This message has been edited by NAF (edited 28 October 2000).]

DarkForce

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Kevin2000:
<B> I have been driving the MYO1 in Ireland for over a week and I also drive a MY00 and the difference in speed is only slight.Apart from that the new car is superior in every way.[/quote]

I'd say the difference was more than slight. The 4 of us who drove both cars (EVO's driver, photographer, myself and my friend) all thought the same.

Superior is a subjective term to use regarding the rest of the car.

merlin

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Kevin2000:
<B> I have been driving the MYO1 in Ireland for over a week and I also drive a MY00 and the difference in speed is only slight.Apart from that the new car is superior in every way.[/quote]


Hi Kevin2000, aren't you the guy who works in a Subaru garage according to one of your earlier posts?

NAF

Kevin2000
Do you work in one of the irish Subaru dealers???
Which one ??
Are you near to Limerick/tipperary area ??
regards
NAF

Mike Owen

Dark Force,

That's not what Martin said to me mate!

gregh

Darkforce, how many miles were on the MY01? I wonder if it needs a good 10k miles under the hood to loosen it up.

Greg

DarkForce

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by gregh:
<B>Darkforce, how many miles were on the MY01? I wonder if it needs a good 10k miles under the hood to loosen it up.

Greg[/quote]

Both cars had about 2.5k on the clock, so it was a pretty fair test.

Chris

Kevin2000

Well Mr Naff appears to call into question my judgement. I have extensive experience of all generation Impreza turbos so that is how I can make a comparison.And yes I do work for Subaru. The only Impreza I havnt driven much are imported STIs.Only driven those on a couple of ocasions.We brought the MY01 to a rally in Cork on sunday and it attracted a lot of attention.People takin photos of it as you are driving along makes you think there are gatso cameras every where although I have to say I was rather worried about the cars aluminium bonnet and people sitting on it.A lot of people were very surprised to see one out on the road so soon.

NAF

Kevin2000
My comments were all tongue in cheek....
However you did not answer my question...
Did you say you were working for Subaru ??? or
Are you working for a Subaru dealer in Ireland???
If So is it in the munster region???

regards,
NAF




[This message has been edited by NAF (edited 30 October 2000).]

Kevin2000

Come to 22b.com chat.

Shep

Just to confirm this posting, I was the said photographer from Evo and the report on the new model is accurate and completely fair.Although the new car has improved ride and handling, in pure performance terms it is left for dead by the old car...it's as simple as that! Dark force will confirm who I am by the mud on my jeans...thanks again for your help with the shoot...read the full story in the next issue of Evo.

Stef

I followed a new black WRX up the M1 yesterday with a middle-aged lady driving.
I thought it was a Hyundai when I saw it two cars ahead!
Black doesn't do it any justice at all, and when I passed it and let it catch me back up, it din't even whisper "Can I please pass?", let alone shout "GET OUT OF MY WAY!".
Nowhere near as aggressive as the current car from the front is it?
At least the driver waved!

Stef.

JohnS

iTrader: (1)

I too have now driven the new car, and confirm everything that has been written above.

The car is a lot smoother, more refined, quieter and certainly "distinctive" in terms of looks.

It does look better in the flesh than in photos, but is still very much an acquired taste. Perhaps people will get used to it as time goes on and it will become accepted. Perhaps not!

The quality of the interior has improved, and the switches etc have a nice feel to them, though the large radio/cassette/CD player seems a bit cheap and nasty, and didn't sound that great, but we were in a poor reception area.

If you hand't driven and loved the previous model, then I'm sure you would be very impressed by the new car. The power delivery is much smoother, and without that big kick as the turbo spools up to speed (which you can't really hear). Looking at the speedometer, the car is still very rapid, and a very effective A to B car.

The brakes feel much better than the older model, with a more responsive (very solid) pedal, and better feel with no sponginess.

Whilst you can feel the car slower in terms of acceleration than the original, it is only really at speeds above 60mph that this becomes apparent.

I didn't get the chance to push the car that hard in terms of handling, but the turn in is certainly better than the older model, and everything feels more "taut" and responsive.

With two drivers of equal ability, I don't think either car would be able to pull away from the other over a typical cross country run, though the driver of the new car would probably arrive more relaxed and refreshed, with perhaps not quite as big a grin on their face.

Having said all this, I know which car I would rather spend a long journey in, or for general driving about the city. I reckon that for 90% of the people, the new car will be an improvement for 90% of the time. After all, there are very few cars which are driven hard 100% of the time (but I can think of a few ).

For the remaining 10%, these are probably owners who would end up modifying their cars anyway, to make them handle better, sound better and generally go faster. With such a good chassis and smooth revving engine as a basis, I think the tuning firms will be able to do a good job, and return some of the characteristics of the old car that we love so much.

Given the fact that many test drives take place in or around city centres, the new car would seem a lot more impressive to fisrt time Impreza owners, and so Subaru will get a lot of sales (if they can convince people about the looks).

If the rumours are true about the 280PS STi version coming to the UK in 2002 are true, then I would say that this would be well worth waiting for, and pesraude many current owners to upgrade to the new car.

DarkForce

Hi David, good to hear from you.

I'm glad you think the report was fair, I tried to get across the point that the MY01 still is a very good car - just different in a way that might not appeal to many people on this BBS.

Re: the mud. Sorry about that again! I just hope nothing is mentioned in the back of next months issue or I'll never live it down!

Chris "Can I smell clutch?" Thomson

Galaf

I own an MY99 Turbo and just compared it to a new MY2001 today.
- First thing: the shape of the back end is really Hyundai (how do I spell this ?? ) style, the front is not too bad.
- The wing on the boot is not very serious, really gets in the way when you look in the mirror and vibrates a lot at highway speed.
- The attractive engine note has completly disappeared, the engine is very smooth and silent and does not give all the emotions and feelings you could have with the previous versions.
- The gearbox is better, but the reardrive is still difficult to get in.
- Steering is too light and soft
- exterior build quality is like before, inside it's better except for the fake alluminium and the doors

All this to say that I am really happy to have a MY99 and that even after a test drive I will not buy a MY 2001. I except from such a car to give me feelings I could not get from a VW or Mercedes. I think Subaru is aiming now at a different type of customers.

Laurent