Subaru Impreza. The Thinking Man's Focus*

[R Lutz]

So here's the tale. As a former motor trader, I still attend auctions on my rest days. I have NOTHING to do with the motor trade for a living these days, but after nearly 30 years in the trade, it's hard to let go. Hotel California if you like. 

Anyway, in addition to my main car, I always run a shitter for work and the knocking around the doors. Over the last few years these have been, Rover 600, Mercedes A-Klasse (mk2, not so much of a shitter, but my commute was 241 miles one-way, minimum), Mercedes CLK supercharger, Nissan Micra (K11) and a Ford Focus (mk2, 2.0). There was also an ex-Raffle Suzuki SX-4/S-Cross thing I ran from GM of this parish. I was without a shitter, so I was stalking the auction halls as I used to for Car Mechanics. 

I spotted a horrendous but rare Subaru Impreza 1.6 manual petrol of 2015 vintage. It had failed its MOT significantly on mechanical bits and pieces and had been entered into the auctions as a part exchange. It was also EXTREMELY dirty.  Grade 5 in the auction as a result -the lowest. Now this auction has a policy of 6 weeks of sales and it's got to go to the highest bidder. This policy had failed at one branch, so here it was near to me. I figured it had to go the following week. 

I instructed my old boss and mentor to watch it for me. This he did. I instructed him to watch what it was achieving so I knew how low to pitch my bid on week 6. We were now on week 5. My boss did as instructed except he accidentally bought the thing. And not only that, he got an old apprentice of mine to pay for the thing in his absence. 

3rd June 2026 and I found out late at night I owned a 2015 Subaru Impreza 1.6 petrol, manual with a high-low range gearbox. Incredibly rare as only 200 were brought into the country. Once my old apprentice did the mechanical stuff between his day work, then I had it tested. It passed, and it was not a dial-in MOT as I like my own cars to be perfect. Then came the cleaning. Fuck my life, did it need cleaning. But here's the thing. It was just dirt. No pets, no smoking or vaping. No eating. No nothing except accumulated dirt. 

Then a delve into to the history. The more I dug through the handbook, the more service history I found. 6 services to date, but clearly there is more. There was also a full complement of handbooks and a working spare key. The air-con works. There floor mats are genuine Subaru. The oil and air filters are clean. All the brakes are new, as are the tyres.  I have not pressed it into service yet as it needs tracking, but thats getting done via the forum. 

It needs a bit of body work, the work for the MOT cost £500 in parts (including a new battery) but the valeting was done by me with existing cleaning products. I have also found the original brochure in my ridiculously expansive collection. 

 

 

[R Lutz]

See if this works?

[R Lutz]

Andy stuck this on a Hunter alignment rig yesterday to straighten out the front end. I've hardly driven this thing despite having it over 3 months, but it's a surprisingly odd, yet enjoyable proposition. I'm new to Subaru, but it feels very old school Honda. Its slow, completely lacking torque but the engine being a boxer is curiously enjoyable to thrash and its handles good, corners flat, turns in sharp and feels secure. I was driving it around the shit bits of durham the other day, hilly, twisty, badly surfaced but you could drive it flat-out. Amusing.

[sierraman]

Top bombing. I didn’t realise they did an Impreza after the bug eyed one.

[R Lutz]

57 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Top bombing. I didn’t realise they did an Impreza after the bug eyed one.

Not many did. 

[Morris 63]

Crikey, 1.6 non turbo. That must be such an understressed engine!

I'm currently getting my classic Impreza turbo running after some 13 years off the road - polar opposite cars from the same mad family

Well bought, seems like a steal.

[R Lutz]

2 minutes ago, Morris 63 said:

Crikey, 1.6 non turbo. That must be such an understressed engine!

I'm currently getting my classic Impreza turbo running after some 13 years off the road - polar opposite cars from the same mad family

Well bought, seems like a steal.

You know its got 2 cooling circuits for efficiency, and it's not stemming from having two cylinder heads? One only kicks-in when the other is at max temp. 

[Morris 63]

Well, you learn something new every day!

[Eyersey1234]

Chodtastic buy

[R Lutz]

More work done to this over the weekend.

Coolant, flushed, replenished.

3/4 litres of brake fluid flushed through (what came out was quite clean actually)

New plugs, oil filter and air filer. Plugs were quite new, the filters were dirty, but not bad by any stretch and certainly not due for renewal. 

Cabin filter. Absolutely choked solid, and a dead easy filter to change. Disgusting. 

Air-Con. Surprisingly it took the new R1234ry gas. Capacity was around 480g. It had 120g in, so 1/4, but it felt like it had never been changed. 

Gearbox oil, left to drain overnight. It took just under 4 litres of 75-90 AP-5. 

What's left? I'd love to change the rear diff oil, but I am confused as to what it really needs.  The headlamps need a polish and after that, it's just the front bumper. 

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, R Lutz said:

More work done to this over the weekend.

Coolant, flushed, replenished.

3/4 litres of brake fluid flushed through (what came out was quite clean actually)

New plugs, oil filter and air filer. Plugs were quite new, the filters were dirty, but not bad by any stretch and certainly not due for renewal. 

Cabin filter. Absolutely choked solid, and a dead easy filter to change. Disgusting. 

Air-Con. Surprisingly it took the new R1234ry gas. Capacity was around 480g. It had 120g in, so 1/4, but it felt like it had never been changed. 

Gearbox oil, left to drain overnight. It took just under 4 litres of 75-90 AP-5. 

What's left? I'd love to change the rear diff oil, but I am confused as to what it really needs.  The headlamps need a polish and after that, it's just the front bumper. 

My cabin filter was never changed in 15 years of main sealer service. It wasn’t listed in the service manual but you’d have thought someone at a main dealership would have known if only to add money to the bill. 
First time I took it to an independent garage, they changed it. It was completely black (new one is white). 

[R Lutz]

Last update I expect. I bought a litre of diff oil for the rear diff on this. Drained out 800ml. Absolutely spotless. Refilled. Added another £30 of 99 Octane Esso petrol. It need needs a fresh wash. It needs to be put into daily use now.