hi, i'm considering getting the impreza rs sportwagon, but i have a few questions...
1. how dependable are imprezas? were there any ongoing problems in the older models? if so, are the problems fixed for the newer models?
2. how is the fuel economy? on the website it says the impreza rs sportwagon gets 23-30, but a friend told me he only gets 22 avg on his 04 impreza wagon (i can't remember if it's an rs or wrx though).
3. any other good/bad things i should know about from you long running impreza owners?

for my next car, i'm set on buying an awd wagon, but i want to find the most dependable and fuel efficient wagon out there. as of right now, impreza rs seems to fit the bill the best. but if anyone has any suggestions for other awd wagons that might qualify, please let me know! (but they have to come in manual...)

by the way, i'm not old. i just think awd wagons are the superior vehicle!

Impreza's are very reliable with no significant issues since about 1999.
The mileage your friend is getting must be for a WRX, I never got that low with any of my Subarus.

...or he drives it like a bat outta hell. I drive a WRX and I get about 26mpg on a non-autocross tank, and I don't exactly conserve gasoline when I drive. On a race tank, I get... well, not even close to 26mpg.

I keep track of my mpg's on every tank. Normally 50/50 mix of city and highway. ~22/23 for the tank. A recent trip I took to AC which was all highway, ~28 @ about 85mph average speed down there.
A few of my friends drive an '04 WRX as well (all 5-spd) and their average tanks are about 22-27mpg as well. Is it really good? Well... no, but for an AWD car that is fun as hell to drive, it's good enough for me.

I get like 30-32 at ~70 mph on the highway. 24-ish in town.

by the way, i'm not old. i just think awd wagons are the superior vehicle!

It's true.

by the way, i'm not old. i just think awd wagons are the superior vehicle!

Why would that be?? I'll believe that when Peter Solberg drives a WRC Wagon.

Why would that be?? I'll believe that when Peter Solberg drives a WRC Wagon.

Talking street cars, not rally cars.

Talking street cars, not rally cars.

Fair enough. Let's hear some (logical and accurate) reasons.

I won't take "mo space" as a reason for being a superior vehicle.

I won't take "mo space" as a reason for being a superior vehicle.

Well, that's pretty much the reason :lol: Same car as the sedan (I know it's not exactly the same, but close enough to not matter 99% of the time) but with more space.

Plus it looks better :tongue:

Personal opinion I guess, but I see the wagon as the superior vehicle

OH...well.

I was thinking that there would be some technical reason for it :tongue:

Such as the wagon frame has more rigidity and prevents body roll or something... :naughty:

I'll stick with my sedan.

Hmm... I guess you could make an argument for the wagon having better weight distribution due to the extra weight behind the rear axle. But the sedan has a 20mm wider track and 80 pounds less weight so it kinda evens out.

Impreza RS overall should be fine. You d only worry abt fuel economy if its a WRX (a car which i m not very keen of) coz it has a turbocharger. It's also a very reliable car and probably the cheapest brand new AWD wagon. However, if u r interested, my suggestion is that you check out the second hand market for older model SUVs such as the Landcruiser 80 series (my fav landcruiser), Land Rover Discovery, etc. as they have tremendous offroad capability and power at the same price (they may be even more reliable in the outback or countryside as they have a higher suspension and r built to last) and has BIG capacity. Fuel economy might be a little problem but still worth it. U may even like to get an older model RS Wagon at a much much lower price...

Hossain, could you do me (and eveyone else) a couple of favors please?

1) Type like an adult
2) Do something with that ugly yellow thingie

Thank you much.

Thanx for your comments keita and please note htat I changed my UGLY signature for everyone. However, I don't understand what you mean by "typing like an adult". Do you intend to that words like "coz" or "fav" makes my writing immature? I am quite willing to use words such as "because" or "due to" or "personal favourite" or the like if you wish. (Note: I typed as much like an adult I think as possible in this reply)

INFINITELY better. Thank you.

OK...Thanx for your assistance Keita

Fair enough. Let's hear some (logical and accurate) reasons.

I won't take "mo space" as a reason for being a superior vehicle.
I can fit five people, tools, race tires/wheels, lunch for five, helmets, and all my various other autocross accoutrements in the car all at once. Comfortably. Without roof racks. With roof racks, I could get even more stuff. Plus, the wagon is slightly more unique. And when I smoke people, I can say "You just got beat by a wagon." And the race between a wagon and a sedan, stock for stock, is a driver's race. There's no appreciable difference between the two, performance-wise. The sedan is slightly more upgradeable, but that doesn't become an issue until many thousands of dollars worth of upgrades later. Plus, when my wife and I eventually have kids, the WRX wagon will be "family car" enough that I won't have to deal with the issue of minivans.

Cliff's notes: "mo space," room for my race tires, wagon coolness factor, uniqueness, possibly a "family car," and same performance as the sedan.

Why would that be?? I'll believe that when Peter Solberg drives a WRC Wagon.

Funny you say that because there was actually a season where Subaru did have an Impreza wagon compete in Group N.

Sabre, I think the best reason that you have is
**I can say "You just got beat by a wagon." **

It must be fun smoking those Honda boys and crappy Mustangs and such. I hate to tell you, but I doubt that the wagon would be much of a family car. My wife had a Forester and I have a WRX, but we couldn't deal with the Forester anymore when our son turned two since he could easily kick the back of the driver side seat, and lack of space...even though it's much bigger than the Impreza Wagon.

I was waiting for the Subaru SUV to come out (Tribeca, which is almost out), but when I found out that it's not that big, she just got rid of her Forester and got an Acura MDX, which we're quite happy with. It's not just the 3rd row seat (which we don't really use), but it's just the width, V6 with lots of torque, and the overall roominess, not to mention all leather, and side airbags, full 3-row curtain air bags, satellite radio, and everything else. I've sworn that I'd never get a gas guzzler SUV, but it's NICE. Once you go BIG SUV, it's hard to go back...when you've got a family.

But I'm happy with my WRX--SEDAN, of course.

If you want a grande-sized vehicle without all the gas-guzzling, why not get a minivan? Or a full-sized sedan? The modern iteration of the SUV is the most pointless invention ever. Unless you're actually using it for off-road utility (which most SUVs couldn't do anyway), an SUV is a waste of perfectly good money. Growing up, my parents had a Suburban, but they used it to its full potential. It was always hauling the carpool, plants, boats, campers, etc. When we went on vacation, the Suburban could carry all five people, all five people's luggage, a full-sized ice chest with all five people's food (within reach of everybody- hooray 1/3 split middle-row bench seats) five sleeping bags, the tent, the camping gear, and tow the boat. Down a dirt road, if need be. That's what an SUV is for. If you're just hauling kids to school/soccer, a minivan is a much cheaper and easier solution, especially with all the cool gizmos that come on them nowadays. A minivan gets the same gas mileage as a small SUV (why did they do away with four-banger minivans?), but without the imminent threat of rollover. Plus captain's chairs for the middle row so the kids each have their own space. You can get a Honda Odyssey with just as much performance as an MDX, but with much cooler gizmos and options for about $5000 less. /anti-people-who-don't-use-SUVs-correctly-soapbox

Sabre:

I couldn't agree with you more about a minivan. Trust me, I tried....it was impossible to convince a wife who would refuse to be a "minivan-mom". She was quite comfortable with her small SUV(well, sort of), and wasn't ready to step up to a minivan, despite my attempt to convince her.

Here is another problem, however. There are currently only 2 minivans worth purchasing. Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. Both of them have undergone relatively recent mojor model changes with ridiculous pricing, and you couldn't get either one under MSRP, not to mention that you couldn't even find one to test drive. We were able to purchase our loaded MDX at $200 above invoice (several thousand below MSRP). It's pretty hard to settle on a bad deal around MSRP for a....eh minivan. It might be a diffrent story for an STI.

So all in all, I agree with the minivan soapbox, but given those two things (wife & price), large SUV was not a bad choice. Besides, given that Odyssey, Pilot, and MDX all have relative similar engines(Pilot and MDX are near identical, the NEW odyssey is slightly different, I believe), fuel economy is not drastically different.

You go shopping for an Odyssey and Sienna, and you'd understand exactly what I mean. And guess what, I kind of like this large SUV thingie now...I shamefully admit. There are reasons behind their explosive sales, you know. You can't try to understand it with logic and common sense alone.