Impreza GX - quick review
02 April 2002, 09:54 PM
#1
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 477
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I took my STI into the dealers today to have a Prodrive spoiler fitted and was given an Impreza GX with 300 miles on the clock as a loan car for the day. I thought I would pass along my impressions of the 2.0 non-turbo version of the New Age model.
Externally the obvious differences to its turbo driven cousin are the lack of the hood scoop, small oval exhaust, 15” wheels and to my surprise, Michelin tyres.
The interior has everything in the same place as the WRX but is badly let down by the seats. Compared to my MY00 or the STI, these have very little padding, particularly in the side supports and the quality was not as good as higher spec models. The single din radio/CD is acceptable, but nothing to get excited about.
The first thing I noticed when driving off was how light the steering was compared to my previous Scoobies. This is probably due to the skinnier tyres and the lighter front-end. It remained quite light, even at speed which took some getting used to. The clutch was also very light and the gear throw much longer than I have been used to (my MY00 had the quick-shift and the STI has an even shorter shift). It felt more like a typical family saloon than a sports car.
The second gear feels quite ‘tall’ and I found myself spending too much time in first around town. You need to keep the revs up in the GX as it does not have the torque of the turbo and it totally lacks excitement at low revs/high gears. Pick-up in 3rd through to 5th isn't brilliant (ever been overtaken by a BT van?), so my rule of the day was keep it above 3500 revs at all times and resist the temptation to change up. It will happily cruise in 5th on the motorway, but there were times when it was necessary to drop it down a cog to get some overtaking oomph.
The suspension is quite soft and there was more oversteer and body roll than made me feel comfortable. There isn’t anything really nasty about the set-up; it just takes some getting used to. I nearly chickened out on a couple of 'exciting' bends that I would normally take full bore in the STI. Once I found the limits it was certainly better than a Focus who tried his hardest to follow me through the twisties!
The brakes are adequate and fit in with the performance of the car. I wouldn’t like to run them on a track day however as they lacked any real hard bite.
Fuel consumption was excellent. I can’t remember the last time I had so many miles for my money out of an Impreza.
This is a good car for the driver who wants a family 4 door saloon and who isn’t looking for the raw excitement of the turbo versions.
Nice to see how the other half lived for the day.
Ken
Externally the obvious differences to its turbo driven cousin are the lack of the hood scoop, small oval exhaust, 15” wheels and to my surprise, Michelin tyres.
The interior has everything in the same place as the WRX but is badly let down by the seats. Compared to my MY00 or the STI, these have very little padding, particularly in the side supports and the quality was not as good as higher spec models. The single din radio/CD is acceptable, but nothing to get excited about.
The first thing I noticed when driving off was how light the steering was compared to my previous Scoobies. This is probably due to the skinnier tyres and the lighter front-end. It remained quite light, even at speed which took some getting used to. The clutch was also very light and the gear throw much longer than I have been used to (my MY00 had the quick-shift and the STI has an even shorter shift). It felt more like a typical family saloon than a sports car.
The second gear feels quite ‘tall’ and I found myself spending too much time in first around town. You need to keep the revs up in the GX as it does not have the torque of the turbo and it totally lacks excitement at low revs/high gears. Pick-up in 3rd through to 5th isn't brilliant (ever been overtaken by a BT van?), so my rule of the day was keep it above 3500 revs at all times and resist the temptation to change up. It will happily cruise in 5th on the motorway, but there were times when it was necessary to drop it down a cog to get some overtaking oomph.
The suspension is quite soft and there was more oversteer and body roll than made me feel comfortable. There isn’t anything really nasty about the set-up; it just takes some getting used to. I nearly chickened out on a couple of 'exciting' bends that I would normally take full bore in the STI. Once I found the limits it was certainly better than a Focus who tried his hardest to follow me through the twisties!
The brakes are adequate and fit in with the performance of the car. I wouldn’t like to run them on a track day however as they lacked any real hard bite.
Fuel consumption was excellent. I can’t remember the last time I had so many miles for my money out of an Impreza.
This is a good car for the driver who wants a family 4 door saloon and who isn’t looking for the raw excitement of the turbo versions.
Nice to see how the other half lived for the day.
Ken
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
shorty87
Full Cars Breaking For Spares
19
22 December 2015 11:59 AM
