A day trip without the shed!!!!

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st4

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As I was off work today as was my cousin we felt a spot of driving and luncheon was in order, despite the looting 200 miles plus away from us and the weather....

Life goes on and all that.

We left from Helensburgh in his Subaru impreza, of which I have wrote about previously. Onto Inverarry for a wee wander, some picture taking and Lunch.

Here is the transport

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The weather as you can see was Scotlands finest

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We could not dine straight away, the Impreza made fairly good time getting there, all to be fair, leaving Helensburgh at half ten for an hours trip does mean you'll be early, but what the hell.

We had lovely food at the George Hotel, which serves lunch from 12pm

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Lovely smoked Salmon, Bradon rost, cream cheese and was suitably satisfied.

As was this chappie

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Anyway, afterwards a wee run over to the back to Dalmally and Loch Awe in the car was enlightening. The 4wd is useful, and although the car is very very fast, its still not my bag.

The turbo takes an age to spool up (I took the car from Dalmally down to Crianlarach) and the cabin rattles, creaks and squeaks whenever you are driving on anything other than a smooth road.

I'm not detracting from the car, its highly capable, very easy to drive very fast and its got a lot of poise and composure and very precise steering. Everyone likes different things, but the rattles, the massive turbo lag (its hilarious when it does boost) would really grate.

Audi, I feel, have really missed an opertunity with their cars. All they have to do is make them handle and steer like the Subaru, and shove all the niceties in, and they'd win. I've driven a fast Audi, and it lacked the fun of the Subaru, which is a shame, as the rest of the car was lovely.

Still, to make myself feel better, I turned off the ESP in the Mercedes and booted it out of a side junction, and the result was hilarious. Then I sat back and relaxed.

This impreza cannot be driven slowly, it clunks, clangs, bucks, bawks, it needs to be driven with prejudice. Its a bit of a giggle but tiring. I wonder how long he'll keep it....
 
It's the classic recipe for entertainment. Whether it's a car, aircraft, bike or woman, a lightweight agile chassis coupled to lots of horsepower is always good fun.
 
This impreza cannot be driven slowly, it clunks, clangs, bucks, bawks, it needs to be driven with prejudice.
I totally understand what you're saying. A few years ago I did a Palmer Motorsport Experience day and drove an Impreza Turbo on a track. I was completely underwhelmed by it until I got it going sideways at which point it all made sense :thumb:
 
I totally understand what you're saying. A few years ago I did a Palmer Motorsport Experience day and drove an Impreza Turbo on a track. I was completely underwhelmed by it until I got it going sideways at which point it all made sense :thumb:

A freind once lent me one.


I sat in it and thought it was the inside of a 1982 Datsun and not quite put together as well.

However once 15 minutes up the road I was laughing like a mental.

Huge fun, but not something you'd want to do your daily commute in.
 
A freind once lent me one.


I sat in it and thought it was the inside of a 1982 Datsun and not quite put together as well.

However once 15 minutes up the road I was laughing like a mental.

Huge fun, but not something you'd want to do your daily commute in.

My friend borrowed my W211 last year for a trip and left me with his Evo FQ-360 which he'd tuned to over 400bhp.

It was nearly impossible to drive slow in the thing, it was like riding a motorbike it was that fast.

You couldn't help but smile when driving it....
 
I forgot to say, its a year older than my car and its got rust. It appears in the previous owners infinite wisdom drilling through the wheel arches to fit mud flaps was a good idea.

The car does feel flimsy, but it was a fun car when the conditions allowed it to be fun, but it came at such a compromise and I have pretty good fun in my own car (the roads here are nice), with none of the draw backs of this one.

I think the point of this thread I felt was he had an Audi before, A4 DTM thing, nice motor but on a winding wet road it can't begin to see which way the Subaru went, and thats a shame as its not much heavier. Audi should be making nice cars that like the Impreza, not under steering messes.

I'd probably liken the Subaru to a modern day Lancia Delta Intergrale.
 
My friend borrowed my W211 last year for a trip and left me with his Evo FQ-360 which he'd tuned to over 400bhp.

It was nearly impossible to drive slow in the thing, it was like riding a motorbike it was that fast.

You couldn't help but smile when driving it....

Hmmm out playing police interceptors. :D

Nice photos Steve.
 
I'd probably liken the Subaru to a modern day Lancia Delta Intergrale.

I'd like the Subaru to be a modern day Lancia Delta Intergrale.

Sadly, it isn't. Safety regulations have put paid to that.

Back to Audi, my first car was a 1974 Audi 80. Very precise steering, well balanced, light and handled like a dream.

They do know how to make them handle great but I think their vast market is reps and families so their cars need to be functional, safe and reliable. Handling on the edge isn't their niche market so best avoided.
 
I'd like the Subaru to be a modern day Lancia Delta Intergrale.

Sadly, it isn't. Safety regulations have put paid to that.

Back to Audi, my first car was a 1974 Audi 80. Very precise steering, well balanced, light and handled like a dream.

They do know how to make them handle great but I think their vast market is reps and families so their cars need to be functional, safe and reliable. Handling on the edge isn't their niche market so best avoided.

Fast fun flimsy made 4wd car based around rallying. Its as close to that car as we'll ever see or get on sale.
 

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