Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car since I have had it.

When I got it, I had a full service done and new cambelt kit fitted, and it still drives absolutely fantastic.

General Comments:

What can I say about this car, well it is one hell of a car to drive as it's basically a lightweight, stripped out, road going rally car.

It has a very low ratio gearbox with DCCD and is not very good on the motorway as it's pretty well maxed out at 110 mph, but the acceleration is unbelievable.

The handling of the car as you would expect from a 4 wheel drive car is fantastic; you can throw it into a corner at any speed and it will take it with ease, and it feels like it's stuck to the road.

All in all an iconic car that is still as good to drive today as it was when it was new in 1995.

This particular model, being the Impreza WRX STI Type Ra, is getting rare now as many of them were used for what they were designed for, which was rallying.

If you ever get chance to have a go in one of these, jump at the chance, and I can say you will not be disappointed if you are a petrol head like me :-

With all the electric cars been manufactured nowadays, they will probably never make a car like this again, which is such a shame as they are so much fun to drive.

I will be keeping this one till I am too old to drive it and then I will still look at it with a smile on my face :-)

Faults:

Clutch replaced at around 82000 miles.

Cam belts (both sides on the side mounted boxer engine) and pulleys and tensioners for the cambelts, replaced due to flood damage, although the cam belts were due to be replaced anyway.

Filler for the radiator water. The plastic pipe on this goes brittle anyway after 10 years or so, but they are only about £20 for a replacement filler.

Nothing else really apart from the usual serving needs.

General Comments:

After researching thoroughly on this site, as I now do with any car I plan to buy, I decided on a 1995 (facelift model) UK Impreza Turbo 2000 Wagon (estate).

I bought it from an independent dealer with only one previous owner and full Subaru dealer service history for £3500. It had well over £10,000 worth of old receipts with it. The guy even had his windscreen wipers replaced at the dealer!

What a car! For the money you pay for these, and remember mine (220 BHP) wasn't even the WRX (270 BHP) or WRX STi (300 BHP) models from Japan, you will get a car that will blow a Porsche Boxter into the weeds!

Similar aged or even newer model BMW M3's will wilt in your exhaust heat.

If you are concerned about fuel prices or want an economical car, don't bother even thinking of purchasing one of these fuel-guzzling monsters. Reliability-wise I never had any real problems with mine, but beware - buy one with no or a sketchy service history and you will pay dearly. The engines are strong, but only if you maintain them correctly. Servicing should be around every 8000 miles.

The interior may be drab and boring, but like I always say, you are paying for the engine on this car. For around £400 I had a full stainless steel Powerflow exhaust and Dump Valve put on mine, and the difference in acceleration was unbelievable.

This is a car you will always remember, and will probably, like myself, buy another one in the future.