Subaru were stupid to change their design direction. The current WRX is lost in a sea of hot hatches and there isn’t a lot that differences it from any other, the old WRXs were somewhat unique. The new ones also lost the frameless windows.

I was just getting my back up about the FWD ‘real performance car’ comment, and then you saved it by noting that only the Europeans do it right. Good save.

Plenty of room for the baby carriage! Scooby owners rejoice.

Sorry to say, but this is a very average review. It focused on your only pro Subaru Argument. AWD. It’s getting very boring. This car is half the car the SP23 is. Just read every other credible review in the land. No, or very little mention of cheap plastics, cheap seats, cheap dash, cheap interior in general, a 5 speed instead of a 6 speed manual box, an auto that hunts gears like crazy, and an underpowered engine. Journalism is supposed to be based on hard facts, not pre conceived ideas and biases towards certain brands. Fact is SP23 is a superior car, and anoher fact is that Mazda is handing Subaru its ass!

I heard through the grapevine that in europe they were making a diesel lineup to try and snag the young professional or cost concious people. I wouldnt blame impreza fans for firing up if it is true

MMM……..Nick..I thought Alborz had already gone over the interior and gearbox issues? I guess you don’t like the fact it is AWD and its very good at it still? Mate this site is one of very few you will read in Oz that isn’t biased to brands!!

ah its a boxter engine. that should be interesting i got the impression that it was just going to be a regular diesel donk.

love to see the stats on that when it comes out

I guess you guys are all youngish!!

I think Subaru have gone after the Euro market……and I think they will get there!

I do love the old ones too but it makes us oldies feel like mutton dressed up as lamb when we drive it! We want a sheep in Wolves clothing!

Thanks Importjap…..yep thats pretty much it! Like a cheap M3! BY the way hubby took my M3 out to get his headers adapted to the new o2 sensors{grrr in my boot} and as normal someone tries to race you! He didn’t bother cause hes done them before!I still think there great value though!I myself have nailed one………..up hill!

I have driven the new impreza RS auto over a two week period!! at first i thought its ok! but its the sort of car that really grows on you the more you drive it! you start to appreciate its exceptional handling/ride quality. then you realise how quite it is and how well it insulates road noise compared to all other small cars. then there is the solid safe feel on the road, and the nice sporty sound of the boxer engine when u wind it out, then the comfy seats that hold you in, I grew to love it and everyone that saw it loved the new look! AWD is definately a big advantage in roadhoding/safety and a solid feel on the road, well done subaru for buliding the best/safest/most refined/best resale small car on the market, and still keeping up subaru traditions..

Mechanically the new Subie is just as good as previous models.. Yet; the impreza has lost some of its trademark looks such as the flared guards and the frameless windows Whereas the new Lancer still looks aggressive which is why a number of subie fans are upset about the new one.. at least the STi has retained its muscular looks.

Which could be why the Base model looks so sedate/bland.. to make the STi look more distinctive and unique

I however will keep MY02RS because its as close to a Rex as you can get – same 2.5 Litre and Bucket seats without paying the extra insurance premuim for the turbo or for the fuel.. and it looks better.

^ how fast do you want your kids to go in the wet?

i think a major cause of dislike towards the new design is that people get confused between the wrx and the wrx sti.

they dont realise that suby has created a much greater variation in the new models. the new sti looks hot

what i’m saying is.. how does the new wrx look any less aggressive than its competitors? (mazda 3 MPS, golf gti, hsv vxr, rs megane, xr5 etc) they are all just mundane hatches with a body kit)

the sti on the other hand looks like the performance flagship people associate with suby

I think it was Drive or someone… they voted the Mazda 3 as the top car in its class over the Impreza (in auto). But as said the manual, which I have driven, is alrite… although I really have doubts as to why AWD is needed for a car with such little power (so you really only get the drawbacks such as poor fuel economy… and rarely the benefits of additional grip)

^ accelerating in corners in the wet?
maybe this discussion should be based more on driver limitations rather than awd v rwd v fwd or how fast your granny drives.

yea if you have a good enough car under you with good handling and Control….and you know the limits of urself and the car under you….. why not???? again its all about knowing the limits of your car and urself….

this is where Driving training comes in to play… its not about how much power the car has as stated in above comment… its all about the drivers abilty to handle it and know when and when not to push the car… i think every one should push there car to the limit in a safe envirvo so they know what it and isnt capable of and what there themselves are capable of…..

TP that couldn’t be further from the truth, try driving your regular FWD corolla in the wet and then drive the standard Impreza. AWD saves lives, its much less likely to let go on you at any stage.

Subaru have built their image and brand on All-Wheel-Drive technology and its one of the main reasons they have been so successful.

As the reviewer says, there is no such thing as a fwd sports car, and if u can get an AWD for the same price as a FWD, you’d be a fool to go for the FWD.

Adam J, you do realise that if you can get an AWD for the same price as a FWD, the FWD would have more invested into other parts of the car – ie interior fit-out. You’d be a fool to not recognise the cost benefits of FWD.

And in a car with this much power, AWD is of very little benefit. How often to you drive your car to its limit through the bends in the wet?????

Nick, give it up mate, alburz is right, the safety rating alone would make me buy this car over the mazda, and the whole AWD is unneccary argument is stupid, its not that subaru are charging more for it! Its actually cheaper

Thanks for that info Alborz. I guess also that the fitment of AWD to the 3MPS would have pitched it squarely at the feet of WRX territory at STi prices?

Just to clarify if anything was directed at me, Im not saying the Impreza is worse then the Mazda (although Nick is correct, many reviews have SAID it is… it did win car of the year for its category from I think Drive)… in fact in many regards its better, safety being a huge one. But in relation to AWD, it really is pointless… Adam Im well aware in the wet there is some benefit however even then its very limited given the cars lack of power nor do the target market for this kind of car really push to gain such benefits (This isnt the WRX). Simply, the key features of this vehicle, its safety… would still be a key features without AWD, it would still have 5 stars it would still have ESP. One thing it would gain however, is better fuel consumption. Currently to me understanding its last in the class in this area, an area which people now more than ever are focusing on… all for the benefit of AWD or should I say lack there of given the cars primary use.

People seem fixated on the AWD thing. Firstly FWD isn’t crap and doesn’t automatically mean crap handling or track times. The new RenaultSport Megane F1 R26 or whatever they call it is 1.5 seconds faster around a track than the new WRX. Can’t remember which one. Doesn’t mean ALL tracks, but the suggestion of great track speed is there. And who can forget the “original” type-R and various Peugeots.

Witness: MazdaSpeed 3 MPSes lapping the Nurburgring (go find the YouTube videos).

AWD, especially on a track, does not mean that it is automatically a better handling proposition or faster.

AWD can give better safety in the wet. But you know what? For a car of modest power, I’ve never felt in danger in the wet driving a FWD. I have a Pulsar and an Accord. In normal driving conditions, which is the usage of the majority of car owners, a FWD will almost never be pushed into a dangerous situation, even in roundabouts in the wet, especially at “normal” speeds.

How fast do you need to go around corners anyway?

If you are like me and enjoy spirited driving, then you can still achieve reasonable speeds around corners in the wet in a FWD. But the question must be asked again: How fast do you need to go? Does an extra 5 or even 10kmh corner speed give you more thrills? What about the good ol’ days of fairly slow, but fun cars (like Minis or old Geminis).

No, for the average motorist FWD is fine, and for enthusiasts that know how to handle cars, FWD is just as fun for that 5% of the time when you are on the edge.

I have no problem with AWD. But to argue that it is a necessity (especially where fuel consumption is concerned) is wrong.

Subaru have pulled a clever marketing trick on the world where AWD = Safety. This is not entirely true and not entirely necessary.

As for this new Impreza, I’d certainly consider one. I haven’t driven one, but I get the impression its a great car, if a little compromised for cost saving. I’d check out the SP23 and probably a plethora of other cars in the same bracket or the one just above with all the Turbos and such.

Ive just brought a subaru impreza 2007 rs and there were only 199 made they came out with the wrx sports shifter and sti springs with wrx rims and suspension I brought this car over the lastest model due to the new one looking like a mazda 3 and i didnt like that but I love this car

I have an updated sp23 with stability / traction ect 6sp manual $30500 cost – it appears the Subaru only has 15″ wheels apposed to 17″ on the Mazda. My main reason for buying the Mazda sedan was the interior, the large boot, folding seats (bigger than many hatchbacks with their seats up) and reliability. It is bigger than the Subaru h/ b

I have been reading the for and against the Sp23 and the RS. I test drove both cars, i liked the Sp23 on paper with the upgrade to the bose system and the bigger engine..but thats where it ended. The clutch was a cable clutch…it was really easy to hold in but as soon as you let it out it just jumps out and is really heavy…
The gear stick was extremly notchy, i even had trouble changing gears with it. and the Suspension especially in the back, was really jumpy and very unsure of it self.

As soon as i jumped in the RS i loved it.
The Suspension is great, clutch was soft, turn off the stereo and it is so peaceful, and maybe a bit quite, sometimes you cant even hear the engine..i started it twice a few times.
I brought it about 3 months ago and ive racked up 6000km, ive just come back from a road trip to the 12 apostles and back to sydney. and it is the best car i have ever brought without a doubt.

Whenever i see a SP23 i just laugh and say to myself that guy didn’t try the suby.

The Impreza looks better in the flesh; otherwise pictures would render it a 1-Series knock-off. As always, it will handle like a regular Subaru, but they need more than a 4-speed auto.

Coming from a 2004 GX Impreza owner, I can honestly say that owning an AWD car that has less than 130kw is an absolute waste of petrol and not to mention an environment killer.

Prior to purchasing the Subaru, I read a lot of their White Papers on the benefits of AWD in cornering etc. I got sucked into the whole marketing thing.

In reality, unless you are an avid skier and hit the slopes pretty often, I would say that an AWD drive car has a lot of disadvantages:

1. Sucks more fuel as your are driving more wheels, gears, shaft.

2. Noisier drive due to the reasons described above.

3. Performance suffers also due to the reasons described above.

Do you know why the non-turbo versions feel so secure? Its because the AWD system slows acceleration down by such a significant degree that it doesn’t get a chance to slip.

Try getting behind even a really crappy car immediately after driving a lardy AWD…by crappy car I mean a non drivers fridge on wheels like a Toyota Corolla…you will feel like the Corolla has grown wings all of a sudden because it isn’t being bogged down by the AWD system.

This reviewer has lost a lot of credibility in my books by selling the strenght’s of AWD without balancing this with the associated disadvantages.

You don’t need AWD unless you have a hyper speed engine. Its chasis balance and suspension tuning that play an important role in a vehicle’s handling ability.

If you were refering to the WRX then I would say different story but we are talking about a sub 200NM torque vehicle here.

All the Mazda supporters must be city and expressway drivers as the Mazda has only 110 mm ground clearance – not enough for country roads or many Sydney rapid change of grade driveways. The Subaru has 155 mm which is abit over 6 inches on the old scale and this was proven adequate by early Holdens and Falcons before everyone thought you needed a truck to drive on country roads. The standard Subaru R has 16inch wheels and 205 mm wide tires to give it much better road grip than the Mazda.
Magani

Ive driven the new imprezza and at first was not impressed, went back a second time and gave it a bit more of a caneing, and drove it like I owned it rather than had borrowed it.

It has grown on me and reckon I will buy it.
I do 35,000 country miles per year and have always driven SUV’s including Toyota and Ford.

The only thing I am concerned about is it feels close to the road after what I have driven, But thought it handled pretty well on the gravel as well as on the bitumen?
Any other ladies out there doing country miles with one?
Olive

If so what do you think?

A few years ago I owned both a Peugeot 205GTI (FWD) and Lancia Delta Integrale (AWD). Contrasting cars of a similar size but both great fun. The Pug was beautifully balanced and simply phenomenal for it’s time but by comparison, the Integrale came into a class of it’s own for grip and performance.

My current car is the Renault Megane R26 and I know that without any doubt, it can be coaxed through winding tarmac much, much faster than either of the above. The magic that Renault have worked with the R26 completely redefines FWD.

I test drove both the SP23 and the Impreza RS (both auto) today and have called a pretty dead even heat. The RS to me is the better car in terms of external styling whereas the Mazda, although slick, seems tired given that I see countless numbers on the road. Interior styling went to Mazda hands down.
The Mazda had a lot of pick up and felt like a smooth drive. The Subie seemed more stable and held the road better. My wife said she felt safer in the Subie. However, the tired 2 litre engine of the Subie is annoying. If it was a 2.5 litre or even a 2.3 litre, there’d be no contest. However, it is a VERY hard decision.

I think this discussion is such a fascinating one because of the differing ways each car us presented – Battles within Battles if you catch my drift (no PUN intended)

AWD Vs FWD
RS 2.0L Vs SP23 2.3L
RS 5 Sp v SP23 6 speed
NCAP Rating 5 vs 4
Cheap Plast-icky interior Vs Mazda quality

There is one thing that has not been mentioned (that I can tell) that wins me over each and every time. Vision through the front windscreen. Hard to describe what it means to be quality but I know when I found it.

Focus, Corolla, Mazda, Lancer, Astra and Golf DONT HAVE IT.

Along with the qualities talk about adnauseum, the Impreza HAS IT and wins in my book. Can any Impreza owners better describe the front windscreen vision factor? It just seems like you can see more.

Very interesting blog – the discussion more than the main article.

I am unfortunately – in a toss right now. The options being: Subaru R , Lancer ES , Mazda 3 neo, Focus CL.

Honing down to Subaru, Mazda or Lancer.

How is the REAL fuel efficiency of Impreza??

Mazda will never match a Subaru! Subaru has awd and a boxer engine. Boxer engines handle better because they have a lower center of gravity.

Long time reader first time poster.

After reading reviews, notwithstanding caradvice.com’s review of the Imprezza RS and at the sametime forced by the breakdown of my old forester 97 model (bloody mechanics) I went out and purchased a Imprezza RS in Oct 08.

Now I was a little hesitant but then again for $30k what else is there in the market that has AWD and isn’t a piece of crap? Really there isn’t that much to choose from, apart from other Subuaru’s and they at the time were quite a bit more (they weren’t doing drive away deals on Foresters).

Now i guess i’m a little biased, for one reason or another my entire family, my in laws combined, all own Subaru vehicles. Sure they’ve had others makes, but for one reason or another over the last 10 years they’ve all purchased, and kept purchasing Subarus. I guess understand why now. They go and go (nay a problem, except with a dodgy mechanic), they are as stable as a fricken rock (no slip sliding whatsoever) and when you need it they have a bit of grunt.

Back to the story, so after purchasing Lucky (name so for the period of terrible luck I was going through, damn mechanics). The RS, looks fine inside. Yeah its got a plastic console but for $30k so does pretty much everything else. Personally I find the interior quality to be much better then a Holden or Ford. If you want to talk about sterile design, plastic galore then by all means we can engage in a bit of cockney word play.

Definitely a step above a Toyota who’s designs are just weak (and talk about plastics), a bit more exciting then a Nissan. Against Honda, well Honda are good but then again your paying $5-10k more. Against the Mazda 3, well I’d say I’d prefer the cabin over the Mazda 3, it feels taller, wider, and not so claustrophobic. The quality, well I just feel better in the Subaru and the seats against the wooden pews of the Mazda….

So yes it could be better but its functional, looks great at night with the red glow (far better effect the Mazda 3). The wife reckons the cup holder should be up in front of the vents like the forester but personally i like them down next to the handbrake. Definitely don’t have to worry about a ton of coke spilling all over the place. Stereo is a bit weak, can be played loud but with many bodies in the car, it seems to lose detail and fidelity. probably will get it replaced one of these days. 3.5mm jack in the centre console is quite handy though.

Best of all the seats. I found the seats on many other makes to be harder, lacking support. The RS’s seats just cup your ass up and well hold you like a baby. To be frank it was the seats that did it for me, the moment i sat in it i knew i’d buy the car. I just can’t stand to be uncomfortable, and thus so far so good, on the long journeys up to the mountains it seems to be working. Definitely not feeling fatigued by the seats or the driving position.

The engine will disappoint you for the first 4,000km, you’ll get to about 1,000Km and be wondering “is that it”, a bit annoyed that whenever you want a bit of oomph you’ve got to stick it 2nd, that 3rd doesn’t seem to be all that effective unless you’ve got the rev’s up high (like 4000rpm), which your not meant to do until you’ve got past 5,000km.

So soon after hitting 5,000km and the first service the car’s behaviour changed completely. Its almost like owning a new car. Now i got the auto (i sit in a bit of traffic so no point destroying my leg on the clutch) and thus noticed that I no longer need sports mode. Car just leaps when ever you put a little pressure on and its just so much more quicker.

sure the auto can forget, fairly rarely, to pick the right gear but “sports” (ha) mode allows you to choose the gear and hey the auto seems to do the right thing most of the time. Far superior to the old imprezza’s, and much better then any other 4 gear auto i’ve driven.

I really think Subaru needs run 5000km on the clocks before they sell an Imprezza, they’d be selling them like hot cakes.

Lastly the handling. Now i’ve driven many a car, holdens, Nissan silly car (a Silvia), Subarus (liberty’s, foresters, imprezza’s) etc and they all had body roll. Things would slide around the cabin depending on speed and angle of turn, and yet irrespective of what I throw at the car I, my belongs, the thousands of toys that litter my vehicle, seem to do nothing, it is like the universe is turning around me and the car is staying absolutely straight.

Suspension, well its pretty good. I reckon to have good suspension is not to even notice or remember that you’ve a teeth rattling trip, or journey. It soaks it up.

Brakes are also quite effective, with much progression.

Perhaps Subaru need to run obstacle outside of every dealership.

So that’s with the good. The bad, well its a bit small. The boot is a bit of a squeeze with the pram and, well if you’ve got a baby seat, and want to go somewhere, with the pram and luggage, well you’ll be playing tetris for about 30 minutes whilst you load the car. A little annoying.

Petrol wise, well on long trips you can squeeze nearly 460-80km out of the tank, very impressive. During the week going to work, you might be lucky to get 360-400km out of it.

That said, when you’ve got it on the Woodford bends, in 2nd, sun shining brightly and doing the legal speed limit of 80kmph then you’ll find with your Imprezza RS that things ain’t so bad. especially for $30k

Dear All

We have both Mazda 3 (MAXX) 06 and Impreza (RX) 09, so no bias.
None of them is better over the other. Let me point out pros and cons – the only fair way to compare.

MAZDA3

Pros:
Better interior style (design, finish and functionality). Examples: better plastic, door trims, much more functional glove box, middle compartment, etc.
This car is great in the city while driving in traffic. Active-matic is comfortable and still gives the zoom-zoom when used in the semi manual mode.
Longer wheel base gives extra stability.
More consistent torque across the rev range.
Some external features look more stylish. I like mud flaps – should be compulsory in all cars in Australia.

Cons:
Poor visibility looking back, when reversing.
Since the boot and engine bay are deep, there is a little less leg room inside.
Lower ground clearance.
Since it has long wheel base and FWD, the rear is dragged behind. Sometimes the rear wheels would go their own way on the corners, touching road kerbs.

IMPREZA RX

Pros:
To take full advantage of AWD and its capability, manual is the way to go. Then, it is a far more interesting car to drive then Mazda.
Safety is a big plus, including inherent stability with the boxer engine sitting low. That engine – working nicely so nicely. Sometimes you want to turn the radio off and listen to the engine.
Superior, strong pickup at 3000 rpm.

Cons:
Heavier due to AWD. The torque dies off outside the optimum 3000rpm.
On a bad-mood-day looks cheaper than Mazda; plastics can be annoying, no mud flaps.
With manual version, the gear box can be stubborn when trying to put the reverse gear in.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE

Mazda3 – red colour and tinted windows look great.

Impreza – grey or black look far better. These colours blend with interior plastic well, so the plastic is much less annoying.

Very balanced opinion, Catch. You sound like no-ego-to-the-point guy.
I might add, as I am biased, that hill assist feature of Impreza wins my heart over Mazda.

Instead of just comparing the Impreza and the Mazda have you considered the Golf 118 TSI. I drove all 3 cars and the Golf was only $500 more than the SP25. Personally I found the Impreza underpowered so decision came down to SP25 or Golf. Picked up Golf due to preferred styling & finish.

I have owned an RX Auto for 31/2 years. Initially I was very dissapointed in the performance, it felt like the handbrake was on, although fuel consumption was pretty good.

The dealer carried out a Field Update, which improved it a bit.

At 75,000km,it started to loosen up (yes it took that long) and now at 100,000km, it is going so well!! Can’t believe it is the same car. It still feels new as well, no squeeks or rattles. I do a lot company business in it, and perhaps the gentle highway cruising prevented earlier loosening up – tyres are original and just ready for replacement.

Apart from dealer servicing it hasn’t cost me a cent. I change the engine oil half way between recommended intervals (about 6,000km).

Complaints? Small boot, taken up by that fantastic suspension I believe.

If you’re thinking of one – go for it!