New Ride...

I haven't driven that particular model but I have driven plenty of Subaru cars over the last 14 years and have to say that I have always been pretty impressed with them. I worked on numerous WRX versions but also on Legacy, Liberty, Forester and many more (not sure if you have those models in the US). WRX are great little fun cars. Lots of low down torque from the boxer motor and the AWD system was very forgiving even when pushing the car to the edge. Build quality is excellent. The non turbo Impreza is like a little brother that is just as good in most ways but the power level. Still even then I wouldn't call them weak.

About the only downside to one of these cars is the engine bay. Not very mechanic friendly. The layout of the boxer engine puts the engine it self very low in the engine bay (great for handling) and all the ancillaries piled on top. It's only a big deal in the turbo models and if you are going to do a lot of modifying. If it's a non turbo model and you are going to leave it alone then it really isn't a big deal at all. I think you will do great with that car man. Congrats and enjoy.

[DrKnow65]

Originally Posted by BIG-block

About the only downside to one of these cars is the engine bay. Not very mechanic friendly. The layout of the boxer engine puts the engine it self very low in the engine bay (great for handling) and all the ancillaries piled on top. It's only a big deal in the turbo models and if you are going to do a lot of modifying. If it's a non turbo model and you are going to leave it alone then it really isn't a big deal at all. I think you will do great with that car man. Congrats and enjoy.

Totally disagree about the mechanic friendly part. I do alot of work on the subaru's that seem to be VERY popular here in the ski towns.
I can have the motor out and on a stand in an hour and 15 minutes. The motor is modular, so the harness stays on it. I can swap a clutch in less than 3 hours. Wouldn't call that unfriendly.

Only concern with them are the head gaskets (seem to go at ~150K), easy fix is to swap the bolts for ARP studs. But who wants to spend the money preventing damage
I think there should be a class action lawsuit against subaru for not fixing the problem 10 model years ago...

[JERRY2KONE]

Nice score on the new ride E-revo. It looks very European in styling, and has a somewhat sporty look to it as well. Glad to hear that it handles well and that you are enjoying your purchase with pride. I have had many different brand names in my years of driving, but have not had a Subaru just yet. I to have tried to stay true to the American market in support of our economy with mostly US spec cars, but have had an Izuzu Trooper, a Saab 9000 while living in Scotland back in the 80's. With gas now hitting $100 a barrel and rising with expectations of $120 a barrel an economy ride is a good choice. I feel the days of $3.50 a gallon are over even for the USA, and for what the rest of the world pays per gallon/liter its only going to get worse over the next year or so.

Thank God we have a very good public transport system here in Europe and aside from using our new van for much more than a couple trips a week around town we will be pretty limited. We will more than likely take shopping trips to Germany once every 6 to 8 weeks just to get our groceries from a military Commisarry store, which according to our friends will run us about $80a trip just in gas. Our van boasts 23mpg for highway, so hopefully we will do OK, plus we may share the ride with friends so we can split the fuel costs.

Anyway nice new ride. Good luck with that.