jeremy

I just read a Mr. Duff's opinion of the new Impreza as compared to the old in CAR.

Very strange, he had nothing but praise for the new in every direction. It was almost as if he wrote the story for a Subaru ad campain. Almost as if he read Mr. Barkers article in Evo and reversed the words to appease Subaru. Mr. Duff is the only person I know of who felt the new cars steering was an improvement. In fact he called the old car's steering- "vague". What are the young, hip editors at Car consuming before their drives?
It would seem that Evo mag, still independant as they are, seem much more able to report in a honest way than the corporate 'brochures' published by everyone else.

RobMac

He is not alone!!

I too now prefer the new steering feel.

At first it seems overly light compared to the old car, until you realise that the new car IS actually more direct; it turns in MUCH better than the older version.

Rob.

malcolm

The new car does steer & turn very nicely. I did feel that there was less feedback but I found myself cornering faster and with more confidence, also the Tramlining tendancy seems to have been ironed out. I think another test is required.

SDB

interesting...

I still haven't driven the new one.

Rob...
Is that "more positive" turn in, etc in comparision to car with PowerStation bump-steer set-up also?

Cheers

Simon

jeremy

I am with you all on this. I want the new to be better in all respects. And indeed I eagerly await the exsistance of this car here in America for the very first time!
However, John Barker is probably one of the very best driver/journalists in the UK, if not anywhere. And the way his story was written suggests that the two drivers (Martin Walker), were giving it all they had on very demanding, damp roads. Both the drivers felt that the new car while superior in many respects, had very poor steering feel. "A long, looping link road reveals that the WRX's steering isn't quite as feelsome on lock as it is about the straight-ahead. Sure, Impreza's have never been noted for talkative, Integrale-style feedback, but the feel through the WRX's rim goes quite numb once you've wound on more than five degrees of lock." Continuing, "First corner and- hey!- this is how an Impreza (refering to the old) should feel; the nose dives crisply for the apex and you can feel how much grip you're using." Continuing, "It's dark and wet, so we let (Martin) him lead in the WRX, keen to hear his thoughts. They concur with ours almost exactly." And last, "You're enjoyment is tempered somewhat by the steering's lack of feedback on lock, though, which robs it of the intimacy provided by the turbo. Maybe it takes more than a couple of days to get used to, but we suspect not."

Coming from a journalist as respected and talented as Mr. Barker, I must say I am more than tempted to beleive him. Indeed the new Impreza has less understeer, is generally more composed and better buil, but it would seem as if a few more bits (subframes, rubber bushings, steering rack mounts/location) have been added that contrive to give the driver a less clear picture of what the tyres are doing on difficult roads.
I have made a post about this prior and still await the experiments that talented people such as MR. Croney, Mr. De Banke and the people at Prodrive can undertake in order to see if the "feel" of the new WRX can be brought back. Can it?

jeremy

Does anyone think what I've presented here is of any interest?

Thanks, JL

chiark

Jeremy: absolutely. The problem is that people won't know until they've had a good play.

People have long memories and are apt to dissect every word sometimes (like you've done with the Evo review).

It'll take some time to come up with a fully objective review.

On the modification side, I know absolutely bugger all about suspension apart from the fact that car set-up is almost a black art. A lot of tinkering will have to be done to come up with an answer, even if it's nowhere near definitive.

The powerstation bump steer mod is proving exceptionally popular with all who try it. The old car had been around for many, many years before this was generally available. Like 8 or 9 years!

There may be a simple fix, there may not. You can bet your bottom dollar that people will be looking for it as soon as they get the cars to really tinker with...

Richard Gledhill

I've driven one too now and found it a little more anaemic than my MY00. Much more refined etc but didn't have the raw edge of mine. The outright grip didn't seem quite as high either, but I've got the Prodrive settings on my car (no bump-steer mod yet though) - the ride height is 1" higher on the new car so that might explain it, maybe? Slightly more body roll?

Smoother, quieter... more S3-like really. Will wait until I've tested the STi before deciding what to do, but at £30k (erk!) I don't think I'll be swapping in a hurry!

Richard

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Am I the only one who thinks that there isn't much improvement in build and materials. The car I drove had 133 miles on the clock and was already rattling. I was hoping that I would see more germanic quality materials and style, but instead it just looks like slightly thicker plastic which is moulded differently. Not sure I like the silver finish either.

I also think the car is too tall inside.

So there!
F

jeremy

Chiark,

I will admit that I did disect many of Mr. Barkers words. And if this got in the way of me being able to make the simple point that I was trying to than I did a poor job. The essence of what I was trying to say was that:

1. Mr. Barker has been reliably writing/reviewing performance cars for many years. He is a very good driver, and a very astute judge of the handling dynamics of cars.

2. Mr. Barker had a very long and challenging drive in the new WRX back to back with a MY00'. The roads were wet and challenging.

3. On these roads both drivers felt that the new WRX steering and overall feel for the road was poor.

4. As evidenced by numerous Audi's, mercedes and BMW's, simply changing the suspension, shocks/struts, wheels and tyres almost never improves the steering or overall tactility of any of these cars.

5. I assume that to bring back the 'feel' to the WRX, some extra and complex work will be required in the areas of steering rack, bushings, the removing of subframes, rosejointing or other similar measures to take the numbness out of the system. I cannot imagine that simply tightning up the suspension, or changing the geometry settings will be able to do the trick.