Subaru surpasses with new Impreza

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Subaru's all-new WRX Impreza is quieter, safer, stronger and handles better than the car it replaces. Its brakes are better, so is its gearbox, suspension system and driving position. Interior room and packaging have also been improved. The revised 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is cleaner burning and more flexible, the seats are more comfortable ...

Just ask New Zealand rally great Possum Bourne - he's been driving the WRX around a test track north of Queensland's Gold Coast since last week. He and Australian motorsport hotshot Cody Crocker are doing hundreds of laps a day showing off the car.

"It might be the way I'm built," says Bourne. "But in some seats you tend to slide forward and have to keep shifting to get comfortable. You end up with a sore back.

"I've done more than 170 laps in the new WRX and I haven't had a hint of back pain. The driver's seat is superb - it's the best Subaru seat yet."

The car the Japanese company has kept hidden for so long has finally been officially unveiled, only weeks after a Japanese magazine, tired of retouching computer renditions, offered more than $40,000 to the first photographer who captured the undisguised car.

Subaru wrapped a veil of secrecy around the WRX in one of the tightest new-car security operations ever. It used layers of false body panels to confuse hungry media outlets eager for scoop photos.

The spy pictures did not do the car justice, says Subaru New Zealand general manager Wally Dumper, who will launch the all-wheel-drive WRX and standard RX Impreza in Auckland tomorrow.

"We do not intend to change the way we operate in New Zealand," says Dumper. "We don't want to sell thousands of units every year and enter the commodity car market. We intend to stay focused on our sustainable competitive advantages, one of which is that we are an all-wheel-drive specialist."

The WRX is available as a hatch and sedan and will cost $59,990 for the five-speed manual and $63,990 for the sportshift, the steering wheel-mounted system found in the RSK B4 Legacy and available early next year. The RX is priced at $39,990 for the manual and $41,990 for the automatic.

Both models are more expensive than those they replace, mostly because the New Zealand dollar buys 40 per cent less than it did when the Impreza range first appeared early in the 1990s.

Key features of the new Impreza include:

25mm longer wheelbase and wider track

11 per cent larger intercooler contributes to a flatter torque curve on WRX

New air intake system allows entry of cooler air

The 2.0-litre engine produces an unchanged 160kW at 5600 rpm but torque is up to 292Nm at 3600 rpm, 400 rpm lower than the previous model

Larger front brakes

Ring-shaped reinforcement frames in body

Reduced noise, vibration and harshness

Bonnet and lower front suspension arms on WRX are aluminium

Revised suspension with less body roll

Six-stack CD player

Dual-range manual transmission in RX

17-inch alloy wheels on WRX manual.

Another important development is the installation of a pre-catalytic converter between the exhaust manifold and turbocharger.

Cleansing of the exhaust gases is quicker after engine start-up as catalytic converters work only once they are heated.

The pre-catalyser reduces intake resistance, allowing the turbocharger turbine to maintain greater rpm and provide more efficient boost.

There are two further catalytic converters in the exhaust system, allowing the WRX to meet stringent European emission control regulations.

Changes to the engine management system have overcome the potentially power-sapping effects of the three catalytic converters and have also contributed to noise reduction.

The WRX sedan has been designed to provide the basis for Subaru's next World Rally Championship contender, the Impreza WRC2001, that will make its debut in the Monte Carlo Rally in January.

The all-new body has blister-type mudguards to house the bigger wheels and 215/45 series tyres.

At 1730mm wide, the WRX sedan just happens to match the maximum width allowed for WRC cars. The new WRX is 40mm wider than the outgoing model.

The wheelbase has been extended 25mm to 2525mm to provide more seat room, while the height of the sedan is up 25mm to 1440mm and the Sporthatch is up 30mm to 1465mm for more interior headroom.

Both models use a limited-slip centre differential which distributes power 50:50 to the front and rear axles but automatically adjusts the torque split when wheels lose grip or spin, so that more power is fed to the axle with the most traction.

The MacPherson strut suspension has been retained but with lower front arms in aluminium on the sedan. The top front strut mounts on the sedan are 10mm further apart to retain ideal suspension geometry.

The WRX is available in seven colours, including four new choices of blue, black, green metallic and world rally blue mica. Standard features include anti-lock ABS brakes, dual airbags, pretensioned seatbelts, and air conditioning.