GTP Cool Wall: 2003-2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI

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2003-2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI

  • Total voters
    137
  • Poll closed .
Generally driven in an anti-social manner around where I live.

Also, this generation is not particularly iconic, and one of the more vanilla offerings to look at. Saved from seriously uncool because I'm sure they are fun to drive.
 
Ah, the Bug-Eye, another hard car to judge. Cool on the grounds of performance and rally credentialss. Seriously Uncool if driven by the classic tuner sterotype of a person that knows more tuning vocabulary than actual tuning skillz (with a "z" because tuner) and if spec'd wrong (wrong meaning "looking too flash for its own good"). Also, I think that the 1st gen looks cooler just by a margin.

All in all, it balances out to a cool, not SZ because the dumb owners who push their cars far too much drop its rating down a bit.
 
When i changed cars earlier this year, this (well, the wagon version) was one of only a few cars that filled my criteria. I chose an Audi A3 over it, which by definition makes this uncool at the very least.
 
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Niku Driver HC
Ah, the Bug-Eye, another hard car to judge. Cool on the grounds of performance and rally credentialss. Seriously Uncool if driven by the classic tuner sterotype of a person that knows more tuning vocabulary than actual tuning skillz (with a "z" because tuner) and if spec'd wrong (wrong meaning "looking too flash for its own good"). Also, I think that the 1st gen looks cooler just by a margin.

All in all, it balances out to a cool, not SZ because the dumb owners who push their cars far too much drop its rating down a bit.
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This is the blobeye, though.
 
Niku Driver HC
Ah, the Bug-Eye, another hard car to judge. Cool on the grounds of performance and rally credentialss. Seriously Uncool if driven by the classic tuner sterotype of a person that knows more tuning vocabulary than actual tuning skillz (with a "z" because tuner) and if spec'd wrong (wrong meaning "looking too flash for its own good"). Also, I think that the 1st gen looks cooler just by a margin.

All in all, it balances out to a cool, not SZ because the dumb owners who push their cars far too much drop its rating down a bit.
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the bug eye is the one before it.
 
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Seriously Uncool for all reasons listed above and below.
 
What do you call a seriously uncool car that you would drive?
 
The best export STi period, so long as you don't live in America. Also not driven by P-Platers and the like because high-performance laws. Sub-Zero.
 
They are rare around these parts. And that D-bag stereotype definitely isn't there because these are still expensive as hell, either to buy it and run it. But apart from that, they are uncool I'm afraid. Race pediree is good, but make it with enourmous spoilers and stickers all around the car isn't cool at all.
 
From the day I first picked up GT2 and learned that this car existed, I've had a soft spot for the gold-on-blue. Cool.

Would be sub-zero if we were talking about the wagon form.
 
High Cool for me. Most of the Dbags drive the WRX around here not the STI. Great cars and a good performance value.
 
More fun than two barrels of monkeys thrown together and mixed with vodka.

And most often found wrapped around telephone poles. When they're not driving out from underneath trees suddenly falling onto an icy road, while towing an eighteen wheeler.

This is arguably the best looking of the breed. (Though the bug-eye comes second... first gen has always looked like a Lancer, to me). I'd love to own one.

Seriously uncool, though. Just because.
 
The only Imprezas I'd almost consider calling cool are rare first gen models like the RB5, P1 and 22B (as long as they're 100% original, of course). Any other Impreza just smacks of attention seeking.
 
Rallying credentials (last Subaru to win the WRC I think), best looking Impreza since the 22B, wonderful boxer noise and better everyday usability than the equivalent Evo.

Cool.
 
Again in isolation and sans fart cannon and especially those weird little pointy things some folks line up on the roof, any Impreza (yes even with bug eyes, bless) gets a cool from me. I just really like them for a number of reasons that have already been listed here. The 22B is pretty much the only Impreza I would give an SZ to.
 
I voted cool :cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

Though, I don't like the looks of the rear wing.

But I'm biased having previously owned the 2005 WRX :D:D:D (the non-STI version)

Respectfully,
GTsail
 
The Bug Eye could potentially pull out a cool. The flying vagina that followed this one never could be, but points for effort. The toned down, deliberately inoffensive middle child couldn't be anything but uncool even before it became one of the poster boys of "the scene".
 
Great car (I had a mk1 Series McRae in 1995 - one of the best cars I've ever owned), but they have all been ruined by Chavs.

Saved from being seriously uncool by how good they are to drive, but still uncool.
 
I'd hardly call them teardrops. They look even less tear-shaped than the hawk-eye, though that hasn't stopped people applying that epithet to both facelifts.
 
Stotty
Great car (I had a mk1 Series McRae in 1995 - one of the best cars I've ever owned), but they have all been ruined by Chavs.

Saved from being seriously uncool by how good they are to drive, but still uncool.
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You lucky guy getting the 1st gens all we ever got in the US was the 2.5 RS
 
Voted "Cool". Mechanically there is so much to admire under the sheet-metal. Aesthetically the front is the part of the car I like the least.

Favorites are the 22B and Current Gent STi (I own one and love it.)
 
I love it when I see a guy with sunglasses that match the paint on his Subby. Oh wait, no I don't. But the car itself isn't bad. I'll settle with Meh.


Jerome
 
Badasp5.0
You lucky guy getting the 1st gens all we ever got in the US was the 2.5 RS
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The Mk1's were very, very different to the later cars... not much power (only a bit over 200bhp) and quite softly sprung. Mine was Mica Blue, and had 205/55/15 tyres IIRC on gold forest Speedlines - you get 225/40/17's on a shopping trolley nowadays :lol:

But the handling on poorly surfaced British roads was just sublime - so much suspension travel and so compliant you could ignore even the most pock-marked surfaces and just keep your foot in.

And the adjustability off the throttle was hilarious - fly up to a corner, turn-in hard off the gas (or a bit of left foot on the brake), wait for the rear to slide, and when you had the angle of attack you liked, simply jump on the gas and hold perfect 4 wheel drifts on a neutral steering angle... unless you were completely useless behind the wheel (or completely unhinged!), they were pretty much uncrashable.

In the snow, they were unbelievable - more effective than a 4WD SUV in anything other than really deep stuff as the Impreza weighed half as much so actually stopped (with the ABS fuse removed). And an LSD at the rear, so huge oversteer everywhere. If the weather forecast said snow I used to set my alarm for 4am so I could go for a hoon before the roads got clogged up with morning traffic :D

Mine would do donuts on wet tarmac as though someone had stuck a huge nail through the bonnet and was just spinning it round.

I loved that car so much... but the fuel consumption was horrendous (often in the low teens) and ultimately I clocked up 15 speeding points in it in 15 months and was lucky to get sent to the US for a couple of years as I'd likely have been banned otherwise.
 
Meh. I much prefer the pre-2000 models.
 
I'm going to ignore the stereotypes of the people that drive them and judge only the car....So I'm going with cool. Looks good, goes good and sounds good, that has to be a recipe for cool.
 
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