In 2003 I bought a Subaru Impreza WRX MY01 Hatchback. I had the car for one beautiful year! I am no expert, but I would like to offer some thoughts about the vehicle, as well as a few pictures.
Looking for a car
I was looking to buy an SUV. In Australia, I figured, you need a large vehicle with a generous petrol tank, room for camping equipment, and a roof rack sturdy enough to carry a couple of kangaroos. After having test driven a Mitsubishi with a powerful V6, and a Toyota Rav4 Sport (which was disappointingly un-sportslike), a bright yellow car caught my attention. It was a 2000 Impreza WRX Limited Edition. The Australian sun had really had it´s way with the yellow paint job, which now looked more like a bleached easter egg. The black alloys were nice, but the interior was quite worn. My girlfriend looked at me with amazement, was my taste really this bad? As with most “normal” people, she failed to notice the beautiful air-intake on the bonnet (I guess it was kinda hard to see past the color).
Anyway, I had a look at it, and that was quickly noticed by a young salesman who was quite eager (finally?) sell the car. I had never driven a WRX before, but I knew them by reputation – and I wanted to take it for a spin. We took the car out on the busy Melbourne streets, and among trams and utes I had my first taste of what that amazing 2.0l turbocharged engine can offer. It was amazing! The acceleration pressed me deep into the deep racing seats, the car was so responsive (except for the turbo lag, but I can forgive that). It just had so much grip and power.
The car was completely stock, but the limited edition is tuned a little bit to give an extra edge. It diden´t take long for me to realize that this was the kind of car you can have fun driving every day, even if it´s just a quick trip to the supermarket (and at legal speeds, and because of the all-wheel-drive system, there is not a lot of wheel-spin to attract attention) I had completely forgotten that we were supposed to buy an SUV.Buying I started looking online for a suitable car. The first I decided was to go for a car with no modifications. I did this because the car keeps it value better when there are no mods, it has hopefully not been raced if its stock and the insurance is insane if you do modify it. I also decide to go for the MY01 model, the 2001 facelift gave the car a much nicer interior (including the 6-disc slot-in cd-changer).
Notice the MOMO steering wheel
It took me a long time to decide on a car, but finally we found the perfect one. It was a silver MY01 hatchback, tinted windows, roof-racks, nice tires and in MINT condition! This car had been bought by new a guy who expected to have it for many years, but he was sadly forced to sell it. He had taken very good care of the car, and it was a great buy!
I would recommend giving yourself a lot of time when buying a WRX. My impression is that there are a lot of abused cars out there. I decided to go for privately sold vehicle. Since I was getting a 01 model, the new car warranty still covered car. My experience is that the seller gives you a good idea about the state of the vehicle.
Driving and daily use
The WRX is a joy to drive. It offers massive traction (which might make you a bit overconfident) and it feels very well-balanced. The great performance comes at a cost, it is not the most comfortable car. It is a bit unfair to compare it to a “normal” car, but if you are buying one not only for racing, you (or at least your passengers) will notice that it is a bit stiff and noisy. What kind of tires you put on the car greatly affects this, but they are expensive and 17″ wear quickly on the edges. Also, it is not the perfect car to put children in. It´s a bit too small to fit all the baby-stuff in, and I know of people that have had problems fitting a child-seat in it. The biggest problem for me though, is the idea of dirty boots, ice cream and cookie-crumbles in the back seat 
People (at least aussies) notice you in a WRX. The car is very popular in Australia, and the supply is good with a large number of second handimports from Japan. The car is often highly modified, this is one of the reasons for it´s popularity. For a young bloke with a limited budget, this means you can buy the “platform” and the keep modifying it when you can afford it (at least in an ideal world).
Waiting for a green light at an intersection often means being challenged to a drag race (which you are quite confident on winning due to the all wheel drive system). The people most eager to challenge you, I found, where the the ones driving big V8s (Holden, Ford). It was a great feeling being able to leave them behind as they struggled for grip – especially when my girlfriend was driving The car is perfect for day and weekend trips. Taking it out in the Victoria wine districts on a warm saturday, or heading for Great Ocean Road with your driving gloves on makes you forget about more or less anything that has bothered you during the week. For me deciding on the Hatchback was a bit of a compromise (we were supposed to get a car we could go camping in…) but I never regretted it! Still a small and agile car, it can hold what you need for long road trips, and you want to be able to do that. When you drive a BMW M3, you might afford to sleep in hotels every night, but where is the fun in that?
The 2.0l Turbocharged 218 hp engine
Cost
I would say that the WRX is a reasonably cheap car to buy, when you consider what you are getting. It is not a BMW M3 or Porsche 911, but it does deliver a performance not that far from what you get in the expensive cars. Being a Subaru it is, as most Japanese cars, very reliable. Parts and service cost is not bad at all, I say this even though I only had the car for a year. The 2.0l engine can be fairly economic if you drive it carefully, but what is the point of that? Using cruise control on long straight highways, I´ve had it down to about 0,6 liters per 10 km, which is very good – in the city it quickly goes up to twice that. Insurance is defiantly one of the major problems with this car. It is (at least in Australia) very hard to even get it insured. I was 23 when I bought the car and I ended up paying $ 2500 AUS throughJust Car Insurance The WRX was one of most popular cars among car thieves in Australia until the upgraded the engine immobilizer. This is part of the reason the insurance is high, another is that the car is popular among young boys and they tend to slide off the side of the road with it. Speeding tickets is something that might be a problem, especially in places where the cops know the car. I believe the hatchback is a bit more low profile, also not having an aftermarket exhaust system helps. I was never caught in any speed traps. The hatchback also keeps it´s value better. I drove the car 22 000 km in a year (from 3200 to 54000 km) and lost almost AUS $ 4000, including new tires, which is a little over 10 % loss. Luckily the exchange rate was very favorable for me, so I ended up get not far from what I paid for it back! Tasmania I was lucky enough to be able to take the car on a 10-day camping holiday to Tasmania. This was definently one of the highlights of my year with the WRX. The Tasmanian roads are beautiful, and the best thing is that you are all alone most of the time. (Except for the BIG logging trucks that suddenly decide to come out in the road in the middle of a turn!) Even with a car full of camping equipment this was an amazing experience. There was at times hard to find proper petrol in Tasmania, I had to settle for 96 octane, and even that was hard to find sometimes.
In Tasmania
Selling the car – the worst part
When it came to selling the car I advertised it online and quickly got a lot of response. I had kept the car well, there were only very minor cosmetic damage on the paint from rocks – the rest was as perfect as when I bought it. Although there were many people interested in the car, sadly this kind of vehicle attracts a lot of people just wanting a test-drive. I was in no rush to sell, so I took the time to find a buyer willing to pay a reasonable price. All in all the WRX was a great car to own and drive, and I miss it a lot! I now drive a BMW 318i, which is very nice, but is very lacking in power. I have decided that I will buy another WRX at some time when I can afford it. This time I might go for the STi version. Pleas let me know if you agree/disagree with anything I¨ve written here. If you have any question, feel free to post them here or e-mail me.
If you want to get more info on the WRX – check out these links:
www.wrxforum.com
www.wrx.com.au
www.clubwrx.net/forums
