Quick drive in a couple of Subarus

[garcon magnifique]

Launch 'do' at my local Subaru dealer yesterday, so popped down to have a peek and a chat with my friendly sales bloke.

They had a 2007 model Legacy Spec B estate auto. Front end definitely looks more purposeful than the current car, a hint of previous model Saab 9-5 in the way the headlights sweep into a line down the front wing. Some nice improvements inside, another small step forward in cabin quality with some good matt black finish in the centre console and around the stereo. A few extra toys too, but the big new thing is the "SI drive". Basically a button not dissimilar to BMW's "M" button - intelligent, sport and sport sharp settings - with a noticeable improvement in pick-up in the latter. The car definitely felt nippier than mine, partly down to the SI drive and associated remapping, partly down to a little more torque available lower down the rev range. Can't wait to try out a manual version.

Second car I had a go in was a Forester 2.5XTE auto, mainly just to see what the sales guy was raving about. This is a ludicrously silly car! Big, practical 4x4 type thing, on an Impreza chassis with an Impreza engine. With the Prodrive Performance Pack, the manual does 0-60 in 5.3 seconds - quick enough to embarrass the vast majority of 'performance' cars, and all the more fun because they simply don't expect it! The auto didn't feel alot slower - great 'point and shoot' fun, and seriously upset a Puma driver by outdragging her down a straight! If I needed the loadspace and/or a little more ground clearance to get around in the sticks, and I could accept that it's not exactly refined, I'd buy one in an instant! Sales bloke was saying he's pleading with Subaru UK to import the STI version - watch this space!

[garcon magnifique]

By the way, sales bloke also said they're bringing forward the introduction of the new generation Impreza to sometime around the end of 2007. No official pics of the production ready car yet, but think Honda Civic hatch and you won't be a million miles away. Sales of the current Impreza have died, so if you're still a fan then there could be some very good deals to be had. I still might go back to my Scooby years and buy a runout STI - bound to be a bargain, and I actually quite like the look of the 2006/7 car!

[sayerbloke]

The few pics of the new ones that have been appearing don't look too encouraging.

Why do you think sales of the current shape have been falling?

[garcon magnifique]

Difficult to put a finger on - combination of image, perceived running costs (apart from fuel it's not as bad as you might think), and I guess the fact it's now a fairly old car. Add to that the extra competition from Mitsu since they started selling Evos through official dealers.

I think the overriding factor is that first one. The kind of person who used to buy an Impreza is now more image conscious and would rather go for something a little more sophisticated. Also, there's no longer the huge performance advantage it once had over hot hatches - the Golf GTI, Astra VXR, Focus ST are all about as quick as the WRX, and (I have to admit) all better looking inside and out.

One comment the sales bloke made does stick with me. We saw a chavved up import blast past, and he unleashed a volley of abuse at it. I believe him when he says all the chavved up ones are imports - the few sales he does make of UK cars are still all to professional types who (like me) were Scooby fans 15 years ago.

[sayerbloke]

They've been embraced by the Max Power brigade, that's for sure. Maybe that really is what's scaring off some new customers.