Finally: andi's new car! (56k) - now with updated pics

andi · 2 May 2006 at 19:32

Yes, thats right, Today, I finally recieved my very first car. Been driving around in my mum's Clio 1.2 since I passed 18 months ago, but last Saturday, I went out and bought this...

MY01 Subaru Impreza Sport 2.0 AWD

Changed to URLs - pics a bit too big really. FF.
Resized.

Edit: More pics added on page 2

andi · 2 May 2006 at 19:32

She's 5 years old (as of yesterday) and has 71,500 miles on the clock.

As you can imagine, although I know its not very fast, coming from the Clio to this is bonkers, its wonderful to drive :cool:

The pictures are crap unfortunately, as I was messing about with the white balance last night and forgot to reset it, so you can't really appreciate what a beautiful colour it is. Shame, as its the first thing everyone mentions.

First mod is to go in tommorrow hopefully..

Then a few more bits and pieces as and when funds allow.

Pics a bit too big. Changed to URLs. FF.

andi · 2 May 2006 at 20:14

Thanks for the comments, its great to see people like it nearly as much as me

Zip, its one of the very last classics. There were one or two on the next registration plate later in the year, but not too many. Most of the later ones were in this colour, it didn't sell as well as Subaru hoped, don't know why, it looks stunning IRL.

Lopez, I think so. I'm a bit wary of people thinking I'm making it look like a turbo, but I really do think the Impreza suits the scoops and vents. Gold wheels tend to look good with this red, seen a few with bronze which looks good too.

WushuMaster, £4,800. Little bit expensive for the mileage and that, but I couldn't resist when i saw it, and it was from a dealer, so its mileage is verified, its HPI'd, they put a years tax and MOT on it, and best of all a warranty for 12 months.

AGW, pics were taken locally, first set outside work and the others on a new industrial estate in Leigh. Insurance is surprisingly reasonable, £1400 with no NCB, dodgy postcode etc. Some companies were madness though, most so called specialists wanted £3-4k. One company on confused wanted £15,000. Went with the RAC in the end, undercut everyone else by miles.

andi · 2 May 2006 at 21:28

Thanks, there's a few marks here and there, and the interiors a bit scratched, but nothing too bad. I want the skirts painting up, so I'll get my mate to do that and sort out the marks on the paint at the same time hopefully

andi · 2 May 2006 at 22:07

ScoobyDoo69 said:
Otherwise, I've done all the mods to my car myself, so if you need any help installing ICE, or removing bits then feel free to give me a shout

Think I'll take you up on this, although anyone else who can answer I'd be grateful to.

Never fitted a headunit before, so just checking it all and reading through the instructions.

The wiring from the headunit has a yellow power lead, and a red switched power lead. The ISO connector also has these on, can i just plug the two cables together? The pink+black and the blue and white I don't need, but is there a connection in the subaru for the orange dimmer lead?

andi · 2 May 2006 at 22:16

Yep, got an ISO adapter here. Just trying to work out the other wires on the Alpine loom. Looking at it, there is an orange wire on the ISO adapter that doesn't seem to have a corresponding pin on the Alpine connector, thats possible it..

andi · 2 May 2006 at 22:54

Yeah, can live without the dimmer I suppose. Just the other two I want to be certain on. As its power, I don't want to connect them wrong, could be very expensive way to get rid of a new headunit

Just read through the manual and my dads double checked and it should be a straight forward job of connecting the wires together.

andi · 2 May 2006 at 23:11

Ah, thats much better thanks. A touch bright on the red though, its a nice deep dark red in the flesh :cool:

andi · 3 May 2006 at 13:17

Head units in, turns out I didn't need the £10 ISO adapter, as it was already ISO :confused:

In and working great now though, just going to burn some CDs to play in it

andi · 3 May 2006 at 13:20

Of course!

Be a bit daft having an MP3 head unit and not burning some Mp3 discs for it though

andi · 3 May 2006 at 19:29

New headunit:

Been out today and took a load more pics (day two and more already, you'll all be really bored if I keep it more than a year

)

First, went back to the industrial estate to retake yesterdays pics with the right white balance on..

andi · 3 May 2006 at 19:30

Then went for a drive to somewhere a bit more scenic for some different kinda shots..

^ "I know Subaru aerials are a bit big, but this is just comical" ^

Not a bad view eh.

andi · 3 May 2006 at 19:30

^ Another comedy aerial shot ^

Sorry for boring you all with more pics, but it was a glorious day and the car looked so good I couldn't resist.

andi · 3 May 2006 at 20:13

Yep, probably get them done when I've got some spare cash, along with a few marks taken out of the body

andi · 4 May 2006 at 11:31

It's not powerful at all, but its not down on cars that would cost me similar to insure by much. It really excells in the bends. I hate to sound like the typical SNet-er, but show it some twisties and its a hoot.

In a straight line, it ain't great, but I've seen a good driver on a twisty track show up turbo drivers.

And like has been said, there's something iffy about PS rollers..

andi · 4 May 2006 at 14:04

DreXeL said:
Yep, basically has identical handling and grip to the Turbo. AFAIK the only differences are ride height and anti-roll bar strength.

Great first car IMO, not massive amounts of power to get you into loads of trouble, but loads of grip for the twisty stuff. I would have loved that as a first car

No anti roll bar on the back of the sport, but thats easily solvable, either with the whiteline kit or one from a turbo.

Wonderful thing is they share 90% of the parts, so turbo stuff bolts straight on.

andi · 4 May 2006 at 23:11

Don't want to sound like a biased owner, although I am really, but the real attraction of the Impreza is not just the power, but the handling and grip. Most Imprezas aren't really that quick in a straight line, but they sold in bucket loads and people love them because show it a back road and it'll give you an absolute whale of a time.

The Sport shares nearly all of the Turbo's chassis and handling components, so while its not quite as good, its still an absolute riot to drive quick. Some people who've owned both, rather than just looked at the specs on a website and gone "ZOMG! THATZ SLOW!", even claim the Sports more fun than the Turbo.

I freely admit that there was some 316itis going on when I bought it, and the fact its a Subaru did contribute strongly. But at the end of the day, I walk out the front door, see it parked on the drive and think "wow, thats gorgeous, and its all mine, and I cannot wait to drive it".

I don't think I'd get that with a Mondeo, or an Omega, or a 1.6 Focus, or anything else I considered. Whether they were faster or not, it'd just be a nice car. My Impreza is something special to me.

andi · 4 May 2006 at 23:49

Steve said:
but is it a performance car lol

I'll be the first to admit it isn't! Just a good fun saloon.

andi · 5 May 2006 at 00:02

The boxer engine is fairly torquey low down as an NA but not half as much as the turbo. Makes 185NM (136lb/ft) at 3600rpm.

andi · 12 May 2006 at 20:28

Yet more pics, sorry..

Last few, in a familiar location, then I'll get this thread archived..

As the attendace showed, the latest MM was far from succesful

And proof it's not as pampered as my neighbours think