[DemesDeltagare]

Hi guys,

Newcomer here from the UK, moved to Göteborg, and I actually managed to meet some friendly guys from the club during the summer. Already then I was looking for some 1st gen Impreza owners. I’ve been a long time fan of the classic 1st gen, and when I moved to Sweden I realised here’s actually have quite a few of them!

While I know that mechanically they’re supposed to be quite reliable, I’ve never owned one, and I don’t really have any subjective/objective info on how they are in the modern world. I know they’re supposed to have good handling, and power/acceleration is decent even today. But I want to know exactly the things they don’t tell in the reviews, but what you always live with.
So here’s my question to those who own/owned an Impreza GT – how is it ‘day to day’? Is the ride comfortable enough? Is it very noisy? Is the handling trash compared to modern standards? Is it actually a pain in the ass to live with, or rather (as I hope) just a fun Japanese rocket that I can fit my buddies into and drive out of the world?
Unless you tell me some terrible things now I’m fairly sure I’ll be looking for buying tips soon enough, so feel free to mention if there’s something I should already look out for 😉

Cheers,
Demes

[IggeDeltagare]

If we’re talking about stock cars as daily I’d say its biggest flaw is the noise and fuel consumption.

My old impreza did about 8L/100km as a low record, usually ended up at about 10L/100km when I had it as my daily.

Apart from that and the noise (“road noise”) it’s a decent daily.
Not really quick as modern cars are getting faster and faster, but the way it delivers power it feels quick. Though still quicker than most daily cars, just not by as much of a margin as in the 90s.

Handling-wise it’s been the most fun of all daily cars I’ve had or driven.
Works well in shitty conditions and feels stable and safe.

Of course it looses daily-points to newer cars due to the lack of modern comforts, such as traction control/stability management control, bluetooth handsfree integrated, Keyless, stereo with sound quality, etc. etc.
But then again it’s way more fun than my Volvo 🙂

I’m comparing my old ’99 Impreza GT and my current ’98 Impreza GT to other daily cars I’ve had, such as:
Volvo V60
BMW 523 E39
Saab 9-3 1,8i
BMW 525 E61
Audi 80 1,9E
and loaners.

[DemesDeltagare]

That’s exactly the kind of info I was looking for, thanks!
Realistically it won’t be a daily (I’d daily a Caterham so whatever), but the stuff you listed isn’t such a dealbreaker. Is road noise exceptionally terrible, or just what you’d expect from a ’90s Japanese sedan?
If at highway speed, you can’t even hold a loud-ish conversation, it’s a bit of a problem – should I ever want to sit non-car friends in it. From that list you posted I’d guess the Impreza was by far the loudest 🙂
Currently we have a ’93 Toyota MR2 Turbo in the family, I’m just hoping it can’t be much worse than that. Same for economy…
And thanks for the reassurance on the suspension, fun is what I’m hoping for.

[TurbovinDeltagare]

Hi,

The biggest issue in Gothenburg is that a classic Impreza will rust really badly in the rear arches and all the common places. The use of road salt here in Sweden make them suffer real bad.

And in my opinion the headlights are horrible but I have a Golf MK7 with LED headlights as a daily so not a fair comparison. But I think they are crap compared to my old E36 M3 as well.

Other than that they are great fun but I doubt I’d choose one as a daily driver considering how old they are.

[IggeDeltagare]

That’s exactly the kind of info I was looking for, thanks!
Realistically it won’t be a daily (I’d daily a Caterham so whatever), but the stuff you listed isn’t such a dealbreaker. Is road noise exceptionally terrible, or just what you’d expect from a ’90s Japanese sedan?
If at highway speed, you can’t even hold a loud-ish conversation, it’s a bit of a problem – should I ever want to sit non-car friends in it. From that list you posted I’d guess the Impreza was by far the loudest 🙂
Currently we have a ’93 Toyota MR2 Turbo in the family, I’m just hoping it can’t be much worse than that. Same for economy…
And thanks for the reassurance on the suspension, fun is what I’m hoping for.

The noise isn’t exceptionally bad, just ordinary bad in my opinion 🙂
I’d say similar to the old Audi 80.

Fun note regarding the handling my father took my old impreza from Köping to Karlstad for maintenance. 180km in kind of shitty conditions (snow/slush).
He was amazed about the road feedback and confidence in driving compared to his then brand new BMW 5 series (F10). Still talks positively about it seven years later. 😀
(back then at least the local shops weren’t that competent and the one in Karlstad was well renowned, combined with the fact that my father worked there)

But the handling is, in my opinion, somewhat similar to power.
It’s not the fastest out there, but considering the specs and the daily friendliness, they deliver it really well.
It feels fast so to speak 🙂

But compared to a caterham it might not, of course :p

Hi,

The biggest issue in Gothenburg is that a classic Impreza will rust really badly in the rear arches and all the common places. The use of road salt here in Sweden make them suffer real bad.

And in my opinion the headlights are horrible but I have a Golf MK7 with LED headlights as a daily so not a fair comparison. But I think they are crap compared to my old E36 M3 as well.

Other than that they are great fun but I doubt I’d choose one as a daily driver considering how old they are.

True!
Headlights leave you wanting for better. Low beam is okay for old halogens but high beam leaves you wanting for auxiliary lights 😀

Rust is of course a common issue for japanese 90s cars.

[DemesDeltagare]

That speaks volumes about the handling and power – there are faster and more powerful cars out there I know, but what I’m looking for is exactly ~200hp from the ’90s, but hopefully one that’s also fun.

And thanks for the input Turbovin! I’ll be mindful of the headlights. I think it’d daily for me, but I don’t need to daily it anyway.

With regards to rust, all Japanese cars suffer that, I guess doubly so in Sweden. Anything in particular to look out for, other than wheel arches?
Also, anything else that’s a particular issue? The MR2 we were looking for was notorious for leaking, is there anything that’ll be a pain in the backside for me if I don’t check it before buying?

Also, I guess I’ll definitely have to attend your meetups and hope to check them out in person 🙂

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