1998 Subaru Impreza Sport review from UK and Ireland
"If you want an Impreza, buy a Turbo"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
No faults - more reliable than the tides and the seasons.
General comments?
This car confirmed what I suspected - that without the turbo's amazing performance, the Impreza is competent, but not much to shout about at all.
Good points - lovely, growly, torquey engine, motorway ability, four wheel drive grip, utter reliability, build quality and fantastic seats. Oh, and those frameless windows look cool.
Bad points - Apart from the engine, this is a totally soulless car. Has the crappiest, cheapest-looking and most boring interior known to man, typical Japanese overassisted steering, snappy, unpredictable handling at the absolute limit and drinks fuel at a rate which far exceeds the moderate performance.
You have to admire the engineering quality and reliability, plus the torque and sound of the flat four, but other than that I wasn't taken at all. The Turbo's ridiculous performance probably eclipses the overall "dullness" of the car, but take that away and it's all rather average. Not bad, and does have good points, but just average.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 16v Manual |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 16500 miles |
| Most recent distance | 36000 miles |
| Previous car | Peugeot 306 |
| Date of Entry | 20th December, 2001 |