Bought a bug-eye new in 2001. JDM import 18,500 pounds. Never really loved the looks but you can't see the outside when you're driving it! Put about 70k on it in 3 years, routine servicing only. Commute was 50 miles of country lanes, often snowy / icy in winter, never had a car that got me to work faster or safer. Went to the South of France in it and coming back for the Chunnel, averaged high 90's on the Peage over a 3 hour period. In short, awesome car. In fact, I bought another straight after and that was better looking too. I like the dual nature of these turbo cars.. instant acceleration if you keep them on the boil or just laid back performance. Classics!
Your so spot on about the losing your licence limit. For this reason I love driving crappy little older cars. Qluckily I have two kids with such cars now, and going 40 in something like that, feels like 90 in a new car. In a 90bhp shit box, you can drive it 10 10ths, you can't even drive an entry level astra/focus at 10 10ths. I wouldn't get rid of my car for one, but I do enjoy thrashing a crappy car around my local north wales back road. In mine, which is nothing special,a gtc, you get up to speed so much quicker and then you have its width! It's a wide beast. The suspension set up is very nice in the gtc, its far removed from the astra 5 door. It's a real shame they didn't use it's underpinnings and set up for the new astra. I was so sad when vx gave me one while mine was serviced. It's just not good, it may be better than then last gen 5 door (not driven one) that's why press gave it great reviews on handeling, but its far behind the gtc. Which saddens me as the new astral is nice in and out. The gtc I like the exterior, (i wouldn't of got one) but inside it shows its end of the old cycle.
Nice driving JM. I like the way you take the sight lines and tuck in when something is going the "wrong way". These are currently cheap but the bug eye hasn't mellowed despite the last 17 years sadly.
Had a non-turbo Subaru Forester and it was SUPERB for heel and toe, the pedal box was perfect for it. In fact it was almost essential if you wanted to drive it quickly (or as quickly as a 120bhp, 1500kg can go) because the drag from the drivetrain and the hefty flywheel was significant, so if you wanted to punch in fast, smooth downshifts you needed a big slug of throttle to spin the engine up. When I was getting rid of it my parents offered me their hawk-eye Impreza WRX PPP Estate and I was tempted, but part of the reason for the change was to reduce my running costs and I worked out the Impreza would have ROUGHLY doubled them, also it was louder than my dads V8 Vantage and I thought showing up at customers houses and rattling their windows out the frames might not be the image I was trying to project for my company...
Not only was this the golden age of Subaru and WRC, I truly believe that the GD generation (bugeye, blobeye and hawkeye) was the best gen of the Impreza WRX/ WRX STI, even after giving the GC8 and the 2007 hatchback STI their due credits. The idea of a small, lightweight, turbocharged, AWD saloon that looks, sounds and drives like that and is also affordable and reliable, is far more enticing for petrolheads than people would expect.
different injectors, so has it also got a standalone ecu? it's got around 100bhp over stock or half as much again, not really a fair comparison of the original car. but maybe that just leaves the door open for another video of a truly stock version (if there are any left on the planet)
the bugeye with an STI turbo WILL blow up eventually. Happened to mine so I swapped the motor for an ej207. The internals and bearings in the ej205 are not made to handle more than stock power. People will not believe me, but they will find out in the long run
@@mikepowers572 the factory wrx ecu allows for changing injector size, you can essentailly run a sti motor on a wrx ecu but you will lose VVT where applicable (exhaust vvt only on wrx's with intake avcs and both if the car is without either)
Captured the spirit of the car well, sufficient power for fast roads, suspension for real roads. Good editing and audio balance, just missing the drone flyby outtakes for Top Gear coverage (you have the shirts).
Big power is really stupid. You really don't want anymore then 300HP. It's really not safe to have anymore then that. More focus should be on the driving experience then numbers on a track. Most people don't drive on a track most people are driving from A to B so make that driving experience fun. I think the problem is though numbers are easy to have on a spec sheet not how good something actually is to drive on a normal road.
This obsession with ridiculous numbers seems to come from the USA. When your roads are straight, there's little need for "feel", just how fast you can accelerate. On UK roads you can't even wring-out a Nissan Micra, so driving pleasure is everything, and you don't need a lot of power for that.
I actually quite like the little co country roads over here. You can get into trouble fast though even with 100HP. So any blind corners and sharp bends. Not to mention two way roads big enough only for a single car. But I like it when you drive a road often enough to where you know the exact speed you can take a bend at and you know when to apply the brakes. There are a few roads like that for me, real workout on your breaks and arms when you don't have powered steering. Makes it really exciting.
I've never actually managed to drive any car to the maximum and most of the cars I drive are like between 100-200HP. On long straight you probably can but they aren't much fun.
This makes me wish I had one of these, smaller ,lighter, more compact than my present car(2016 WRX STI). Like the exhaust and mods. Don`t think you can do much(mods) with the new version.I do enjoy driving it and the fun starts at 4000 revs, and in sport+(sharp) mode.The understeer thing can be overcome with practice, and a change in driving style.Will be interesting if you can compare the 2001 version with the 2017 one? Sorry if I`ve missed something and you have!
The video already assumes you know the differences. The transmission in the STI is stronger but you wouldn’t need that in a standard power level Subaru it only matters if you’re going 400+
Bloody hell, Cletus, where do you get your shirts, I've never seen anything like them, thankfully? Is there some kind of insane shirt maker out there in the flat lands?
Hi JayEmm, first of all congrats on a great video. I love the sound of this exhaust, please can you ask your mate what system it is for me. I have the exact same machine with a Prodrive box which sounds fine but not as fruity as your mates. Cheers Doug
Thanks JayEmm. I see the WRX is yours now, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Mine is an 01 too, I bought it 5yrs ago off the first owner at 29,000. Now at 82,000 and 'touch wood' it's been the most reliable car I've run.
Had two 15 yrs ago , but not one of these ugly blob eyed jobs , the full monty sti s with pro drive performance packs , then moved on to nissans after that ,, a car what does 13 to the gallon pisses you off after a while and shite on a run , same power Nissan in 3.5 v6 format gave 36 on a run 25 ish round town cheers Shane uk 🇬🇧
Wash it at the end of the video as an owner thank you and then do some pretty pictures for the subscribers who don’t Patreon you. Yes. Also the wrx/sti should probably always live dirty. Actually the dirt =+3hp.
After watching this video 2 weeks ago, have purchased my wrx wagon and won't lie out of all my collections this is by far the best 😊😊😊👍🏾
Enjoy it!
@@JayEmmOnCars Def will do thanks. Also please do a review on the E30 touring if possible. Rare cars and have 2 and are future classics 👌🏽
Bought a bug-eye new in 2001. JDM import 18,500 pounds. Never really loved the looks but you can't see the outside when you're driving it! Put about 70k on it in 3 years, routine servicing only. Commute was 50 miles of country lanes, often snowy / icy in winter, never had a car that got me to work faster or safer. Went to the South of France in it and coming back for the Chunnel, averaged high 90's on the Peage over a 3 hour period. In short, awesome car. In fact, I bought another straight after and that was better looking too. I like the dual nature of these turbo cars.. instant acceleration if you keep them on the boil or just laid back performance. Classics!
Glad you approve. I am certainly gelling with it.
kind of jealous.. I wish I could buy the Excel!
Now I miss my Impreza again, what have you done?!
Your so spot on about the losing your licence limit. For this reason I love driving crappy little older cars. Qluckily I have two kids with such cars now, and going 40 in something like that, feels like 90 in a new car. In a 90bhp shit box, you can drive it 10 10ths, you can't even drive an entry level astra/focus at 10 10ths. I wouldn't get rid of my car for one, but I do enjoy thrashing a crappy car around my local north wales back road. In mine, which is nothing special,a gtc, you get up to speed so much quicker and then you have its width! It's a wide beast.
The suspension set up is very nice in the gtc, its far removed from the astra 5 door. It's a real shame they didn't use it's underpinnings and set up for the new astra. I was so sad when vx gave me one while mine was serviced. It's just not good, it may be better than then last gen 5 door (not driven one) that's why press gave it great reviews on handeling, but its far behind the gtc. Which saddens me as the new astral is nice in and out. The gtc I like the exterior, (i wouldn't of got one) but inside it shows its end of the old cycle.
The GTC is cool
JayEmm on Cars it's a little wide for my local N.Wales lanes. A lot of squeaky bum moments.
Nice driving JM. I like the way you take the sight lines and tuck in when something is going the "wrong way". These are currently cheap but the bug eye hasn't mellowed despite the last 17 years sadly.
The Subaru’s party trick is, in my opinion, it’s gearbox. The 5 speed shifts well and the sti’s 6 is really durable.
Had a non-turbo Subaru Forester and it was SUPERB for heel and toe, the pedal box was perfect for it.
In fact it was almost essential if you wanted to drive it quickly (or as quickly as a 120bhp, 1500kg can go) because the drag from the drivetrain and the hefty flywheel was significant, so if you wanted to punch in fast, smooth downshifts you needed a big slug of throttle to spin the engine up.
When I was getting rid of it my parents offered me their hawk-eye Impreza WRX PPP Estate and I was tempted, but part of the reason for the change was to reduce my running costs and I worked out the Impreza would have ROUGHLY doubled them, also it was louder than my dads V8 Vantage and I thought showing up at customers houses and rattling their windows out the frames might not be the image I was trying to project for my company...
Not only was this the golden age of Subaru and WRC, I truly believe that the GD generation (bugeye, blobeye and hawkeye) was the best gen of the Impreza WRX/ WRX STI, even after giving the GC8 and the 2007 hatchback STI their due credits. The idea of a small, lightweight, turbocharged, AWD saloon that looks, sounds and drives like that and is also affordable and reliable, is far more enticing for petrolheads than people would expect.
"Lightly modified... bigger turbo.." lol hold up, that is not light modding. Great video
I think the power figure is pretty modest by Impreza standards, way shy of the silly HP builds you often see
It's an STI turbo so practically a factory replacement rather than modifying 😉
different injectors, so has it also got a standalone ecu? it's got around 100bhp over stock or half as much again, not really a fair comparison of the original car. but maybe that just leaves the door open for another video of a truly stock version (if there are any left on the planet)
the bugeye with an STI turbo WILL blow up eventually. Happened to mine so I swapped the motor for an ej207. The internals and bearings in the ej205 are not made to handle more than stock power. People will not believe me, but they will find out in the long run
@@mikepowers572 the factory wrx ecu allows for changing injector size, you can essentailly run a sti motor on a wrx ecu but you will lose VVT where applicable (exhaust vvt only on wrx's with intake avcs and both if the car is without either)
It's a classic car, that will.holds its value and more.
Captured the spirit of the car well, sufficient power for fast roads, suspension for real roads. Good editing and audio balance, just missing the drone flyby outtakes for Top Gear coverage (you have the shirts).
Haha yeah not got into the drone bit yet, will be experimenting in future
5 scoobies you need to try. You need to try
a base model without a turbo
gc8 type ra
gc8 type r
spec c
ex-works rally car
22b or P1 ?
Big power is really stupid. You really don't want anymore then 300HP. It's really not safe to have anymore then that. More focus should be on the driving experience then numbers on a track. Most people don't drive on a track most people are driving from A to B so make that driving experience fun. I think the problem is though numbers are easy to have on a spec sheet not how good something actually is to drive on a normal road.
This feels like the "right" amount of power to me for road driving in this car, definitely
I prefer about 400whp... It's just right.
This obsession with ridiculous numbers seems to come from the USA. When your roads are straight, there's little need for "feel", just how fast you can accelerate. On UK roads you can't even wring-out a Nissan Micra, so driving pleasure is everything, and you don't need a lot of power for that.
I actually quite like the little co country roads over here. You can get into trouble fast though even with 100HP. So any blind corners and sharp bends. Not to mention two way roads big enough only for a single car. But I like it when you drive a road often enough to where you know the exact speed you can take a bend at and you know when to apply the brakes. There are a few roads like that for me, real workout on your breaks and arms when you don't have powered steering. Makes it really exciting.
I've never actually managed to drive any car to the maximum and most of the cars I drive are like between 100-200HP. On long straight you probably can but they aren't much fun.
Would be good to see a Legacy review, H6 Spec B vs 2.0Turbo JDM saloons.
The 2001 STI has unequal length headers. Subaru changed this with the introduction of the twin scroll turbo.
Great video and great car and content
You could go down that High Street in a Forester XT with STI mods and no one would bat an eyelid.
Really good cars 🚗 owned several, they sound amazing 👏 drive lovely, AWD, they are just cool 😎 👌
This makes me wish I had one of these, smaller ,lighter, more compact than my present car(2016 WRX STI). Like the exhaust and mods. Don`t think you can do much(mods) with the new version.I do enjoy driving it and the fun starts at 4000 revs, and in sport+(sharp) mode.The understeer thing can be overcome with practice, and a change in driving style.Will be interesting if you can compare the 2001 version with the 2017 one? Sorry if I`ve missed something and you have!
This was my first ever drive of an Impreza, hopefully not my last!
Always wanted one and never had one but now you got me checking autotrader 🙈
plz make a video on the Toyota Celica GT4 ST205
I would love to, and if I can I will
Lovely car. I really didn’t expect you to like it haha
Like to see you review the classic Mitsubishi EVO Lancer pref a evo 6 or 10
it just seems the thing to do.. if you have a blue wrx.. you need yellow tinted headlights ahaha. can confirm. ive done it to mine
Biggest difference is NOT just the spoiler.....transmission is WAY better in the sti, also the sti has more hp.
The video already assumes you know the differences. The transmission in the STI is stronger but you wouldn’t need that in a standard power level Subaru it only matters if you’re going 400+
Bloody hell, Cletus, where do you get your shirts, I've never seen anything like them, thankfully? Is there some kind of insane shirt maker out there in the flat lands?
They're Italian!
Well, in that case my friend, leave them there.😉😉😉
Never! Everyone talks about me trying to be Clarkson, really it is James May I am trying to replace
Cletus, with your "taste" in shirts, you've left James May trailing in your wake.🤩🤩🤩
Good! Now for the ill advised haircut to commence...
Sounds awesome
Would you like to review my wrx sti now to compare?
Would love to! Drop me a line on Jayemm89@gmail.com
yes. make this happen
Jamie Todd yes the internet is asking for it
And that is why i own one .Nice vid
Thanks!
Very nice wrx, also very neat driving 😎
Thankyou
Great review on a classic
Good work.. think i'd like these too..
Yeah you would ;)
Number27 maybe the actual number27? (* lost count on ur page;) )
'Nother great vid!
Thankyou
My sti does 22.7mpg on the motorway :(
Ouch
Hi JayEmm, first of all congrats on a great video. I love the sound of this exhaust, please can you ask your mate what system it is for me. I have the exact same machine with a Prodrive box which sounds fine but not as fruity as your mates. Cheers Doug
A custom system from IWS developments. Harvey Smith trick up-pipe. 3.5" downpipe, decat and 3" system to a single silencer at the rear.
Thanks JayEmm. I see the WRX is yours now, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Mine is an 01 too, I bought it 5yrs ago off the first owner at 29,000. Now at 82,000 and 'touch wood' it's been the most reliable car I've run.
If he gets 30's from a imprezza he must have it switched off, I never saw better than mid 20's in feather mode!
I measured a real 26mpg from it in mixed driving, I suspect at 60mph on the motorway he is probably getting 30s - but I cant do 60!
55mph in the slipstream of a lorry, it was my daily driver for a while.
I've got a 2001 WRX just like this one. I get 28 on regular 30 on nitro no probs and I don't hang about. This is on a 30 mile commute on A/ B roads.
Very nice 👍
Thanks Luke!
Try getting a honda crx, You will honestly love it
I bet, my Dad really wanted one back in the day
JayEmm on Cars my brother had one when i was a kid, absolutely loved that car!
A previous owner of my scooby lost his license doing 130
Get your hands on a Hyundai i30N!
Try a forester in good nic sti sir ... huzzah !
Tested the more common WRX STI back to back with a the Evo X1(?) - both new - in 2006. Much preferred the Evo.
Johnny Vegas looks rough since he left benidorm.
Anyone watching this after he bought it
ben draper technically he put the deposit down the night we filmed this video 😂
I love the look of the bugeye subaru over the morden ones. Too bad they suffer the gasket problems
would be interested to see what you thought in the sti aswell over the wrx. having owned both there night and day performance.
Never seen that upper and lower grill before anyone know what it is?
I will have a look and let you know
Zunsport, bought from Scoobyworld
Sounds nice tbf but .....im an evo guy 🙈
I've not tried one yet
Iv not driven one like they should be driven ....but maybe 1 day ....my goal is a supra 😀
Rather have a evo 5-6
They do look cool but a fair bit more money
Only difference from a WRX to an STI is the real spoiler 😫😫😳 wtf you on about guys a joke
Which one do you like more an impreza or a lancer?
Never driven a Lancer, a friend of mine has offered me a go when he gets his sorted
Had two 15 yrs ago , but not one of these ugly blob eyed jobs , the full monty sti s with pro drive performance packs , then moved on to nissans after that ,, a car what does 13 to the gallon pisses you off after a while and shite on a run , same power Nissan in 3.5 v6 format gave 36 on a run 25 ish round town cheers Shane uk 🇬🇧
Wash the car before showing it! Otherwise all good.
We actually had a debate about this. Even if we had cleaned it there were puddles everywhere, and we thought a rally car looked a little better dirty
Agreed. The very least the windows should be clear on murky days like this. Enjoyable content all the same.
kinda no point really lol
You can't see the outside when you're actually enjoying it whilst driving, clean cars are for posers.
Wash it at the end of the video as an owner thank you and then do some pretty pictures for the subscribers who don’t Patreon you. Yes.
Also the wrx/sti should probably always live dirty. Actually the dirt =+3hp.
THERE IS NO "T" IS IMPREZA
was wondering why the extra letter gets added
Must be my Italian heritage lol
It's correctly pronounced as though it has a 't' - Impre(t)za.