Faults:

Wear and tear parts replaced over time, no major problems.

Clutch juddered.

Slightly rusty around the usual places (wheel arches) when I was done with it.

General Comments:

One of my first cars, this Impreza was an odd ball in basic GL spec. Never could fool car guys into believing it was a rally car, but everyone associated the Impreza with the STi WRX models!

My standard 1.6 GL was nowhere near that car however. But it was very reliable and I have good memories with this car.

OK to drive but not very fast nor economical, barely done more than 34 mpg! A 1.6 petrol should have get closer to 40 mpg in my opinion.

Dull plastic filled interior. Ride a bit too firm.

Good looks on the outside, I put alloy wheels on and boot spoiler upgrade and it looked the part.

A typically reliable Japanese car, but very boring as it was a base model, not the rally car! But I have fantastic memories of this car, and I miss when cars were this simple and reliable! Very 1990's, but that's what I liked about it.

I sold it back in 2006 to a Subaru enthusiast. Doubt it is still around, but who knows, the guy I sold it to probably upgraded to a WRX long ago.

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 :-)