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Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon

16768707273115

Comments

  • krzysskrzyss Member Posts: 849
    even if it does, Subaru has the rest of the world to make 2.0.
    STi is 2.5 in USA (and Canada too).

    Krzys
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    subie_wrx: did they get to sit in a Forester Premium model? If so, they'd enjoy that huge moonroof, which serves the front and rear seats. Bet they'd pick that first.

    I'd like the see the 2.5l in all WRXs too.

    -juice
  • kenokakenoka Member Posts: 218
    Yes, but those requirements are more than met by the JDM and Euro models.
  • beanboybeanboy Member Posts: 442
    Is also a plus for the Forester. I've test driven a WRX wagon, and wasn't pleased with the low RPM response. Rumors about better low-end grunt for 2004 are around, guess I'll just have to wait and test the Forester turbo and the WRX when they are available.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I wonder if the 2.0l in the 2004 will be revised. In Japan they have some 2.0 engines that are supposed to have quicker spool up.

    -juice
  • corkfishcorkfish Member Posts: 537
    So they'll put the 2.5 in the US model and the 2.0 in everybody else? Not sure I see that happening ( kind of wipes out economies of scale critical to auto manufacturers). Also, I noticed the Turbo Forester is going to weigh in at a hefty 3200 pounds. I was hoping they'd keep it at the current 3090. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Subaru will complete the hatrick with a souped up Legacy in New York next month.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Subaru's economies of scale make no sense to me at all.

    I have some JDM brochures, and on the Legacy alone I noticed 7 different grilles. Seven.

    They also put every engine in just about every model, have STi models across the board, as well as 2.0l fuel misers. Never mind all the special edition WRX models, about one per year.

    Any how, the Forester is built in Gunma next to the Impreza, so the 2.5l is right there, ready to go, in that very factory. The same engine will probably power the Baja so it'll be ready for Legacy duty (both built at SIA) too.

    -juice
  • hunter001hunter001 Member Posts: 851
    I think there are differences in the struts, spring rates and a variety of other suspension pieces for WRXs bound to Europe, Japan, the US etc. Even between the various types of WRXs (STi, STi Type-R, STi Type RA etc) there are lots of differences. So they are basically putting in unique parts for each of these markets. So I don't think it would impact anything much by adding in a 2.5L engine for the US market alone, since the US market bound WRX is anyway different in a lot of respects from the WRXs bound elsewhere.

    Even now, there are differences in the 2.0L that are bound to Europe and for the ones that are bound to the US.

    Later...AH
  • xcskierxcskier Member Posts: 34
    Thomas in Mpls, we moved to Park City, Utah from the Twin Cities 7 years ago. I have 3 kids, 12 yr old son (big kid) and 10 yr old twin daughters. They fit in the back seat with plenty of leg and shoulder room.

    We haven't taken the WRX on any long road trips, but we often use it for day trips to the ski slopes. With a ski rack on top we fit 5 pr skis and poles with no problem. The rack is a large Thule and is just about as wide as the roof. BTW, I have Thule aftermarket cross bars, not Subaru OEMs.

    The hatch is plenty adequate for 5 helmets, 5 pr ski boots, 5 ski parkas, 5 duffles of dry clothes, and one cooler of lunch.

    I like being able to zip around the lots and get in between all the SUVs. I'm like a mosquito buzzing around the elephants.

    We'd have a challenge fitting everything for a week-long vacation, but we find plenty of room for our short outings.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Is required by law in many countries so they'll keep producing them.

    -mike
  • beanboybeanboy Member Posts: 442
    Getting that 2.5L turbo across all models would save Subaru a great deal of money, especially a little tweaking here and there can make for noticable differences in power. Doesn't Saab and Volvo do a low and high pressure version of the same motor?

    -B
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I bet they will use the 2.0t in the WRX as a "fuel saving" model rather than put the 2.5l Turbo in across the board.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Depends on what the EPA ratings are for the 2.5l turbo. We haven't seen those yet.

    It can be geared a little taller so don't be surprised if the 2.5T matches the 2.0T.

    Yes, it's possible to do several variations of the same engine with different amounts of boost, presence or lack of an intercooler, a 2nd turbo, ball bearing or twin scroll turbos, etc. The possibilities are endless.

    -juice
  • kenokakenoka Member Posts: 218
    Many, if not most European countries have tax penalties for engine displacement. Engines over the magic 2.0 liter mark get really hammered IIRC.
  • cptpltcptplt Member Posts: 1,075
    UK has started taxing by CO2 emissions also!Up to 40% of cars sold there are expected to be turbo diesels soon as a result.
  • kenokakenoka Member Posts: 218
    I don't understand taxing the bejesus out of cars for CO2 emissions, when the CO2 emissions from cows far outstrips that of cars. What we need is to design cleaner burning cows, but the environmental lobby won't allow that either. ;)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Plant some trees and put the CO2 to use!

    -juice
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    How 'bout "World stop breathing for 60 seconds day". ;-)

    Ya, what juice said. Plant trees.
    -Dave
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    Or just eliminate them. Replace them with the indigenous Bison. The environmental lobby would probably like that. I'll bet bison are cleaner burning, too.

    But seriously, I like clean air and I support the efforts that have dragged the auto companies along kicking and screaming to cleaner burning, more fuel efficient engines.
  • twrxtwrx Member Posts: 647
    Me thinks we have a student of our former president Ronnie (who cares about the environment) Raygun. Before the 1980 election he said that the "major source of nitrogen polluton was plants and trees". CO2 from cows sounds somewhat like a Bushism.
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    Nah. It sounds like a Bushism, but only the goobers from Greenpeace would come up with something like CO2 from cows, which (IIRC) is what they did.

    Or maybe it was the PETA freaks...
  • cinosweivecinosweive Member Posts: 166
    I'm in favor of clean air. Though, if you're a tree, CO2 IS clean air. Still, I much prefer clean air to dirty air.
  • hunter001hunter001 Member Posts: 851
    After smelling the fumes coming out of the tailpipes of some vehicles, along with the accompanying thick smoke, you wonder how the fellow managed to clear emissions. I think spot checking of suspected vehicles (specifically the ones that spew out thick clouds of smoke), should be a part of emissions testing, without which all these sneaky characters would continue to pollute heavily and degrade the air we breathe.

    Later...AH
  • twrxtwrx Member Posts: 647
    Agreed on emissions testing. I also hope that sometime in the future (obvioiusly not in the present adminstration) the standards for fuel economy will rise.
  • xccoachlouxccoachlou Member Posts: 245
    As in People Eating Tasty Animals? :) lol

    New cars in NJ do not have to go undergo state inspection for 4 years. :)
  • hunter001hunter001 Member Posts: 851
    I think it is 2 years for new cars in NJ...not 4 years.

    Later...AH
  • xccoachlouxccoachlou Member Posts: 245
    I am pretty sure it was just changed to 4, and also that I've seen some cars with 07 on the inspection stickers. Of course, I could have been hallucinating from eating all those tasty animals.

    The WRX looks especially sharp in silver, imho.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Well I was fortunate enough to really give Hypov's silver wagon a workout last night. I'm very impressed by the power from 50->110 With the AT I shifted it manually to hold boost which was not too bad at all. As for everyone complaining about the brakes, I'm not sure where that comes from. I was able to chirp the tires w/o ABS kicking in on my decent from 110 w/o much issue. Overall a nice ride, and the guy in the TA who was passed by a 4-banger wagon with 3 guys in it was upset ;)

    -mike
  • nowakj66nowakj66 Member Posts: 709
    When is the non-STi WRX supposed to arrive? Last I heard was March or April. Are they still on track for this?
  • ugly1ugly1 Member Posts: 52
    From a local dealer I was told Mar-Apr. But then I was at the Cleveland Autoshow and the guy there said May-Jun. They didn't have any '04's at the show and worst yet they didn't even have any '04 brochures. So anyway who knows.
  • axp696axp696 Member Posts: 90
    They've already started trickling into some Canadian dealerships as seen here. I suspect they'll be on the way within the next couple weeks.
  • hunter001hunter001 Member Posts: 851
    The "turbo" changes the "4-banger" equation a bit.... :-)

    Later...AH
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yeah but it's still a 2.0 H4, no matter how you slice it. I definitely noticed the lack of pull on it. Just comparing it to the SVX which is slightly heavier and similar power peaks, the SVX gives you a more "suck" in your seat feel even going from say 70-110 than the AT WRX. Not that the WRX was *that* sluggish.

    -mike
  • tkevinblanctkevinblanc Member Posts: 356
    Paisan's law:

    "There's no replacement for displacement." :0)
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    True that Kevin! :)

    Unless that displacement is replaced with a big honking diesel :)

    -mike
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    ..going to do any engine mods??

    Removing the stranglehold (cat) on the uppipe should help down low. :-)

    -Dennis
  • j0elboyj0elboy Member Posts: 32
    Ugly1:

    H*ll, I'm planning to visit the Cleveland Auto Show Sunday--first chance i got...

    Wanted to see those '04's. May be a good thing, after all I only have 800 miles so far on the new "03 wagon sitting in the parking lot...

    J0elboy
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    nope :)

    Will make some cosmetics;
    lights;
    wheels/tires;
    spring/suspension
    not neccessary in that order.

    -Dave
  • capitanocapitano Member Posts: 509
    I'm interested in the WRX wagon. I nowhere near ready to buy yet and these 03 below invoice deals sound nice but....

    the new auto annual from CR shows the WRX with below average reliability though they do qualify it as a one year sample.

    What do you owners and fans think of CR's finding?
  • jmgregory5jmgregory5 Member Posts: 48
    I used to read cr regiously, until I figured out that even the "unbiased" opinions are still just opinions. I think if you read more of this board and others like it, you aren't going to see below average anything in regards to the wrx.

    IIRC, CR always rates all wheel drive vehicles lower than fwd or rwd since there is potentially twice the driveline items to break. Also, they use a ballot type sample system that most likely was filled out by the two wrx owners who actually read the magazine and have had any problems with their cars.

    John
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    I wouldn't line a birdcage with CR.

    But having said that, a WRX is no Honda Civic.

    -Colin
  • kevin111kevin111 Member Posts: 991
    The WRX was a new model, and every car seems to go through some initial growing pains when they are first released.

    I have the same magazine (subscribe to CR). They rated Impressas as average. It was the BMW 3-series that dropped to below average!

    In any case, I expected this. Reading this board, there seemed to be a great deal of people with minor issues and items with the first couple of batches of WRXs that hit the market. It seemed that after these couple of batches, the issues were resolved.

    Also, one of the other problems with the WRX was that many people modified them, then abused them, thus things like trannys failing. The 2003s took care of this by installing a valve on the clutch to prevent high-RPM clutch drops.

    I would bet anything that the 2004 edition of CR will show the reliability of Impressas back above average in quality.

    BTW, for 2002, the Civic was rated as average quality as well. 2003, they are back above average.
  • capitanocapitano Member Posts: 509
    I don't know if coming down on CR is the right tack in this case. Alleging bias is probably not the best course. CR did recommend the WRX and over the RSX last year. They also predicted better than average reliability. Now that they have some data that indicates otherwise and they downgrade the WRX reliability rating does not mean that they have suddenly turned on the car.

    I am interested in CR because there are manufacturers for whom I don't have a "feel" for how reliable they are. I have a feel for Toyota, Nissan, GM, Honda, VW and Dodge. I know where I think they fit on the reliability scale. Subaru is one that I don't have any feel for. So I turn to see what CR says.
  • lakepoplakepop Member Posts: 221
    It would be interesting to find out how many of the WRX issues/complaints were on "modded" WRXs.
     CR could have made this a part of their input/stats , but maybe they gather their data in a much more simplistic manner?
  • beanboybeanboy Member Posts: 442
    Saab, meet Subaru*

    GM also is considering closer cooperation between Saab and Subaru, a GM
    affiliate.

    Subaru dealers in the United States were up in arms last month at the
    annual convention of the National Automobile Dealers Association over
    discussions between Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (Subaru) and GM about
    whether to give Saab a version of Subaru's Impreza WRX wagon. A Subaru
    spokesman in the United States said a feasibility study is under way.

    Said Wagoner: "I don't think we made any announcement on it yet, but
    clearly (a Saab-Subaru relationship) appeals to us as an opportunity
    that perhaps helps both partners. The product characteristics, while in
    some ways different, in some ways there are a lot of similarities to the
    philosophy of product. This is an area we want to explore."
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I guess what they could do is make SAAB the upscale version of subarus. Not a bad way to market a $40K+ Subaru, since we know that SOA has had a bear of a time marketing anything $30K+ several times.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I agree, get a WRX and add all the nice interior materials many shoppers crave and are willing to pay for. Higher price would mean they wouldn't even compete directly. It would more likely compete head to head with high-end A4s.

    Reliability was measured at just about average, far from their "Worse than Average" category. This for a version 1.0. That's not bad at all.

    No black dots or anything.

    -juice
  • krzysskrzyss Member Posts: 849
    Saabaru.
    Isn't it one more example of badge engineering ?

    Krzys
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yes, but it allows Subaru to produce more volume and spread costs.

    I'm normally against badge engineering, but I think the Saab could be distinct enough. The Forester is based on the Impreza platform but those aren't clones, not even close. I say take the Saab in the other direction - lower and even sportier.

    Saab is a niche player, too, and they understand turbos. Use completely fresh sheetmetal and a new interior, but keep the drive train.

    -juice
  • twrxtwrx Member Posts: 647
    My WRX has been a better car than my '98 Forester. I have 24,000 on the WRX and have had one minor brake problem (some front end shake--brake discs machined for free on warranty at 15k) whereas with my Forester I had already some pretty bad clutch problems at this mileage. One thing I really liked about the Forester was the interior. At 60,000 miles the upholstry was perfect, really bullet proof. Same with the WRX. Early reviews said that the fabric looked thin and should be a wear problem. No problem, seats look new at 24k, except for a little cat and dog hair of course.
    TWRX
This discussion has been closed.