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How does the AWD the Impreza stand up to world class FWD & RWD sport cars.
Autocar made a comparative test between the some of the top cars of varying engine placements and drivetrain setups. These are the results that Autocar produced.
Link to the full article: http://www.subaru.co.nz/autocar_feature/autocar_content.html
The Cars Tested:
| BMW M3 | M3 | Front-engine | FWD | ||
| Porsche | 911 | Rear-engine | RWD | ||
| Peugeot | 306 GTi-6 | Front-engine | FWD | ||
| Lotus | Elise | Mid-engine | RWD | ||
| Subaru | Impreza | Front-engine | AWD |
Test I: Skip Pad
| Dry | Wet | ||||
| Impreza | 57mph | understeer | 911 | 51mph | |
| 911 | 56mph | understeer | Impreza | 49mph | |
| Elise | 56mph | oversteer | Elise | 49mph | |
| 306 GTi-6 | 56mph | understeer | 306 GTi-6 | 48mph | |
| M3 | 56mph | understeer | M3 | 48mph |
Test II:Traction & Wheel-spin (15meter times)
| DRY | Amount of Spin | WET | |||
| Impreza | 2.25sec | none | Impreza | 2.50sec | |
| 911 | 2.33sec | little | 911 | 2.79sec | |
| Elise | 2.44sec | moderate | Elise | 2.86sec | |
| M3 | 2.65sec | moderate | M3 | 3.05sec | |
| 306 GTi-6 | 3.04sec | significant | 306GTi-6 | 3.47sec |
Test III: Slalom
| Wet | Wet | |||
| Elise | 17.7sec | Impreza | 18.14sec | |
| Impreza | 17.09sec | 911 | 18.35sec | |
| M3 | 18.04sec | Elise | 18.44sec | |
| 911 | 18.15sec | M3 | 18.96sec | |
| 306 GTi-6 | 19.68sec | 306 GTi-6 | 19.88sec | |
Test IV: Speed Corner (cornering top speed at apex point on Chobham test track & driver synopsis)
| Dry | Wet | Driver Sysnopsis | |||
| Impreza | 58mph | 52mph | " -widest smile from our driver all day." Neutral, Point and full-throtle-shoot handling. Does what you want it to with do with confidence. | ||
| 911 | 56mph | 50mph | "-nudge the rear out slightly and drift through the corners on the verge of oversteer " Friendly on-limit handeling. | ||
| Elise | 55mph | 50mph | "In the Elise the risk
of a spin was so great from backing away from the throttle that... resorted to a
conventional slow in, fast out method." More power than
control. More suited for more wide open tracks. |
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| 306 GTi-6 | 54mph | 46mph | " -nose would tuck in .., quelling the understeer that had started to wash the nose wide" reducing understeer by lift on the throttle brefore apex produced fasted times. | ||
| M3 | 52mph | 46mph | " -driver was mumbling
about too much understeer when he climbed out." Stable in the
dry. Understeered at earlier points in the wet. |
Conlcusion of test by Autocar:
"But in the end there was one very clear winner in this
contest. The Impreza was most composed, generally faster and markedly grippier in most of
the competition in most of the tests. ... It's one of the outstanding car
designs of the decade. "
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