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Old 01-31-2007, 07:49 AM   #1
NYCshopper
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Default Review: Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sport Wagon (TheTruthAboutCars.com)

Review: Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sport Wagon (TheTruthAboutCars.com)

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=3044



Quote:
I don't get veggie-burgers. If something didn't actually die for my dinner, I reckon it should at least have been pretty severely inconvenienced. What's more, a good burger is always bad for you (arterial distress on a sesame-seed bun). So it is with the Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sport Wagon. Why would anyone buy such an entirely sensible vehicle when they could drive away in a full-fat, hormone-injected WRX Sport Wagon? Why indeed. It's time for a serious sampling of Fuji Heavy Industries Lite.

At first glance, the 2.5i Sport Wagon isn't what you'd call an appetizing proposition. The Wagon's snout-mounted upside-down Alfa-Romeo radiator-hole looks decidedly indelicate. At least the 2.5i's got a more graceful front end than the WRX Sports Wagon, whose hood scoop gives it a nostrilly appearance that only Prince Charles could truly love. The rest of the 2.5i's body is blissfully free from flared wheel-arches, rear spoilers and other vulgarities. It's as restrained as muesli.

There aren't many other external clues differentiating the 2.5i Impreza from its beefcake cousin. In fact, park the 2.5i next to older versions of the same car, and you'd be hard pressed to date the evolution. Yes, every couple of years Subaru fits new alloys and affixes prettier tail-lights to its Imprezas. But that's the same sleight of hand used by every 17-year-old when pimping out a mid-nineties Civic hatchback. Suddenly, that wacky schnoz starts to make sense; it's the only easily identifiable (and how) feature in an otherwise humdrum design.

Open the SW's sashless doors and you'll discover more blast-from-the-past-ery. Judging from the dubious quality of it's-a-hard-knock-life plastics deployed throughout the cabin, Subie's parent must shelter a shopping-bag recycling company under its corporate wing. If you can bear touching the 2.5i's shiny, not-so-happy control surfaces, all the basic amenities are pleasant and accounted for: A/C, cruise control, in-dash CD, keyless entry, etc. The controls and dials are laid out with all the simplicity befitting their, um, simplicity.

The 2.5i's front seats are well bolstered beneath their cheap upholstery. The Wagon's back seats are comfy enough- provided you've got rubber femurs. Folding down the rear chairs creates a cargo space large enough to stow both bicycles and battered guitar cases. But let's be honest: the SW is no wood-panelled ocean-liner of a Vista Cruiser. In fact, it's nothing more or less than a capacious hatchback, offering the same 62 cubic foot cargo capacity found in my old Mazda 626 liftback. Hey Doc, maybe if I drive the little Subie 88 miles per hour I can get back to 1991.

Great Scott! Cranking over the Sport Wagon's 2.5-litre boxer engine generates the sort of agricultural noise normally heard whilst perched atop the red horseshoe seat of an antique Massey-Ferguson. Luckily, everything soon settles down to a dull wobble. This is your first clue to the Impreza's dynamic personality. "Hello!" the offbeat vibrations say, "This is not a normal car."

Although the 2.5i's engine is only good for 173hp @ a relatively lofty 6000rpm, the SW musters-up enough twist (166 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm) to take some hoon-oriented liberties with its electronically controlled variable transfer clutch (a.k.a. all wheel-drive). The little Impreza practically leaps off the line- and then strolls to sixty in a shade over eight seconds. Never mind; at full chat, the Subie's boxer engine roars like a bathtub speedster. It simply begs to be flung into the nearest corner.

Ah yes, corners. The Impreza 2.5i Sport Wagon may slingshot out of turns with less alacrity than a WRX, but at least it does so with equal bravado. With its compact engine mounted longitudinally on the down low, and a sports-tuned four-wheel independent suspension, the SW is a superbly sure-footed, balanced performer. Body roll is minimal, tire adhesion predictable, throttle response enjoyable and braking thank-God-able.

In the rain, driving the Sports Wagon is like playing football on a muddy field wearing cleats- when everyone else is slipping around in sneakers. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rudyard Kipling's ride: "If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs, you're probably driving a Subaru."

There are a few quirky quibbles. The Sport Wagon's clutch pedal action is funny. The shifter has a slightly plasticky feeling (shopping bags again). And***8230; that's about it. In fact, the Sports Wagon is everything an enthusiast could want in a family hatchback- save good looks, touchy-feely materials and neck snapping acceleration. It's so multi-purpose, it ought to come with a corkscrew attachment. At a hair under $18k, what's stopping you?

The WRX Sport Wagon. For another $7k you get better tunes, improved plastics, sportier dials, a roof spoiler and 51 more horses. While the veggie-burger edition is thoroughly justifiable and a lot less unsatisfying than you'd imagine, the red meat iteration is, dare I say it, irresistible.


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Last edited by NYCshopper; 01-31-2007 at 12:19 PM.
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Old 01-31-2007, 08:24 AM   #2
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Yet, a picture of a sedan at the top. Weird.

Not a thoroughly terrible article. But to me, just another typewriter jockey taking a few too many vernacular liberties, in an attempt to be humorous.
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Old 01-31-2007, 08:40 AM   #3
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Just check properties of the top picture

"http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/lesbian.jpg"

It does not say "Impreza" or "Subaru" at all.

Krzys
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Old 01-31-2007, 10:28 AM   #4
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Hahaha! That's weird!
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Old 01-31-2007, 10:46 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Siper2 View Post
Yet, a picture of a sedan at the top. Weird.

Not a thoroughly terrible article. But to me, just another typewriter jockey taking a few too many vernacular liberties, in an attempt to be humorous.
Ditto. Not terrible, just full of muck to the point of not being able to understand it. I wonder how many non-car people he lost with his overuse of vernacular and metaphors and such. Sounds like he got lots of his 'review' from other reviews. Many comments seem recycled.
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Old 01-31-2007, 10:48 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krzyss View Post
Just check properties of the top picture

"http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/lesbian.jpg"

It does not say "Impreza" or "Subaru" at all.

Krzys
Holy haha batman!
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Old 01-31-2007, 11:08 AM   #7
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The reviews on TTAC leave alot to be desired. Every article is limited to 800 words and you can't really give a good review with that limitation. Also there are no real stats just the driver's impressions of the car and how it fits into the industry, while trying to be funny.

It also depends on the reviewer since some are alot better than others.

This one of the RS4 was pretty good. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2545
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Old 01-31-2007, 12:27 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krzyss View Post
Just check properties of the top picture

"http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/lesbian.jpg"

It does not say "Impreza" or "Subaru" at all.

Krzys
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jfrankon View Post
Hahaha! That's weird!
Quote:
Originally Posted by left footed whooten View Post
Holy haha batman!
not true...

tp://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/front.jpg

Krzys... you have issues
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Old 01-31-2007, 12:54 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by design1stcode2nd View Post
It also depends on the reviewer since some are alot better than others.

This one of the RS4 was pretty good. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2545

Quote:
And that's before you push the innocuous little button marked "S." Normally, the RS4 is faster than whatever car you are driving next to, sounds bonkers and has a devastatingly punishing ride. Push the button though, and three things happen.

First, the throttle control is remapped so that the rev-happy mill will crank faster with less input. Second, valves open in the mufflers changing the sound from Howard Dean's scream to Gunnery Sgt. Hartman showing Joker his war face. Lastly, the shocks get firmer and the ride goes from mercilessly painful to f-you. I absolutely love it. Forget violence, you are now driving war.
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Old 01-31-2007, 01:34 PM   #10
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Interesting review. I agree with it 100***37;, the interior on the current imprezas is out of date... My '95 feels basically the same inside sans some silver plastic bits. The exterior is also looking out of date...

I'm glad he still enjoyed the drivability of the car, and even gave it a positive review in the end (after several paragraphs knocking the car )

Good thing for the 08 redesign
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Old 01-31-2007, 01:45 PM   #11
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Oh, the engine is good for "only" 173 hp. The reviewer needs to GET OVER the fact that it's not a WRX and look at comparable cars instead... those 173 horses are the most in its class, pal.
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Old 01-31-2007, 01:52 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Siper2 View Post
Yet, a picture of a sedan at the top. Weird.
Not only that, but he talks about the clutch and the picture shows an automatic.

If he couldn't be bothered with taking pictures, makes you wonder if he even drove the damn thing.

Worthless review. Think about it, would this influence your decision to purchase the car in any way?
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Old 01-31-2007, 02:00 PM   #13
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In the guy's defense, writers often have no control over the photos that are used... commonly done by a page editor. Very typical for a journalist to write only, not do photography or page layout.
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Old 02-01-2007, 08:47 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Siper2 View Post
Not a thoroughly terrible article. But to me, just another typewriter jockey taking a few too many vernacular liberties, in an attempt to be humorous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by left footed whooten View Post
Ditto. Not terrible, just full of muck to the point of not being able to understand it. I wonder how many non-car people he lost with his overuse of vernacular and metaphors and such. Sounds like he got lots of his 'review' from other reviews. Many comments seem recycled.
This and the FXT review posted here are full of the same-old, same-old Subaru cliches that you can find in every car mag (especially the British ones; I'm surprised they didn't call the FXT a "Chelsea tractor"). Even the attempts at snark are tired; all the granola, REI, veggie, agricultural, lesbian, etc. comments are extremely played out. Nothing in either review gives the reader any novel information or POV that couldn't be found in even the worst dreck in Motor Trend or your Sunday paper's automotive section.

If anything these reviews at least tell me that I don't need to bother with thetruthaboutcars.com reviews.

Last edited by lark6; 02-01-2007 at 09:57 AM. Reason: subject/verb agreement
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Old 02-01-2007, 09:10 AM   #15
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Like all Subaru reviews, it's not what's on the outside, but how it drives.

Touchy feely? Hmm. I guess I don't get that involved in "touching" my cars interior.
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