Subaru Community

Zitat

This new Impreza just mings


I THINK the Subaru design team have been smoking giggly twig. Through a bong the size of Bournemouth.

That explains the confusion – some stoner at Subaru’s HQ has sent out photographs of their new hot hatchback and mistakenly called it the next Subaru Impreza.

I mean look at it! That thing is about as logically the next Scooby as I am Carmen Electra’s twin sister.

Is it a Rover? Is it a Mazda? No it’s the Subaru Blob. It mings. Cover the badge and you wouldn’t even know it was a Subaru. Where are the Subaru styling cues? But after serious investigation by Sgt Bowles I have discovered my eyes are sadly not deceiving me – it really is the next generation Subaru Impreza.


And when the new (sob!) Impreza hits the UK in the autumn it will only be sold in five-door hatchback form.

I actually did a bit of sick in my mouth I was that distressed. Because it’s all wrong.

Instead of big and brutish, the legend that is the Subaru Impreza performance saloon has been replaced by something small, fat and lifeless.

And Scoobys have always been alive, with aggressive, in your face, get-out-of-my-way-you-loser looks. Granted, Imprezas have never been great beauties but that was never the point. Diehard fans loved those rocket boy racer-tastic wide boy looks. Lean, mean and aggressive has been replaced with something that looks like it couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding.

I am a mental performance saloon fan – I have a Mitsubishi Evo 9. But I have always loved the Subaru Impreza WRX STi. My brother has got an Impreza P1 – the car of his dreams. When I showed him the photographs of the new Scooby he was devastated. He is now being treated in The Priory for depression.

Did you ever think you would hear Subaru Impreza and boring in the same sentence? Me neither. Subaru have gone soft. And if you don’t believe me, listen to the company’s recently stated goal. Subaru offers “a comfortable, pleasant drive for the driver and passengers; provides peace of mind and reliability.”

What? They have clearly gone mad. Comfortable and pleasant? It sounds like they are talking about a feminine hygiene product rather than a brutal beast of a car. Subarus are supposed to set your pants on fire.

The only peace of mind a Scooby Impreza should give you is when you have just overtaken someone so fast you have made their ears bleed.

No one likes it. No one. I popped into a few discussion forums on Scooby enthusiast sites and everyone is up in arms. “Is it the Ray Charles Special Edition?” was one of the more kind comments.

But apparently Subaru are going for the lucrative Golf/Focus market, the money-grabbing hussies. And they want to move away from the boy racer image and appeal to females. Well I’m a female and it doesn’t appeal to me at all – I find it patronising and insulting.


If it was Subaru’s new hatchback and a stand alone model, called say the Subaru Fannywagon, then I might like it. But as the new Impreza, I loathe it.

It’s a black time for mental performance saloon enthusiasts, with Subaru alienating their loyal UK customer base.

In fact, the only people who are going to be happy are Mitsubishi, who launch their Evo X at the same time. And the Evo X rocks. It’s everything the Impreza is not – gorgeous, aggressive with fantastic styling.

It seems the long-running feud between Scoobys and Mitsi Evos is finally over. Game, set and match to Mitsubishi. The Scooby is dead, long live the Evo.

Zitat

Original von Beastmaster
"Akzeptabel" ist aber noch lange kein Kaufgrund.....

Zitat

WHAT have they done to the Scooby?

This is the new hatchback version of the Subaru Impreza WRX, known to fans worldwide by the same name as the cartoon dog.

Subaru say they now want the Impreza to appeal to a wider audience — especially women — rather than their hardcore of rally-loving enthusiasts.

So they’ve axed the cult saloon model and its aircraft style rear spoiler.

There will be a new saloon version but that will only be sold in the US — the Yanks don’t like hatchbacks — but it won’t get the giant spoiler.

The immediate response from loyal Scooby fans on websites worldwide has been a thumbs-down to the tamer hatchback styling, but Subaru are convinced the new look is the way forward.

A major reason behind the change in direction — alongside attracting more customers — is that Subaru intend making their next World Rally car in hatchback form, which they hope will convince Scooby enthusiasts that the new model will retain all the driving capabilities of its predecessors.

The cult status of the current Impreza has been entirely down to the close visual and performance links between it and the rally version.

Ever since the original was launched in 1992 the Impreza has never been a thing of beauty. Over the years it has ranged from bland to the downright ugly bug-eyed looks of the 2001 model.

But fans have always been willing to forgive the Scooby’s lack of looks for the sheer brilliance of its rally-inspired handling and outrageous performance of the 2.5-litre turbocharged engine.

So just how drastic is the new style? It looks like a BMW 1 series from the side — which could be good or bad — and I’m not sure about the front. It’s sleeker but too anonymous, but the curvy rear is sportier than the saloon.

Despite its more compact size the hatchback has more interior space, particularly in the rear. I sat behind a 6ft 3in driver and had good leg and headroom. There is no doubt that the curvier shape of the new model could attract women buyers, but whether the softer looks and ride will lose male buyers only time will tell.

Subaru UK tell me the cult WRX Sti version will look hornier than the standard Impreza and will get more pronounced flared wheel arches, a big bonnet air intake and gold alloys to pull in male buyers.

They say the car will have improved handling and steering capabilities, plus more bhp performance that will satisfy the diehard Scooby fans.

We’ll have to wait until a test drive to find out but I can’t see Subaru diluting the driving appeal that has been the cornerstone of its success.

The standard five-door Impreza will arrive in August, with an entry-level 1.5-litre engine that should start at around £12,500 and a 2-litre Boxer petrol, so we’ll see then if it brings in new buyers.

There’ll also be a 2.0-litre diesel in 2009. But the acid test will be when the WRX Sti arrives early in 2008 and Scooby fans vote with their wallets over the hatchback styling.