NEWS photo Jutle Iverson
THE impreza RS has supportive sports seats, white-faced gauges, and leather-

covered steering whee! and gearshift knob.

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From page 31

handling, strong body rigid-
ity, excellent driving dynam-
ics and wonderfully simple
interior design. I wasn’t so
impressed with the power
from its then relatively smal!
1.8-litre borizontally-
opposed four-cylinder
engine.

Since then, Subaru has
added more power and dis-
placement. The 2000
Impreza Brighton Sport
Wagon, Outback Wagon,
and TS Sedan have a stan-
dard 142-horsepower 2.2-
litre four-cylinder engine,
and the RS Coupe and
Sedan have a 165-horsepow-
er 2.5-litre horizontally
opposed four-cylinder
engine.

RS Sedan targeted at per-
formance buyers with kids

The RS sedan bodystylte
is new for 2000. Subaru
Canada vice president of
sales and marketing, Joe
Anwyll, says a four-door RS
was needed to satisfy those
people who want a fun-to-
drive car but who also want
easier access to the back
seat.

“We understand that
some drivers who enjoy the
sporty attitude and styling
of the Impreza 2.5 RS may
also have kids and dogs and
responsibilities,” he said.

The RS sedan looks
almost identical to the TS
sedan, but it has larger 16-
inch six-spoke alloy wheels
and tires and some special
2.5 RS badging. The RS
also has sporty styling add-
ons such as a large front
spoiler with twin fog lamps,
hood scoop and hood vents
(non-functional), side body
cladding, large diameter
chrome tailpipe, and a rear
decklid spoiler.

On the inside, the BS has
supportive sports seats,
white -faced gauges, and
leather-covered steering
wheel and gearshift knob.

Any similarity to Subaru’s
WRC world rally racing car
is purely intentional on
Subaru’s part.

Like all Impreza’s, the
RS has a fully independent
MacPherson strut suspen-

in the back

sion with coil springs (some-
thing it shares with the
Porsche Boxster), front and
rear stabilizer bars, engine-
speed sensitive variable
power steering, and a full
ume all-wheel-drive system
that needs no input from
the driver.

RS Sedans have a slightly
stiffer suspension to ober
Impreza’s, bigger 16 inch
low-profile performance
radials with alloy wheels,
limited slip rear “differential,
and standard four-wheel-disc
brakes with a four-channel
ABS system —- Impreza
Brighton, Outback and TS
inodels have front disc /rear
drum brakes and only the
Outback offers ABS.

Boxer engine unique

Other than Porsche and
Ferrari, Subaru is the only
manufacturer to use a hori-
zontally-opposed cylinder
design, called a “boxer”
engine.

Instead of the cylinders
standing up in a row, they
lie flat — two cylinders are
on one side and two cylin-
ders on the other side. The
advantage to this type of
engine design is a lower cen-
tre of gravity for weight dis-
tribution purposes, a shorter
overall length for packaging
purposes, and more torque
from a small engine. In
addition, it’s longitudinal
positioning allows the trans-
mission to be placed in line
with the engine which helps
reduce driveline vibrations.

Boxer engines have
unique, guttural sound
when accelerating, but if
you didn’t know it was a
boxer engine you probably
wouldn’t be able to distin-
guish it from an in-line
engine.

‘The 2.5-litre single over-
head cam engine in the
2000 Impreza RS is substan-
tially different to the dual
overhead camshaft engine
used in last year’s RS inedel.

In addition to a single
overhead camshaft on each
cylinder bank, the new 2.5-
litre engine has better low-
and mid-range torque and
improved emissions: the
2000 engine now meets
LEV (low emissions vehicle)

Technical Data

Base orice..
Type
Layout...
Engine...

four-docr, five-passenger compact sedan
longitudinal front engine/all-wheel-drive
2.5-litre HO four-cylinder, SOHC, 16 valves

HOPSEDOWED uu... rsesssseesseecesesseesseeneeeceeeee 160 @ 5,600 p.m.
TOPQUE.......ssrssesescseesertscesssesseerneeee OO [D.-ft, @ 4,000 r.p.m.
Transmission ...five-speed manual (four-speed automatic)
Tires... .205/55R-16
Curb weigh! -1,270 kg (2,800 ib.)
Wheelbase .......esscccsssseecssseecenseessnesenee2020 MM (99.2 in.)
LENGE. -sseesseeseescrerneesensceeerrcerrsnees B79 MM (172.2 in.)
Wid oeessessccscssescsscsssssesssessssssesseseneeeeee 705 MM (67.1 in.)
Height «0... essssseeee sessseveeet 410 mim (55.5 in.)
Fuel consumption. City: 11.3 /100 km (25 m.p.g.)

sesseaneeaseqaseesseesens ighway: 7.4 /100 km (38 m.p.g.)
Warranty .... ssssessivecsreteraceresreseseeeeeeeendf Fe@ years/60,000 km
Powertrain warranty ............0c. VE he vearsripeoown | 000 km

standards. The cngine also
includes distributorless elec-
tronic ignition and plat-
inum- tipped spark plugs
which test 100,000 kilome-
tres.

Fuel consumption is rea-
sonable for a performance-
oriented engine: 11.3 litres
per 100 kilometres (25
m.p.g.) in the city, and 7.4
litres per 100 kilometres (38
m.p.g.) on the highway.

Sporty interior

RS sedans offer sporty,
well-equipped interiors,
including well- bolstered
front sport seats, chequered-
flay cloth seat upholstery,
leather-wrapped steering
wheel and shift lever with
red stitching, AM/FM/ces-
sette with four speakers,
speedometer and tachometer
with a white background, air
conditioning, power win-
dows and door locks, tilt
steering wheel, intermittent
wipers, rear defroster, and
cruise control.

I found the driver’s seat
offered excellent lateral sup-
port, and the driving posi-
tion was well-positioned to
reach the controls, see the
instruments, and see out-
wards. Front legroom and
headroom and rear head-
room are more than ade-
quate for adults, while rear
legroom is adequate.

A split folding rear seat is
not uffered on the RS Sedan
or Coupe. “Che crunk is 314
litres (11 cu. ft.) and is well-
shaped trunk with a low lift-
over height.

The dash controls include
sliding fan control and
rotary ventilation controls,
and there’s a unique, cov-
ered storage bin located on
the upper centre dash area.

‘The standard
Abi /FM/cessette stereo in
my car offered great sound ©
characteristics, but there was

1 “Seck” function, a prob-
jem for a perennial channel
surfer like myself.

Fun to drive

The 2.5 RS is quick off
the line and, with cnough
revs, offers sufficient passing
power on the highway. The
boxer engine is quiet at
lower engine. revolutions,
including when highway
cruising, but it’s “growly”
during hard acceleration up
to its 6,200 “p.m. redline.

Driven confidently, the
Impreza offers stable, sticky
handling with minimal lean.
Though the suspension is
firm, the RS’s ride is quite
comfortable, and highway
cruising is pleasant. Steering
effort is firmer at higher
speeds, with more boost
available for slower city
speeds. With a relatively
ught 10.2-metre diameter
turning circie, the RS is casv
to manveurre.

The standard five-speed
manual gear shifter in my
car had relativeiy short,
direct throws, but I noticed
some looseness in the drive-
line when getting back onto
the throtde after changing
pears.

The standard disc brakes,
which are larger than those

ew +e See impreza page 39

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