Okay, just got back from the Canadian International Autoshow. It was quite good, even considering that I was at Detroit.

Anyways, here's what everyone's been waiting for:

They had a black Impreza RS sedan. Well, in cloudy conditions, indirect sunlight or at night the car will look black. In bright sunlight it will look a very deep blue metallic. It definitely is not pure black.

HIDs: These were installed on a rally car. They truly looked amazing! They changed the appearance of the whole front of the car. For those that haven't seen them in person, as best I could tell the plastic covering is smoked not clear. You can see the projectors and reflectors behind it but they aren't crystal clear. These things looked really sweet. If they are compatible with LHD without too many headaches I am definitely in.

Wagons/sedans/various impressions: I am very, very impressed with the driving position. The wheel is awesome, you can heel and toe shift very, very easily in this car. Very nice. The gearshift, and I am totally not kidding here, is almost as good as that in the S2000. Similar precision and directness, but a longer throw. Sweet!

There was a big crowd around the cars, everyone was climbing in/over/underneath (really!!) them, drooling.

Only one moronic comment heard: hey check out the Neon wagon! The guys friends proceeded to school him: I don't see a Neon, I see a badass rally car! He shut up after that.

Anyways, this car is going to sell like crazy.

I too was at the Toronto Auto Show. It took me 5 hours to get there, but well worth it. I had to see the car in person.

My comments are as follows:

* A midnight black RS was there. I too though the colour was nice. Black (but kind-of blue) combination works for me. I thought that the RS did look like a Neon from the front. This was particularly due to the fog lights being covered. At first I was thinking of getting fog light covers, but now, definitely not. The fog light give the car part of its character (along with the flared fenders, and hood scoop http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif ).

* A sweeeet looking Blue WRX was there. I wasn't a big fan of the Blue before, but in person, it looks great!

* The trunk interior really, really disappointed me. When I saw the piece of cardboard (literally a piece of cardboard) over the spare tire, then the piece of (~2mm thick) carpet, I wasn't impressed. Man, if I put anything heavy in their, I might break through the cardboard.

* I noticed that all the speakers where on the door. 2 on each front door and 1 on each back door. Since I plan to upgrade the stereo system in the car, the positioning made me wonder if there positioning would limit my selection of replacement speakers. I had just assumed that there would be 2 speakers behind the back passenger seat head rest, but this was not the case.

* The seat belts for the rear seats had adjustable shoulder heights. I thought that was a nice touch. A lot of higher end cars don't have that.

* A nice set of (17") alloys on the car is definitely needed. Makes the car look so much better. In Canada, we have the option to get the BBS and another kind (ASA something - I think). There was a previous post with pictures of both.

* The interior is simple. I am slightly concerned that the material of the seats will get fuzzy looking over time. I noticed that the seat material were getting fuzzed (I can't describe it better than this) on the show cars. The plastic molding around the center console is kind of cheap looking (in my opinion), and the cup holder isn't well thought out.

* You've all seen exterior pictures of the car. So you either like, or not. At first, I thought the car was fugly, but now, I think the car looks good and purposeful. It won't win any beauty contest, but that's okay.


Bottom Line: The car looks purposeful (not fugly). I'm a bit disappointed with some of the interior features/quality. I wasn't looking for high end refinement, but some aspects of the interior looked/are really cheap to me. Please no flames.

I look forward to the '02 Midnight Black Pearl WRX Sedan (5-speed) that I have a deposit on. I think the best feature of the car is the driving experience. If it gives me that grin factor, I'll be all over it (and I'd save a few bucks too). I want to take in on a test drive for the entire day (maybe 2) before deciding though.

Compair a old RS to the new WRX if you want to compair interiors... Its not Euro quality, but its a BIG step up.

I think the Stereo upgrade has the behind-the-passanger-seat speakers. But, you can install some 6x9's or something at any car-stereo place.

Were the seats the same in the RS as the WRX. I know they don't have the side airbags. I am just talking about the seat.

thanks

Speakers in the rear? Why bother? Put something nice up front and be done with it.


One of the things I noticed at the show that made me happy was the rear wing. That was pretty sweet, and I'm just hoping we get the same one.

Yes, you guys get the same wing. Just on Canadian cars it comes as standard equipment.

Also, those other 17" wheels that you talk about MrEee are the same ones that come standard on the European WRX's. Quite nice in person.

My understanding on the stereo upgrade was that existing speakers were upgraded and tweeters added (which the wrx already has). I highly doubt extra speakers are added to the rear....though thatd be nice.
On a related topic, why the heyall dont they offer a Macintosh upgrade for the WRX!? They have one for the Outback VDC etc. etc. (dont remember the specific model), and the head unit's a double din, looks sweet. Thats one of my main complaints, but maybe in future years, who knows?

Bigger rear speakers would be a waste in my opinion. High quality components in the front and high quality coaxials in the rear doors paired with a small subwoofer in the trunk would provide the best sound quality.

Rear speakers are used to provide fill, not as the primary sound source. To get a proper soundstage the vast majority of the mids and highs should be coming from the front.

There are a number of manufacturers making coaxial style components with a floating tweeter that can be angled. A pair of these in the rear doors would be perfect with the tweeters angled up.

I got to sit in the WRX seats and compared the RS seats. They look similar but I doubt they are the same ones.
The new RS does not have leather steering anymore. Oh well. at least the aluminium trim cupholders were nice.

The RS seats are not as deep and of course the fabric is different.

Glenn

Thats funny, the RS has the Leather steering wheel as standard for the US... Its the TS that doesnt have the leather.

And my 2 6x9's in the rear plus 2 4x4's on the front doors sounds 10x better than the standard speakers in the Legacy with tweeters + speakers on each door. You cant get as loud with the door speakers as with rear speakers.

Is it the Legacy or the current RS that has rear speakers added in the Speaker upgrade?

The Rally Blue sedan was so sweet! I must have walked back and forth between the blue one and the silver one for 10 minutes trying to decide which one I liked better. I finally picked silver- good thing cause my order has already been filled for silver http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

Funny, I didn't really like the Rally Blue RS (old style) all that much, but the WRX seems to look better in blue.

Before I saw the cars in person I wasn't sure if I wanted the spoiler or not, but its a cool looking spoiler imo.