Why ceramic brakes - suitable for track use only...
Leather seats are for upscale (audi, bmw, merc) sedans - If you need leather wait for the Legacy B4.
North Americans are lard asses. Bigger seats fit me fine!

Totally agree on the sound deadening. (but weight slows you down!)

 

Somehow I dont see expecting floor mats and a stereo in a car that costs $31,500 is expecting too much. If Subaru was gonna skimp on anything they should have gotten rid of the automatic climate control system and had a regular one. Its a great car no matter what but to have no radio and floor mats in a car that costs of $30k is absurd. It would be equally absurd if this was done in a $20k car. Christ, even a Kia Optima comes with floor mats and a radio.

 

I'm not quite sure why everyone complains about the floor mats. I just had my dealer throw in WRX floor mats when I picked up my STi. The STi is after all a WRX, and if you forget it's a STi when you look at the floor, just look up and the steering wheel tells you so.

 

My WRX Floormats were "thrown-in" on the STi. I will update to STi at some point, but WRX ones are fine.

The Stereo I pulled from my Mustang. (I like the MP3 player instead of a changer) so the only thing I had to pay for was speakers.

 

well then.., I guess my dealer was just being a dick...(He never offered to throw in ANY mat for free).

Utlimately, the floor mats are no biggie.. I think its the principle of the matter that gets me fired up.

 

Which dealer?

 

Don Beyer, Alexandria

 

Huh? So, wanting a stereo and floor mats (!) and sunroof are the major hurdles keeping "cool cars from Japan" coming to the U.S.? Do most Japanese cool cars not have these features? And if so, are you trying to convince me that this is a "good" thing?

Regardless, I agree with you to an extent. If more Japanese "cool cars" included these features, they would have a better chance of selling in the North American market. It is NOT unreasonable to expect a $32,000 car to have floormats and a stereo, and maybe a sunroof option. These are features you get in nearly EVERY other sports car whether Japanese, German, or U.S., and those sports car marques have certainly done well.

Bah, welcome to capitalism. Wait a second...are you a Subie dealer with an STi on your lot with a $5K markup? :P Hehe, j/k. That's a pretty broad and prejudiced statement against "North Americans" for wanting a Stereo and Floormats in their car, options which should cost no more than $200 or $300 total. Do Japanese or German drivers actually feel differently?

Hahaha, well of course you don't...you GOT FREAKING FLOORMATS!!! :P It's not the price of the floormats that is an issue, rather the CONCEPT of paying $32,000 for a car and then having to go through the hastle of trying to find and then buy floormats to go in your brand new car. I should not even have to ask my dealer to "throw in" WRX mats. They should be there already, preferably with STi stitching as well. I know, it's not a HUGE deal, just very annoying, and I don't like paying $32K to be annoyed.

 

Can do that. What do you want to know?

 

How much do they charge for the system and is it a voice activated system. Also, can you hook up a cell phone to it like in the lexus.

Thanks

I wonder if you could buy it, put a north america CD in it, and use it here in the US...

 

Regarding the charge, it is a package deal "called 15i Navi Edition." The MSRP is JPY1,328,000, or about $11K. Most streets in Japan lack street signs. You almost have to drive by dead reckoning, so navigation systems are very popular. I think this is a great marketing approach by Subie, to put such a high end trendy navi system in a stripped 1.5L cheap car. I'll bet it will sell.

I would strongly doubt that the system is compatable with any data sets in the US. Japanese navigation systems use VICS (traffic information data broadcast on FM) and have better landmarking data (allowing the buildings to be drawn in 3D!).

The system's communication functions (upgrade) appear to be via imbedded NTT DoCoMo i-Mode and allows wireless internet access, including e-mail. Since Japanese i-Mode and US m-Mode (AT&T product loosely based on i-Mode) are not compatable, I would say that this navigation system is completely useless in the US.

One of the features they mention is that it can find the route from any street in Tokyo to any street in Osaka in 6 seconds. Pretty cool. As an aside, 5 years ago, Japanese navigation systems were at a point where a taxi cab driver could enter my home phone number, and the system would automatically find the route to my house for him. Pretty darn cool if you ask me...

There is no mention of voice control that I see.

I lived in Japan for 10 years. They buy tricked out navigation systems like there's no tomorrow. But the demand is driven by need (and more love of electronic toys). I don't think the US will ever catch up. We have something better: ROAD SIGNS! :LOL:

HTH

 

Great review!!! Thanks.

11,000 us is kind of high. I just spoke with my dealer. He is going to find out if subaru plans to bring it here. He feels they will. Subaru is tring to go "high class" within the next 3-5 years. This system would run around 2500.00 here in the US. May be watered down...

 

Hahaha. Read again (sorry I wasn't clearer). $11,000 includes THE CAR that goes with the navigation system. (or the other way around if you want to look at it that way!)

This $11,000 figure for a Impreza is an unfortunate reminder that the WRX is built on a REALLY REALLY cheap econobox platform...

But don't count on Subaru "bringing it here." They will simply offer a navigation system built for the US market. I doubt it will be anything like what's available in Japan. There simply is not enough demand for fancy navigation systems on $20 - $30K cars. Lexus, maybe. Subaru, I doubt it. Just not worth the effort.

 

I, for one, am glad my car came without a radio and without a sunroof.

Sunroofs don't belong on track cars.