What's Hot?
Download Subaru Wallpapers
January 1, 2002
Christmas threeWhat does a girl want in her stocking? Well, this girl dreams of three fillers. The Subaru Impreza 22B, Mitsubishi Evo V and Nissan Skyline GT-R.
At the moment I’m suffering very badly with an extreme case of the post-Christmas blues. Yes, of course I had the most wonderful festive time surrounded by loved ones. Yes, we had some riots. Yes, I had a continuous hangover throughout the entire festive season and I managed to embarrass myself in front of Gran. Again! None of that is to blame for my melancholy.
Oh no. My low spirits have been caused by Father C singularly failing to come up with the goods. Isn’t he supposed to grant everyone’s wish. Young and old. But what did I find in my hugely anticipated and suitably massive Christmas stocking? Let me see…Oh, it’s just too depressing.
Call me a spoilt brat if you must, I don’t mind. But just imagine how I would have felt had I woken up on the big day, peeled back my bedroom curtains, opened my eyes excitedly and looked on to the drive to be greeted with my dream present.
|
|
Over the flipping moon! That’s how I’d have felt. Bleeding marvellous, if you must know. And just what did I ask for? Just three cars. And not a Porsche or Ferrari among them. OK they were a little out of the ordinary, I admit, but, well, all I wanted was three of the most amazingly wonderful cars in the world. That’s all. It’s not much to ask, is it?
The new Subaru Impreza 22B, Mitsubishi’s Evo V and Nissan’s Skyline GT-R.
Me, demanding? I don’t think so. Crikey, the Scooby Doo won’t exactly use many of Santa’s saving stamps. A paltry £39,950 for a replica of the World Rally Impreza! The Evo will barely make a dent in the old boy’s piggy bank either, costing a measly £28,500. And as for the Skyline, well, he probably spends £50,000 on reindeer nosh in one night. But that Santa. He can be so tight.
I dreamt about the three most thought after cars on Christmas Eve, actually. I suppose it’s the nearest I’ll ever get to owning any of them. So let me tell you all about it.
My dream begins down in the New Forest on a wet and wintry day. Michael Bailie, the Top Gear photographer, is the first character to ap-pear in my nocturnal wanderings. (Is this going to be suitable for a family readership? Ed.) He materialises in a two-door, six-cylinder, 2.6-litre, turbocharged, 277bhp Nissan Skyline GT-R which is full-to-busting with camera gear, ladders, chamois leathers, buckets, watering cans - you name it. ‘Why do we always give the chap with the most luggage the car with the smallest boot?’ I chuckle myself dreamily.
Then, another good-natured gentleman, namely Gary Ball, makes his appearance in my night-time thoughts too, screeching in at the helm of a four-door, four-cylinder, two-litre turbocharged, 276bhp Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V. I seem to remember him saying something about being a double-glazing salesman, but maybe that was a different dream altogether.
And me? Well, I am handed the keys to the newest wagon - a spit-ting, snarling, two-door, four-cylinder, 2.2-litre turbo-charged, 276bhp Impreza 22B, of course. Grrrrrrr. Sadly, I know this is a dream that can never come true, because Subaru UK have imported just 16 of these little gems into the country. And they’ve already been sold. But then a whispering voice tells me that he might still be able to find me one if I make my way to his garage in Malmesbury. Thanks, David.
The 22B is the latest Sti product - Sti being Subaru Tecnica International, the outfit that’s responsible for the manufacturer’s stunning motorsports results. It is as close as you’re ever likely to get to Colin McRae’s World Rally Championship car.
The beautifully blistered front and rear-wheel arches, bonnet scoops and highly conspicuous adjustable boot spoiler are all painted in lookalike WRC colors, including the gold bespoked alloys which are surrounded by 235/40 ZR 17 rubber. It is an awesome sight from any angle.
Inside, you don’t get a fully blown roll cage - or a co-driver - but you do get perfectly shaped seats, wrapped in matching sonic blue with black trim. The dash and instruments are pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff - there’s not even a turbo gauge - but there are a couple of clues to this car’s complete commitment to carnage.
One is the pair of small buttons to the right of the steering wheel for manual and automatic control of the intercooler’s waterspray system - more spray: more power, basically. The other is the small dial set by the handbrake which allows you to alter the center differential. It works too, but you’re advised not to give it the full ‘locked on’ treatment on dry tarmac. This works best on the loose stuff. In non-locked mode, the front-to-rear power distribution is 35:65.
One thing is for sure though - this is one serious bit of kit. Snuggled into the hot seat, all you can see is the lusciously lifted section of bonnet that hides the intercooler. Select first gear through the slightly notchy, but heavily engineered, five-speed ‘box, raise the twin-plate ceramic clutch and you will be lucky not to kangaroo off in a very non-McRae style. The clutch is a complete bugger and it can make you look like a total nerd when you’re moving off in really slow traffic, as its biting point is extremely sharp.
Having jolted off from standstill, it’s best to grip the wheel very, very tight. This beast will reach 60mph in under five seconds and give you all the thrill of a rocket-powered rollercoaster. The engine whirrs away to give you a no-holds-barred dollop of 265lb-ft of torque at a lowly 3,200rpm and a fat-man portion of power - 276bhp at 6,000rpm. With a thunderously awesome 212bhp per tonne, this Impreza is a machine that makes you wish, so much, that all of the roads in the UK were there exclusively for you and it to run wild over.
It is truly amazing to find so much raw grunt so readily available at the slightest (or longest) stab on the accelerator pedal. It can give an instant and highly satisfying fix, or a prolonged rush that will lead to confiscation of (or at the very least, points on) the old licence as this meanest of mean machines tops out at around 155mph. What I’m saying is, this little baby could add a fair smudge of dirt to even the cleanest of DVLC paperwork.
But if the fun must be stopped in a hurry, you can rely completely on the quartet of ventilated discs to bring you to a halt with such vigour that it could make some people feel a little queasy.
The ride won’t do any favours to anyone who suffers from an iffy stomach either. Go over the slightest bump and you are immediately reminded of just how much excess flab you’re carrying around. If you’re the gym-shy sort of person, then the 22B is the perfect way in which to shake all those wobbly bits back into place - while simultaneously having the absolute time of your life. And in case you haven’t guessed by now, I happen to love this car. It is simply divine.
Sadly, I cannot say the same of the Nissan. If it was the only car you ever drove in your lifetime, then you’d think it was the business. No question.
It looks pretty meaty, has twin turbos, an electronically-limited top whack of 155mph, hits 60mph in 5.4 se-conds and has 271lb-ft of torque at 4,400rpm. But it is on the portly side, so its power to weight ratio is a lot less than the Scooby’s at 173bhp per tonne. Its rear wing is a little bit smaller, too. Not that that’s a criticism, mind. However, the steering, or lack of control, is.
The Skyline sits on hefty 245/45 ZR 17 tyres which have a mind of their own. Any rut, bump or dead animal will have it whipping off in a direction you hadn’t planned. It is certainly the best antidote to falling asleep at the wheel that I’veever experienced. The government should employ the Nissan in their Tiredness Can Kill campaigns. I can envisage the slogan right now. ‘Suffering undue driving fatigue? Then get yourself a Nissan Skyline.’ The five-speed gearbox certainly engages more smoothly than the Subaru’s, but it needs more muscle power to slip the lever in. That can be said of all three pedals too, giving the Skyline the most mature and sensible driving feel of all three cars here.
There’s no mad scrabbling panic of power and grunt being delivered when the throttle eventually hits the carpet. You sit in the seat - which is similar to the Impreza’s but much bigger and more firm - waiting for a kick up the backside as the turbochargers strut their stuff, but nothing terribly exciting happens. Or at least not until you get a fair way up the rev range. Don’t get me wrong, it is a manically fast car, but you have to work harder to get your hit of adrenaline. It doesn’t make you feel as special behind the wheel as the Impreza does, either.
Mind you, nor does the Mitsubishi Evo V. Sure, it too has got all the trimmings - including a whopping great spoiler which, if you’re not careful, can trick you into thinking and HGV is sitting on your flank - but it has just got too many road manners to fully satisfy the hardiest, most accomplished of thrillseekers.
Its 274lb-ft of torque peaks at 3,000rpm and 276bhp at 6,500rpm, but it’s all delivered smoothly. You do get a glorious burst of ‘wa-hey’ but it is smoothed off at each side - unlike the 22B. The steering feeds the most information back to the driver of all three of my dream cars and overall it gives the best ride too - although it’s certainly no Rolls-Royce.
But now, as I am lying there, blissfully dreaming of wanging it to 60mph in 4.7 seconds and on to 147mph, demolishing the 40mph signs along the twists and turns of the New Forest, I begin to stir awake. Slowly coming back to reality, I have just enough time to decide that the 22B is my perfect car. Why? Well, it’s phenomenally powerful and very, very sexy. Flaws? Well, the rock-hard ride, snatching clutch and torque steer. Three little faults. That’s all. And it makes up for these so much elsewhere that I, personally, can forgive it for that trio of minor annoyances and an awful lot more besides.
I can’t, however, for-give the Nissan for being such a sluggish barge by comparison. Instead of a big surge in power as you plant the heavy throttle, you get a steady rise in speed that overshadows any enjoyment a spot of pure power would induce. Things happen too high up the rev range for low-down grunt-lover like me. Its tyres dictate which direction you go in and, for a big car, there’s barely enough space in to take your hamster out for a spin round the block.
The Evo V feels really flaw-less, though. Oh, apart from the dull interior and com-paratively unsporty seats. But it’s a little too gentlemanly for my rough-and-ready tastes, although it is the one to go for if you’re after a bit more of a comfortable ride, something that’s as manageable in traffic as it is on the open road, and a set of wheels wheels that delivers a juicy amount of power in an admirably smooth way.
I woke up finally with a groggy head and a heavy heart. Then, as the grim reality of what I actually did receive in my Christmas stocking hit home (socks, books, girly things), I reached out to my bedside table for a sheet of paper and a pen and began to write…
Source: BBC Top Gear
Technorati Tags: Subaru, Impreza, Turbo, Subaru Impreza, All Wheel Drive, Nissan Skyline GTR, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
- Posted in : Articles, Comparisons
- Author : admin
It’s interesting how, between the EVo and STi, the Evo is the more comfortable ride… and the Scooby is more hardcore. Why is it that, when they finally bring the cars to the US of A, the Evo retains less civility and the STi is the smother, more luxurious of the two. I’m an EVO advocate… but if the current STi were this fierce… I would have to give scooby another look!