Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Awesome performance with 0-60 in 4.8s and great handling. Uprated coilover suspension and stiffer (adjustable) anti-roll bars and chassis bracing made it unbelievable through the bends, and on Bridgestone RE070 tyres in dry weather, it was never less than amazing. On road and track, this car was thrilling, and never let me down once in almost 3 full years and 40k miles. Sure, it drank fuel, but my God it was worth every drop.

Faults:

Drivers door window motor and dashboard clock; both replaced under warranty at 60K miles.

General Comments:

After 170k miles I now have to replace a rear shock.

Considering this car has carried all my work gear around rural roads, farm lanes and across fields for the last 6 years, this is not bad!

Faults:

Had to change the clutch to a sports clutch, as the car is running bigger power, and the original clutch started slipping.

Apart from that, it's been fine for the six months that I've owned it.

General Comments:

The performance on this car is blistering, even if it is a wagon!

The car is very rare for the UK, as it's a white Newage wagon, and according to Subaru UK there isn't another one over here.

Brakes are pretty rubbish and fade very quickly.

The interior is a bit bland, but nothing a few quid can't sort out, gear knob, gauges etc.

The car is a 2002 JDM WRX and has had a fair few modification to the engine, VF34 Turbo, uprated fuel pump, ECUTEK 3 Remap, K+N induction kit, straight through exhaust (no cats), Exedy organic clutch, and it's running 312.9hp and 300lb/ft, and can be a bit of a handful in the wet!

It is by far the most fun I've ever had in a car, it gets all the looks, ridiculously fast and extremely reliable... why buy anything else!!

Faults:

Nothing so far, after 5 months of driving, but when purchased, the back of the front seats was starting to fray slightly, & boot lining was not fitted properly.

Fuel consumption - HA!

Subaru quote a combined figure of 30.7mpg, but I'd say it's closer to 25mpg! You could possibly get 30mpg out of it... if you didn't touch the loud pedal at all?!

General Comments:

An excellent drivers car, with great performance... when in the turbo range!

Under 3000rpm it's a dog. I'd like to get a PPP fitted which supposedly improves this?

Over steer city if pushed hard, but this is also due to worse tyres on the back (previous owner didn't keep them all the same)! Will be changing to Pirelli P-Zero Nero's all round when they wear out a bit!

I'd heard that the Subaru dealers were supposed to be great, & I tend to agree. A few niggles with them, but generally the best dealers I've dealt with!

Servicing costs slightly high, but you get that all-important Subaru stamp!

Had to pay slightly more for the WR Blue, but it's definitely the best colour & worth the extra cost!

Generally, an excellent car & thoroughly recommended.

Faults:

Many rubber fixings are showing signs of wear.

Shoe well carpets again show heavy signs of wear.

Pressure push extending cup holder has broken and can no longer be used.

General Comments:

I haven't smiled so much driving to work.

Faults:

Reliable as a swiss watch.

General Comments:

Viewed logically, this is a belting car. It's fast, has probably the best sounding four cylinder engine ever designed, looks good, grips well and is as reliable as every motoring survey suggests.

But like most things which have been hyped to ridiculous levels, the overall package somehow fell short of my expectations, particularly once you become accustomed to its truly spectacular performance. This is probably the fault of the hype, and many of my other criticisms the fault of British society, but there you go. As ownership experiences, they count. And besides, since when were performance cars about logic? They're about passion.

After a year and 14,000 miles of ownership, I concluded that the Impreza Turbo is actually a very average car fitted with a storming engine. The interior is the definition of naff, and the 4wd gives great grip, but actually very little adjustability to the handling. The steering is probably the worst thing about it, being like virtually every other Japanese car - light and easy to use, but without much in the way of feel.

I actually thought my old 306 Rallye was more engaging and entertaining in the twisties, if nowhere near as quick.

The important thing to consider before buying an Impreza, paying through the nose for insurance, and putting up with every scrote in a 20 mile radius trying to rip it off at every opportunity (and they will - even if you garage it!) is to take a drive in one, and ask yourself the following question.

"If this car didn't do 0-60 in 5.something seconds, what else would make it in any way interesting?". Then ask "are these things worth the insurance costs equal to the GDP of a small country, and the sub-20 mpg fuel returns?"

I decided they weren't and chopped it in for another Rallye (insurance dropped by 65%, fuel bills by a third) and nobody has tried to stove my garage door in to remove it without asking me). I'm also reminded what decent steering and throttle adjustability feel like. Haven't looked back.