New Car!

I finally (after almost 2 dreadful years) ended my relationship with Honda today.  I did it in rather glorious style.  The Civic is already a distant, slow, ugly, uncomfortable memory.  What did I replace it with?  An old friend, in a sense.

Today I came home in a brand new, 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sedan.  I’m leasing it, which makes total sense now that I don’t drive nearly as much as I used to.  I’m paying a tad less than on the Civic, don’t have as long a comitment to the car and don’t have to worry about being in debt with the thing when it’s time for something new.

Anyway, the car is nice.  Much nicer than the old WRX was.  It feels like it handles better and is about as fast as a stock WRX as well.  The interior is familiar to the two previous Subarus, but there are a few notable changes.  The two-tone gray/black mesh seats that come with the current generation cars are a huge improvment over anything in the past.  If you haven’t seen them, keep in mind the photos below are in terrible light.  The flash on the camera makes the seats look almost white, but they are really a darker gray.  The shifter is also a softer/nicer feeling leather than before.  I swear the dash is the same, but it almost feels like the center (radio/HVAC controls) are aimed slightly toward the driver.  Maybe the Civic was just more obtrusive in this sense, but it really does seem different.  It’s quite nice.  I wasn’t crazy about the new front end, just like I wasn’t with the ’04-’05 cars, but it grew on me.  I really quite like it now (although I still don’t enjoy the current STi look).  The car stands out enough to not be mixed up with an every day econo-box, but is certainly not loud and gaudy either.  Subaru seems closer to getting it right with the current 2.5i/WRX.  The wheels are much nicer looking than what came on the old WRX.  The seats feel about as firm as they did in the STi, but the sides offer a little more room for your rib cage to wiggle.  I don’t know the specs off hand, but the clutch seems very similar to the WRX, that same ambiguous feel to it that I somehow grew to love.  Back to looks, I really like the new back end, with the large Subaru logo replacing the big silver letters on the trunk.  I’m not sure what else to really add… I have barely put 15 miles on the car so far.  In a rather dorky way, I feel kind of proud to say that I’ve owned all 3 body styles from the bugeye on.  I’m also one of probably not a ton of people who have owned a WRX, STi and now a 2.5i (it’s really hard not to call it a 2.5RS, but I’m sure I’ll get over it).

Here’s to less Civic and more AWD!