2003 Subaru Impreza WRX Club Spec EVO 7 from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Noisy diff transmission @ 2000 rpm on.Dealer replaced rear suspension parts. Some improvement, but will return for another evaluation.

Passenger electric window switch faulty replaced @ 40000 kilometers.

Persistent rattle left side dash.Returned 7 times + 1 week (= 740kms) left with dealer. (dealer loaned me a new Liberty) but failed to find problem. About to return for another round. Other dash rattles on medium rough roads. Quality control??

This car is Club Spec Evo 7 upmarket AU$50,000 version with leather, sunroof, side bags etc, but the leather front seats are flat and hard. Worse is the badly shaped backrest which is convex instead of slightly concave. There is NO lateral support on even the mildest curves unlike the cloth seats in my previous MY2000 WRX.

This is a great car gone wrong.

I should be completely happy with the superior performance, road holding and reliability, however it is seriously let down by poorly shaped,uncomfortable front seats, noisy transmission and some tyre noise plus under dash rattles.

This is a better all round performing car than my previous MY2000 WRX except I do not have the great seats any more that sold me on my first car.

The dealer suggested a seat swap to the better shaped cloth seats, but impossible as the Evo 7 has sidebags in the seats which were not compatible.

The auto trans. with manual override and 3 modes of HOLD NORMAL and POWER is excellent,fuel is OK @ 10L/100 kms, little brake wear, tyres {Bridge stone Potenzas) replaced @ 46000kms.

To sum up :Disappointing,better luck next time!!

Okay, I realize you'll miss some stuff upon a test drive... but not realizing the seats sucked from the get go?

Re The evo seats and why didn't you give it a test drive comment.Well I should have, but my fault for ordering off the blurb sheet. Was the last thing I expected after my previous excellent 3 year WRX run. So try before you buy is still worth following.

I don't understand why this review got a smiley face when really, the reviewer does not sound too impressed with his Rex.

For what its worth, I own a similar (but older - 2003) WRX Club Spec Evo6 - see separate review. I have NEVER had any problem with reliability whatsoever in over 3 and a half years of motoring. In fact I have been so impressed with my WRX (which is still as rattle free and "tight" when I bought it) that I have decided to keep her rather than trading it in on another car!