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| 2006 Subaru Impreza Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
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Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
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| Other Thoughts | |||
This Impreza has been a three-tier lineup for a while, and there's always been lots to keep track of. This year, the base model Impreza 2.5RS (remember when it was top of the line?) changes its name to 2.5i to mimic Subaru's Legacy, and gets Active Valve Lift (valve timing) to raise horsepower to 173. Starts at $18,920.It takes at least $5,700 more to ascend up to 230-horsepower society, now stratified into the WRX TR ($24,620), WRX ($25,620), and WRX Limited ($28,120). To the TR, the middle WRX adds fog lights, body color mirrors, performance seats, rear cupholders, passenger's seatback pocket, automatic climate control, leather steering wheel / shifter / handbrake, and upgrades the 80-watt 4-speaker CD player to a 140-watt 6-speaker CD changer - not bad for $1,000. The WRX Limited then adds heated leather seats, moonroof, heated mirrors, wiper de-icer, and spoiler. Both also come in wagon form, multiplying cargo space up to 23.8 / 61.6 cubic feet (back seat up / down). Non-turbo Imprezas take the forms of the 2.5i Sport Wagon, raised-up Outback Sport, or Outback Sport Special Edition. The WRX and WRX Limited wagons inexplicably come $500 cheaper than the sedans. Up in the performance stratosphere is the WRX STI (that's now a capital "I"), lowering the car by 0.8 inches but otherwise raising the bar with a 6-speed manual (only choice), 17x8-inch BBS wheels, Super Sport Brembo brakes, stiffened and inverted struts, and front crossmember bar. The greatest upgrade is in power and torque, which the STI raises to 300 / 300 while pumping a mere 1 psi of extra turbo boost (14.5 vs. 13.5) into the same basic engine. The all-wheel-drive system changes as much as the powertrains as you jump around the model map. While all Imprezas drive all wheels all the time, cars with the 4-speed automatic ($800) employ a more sophisticated and electronically-controlled transfer clutch, which on the WRX sends 55% of the power backward by default. Subaru is silent on the split for non-turbo models, which probably means they, unappealingly, send 90% of the power forward like the first Impreza did. Manual cars instead employ a simpler viscous coupling that splits the power 50/50 on all non-turbo and WRX models. The STI gets Subaru's best, an Active Controlled Center Differential that sends 59% backward (vs. 65% last year) and lets the driver flip a switch to make that 50/50 at will. When it comes to limited-slip differentials at the ends of the car, WRXs get a viscous one in the rear that the base models lack. The STI then swaps that for a mechanical type, then adds a helical-type differential to the front. Whew. This amazingly diverse line of little cars turns monotonous when it comes to being a killer deal. Let's start with the 2.5i. Because its price, content, and performance are right in line with the Mazda 3 s and Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, Subaru's almost giving all-wheel-drive away for free. It's not that AWD is necessarily desirable (for most people, it's just a waste of gas and power) but the going rate for that stuff is usually a cool thousand bucks or two. Even the $33,620 STI doesn't sound so steep considering that it, along with the Mitsubishi Evo, can far outrun any car at its price point and quite a few above it (including a coupled named "Porsche"). Same story with the middleman WRX, which beats the pants off dedicated sports cars like the Acura RSX, Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-8, Honda S2000, and everything else on down. One car under $30,000 is faster: the Mustang GT. But the Mustang's a 2-seater, 3-season car while the WRX is 4 for 4. Which would you want for your only car? |
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