General Comments:

The Subaru Impreza WRX Japanese import (JDM) is a legendary motor. A true road going WRC machine.

The car is powered by 2.0i-16v turbocharged engine, producing 256hp and 228ft-lbs of torque in standard form.

Mine was slightly modified with de-cat s/s exhaust and blitz dump valve. Approx running 280PS.

How about 0-60 in 5.0 secs and top speed of 149mph, 128hp per litre, and just weighing at 1230kg? These figures are standard, and simply incredible.

It's well equipped with a good interior and rally bucket front seats, A/C, CD player and full electrics.

A near perfect motor, but there's only one problem; very poor fuel economy. £10 gives you 12 miles, and £30 gives you 55 miles in city driving conditions.

Maintenance and servicing the motor is good as long as you use high quality oils and fluids. And also if you don't abuse the motor. Launching the car often will wear out the clutch. The standard brake pads fade out quickly, and need to be replaced with Brembos.

I won't get a Subaru WRX again, only because it drinks too much fuel and expensive fuel prices.

Faults:

This is actually my second Impreza. I bought the first one, owned it for a week before I discovered that the big-end bearings were going in the engine and the previous owner had really abused it. It would have cost about £6000 to repair including a new engine so the dealer was good enough to replace it for me. Since I've had this one, I've had a couple of very small oil leakes and the speedometer stopped working for a while, but these were fixed thanks to a very skilled Subaru mechanic. Otherwise I'm really happy with it.

General Comments:

The performance of this beast is out of this world! It really pins you back to your seat when you put your foot down.

The grip on this thing is also unbelievable. It is impossible to spin the wheels and there is just endless grip around bends.

A lot of reviews say that the cabin is really poor and boring, but it has everything you need and a few creature comforts like climate control and a height adjustable steering wheel. It's probably not up there with the BMW 3 Series or the top spec Audi's, but it's still very well equipped.

The huge bucket seats are so comfortable you could just sink in them. They really hug you in and keep you in place when you're going around bends. The interior cloth is also tasteful and suits the car very well.

Faults:

Wow I'm at a blank! Nothing that was not my own fault!

General Comments:

Japanese import STi; 250bhp as standard.

Right, let me first start by saying holy cow, this car is fasssssst, and far superior in every department than the rip off UK version (215 bhp). When I mean faaast, I mean dangerously fast. The imports have bigger turbos and light weight panels; you can lift the bonnet with your little finger.

A Ford Escort Cosworth running 1.5 bar boost couldn't keep up as soon as I hit 3rd gear. The Escort just got left behind like a standard car. That's when I started wondering if it was modded. A quick trip to Graham Goodes (Subaru specialists) confirmed it was running standard boost.

The handling is incredible, helped by the 4WD system (my suspension has been modified by the previous Japanese owner), but the best has to be the unique engine note from the H.K.S exhaust. You can tell of an Impreza approaching streets away, can't say that about most cars now can you (Evo drivers, are you reading)! The STi is a little special, and has the following: blueprinted engine, forged pistons etc, rollerbearing turbo?, different ECU map and many other enhancements.

Bad bits:

Horrendous fuel consumption, even if driven lightly.

Buy a bad one and you will have to re-mortgage for repairs.

Imports should only run on Optimax, otherwise say goodbye to piston no 3.

Steep insurance and servicing.

But the negatives are nothing compared to the performance you get for the price, and the late import classics come with 280bhp as standard.

All I can say is if you are thinking of getting one of these monsters, please make sure you know about these cars. Imports are generally very well looked after, and serviced regularly.

If you're in the market, I assure you that you won't find anything as practical or fun and fast for little money, but make sure you know what you are buying, as the Impreza is an attention seeker ;-)