2008 Impreza

Like being able to feel the car when backing up?

What do you mean? No problems here backing up in my 05 Impreza.

Got a tandem garage? If you live in rural area and drive an automatic the current impreza is fine. But anything requiring any precision in the parking lot is not as easy. For me anyway. I'm a terrible driver though. People who know how to drive like yourself probably don't have many problems.

I think Mazda has 323 platform for sale real cheap. Maybe FHI wants to buy it, stiffen it a bit, stick their drivetrain on that chassis and call it a day? The resulting car probably suit me just fine if 05 looks are to be preserved.

They salesman at the dealership said the new 2008 was going to look completely different. I haven't been able to find anything online except speculation. That is what has me thinking '07 - if the '08 is ugly, I may not want it. I like the look of the current Impreza too.

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What do you drive right now? Do you plan to get a 5sp or an automatic? Do you live in a densely populated urban area? Somewhere on the backroads in the rural area? Do you like a soft or a firm ride?

Do you plan to get a 5sp or an automatic?

Auto (bad left knee...no choice...unfortunately)

Rural area near a small city. Bout 40 km of highway in between.

My house is almost a km off the paved road. A 4wd is an absolute necessity in the winter. (It is 'cleared' but snow/ice remains so ground clearance isn't as necessary as having four wheels working)

Not completely sure. My guess...firm.

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Hmm... I live in a city and have parallel parked my Impreza quite a few times. And, have even parallel parked it a number of times on the streets of NYC.

Certainly, a stick would be a bit more difficult, for me at least.

I find the Impreza to be the easiest car to know where it is than any other I've driven before. I think that a good portion of that is helped by the fact that it is a wagon, so, I know exactly where the rear of the car is.

IMHO 07 impreza with an automatic would work just fine in your situation.

I'd say go for RS and if you want firmer still there are STI springs for sale on ebay periodically. Sometimes (not as often) with shocks. So you may want to snatch these:

Thanks. I was talking to a guy at Subaru today and he's pretty sure all the changes to the '08 are in the style department. No major tech improvements, so I think I'll snag an '07 sometime in November.

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Another option for you

Looks like interior is cheap looking though.

I don't think transmission has anything to do with this particular problem.

STI owners on the other hand are not so fortunate. I saw an STI an hour ago with a rear bumper dented in a corner a-la Camries of the late. Way to go Subaru! That rear wing really works. After all it's a RALLY car. Have you seen a car driven backwards in a rally?