I'd love it if this mule actually had the profile of what will become the real SVX-redux, but I'm probably a bit optimistic. It seems lumpy and odd, but that's what makes a Subaru a Subaru, traditionally. Lumpy and odd. #subarucoupe
Fast driving, done well, can look very slow and boring. Most buyers will appreciate that all the scary tendencies have been dialed out by higher performance tests than these will ever see on public roads in civilian hands.
But I did notice a couple of squirelly moments. Without a pro driver, that could easily turn into a lurid spin or crash. Still a little work to do... #subarucoupe
The current STI has 305hp and for $695 you can have 340hp (93 octane). So I don't see the big deal. Yes its a tad lighter and as always has the 2.0l JDM motor compared to the 2.5l motor we get in the US. It just seems like a very minor change in output.
This doesn't quite upset me as much as what Subaru did to all of the 2008 WRX owners. In 2008 they changed the body style completely to what you see now. They kept the same power specs from the previous (2007) WRX. In 2009 Subaru they decided that they were going to screw everyone who bought an 08 for the new body style and completely revamp the engine increasing it's power output significatnly. I almost bought an 08, thank god I didn't. There's a good chance that it would have mysteriously found itself parked halfway in the new car showroom, building collapsing around it.
@Cognitive Friction: I asked the same question back in 1993 when cars were being advertised as having hollow carpet fibers to save weight. All I could think was "If this is important to you, take the carpet out."
@Cognitive Friction: A person could save quite a bit of weight with lighter windows. I know that if you switch from glass to a polycarbonate like Lexan or Plexiglass that you cut the weight of that window in half. So let's say the windows all told weight 100 pounds (a fair guesstimate), if you cut that in half (using thinner glass, not a polycarbonate), that's a fifty pound weight difference. That's a pretty huge difference. Windows are an easy place to shed weight (especially without having to do a whole lot of retooling in a production setting), hence why they did it...Or so I'm assuming.
@OldeEnglishD: i have a ghost roaming the halls of my ancient victorian mansion. she has flowing robes and a skull head and stringy hair and drags chains around - hides behind doors and such.
About time the Japanese came out with something that can compete with the Focus RS. Too bad the weight from all that running gear makes them compromise on the "everything else"... and, you know, it's SO. GOD. DAMN. MUCH. UGLIER.
Good try, Subaru. You'll catch on to this whole "car making" thing eventually.
@aSoundofSleep: I can sort of live with the rear (minus the stupid altezzas...ummm it's 2009) but the front? It's like an fuglified version of a bland Toyota. I've been seeing it for over a year now and no, it still hasn't "grown" on me. That's long enough don't you think.
Maybe if they actually sold the RS they use in the rallys they'd compete with Subaru on the showroom floor. Instead they sell a watered down FWD pig that sacrifices, well, everything that makes driving fun.
A Focus sir, even for it's success at rally, is no Subaru, any of them, and is certainly a long ways off from what the Impreza represents not just as a single model year, or sheet metal change but et al. Those tasty spec C parts will eventually find their way here, and the tuners, they will tune.
Oh and I admit, this iteration of the Impreza looks wise isn't my favorite. Technically though, I admire it's return to some of the lines of the original and I do like the way it looks. But Bug Eyes and Pig Noses will forever be my favorites.
@DEAЯTHÁIЯ: And yet the AWD makes the car a much more attractive package to me than the FWD Focus RS. Revo knuckle or not; you simply can't defeat the physics of channeling all your power through the front wheels while coming out of a corner.
@DEAЯTHÁIЯ:
I came dangerously close to stuffing a WRX motor into an old 914, just so I could have the engineering brilliance without the styling abomination. The 914 wasn't a styling masterpiece but it wasn't a turd like the Impreza either.
@brickyard: I actually considered it for my Lotus Europa project, but it wouldn't quite fit. While I abhor the looks of their cars, they make damn fine engines. I just wish all their owners weren't such jackasses.
@LionZoo: When driven at the absolute knife edge of performance, you're right. Ford realized that 95% of the time, the FWD system was going to perform better, and it wasn't until you pushed the car far beyond what the average person, or even average enthusiast, would ever be able to do that you finally noticed any advantage for AWD. Sorry. I love AWD as much as anyone, but an advanced traction control system can do almost as much, most of the time, for less weight and lower cost.
@SoK: Yeah, okay, so Nibbles ate my response. Basically, it said, "Go do some research". The Focus RS is built on the best small-car platform in the world, has the same horsepower as this car, but with an interior that doesn't make you want to kill yourself, and looks that don't make your eyes bleed. And that AWD vs. FWD crap is a tired argument. It's not until you get the car on the absolute knife-edge of the maximum performance a car can do that you're going to see the benefit of the AWD, and none of us here are good enough drivers that we'd ever be able to discover it. My FWD Corrado has kicked the ass of more than its share of AWD WRXs in stoplight races.
You're right, the Focus is no Subaru. It's so, so, SO much more.
@DEAЯTHÁIЯ: Not at all. FWD out of corners is absolutely annoying, even when driven at 8/10ths. The understeer sets in early and often. AWD, while still understeery, allows you to get on the throttle much earlier. Simply put, even at slip angles far below the limit, FWD feels like you're trying to fight the car. AWD feels a lot more like the car is trying to work with you.
Have you driven the new AWD cars? While I admit to not having driven the Focus RS, I've driven plenty of other FWDs both with diffs and without and they all have the same characteristics, just to different shades. Meanwhile, the AWD system on the new Evo is absolutely amazing.
And I like the new Impreza interior and don't care at all for the Focus interior...
@LionZoo: See, I know what you're talking about. I've had multiple FWD cars, and have experienced that horrendous understeer.
Then I bought a Corrado, and realized it didn't have to be that way. And from the more reliable sources -- ie. someone other than Clarkson -- the RS has virtually no understeer. It's been praised as one of the most neutrally-balanced cars they've seen. (I think that was CAR magazine, but I'm too lazy to go hunting for the article.)
I have driven the new AWD cars. I've taken an S4 quattro out for a spin, and it was impressive, but I had to push the car HARD before I could find any way that it performed better than my FWD Volkswagen.
@DEAЯTHÁIЯ: "It's not until you get the car on the absolute knife-edge of the maximum performance a car can do that you're going to see the benefit of the AWD, and none of us here are good enough drivers that we'd ever be able to discover it."
Thats the point though, the Ford, like it's Mazda 3 counterpart -limit- ability for below average daily drivers - because to give them any more means the cars decline in performance. That Subaru IS able to 'go to the bleeding edge' where Ford implies artificial limits because the platform can't handle life on the bleeding edge in it's production configuration.
Subaru's taken to that limit will outperform what a Focus RS is capable of if also taken to the same limits - Subaru's are a few mods from the race track and being viable there - what about your FWD Pig that is 'restricted' because most people can't 'use' that performance.. even if they were capable of it...?
Your gripes with looks are subjective at best.
As for your street racing experience, really dude... your experience is street pulls? Because all enthusiasts love street pulls.. grow up, and take it to a track - which BTW, you again only make a point for me - you can ONLY do that in a straight line with a FWD car.. add a turn or two, rain, dirt or snow, and you'll see what the difference is.
Enjoy your Focus and S3 where they dumb them down because people like YOU can't drive and think being an enthusiast means you win stop light street pulls.
@SoK: Oh sweetheart, don't start getting all "you don't know cars" on ME, I've been building and racing them on tracks, strips and streets for years now, thank you very much. You've taken this from good-natured banter to assholishness, and that's the end of it for me. Do me a favour, fuck right off, don't bother me again.
10/18/09
OOH, it looks nice, unique, new, and something a bit different.
OTOH, the rear end looks super simplistic and square as the old scirocco's, and the front is just... Ach!
Impreza FT86, purely on the looks! #subarucoupe
10/18/09
On the other hand, I like the idea, and hopefully with both Toyota and Subaru taking a crack at it, one of them will get it right. #subarucoupe
10/18/09
10/19/09
NEWS FLASH: Toyota FT86 prototype spotted at local mall. Action shots of parking maneuvers at Costco captured. #subarucoupe
10/18/09
10/18/09
But I did notice a couple of squirelly moments. Without a pro driver, that could easily turn into a lurid spin or crash. Still a little work to do... #subarucoupe
10/18/09
10/18/09
Now, a Subaru Brat on the 'Ring... Now I'd wanna' see that. Actually, I'd wanna' ride in that. #subarucoupe
10/18/09
10/18/09
07/24/09
I don't care if they get this fancy model I will take the base model and throw a better turbo on it and be done with it.
07/24/09
07/25/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
Focus RS? No.
Fiat 500 Abarth? Maybe.
Fiesta ST? Don't hold your breath.
Astra VXR? No.
Renault Megane RS.R? Absolutely not.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
Were the old windows really weighing the car down?
07/24/09
I think it was the Toyota Supra, IIRC.
07/24/09
07/24/09
STI Spec Cs do, because they're fast...
07/24/09
doesn't scare me as much as this beast.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
Good try, Subaru. You'll catch on to this whole "car making" thing eventually.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
/shoots self
07/24/09
Again, each to his own.
07/24/09
Maybe if they actually sold the RS they use in the rallys they'd compete with Subaru on the showroom floor. Instead they sell a watered down FWD pig that sacrifices, well, everything that makes driving fun.
A Focus sir, even for it's success at rally, is no Subaru, any of them, and is certainly a long ways off from what the Impreza represents not just as a single model year, or sheet metal change but et al. Those tasty spec C parts will eventually find their way here, and the tuners, they will tune.
Oh and I admit, this iteration of the Impreza looks wise isn't my favorite. Technically though, I admire it's return to some of the lines of the original and I do like the way it looks. But Bug Eyes and Pig Noses will forever be my favorites.
07/24/09
07/24/09
I came dangerously close to stuffing a WRX motor into an old 914, just so I could have the engineering brilliance without the styling abomination. The 914 wasn't a styling masterpiece but it wasn't a turd like the Impreza either.
07/24/09
Well, I guess since you love the Veyron and I hate it, and I love them Camaro that you hate, it's about time we found some kind of common ground.
I won't tell anyone if you don't.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
You're right, the Focus is no Subaru. It's so, so, SO much more.
07/24/09
Have you driven the new AWD cars? While I admit to not having driven the Focus RS, I've driven plenty of other FWDs both with diffs and without and they all have the same characteristics, just to different shades. Meanwhile, the AWD system on the new Evo is absolutely amazing.
And I like the new Impreza interior and don't care at all for the Focus interior...
07/24/09
Then I bought a Corrado, and realized it didn't have to be that way. And from the more reliable sources -- ie. someone other than Clarkson -- the RS has virtually no understeer. It's been praised as one of the most neutrally-balanced cars they've seen. (I think that was CAR magazine, but I'm too lazy to go hunting for the article.)
I have driven the new AWD cars. I've taken an S4 quattro out for a spin, and it was impressive, but I had to push the car HARD before I could find any way that it performed better than my FWD Volkswagen.
07/24/09
Thats the point though, the Ford, like it's Mazda 3 counterpart -limit- ability for below average daily drivers - because to give them any more means the cars decline in performance. That Subaru IS able to 'go to the bleeding edge' where Ford implies artificial limits because the platform can't handle life on the bleeding edge in it's production configuration.
Subaru's taken to that limit will outperform what a Focus RS is capable of if also taken to the same limits - Subaru's are a few mods from the race track and being viable there - what about your FWD Pig that is 'restricted' because most people can't 'use' that performance.. even if they were capable of it...?
Your gripes with looks are subjective at best.
As for your street racing experience, really dude... your experience is street pulls? Because all enthusiasts love street pulls.. grow up, and take it to a track - which BTW, you again only make a point for me - you can ONLY do that in a straight line with a FWD car.. add a turn or two, rain, dirt or snow, and you'll see what the difference is.
Enjoy your Focus and S3 where they dumb them down because people like YOU can't drive and think being an enthusiast means you win stop light street pulls.
As I said, 0/10
07/24/09
07/25/09
Now, now, fellas...
07/24/09