Thread: ('11-'14) explain imprezas AWD?
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Old 01-24-2013, 11:27 PM   #112
Dirt Bringer
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Member#: 340297
Join Date: Dec 2012
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Cincinnati
Vehicle:
2013 Impreza 5sp Prm
Ice Silver

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Quote:
Originally Posted by sti2010rl View Post
I owned a 5MT for 3 years without VDC. Without VDC, it thought it was mediocre. I'm only talking about mechanical components here. With VDC, maybe the car works much better in ice or snow, but that still says nothing about the mechanical components that it uses. It says that VDC is good, and that's all. If I were to test a 5MT and like it knowing that the AWD components are the same, then it would only convince me that VDC is good.

Again, my only contention was the the VCU used was bad. It wasn't even that all VCUs are bad; only the 4kg one that Subaru uses.
What you have to remember here is that the Impreza is a car, not an SUV, not a truck. It does not need locking diffs, in fact in some situations a locking diff would only add expense to a system that would benefit more from viscous couplings, for example. The point of the manual subaru and its 50:50 split are a couple of things. First, it generally feels more alive and fun than a comparable FWD car because of the power distribution (and there are exceptions yes of course), and second, due to it being fully symmetrical and having a combination of VDC and VCU it returns one of the best performing AWD designs and performance results of any car in its price segment. The point here is not that the Impreza has an extremely advanced AWD system (manual or auto), but that it is pretty much the best in its segment for use in a car. If this were a jeep, we would be having a completely different discussion. However, price for performance, this simple system brings a lot to the table. I also have read in the past about various center differential systems and a well written up article on the various designs put the Subaru manual design in the top three (mechanical) designs out there (for cars). I'm not suggesting you are wrong in what you have stated about its design and performance, but I'm certainly on the fence on both camps, and have seen several examples suggesting that the VDC and VCU or auto combinations used in Subaru mainstream vehicles are not only sufficient, but easily the best on the market for the money. If you are willing to explain to me why this is not the case however, I'm willing to listen.
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