REVIEW: 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX (2.0L H4 5-speed man.)

Iconic sedan with fun and practicality.
BY: ANDY MOK

You all know the racing heritage of the Subaru Impreza. This Impreza (GD series) chassis served one purpose and one purpose only; to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship under the certain homologation standards. That means this impreza is carefully engineered from ground up to be able to race under a certain category; everything is built with purpose. 

But before I begin I must admit... I`m biased, this is my car, and it has been with me for the past 5 years and some ecstatic 80,000 miles. So then, what is it really like to own one of these road-going rally cars?

The early impression behind the wheel of the WRX can be described as an 'excitement and disappointment' mixed in altogether. The excitement bits come from its heart; a 2.0 liter boxer motor, producing 227hp. But its not so much the horsepower number that is important...in the real world, it`s all about how the powerband curve matches up to the gear ratio. The WRX drives just like any other econo-sedans until you bury your foot and wait for the rpm needle to go past the 3000 mark... Then suddenly, it launches off like a slingshot has just let go; all that turbo lag was just the preparation phase when you are pulling on the slingshot right before you let go. That is exactly how its motor feels everytime you are about to drop a couple of gears and give it some beans, which I must say, is a VERY addictive characteristic :) (use at your own risk).

This trait is even better when you are travelling at highway speed because you can access that power without having todo the 'pulling' on the slingshot due to the fact that the engine is already in boost. Pair up that insta power and the Subaru's symetrical AWD, you have one of the most capable high speed machine.

However, the 'excitement' ends there when you start to ask for more. This 2.0L motor is just not capable of cruising. It is always either on or off. Perhaps a characteristics of any highly tuned turbo cars with a small displacement... the cheap solution is to become a master at double-clutching to save the neck of your hot date when you downshift for more oomph before going uphill; if not driven carefully, this car will make all sorts of noise, the most annoying one being a loud thud from the rear diff. The expensive solution? Get a different car. 

But most importantly (perhaps too focused on its rally heritage), the WRX is missing some key factors that is absolutely neccesary to allow drivers to drive confidently on the surface that 99% of the drivers drive at 99% of the times; tarmac.

Small swaybars, slow steering rack, soft brake pedals, long-and-soft springs coupled with price-cutting soft rubber bushings makes ANY form of sports driving difficult. Exploring the car's limits is always a "thank god for that AWD" scenario. Thankfully almost all of those things can be remedied by millions of reputable aftermarket support, but the ever-so-dissapointing AWD understeer at the nose will only be cured when the Subaru engineers decide to move the engine closer to its tail (hint hint Scion FR-S concept). Even though the tranny sits aft of the front suspension, you will feel a faint dissapointment every time you go into a corner because the car lacks sharpness in steering feel due to its weight balance. However the exit speed out of a corner is unbelievable thanks to its surefooted-ness, and that horrendous balance still feels better by million miles than most of its FWD arch rivals.


The WRX can be summed up as a car that gets many things accomplished but not in a very polished way. Its engine will do its job accelerating the car but not in the smoothest manner, and its suspension will hold sufficient traction to get you around a corner but lacks precision.


However, the most valuable aspect of this car is that you are the one in control to polish up those attributes via a driving session or finding the right sort of part that will enhance the performance. WRX is a car packed with history and character waiting for you to fine tune the details your way. But perhaps at a starting price of around $25,000 for a new one, the things in priority could have been more...... polished.