Whether it rallied its way into your heart or hooked you during Baby Driver’s opening car chase, the Subaru Impreza WRX is an icon.
Like the original, the second-generation example is without a doubt a future classic. If its awesome looks and incredible performance have you in a trance, then get one for reasonable money while you still can.
Arriving in 2000, the Mk2 Impreza was popularly dubbed the Bugeye, due to its odd headlight design.
The WRX (available as either a saloon or an estate) has a five-speed manual gearbox and a 2.0-litre flat four making 215bhp, while the WRX STI (exclusively a saloon in the UK) has a six-speed manual and a 261bhp version of that engine, plus quicker steering and a limited-slip front differential. Four-wheel drive is standard for maximum traction.
The Blobeye took over in 2003, so called because of its bulgier face. The output of the WRX rose to 221bhp, but the WRX STI’s stayed the same.
The third and final iteration is the Hawkeye, sold from 2005. Its sharp and aggressive face matches the improved performance from its punchier (although arguably more fragile) 2.5-litre boxer. The WRX rose to 226bhp, the WRX STI to 276bhp.
As if there weren’t enough revisions to remember already, the last of the Blobeye cars is referred to as the STI 9. Some reckon this is the best of the breed, because it uses the Hawkeye’s running gear and later models’ switchable Driver Control Centre Differential (or DCCD, which allows the driver to send 65% of the power to the rear wheels) while retaining the 2.0-litre WRX STI engine.
The Hawkeye also gets a wider track, hence you will sometimes see examples listed as ‘widetrack’ cars.
No matter which variant you go for, though, performance is plentiful: 0-60mph takes 5.6sec in the Blobeye WRX and 5.2sec in the Hawkeye WRX STI, for example. Even the least powerful version, the Bugeye WRX, is unlikely to see the tail-lights of many hot hatches.
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Don't see many Evo's these Days,and not many mint looking Scoobies!
I bought a blobeye WRX new in 2003. It was epic, but not quite perfect. There was two areas I felt needed improve, first the turbo lag and secondly the body roll.
Firstly, I asked my dealer to fit the Pro Drive Performance Pack that was for the WRX to it. They change the engine maps, exhaust and part of the inlet pipes. Result was an increase to 265hp but also more gradual increase in power lower down in the rev range. It made the car more drivable.
Secondly, I asked the dealership to fit the spring kit. I asked if the spring kit were stiffer than the stock ones and they said yes. That's all I wanted. When I picked up the car they told me my lowering kit had been fitted! I didn't even know that's what it did. I just needed stiffer ones fitted.
Thirdly, when the WR1 was imported to the UK it had STi wheels in a gunmetal colour that was swapped over to ProDrive ones. Through your dealer you could get the wheels and tyres they'd taken off, so I got my dealer to swap those over too.
End result was a car which drove so much better, could go around corners like it was on rails, and gripped far better too. But importantly, all these modifications were via the Subaru dealer. They were bombproof!
As for Hawkeye, I believe the STi got slower to 60 than the previous model. Seemed to go up in engine capacity but backwards in performance.
When this generation was replaced by the hatchback, Subaru UK claimed that you couldn't get WR Blue, nor a saloon version. Yet in Japan and other European regions you could. Strange that! It came with ugly wheels that they wanted £2k to replace (for ok looking ones). Driving it was a strange experience. The loose steering was all over the place until you nailed the accelerator, and then it hung on like a leach. But cabin space was poor and you had the hand brake sticking in to your leg. It was so bad I test drove it twice as I couldn't believe it. I then went and bought something else instead.
This was at a time when Subaru UK wanted to move the brand up-market so that it would compete with VW etc. How did it do this? Same product, higher prices. And to stop importing WRX / STi especially in desireable colours and specs. End result was that it simply became irrelevant.
Interestingly, it's something that both Aston Martin and Thierry Bollore (for Jaguar) believe they can do. Simply increase the prices and aim for a higher market sector. Maybe we should show them what happened to Subaru in the UK to convince them otherwise?