Impreza Turbo 5-door (UK) UPDATED

I live in Britain and have a new Impreza Turbo, model year 1999. This review is really about the performance aspect of the Impreza.

Previously I had a TVR Cerbera, arguably the quickest production car in the world. It was too impractical and unreliable, so due to the rave reviews that the Impreza gets I decided to take a test drive. I was blown away by the performance and ordered a new one immediately. I went for the standard spec as I'd had enough of highly-strung performance cars.

Compared with a traditional sportscar the Impreza is amazing. Here in Britain our roads are rough and twisty, in a lot of places they border on the downright dangerous. Due to the Impreza's rally background this isn't a problem. Thanks to the high ground clearance and four-wheel drive you can go flat-out for most of the time, while in a sportscar you have to be careful not to ground the bottom of your car or spin out of control on broken/uneven asphalt.

Acceleration is brilliant but the main aspect of the car is its roadholding which allows you to leave behind almost anything else on the road - the only cars that can keep up are faster Imprezas or the Mistubishi Lancer Evo.

Add the practicality that the 5-door model offers and it's an almost unbeatable package. Maybe it's a bit small for Americans but it's fine over here. The only downside is the poor petrol consumption. I get about 23mpg - consider that gasoline costs $7 a gallon here in the UK and you'll understand the problem. The interior trim is pretty flimsy, and it could use an intermittent setting on the rear wash/wipe. But there are no other problems.

The Subaru Impreza Turbo is ultra-reliable and has stunning performance. It has to be the car of the decade.

UPDATE: July 2000
I've had the Impreza for nearly a year now so I can comment on its long-term appeal. The car is still the best driver's car that I've owned so far. You can take it out for a blast in any weather, which is more than you can with any sportscar this fast.

It did emerge, however, that the gear shift was pretty poor. Under hard acceleration it was often difficult to get fourth, which can be embarassing when racing people away from traffic lights. Other gears were hard to get too, especially second from first and reverse from first. Since the car was due for its second service this month I decided to have a Quickshift gear change installed by my local Subaru dealer. This is an upgrade to the gearshift linkages that makes the throw of the gear lever much shorter and more precise. It's still new so it's a bit stiff, but it feels as though it will be a big improvement once it's bedded in properly. It "only" cost $450 dollars fitted so I'd certainly recommend one. The test car that I originally drove had one too but I didn't bother with it at first - it was only after suffering the poor standard gearbox that I realised I needed one.

Servicing has been pretty good. Both Subaru dealers that I've used have been friendly, efficient, and seem very thorough - they noticed and fixed minor problems that I didn't mention to them. Prices are very reasonable for the level of service that you get, especially compared with major brands like Ford and GM, whose customer care standards in the UK are terrible.

The cost of gasoline here in the UK keeps increasing and that's becoming a problem as the Impreza's consumption doesn't improve. A couple of weeks ago I made a 600-mile journey to visit my parents and it cost me $180 for fuel alone!

Conclusion - get the Quickshift gearchange, it's worth it.