Subaru's latest mad Impreza

[GT Pro]

Well you are free to prefer whatever you want, but you are drawing a wrong picture here... In fact the Impreza and the Evo are very close, beating each other every time each car company brings out the latest special edition ( for example MR vs Spec C...) just get yourself a few BM DVD's from Japan or test magazines and you'll see what I mean.

Performance-wise, I totally agree. But the preferable design of the two vehicles has been far more wide-spread.

 

[Dave A]

Yeah design wise I'm much more of an Impreza fan than a Lancer fan, the Lancers just don't look good imo, they're a great car no doubt about it but looks wise they don't appeal to me.

 

[harrytuttle]

Yeah design wise I'm much more of an Impreza fan than a Lancer fan, the Lancers just don't look good imo, they're a great car no doubt about it but looks wise they don't appeal to me.

I don't actually like the current eagle-eyed Impreza, but I do give Subaru credit for trying something new. The Lancer, on the other hand, has never looked bad or really boring, but it's a design that's bound to look old...someday. Maybe when the Evo X debuts.

There's something else that can really change how a car drives: the gearing. The pre-2000 Type-R had slightly different gearing than the Type-RA, which made it a bit slower off the line (0-60), but much faster on a racetrack. It was also a much better fit for the engine's torque curve, reducing the "off-boost" feeling. I can't find info on what the detailed changes are on this car, but given their previous Type-RA's, I'd bet a similar change has been made.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

I've been thinking about this car. It just occurred to me that, if you decipher the name, it's called the Subaru Impreza WRX Subaru Technica International Sedan 2.0 Turbo Spec-Competition Ring Attack-Racing.

 

[Max_DC]

I've been thinking about this car. It just occurred to me that, if you decipher the name, it's called the Subaru Impreza WRX Subaru Technica International Sedan 2.0 Turbo Spec-Competition Ring Attack-Racing.

That car is faster from 0-60 than you can spell its name

 

[Famine]

Subaru make so many variations of the impreza that its hard to tell whats special about one version over another.

I just felt I should flag this up. I've been saying exactly the same thing on another forum about the RB320.

 

[YSSMAN]

I'm still a pro-Lancer guy in this situation. I prefer the looks and the more "natural" feeling to it all. Sure, its "nice" to have leather seats and "civility" to the drive, but when you are buying a $30,000 rally car, I want the full package. Just your standard Evo IX, and I'd be happy.

But, as I noted before, if the VW R32 is an option, I'm more likely to go with Deutsche Energie!!

 

[harrytuttle]

I just felt I should flag this up. I've been saying exactly the same thing on another forum about the RB320.

When a model becomes successful, especially a performance car, variations are inevitable. This is true with just about every sporty car: 911, Corvette, Camaro, Mustang, even Mini. The higher the production (and demand), the more variations there will be. It lets customers have some sense of exclusivity against the one their neighbor purchased. Rather than give them a huge list of options to uniquely specify their car, put out a short run of pre-packaged upgrades and call it "Super Uniqueness No. 37". It's far cheaper to produce, since your inventory becomes so much more predictable. It's also easier to market a special edition than it is to push customers to individual upgrades, particularly if you don't have the badge rep like BMW and Porsche (which has the double bonus of limited editions and extensive options).

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

That car is faster from 0-60 than you can spell its name

True, but unless you're the world's fastest typist, so is my stock WRX! =P

 

[Famine]

When a model becomes successful, especially a performance car, variations are inevitable. This is true with just about every sporty car: 911, Corvette, Camaro, Mustang, even Mini. The higher the production (and demand), the more variations there will be. It lets customers have some sense of exclusivity against the one their neighbor purchased. Rather than give them a huge list of options to uniquely specify their car, put out a short run of pre-packaged upgrades and call it "Super Uniqueness No. 37". It's far cheaper to produce, since your inventory becomes so much more predictable. It's also easier to market a special edition than it is to push customers to individual upgrades, particularly if you don't have the badge rep like BMW and Porsche (which has the double bonus of limited editions and extensive options).

True - but at least the variations are different enough to warrant it.

So far I can count the Litchfield Type 25, WR1, RB320, this Type RA-R, the Type C and the standard WRX STi with Prodrive Performance Pack as being 320hp variants of the Impreza. I'm sure they're all terribly different underneath, but if an owner of one of them had to tell me exactly what those differences were, I'm afraid I might have at them with a wheelbrace.

At least with most other cars there's obvious differences - it's a lot lighter, or has more power. With the Impreza specials it boils down to diff settings and spring rates - and I'm just waaaaaaaaay past caring.

 

[harrytuttle]

At least with most other cars there's obvious differences - it's a lot lighter, or has more power. With the Impreza specials it boils down to diff settings and spring rates - and I'm just waaaaaaaaay past caring.

Point taken. I think some are better than others (22B, Spec-C), but I can see the redundancy (RB5, Type-R/RA).