2000-2003 Subaru Impreza

[CrackRabbit]

I've started thinking about my next car as my '91 G20 is starting to get quite long in the tooth. The Subaru Impreza has kind of caught my eye. I had some questions for any of the owners here.
Is there a big difference in the pickup between the 2.2 and 2.5 ltr motors?
Is the boxer type motor hard to work on as compared to a normal inline 4?
Anything to look out for in the way of problems with them?
Add anything else you want to


Thanks,

CrackRabbit

 

[thirdeye]

I can't speak much for the n/a boxer engine, but they're not really any more difficult than a normal engine. They have their quirks, but every car has something annoying to work on. Also 2002 is when the body change took place so if you're look for coupe you'll be limited to 00-01.

 

[CrackRabbit]

I was thinking a wagon, and not a WRX. I have no need for a huge wing.

 

[Eli]

I absolutely love the sound of some Subies with this certain aftermarket exhaust. I don't know anything about it, but I do know it when I hear it. I always wonder if maybe it's Vic, but I don't know what his car sounds like.. lol

OMG. *sploooge*

They seriously sound God-like. Mmmmmmmm.

 

[Zorba]

I'll give my input on Subaru's. I've got a 99 Legacy (30th Anniversary version), my wife has a 2006 Legacy (special edition) and my father-in-law has 2001 Outback Wagon (LL Bean edition). ALL of them have pretty crappy interior quality. The outback is the worst, sounds like the windows are going to fall out on gravel roads. My wifes car also has a lot of interior problems, some of them we have tried to have fixed many times (under warranty).

They do drive pretty well. The only thing I've had to do so far was replace one of my calipers and it was just as easy as a Ford.

Another thing I've noticed about both of our Legacies is they both get about 2mpg better when they have some extra weight in them. I.e. when I drive in my car myself I get about 28.5 on the highway, if I have someone with me on a trip I get about ~31 on the highway. Same thing with my wife's car. Doesn't really make sense to me, but it holds true every time.

EDIT: YMMV

 

[kami333]

Wagons:thumbsup: GF (pre-02 wagon body style):thumbsup::thumbsup:

I've had a 99 Impreza Outback Sport and a 95 Legacy Outback and currently own a 00 Impreza L wagon and just bought a 93 Impreza L wagon ($550 beater).

Yes, there is a noticeable difference between the 2.2 and 2.5. The 2.2 is adequate, nothing special but no problems accelerating with traffic. The 2.5 is sportier, still nothing special but you'll beat the majority of cars out there.

The interior definately leaves a lot to be desired. The paint too, very weak.

Some years are known to have huge headgasket problems. Also wheel bearings. Other than that, just the usual stuff.

Overall pretty easy to work on. You can do oil changes without lifting the car

 

[Zorba]

Originally posted by: kami333
Wagons:thumbsup: GF (pre-02 wagon body style):thumbsup::thumbsup:

I've had a 99 Impreza Outback Sport and a 95 Legacy Outback and currently own a 00 Impreza L wagon and just bought a 93 Impreza L wagon ($550 beater).

Yes, there is a noticeable difference between the 2.2 and 2.5. The 2.2 is adequate, nothing special but no problems accelerating with traffic. The 2.5 is sportier, still nothing special but you'll beat the majority of cars out there.

The interior definately leaves a lot to be desired. The paint too, very weak.

Some years are known to have huge headgasket problems. Also wheel bearings. Other than that, just the usual stuff.

Overall pretty easy to work on. You can do oil changes without lifting the car

Yeah I forgot about the paint, my 99 Legacy has very weak paint.

 

[Vic]

First thing, the 4 model years of 2000 to 2003 Imprezas make up 2 different body styles. 2000-01 is the previous "GC" body style (actual GF for wagons) and 02-03 is the "new age" or "bugeye" GD body. Big difference there. The GD body is larger, more solid, stiff, and with better fit and finish, but weighs about 400 pounds more.
Except that the GD's have the WRX turbo model, the 2.5L NA drivetrains are mostly the same. The 2.2L was discontinued after the 01 year. It is largely considered to have been the more durable engine, but had less power than the 2.5L NA (which are very torquey BTW).
Avoid any and all "Phase 1" DOHC 2.5L NA engines (98-99 years), and look for the "Phase 2" SOHC ones. The DOHCs had less low-end torque and were prone to headgasket failure.
Boxers are really only hard to work on when it comes to replacing the spark plugs. This isn't too difficult in the 2.5L NA's with the SOHC, but is a double-bitch and a half on the WRX's. Otherwise, the pertinent stuff is all right in front of you, either on top or on the bottom.
What's your price range?


Eli, I'm not sure if my car has the exhaust you're referring to. I have a custom combo of an Invidia bellmouth DP and race pipe mated to a Prodrive muffler. It's a little quieter than most aftermarket exhausts you see, comparable to a Mustang with flows on it, but very bassy and has a sweet roar at WOT. The tip is not your typical ricer fart can either, but a polished stainless steel rolled-edge oval, very comparable to what you might see on many late-model Mercedes. Pic

 

[CrackRabbit]

Thank you Zorba, Kami and Vic. That is the type of info I was looking for .
Been looking around, saw several '03 and '04s listed out there just outside the price range I had been looking for. Just need to save a bit more money.

 

[Demo24]

just know that the 4eat(auto trans), is not a wonderful transmission. It's not unreliable, just rough and due to only 4 gears it really bogs down these cars. Get the manual if you can!

 

[fbrdphreak]

97 Legacy GT Wagon automatic, 210K miles. This was a Phase I DOHC 2.5L, headgaskets went around 173K and the engine was rebuilt (previous owner). Gets sh!tty gas mileage now, I think something's wrong in the fuel system, but is prefectly reliable. Transmission is a little rough sometimes on 1-2, but otherwise fine. Not very fast, but of course great traction and still fun to drive. Tons of room. Interior quality is fine for me on a 10 year old car.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Vic
First thing, the 4 model years of 2000 to 2003 Imprezas make up 2 different body styles. 2000-01 is the previous "GC" body style (actual GF for wagons) and 02-03 is the "new age" or "bugeye" GD body. Big difference there. The GD body is larger, more solid, stiff, and with better fit and finish, but weighs about 400 pounds more.
Except that the GD's have the WRX turbo model, the 2.5L NA drivetrains are mostly the same. The 2.2L was discontinued after the 01 year. It is largely considered to have been the more durable engine, but had less power than the 2.5L NA (which are very torquey BTW).
Avoid any and all "Phase 1" DOHC 2.5L NA engines (98-99 years), and look for the "Phase 2" SOHC ones. The DOHCs had less low-end torque and were prone to headgasket failure.
Boxers are really only hard to work on when it comes to replacing the spark plugs. This isn't too difficult in the 2.5L NA's with the SOHC, but is a double-bitch and a half on the WRX's. Otherwise, the pertinent stuff is all right in front of you, either on top or on the bottom.
What's your price range?


Eli, I'm not sure if my car has the exhaust you're referring to. I have a custom combo of an Invidia bellmouth DP and race pipe mated to a Prodrive muffler. It's a little quieter than most aftermarket exhausts you see, comparable to a Mustang with flows on it, but very bassy and has a sweet roar at WOT. The tip is not your typical ricer fart can either, but a polished stainless steel rolled-edge oval, very comparable to what you might see on many late-model Mercedes. Pic

I had a Prodrive resonated centre and a 3" pipe to 4" exit rear box and I loved the throbbing sound under WOT and the scream at high RPM. It actually idle'd rather quietly in this combo, and oddly the wagon wore the 4" pretty well.

Not the best pic of the can, but then you can see it isn't dominating the rear end.

 

[Jahee]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Vic
First thing, the 4 model years of 2000 to 2003 Imprezas make up 2 different body styles. 2000-01 is the previous "GC" body style (actual GF for wagons) and 02-03 is the "new age" or "bugeye" GD body. Big difference there. The GD body is larger, more solid, stiff, and with better fit and finish, but weighs about 400 pounds more.
Except that the GD's have the WRX turbo model, the 2.5L NA drivetrains are mostly the same. The 2.2L was discontinued after the 01 year. It is largely considered to have been the more durable engine, but had less power than the 2.5L NA (which are very torquey BTW).
Avoid any and all "Phase 1" DOHC 2.5L NA engines (98-99 years), and look for the "Phase 2" SOHC ones. The DOHCs had less low-end torque and were prone to headgasket failure.
Boxers are really only hard to work on when it comes to replacing the spark plugs. This isn't too difficult in the 2.5L NA's with the SOHC, but is a double-bitch and a half on the WRX's. Otherwise, the pertinent stuff is all right in front of you, either on top or on the bottom.
What's your price range?


Eli, I'm not sure if my car has the exhaust you're referring to. I have a custom combo of an Invidia bellmouth DP and race pipe mated to a Prodrive muffler. It's a little quieter than most aftermarket exhausts you see, comparable to a Mustang with flows on it, but very bassy and has a sweet roar at WOT. The tip is not your typical ricer fart can either, but a polished stainless steel rolled-edge oval, very comparable to what you might see on many late-model Mercedes. Pic</end quote></div>

I had a Prodrive resonated centre and a 3" pipe to 4" exit rear box and I loved the throbbing sound under WOT and the scream at high RPM. It actually idle'd rather quietly in this combo, and oddly the wagon wore the 4" pretty well.

Not the best pic of the can, but then you can see it isn't dominating the rear end.

Doesn't work..

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Jahee

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: Vic
First thing, the 4 model years of 2000 to 2003 Imprezas make up 2 different body styles. 2000-01 is the previous "GC" body style (actual GF for wagons) and 02-03 is the "new age" or "bugeye" GD body. Big difference there. The GD body is larger, more solid, stiff, and with better fit and finish, but weighs about 400 pounds more.
Except that the GD's have the WRX turbo model, the 2.5L NA drivetrains are mostly the same. The 2.2L was discontinued after the 01 year. It is largely considered to have been the more durable engine, but had less power than the 2.5L NA (which are very torquey BTW).
Avoid any and all "Phase 1" DOHC 2.5L NA engines (98-99 years), and look for the "Phase 2" SOHC ones. The DOHCs had less low-end torque and were prone to headgasket failure.
Boxers are really only hard to work on when it comes to replacing the spark plugs. This isn't too difficult in the 2.5L NA's with the SOHC, but is a double-bitch and a half on the WRX's. Otherwise, the pertinent stuff is all right in front of you, either on top or on the bottom.
What's your price range?


Eli, I'm not sure if my car has the exhaust you're referring to. I have a custom combo of an Invidia bellmouth DP and race pipe mated to a Prodrive muffler. It's a little quieter than most aftermarket exhausts you see, comparable to a Mustang with flows on it, but very bassy and has a sweet roar at WOT. The tip is not your typical ricer fart can either, but a polished stainless steel rolled-edge oval, very comparable to what you might see on many late-model Mercedes. Pic

I had a Prodrive resonated centre and a 3" pipe to 4" exit rear box and I loved the throbbing sound under WOT and the scream at high RPM. It actually idle'd rather quietly in this combo, and oddly the wagon wore the 4" pretty well.

Not the best pic of the can, but then you can see it isn't dominating the rear end.

Doesn't work..

Fixed.