Okay, I drove the car. We took it on an industrial road close to the dealership where there was no traffic, and a few nice and wide 90ยบ corners.
I have to admit, I threw the car into a corner and thought to myself "I can't believe I'm taking the corner this fast!"
Yes, it handles better than the GD chassis. I've driven GD cars on good tires that didn't handle as well as this car does on RE92's. The car took the corner at a faster speed and at the same time felt more composed. It still had a hint of understeer as any proper AWD car should, but it was much less pronounced and much easier to control.
And just for the record, I'm not some n00b who got lucky. I do have autoX and rallyX experience, some under professional instruction, and I've managed to stay close to the top 5% of the results for this year's GM Rev-It-Up. I'm in 417th spot, out of 7244 total... in the
country. So I have a decent idea of how to drive.
So handling: +1.
The power? Yes, the torque is down lower. Yes the boost comes in quicker. I'm honestly not sure how it was done, as the EJ255 longblock is indeed simply a carryover from the 06-07 GD WRX, while the extremities are mostly Legacy GT, save for the turbo, which IS INDEED still a TD04. But I'd say it's almost at full-boost before 3k rpm. I wish it had a boost gauge so I could be certain, but there's definitely no falling down below 3k rpm like the late EJ205. And while we were trying to be somewhat nice to it (we didn't go above 5k), I can say the power is still there. It pulls just as hard as any stock WRX I've driven before.
So, power: equal. Torque: +1.
Now this is subjective and your opinions will differ from mine. But I do honestly like the
overall look of the sedan anyway. It's nothing groundbreaking, but then again, what Subaru has been in terms of design? I never did get used to the Edsel-nose on the 06-07's. I'm sorry. I just never did, and I saw twenty of them a day for almost two years. But this car is at least very cleanly penned, if not particularly racy-looking. There's a couple things I'm not particularly thrilled about, such as the chrome strip on the trunk lid, or the fact that the cabin seems to extend too far back, almost making it look like a wannabe hatch. But overall, I would honestly say, in terms of looks, I'd pick the 08 over the 06-07 anyway.
So, I guess, styling: +1.
Okay, now, the interior. Personally, I don't like it. Those who have said it's similar to a Tribeca interior are mostly right. It is similar... and I don't like the Tribeca interior. It's not cheap, or fussy or un-user-friendly, or overstyled, or anything necessarily
inferior. But... it just doesn't feel like a Subaru interior to me. If I sit in either the Tribeca or 08 Impreza, I don't feel like I'm at home, like I do in my cars, in a Legacy GT, in a GD/GG Impreza, or a Forester. They still have interiors that feel like Subaru interiors. But not these ones. Everything is different than what I'm used to. It's not even something I can completely put my finger on. But I just didn't feel at home in it. And, this is going to sound crazy, but I think the cabin is TOO BIG. That's right. I'd say there's at least a foot of clearance between the top of my head, and the ceiling. Now most people would agree that more room is always better, but I honestly felt like I was a little midget riding in the car, and I'm 6'3". I really don't like that.
So, interior overall, -1.
Now... as I've already said, I'm VERY steamed about the framed windows, right-side exhaust on the hatch, and the absence of the parking light switch. That's me being a traditionalist. I like my frameless windows, and I honestly don't care if they rattle when I close the door when they're down. It's a Subaru thing, just as the parking light switch was. Sure, no one uses it, but at the very least, it was something cool that
only the Subaru die-hards knew about. That's my issue thus far, is that Subaru seems to be in favor of abandoning their identity to reach a "different crowd" (read: increase sales figures).
I'll bring up the Car and Driver article, where they did a sport compact comparo and the Impreza came in last. I personally hate Car and Driver (anyone who rates an RX8 over a 350Z is just plain stupid), and I don't think they tallied the results up fairly. The Impreza got marked off for not being as refined as the other cars. That irks me. Who gives a crap about refinement? We're testing Mazdas and Nissans and Subarus, not Bentleys and Jaguars and Mercedes. I want to know how FUN the car is to drive, not how plush the ride is. Subarus have NEVER been refined. They're scrappy, quirky, rough-around-the-edges (which in my opinion gives them personality), and most of all, FUN. And that's what the focus should have been.
So, I think in response to these complaints, Subaru basically just threw in the towel and focused on making the car "more refined" and a little more mature. And in the process, I think they took all the personality out of it.
So, why I needed a couple days to think was because I was going back and forth deciding whether the driving experience I had (which was mostly positive) was enough to outweigh the fact that I think the car is now a little too mainstream and cookie-cutter...
... and I decided it wasn't.
I got in an argument with someone on another board because they were saying that they didn't care about those "minor" things... as long as the car performs better. Well, yes. I'm here to say the car DOES perform better. I think we've already had numbers come up that the new car is faster in a slalom and pulls a percentage more g's and all that fun stuff. Yes, it does.
But my rebuttal to his argument was that
speed isn't everything. Those who know me know that my automotive enthusiasm lies in more than just speed. Two of the Subarus I own are under 100hp for God's sake. But I still love them, because they're the quirky and eccentric Subarus that I've grown to know and love over the past few years.
This one, I'm afraid, is not.
So, yeah, my stance still stands. I'm going to get my Forester XT Sports hopefully as a college graduation present, and unless Subaru decides to remember their roots and understand that they NEED to keep their loyal followers, then I won't be replacing the Forester with another Subaru.
I know, I'm not a very good salesman am I? :roll:
Man those things are a nuisance.
