2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
The Tale of the Ugly Duckling
story & photos by Eric Schofield

As in the story by Hans Christian Andersen, the ugly duckling wasn’t really a duck at all.  It grew up to be a far more beautiful creature.  Elegant, slender and beautiful.

Subaru plopped an “ugly duckling” of their own into our hands for a week to test and the jury was mixed regarding this little pocket rocket.  Allow us to be blunt, Subaru makes fine automobiles that have an “edgy” look to them – unconventional and a little loud, kind of like the big bully that used to sit in the back of your 5th grade class.  It's not a car that is intended to blend in with all the Civic's and Corolla's out there.

The Impreza 2.5 RS Sedan we received has many similarities to the above mentioned persona.  It certainly is a striking automobile, a love it or hate it appeal.  The looks are very bold – large hood scoop, dual air ducts, oversized fog lamps that are larger than many headlamps on other cars, prominent rear spoiler, bold badging and attractive low profile tires mounted on alloy wheels.  The 2.5 RS is overstated in many ways – yet that is part of the appeal.

This AWD zinger has its origins with rally racing.  In this country, Subaru is known primarily for its Outback AWD wagons.  But throughout the rest of the world, Subaru is a leader in off-road rally racing having won the World Rally Championship three years in a row.

The 2.5 RS sedan is a foot pedal full of fun.  The 2.5 liter, 16-valve inline 4 produces 165 ponies and an impressive 166 lb-ft. of torque.  When compared to other cars in its class, the 2.5 RS out points the competition in both horsepower and torque.  It’s the large amount of torque that makes this baby so much fun to drive.  Passing power is abundant and acceleration is immediate without having to over rev the engine.

The seats are comfortable with good lateral support which makes performance driving a joy.  The 2.5 RS is as comfortable in the S-curves as it is in the straight-aways.  The Impreza is not a large automobile which makes it feel more agile and sure footed.  The 2.5 liter powerplant consistently propelled us from 0-60 in the 8.0 second range.  A minimal amount of body motion was experienced in hard cornering and the AWD system improves traction in all conditions aiding driver confidence.

Subaru employs 2 different types of AWD systems.  Cars with a 5-speed manual transmission use a system that equally distributes power to the front and rear wheels then electronically adjusts power to the wheels that use it best.  On automatic models, the AWD system provides more power to the front wheels before distributing power to the wheels that need the most grip.  The automatic tranny has a feel of a front-wheel drive car with AWD advantages.

The interior of the 2.5 RS has the necessary frills to provide comfort for most drivers though we were not pleased with the cup holder size or placement.  The primary pop-out cup holder is large enough to hold 12 oz. cans and is hidden in the dash.  It took us 3 days before we discovered where it was hidden.  The secondary cup holder for passengers is hidden in the center arm rest and it too was only large enough to hold a 12 oz. can.  So if you drive a 2.5 RS – no Super Gulps for you!  Power windows, power doorlocks, cruise control, AM/FM cassette stereo were some of the many amenities in our test model.

The few gripes we had regarding the amenities was that keyless entry was an additional option and the 2.5 RS requires 2 sets of keys.  One key opens the doors and trunk, the other starts the ignition.  We would much prefer a single key, life is complicated enough without having to keep up with extra keys for your overburdened keychain.

We consistently had to remind ourselves that the 2.5 RS we were testing had 4 doors.  The compact size of the car makes it feel like a 2-door but rear seat access is much easier with this little sedan compared to the 2-door coupe.

There was plenty of room for full sized adults in the front but rear seat room was a little lacking and we highly recommend that tall people stick to the front seats or hitch a ride. 

The Impreza 2.5 RS is geared towards the performance minded driver.  The RS is comfortable, storage capacity is average for its class, passenger space is lacking in the rear seat and though the car offers the standard amenities found in its class, the car leans so much more towards performance that it just doesn't feel luxurious.  

What this little bundle of joy offers is a very willing engine which handles competently and offers AWD!  It's not likely that this little ugly duckling will ever be viewed as a swan, but we think it makes one heck of a road runner!

Styling	Amenities	Ergonomics	Power	Handling	Comfort	Roominess	Cargo Space	Fun to Drive	Bang for Buck	TOTAL
7	7	7	8.5	8	7	6.5	7	8.5	7	73.5