I never got the Subaru/mitsi thing, be it the text speak used to list the engine spec, or the compulsion to wear the blue jackets, or cover the front wings in suppliers decals or the rear in wings. So with all this hoo har about Scooby doos, thought i had best go out and drive one.

I wanted to hate it...no really i did, i wanted to hate it so that i would not hate myself, for spending ridiculous amounts of cash on adding lightness and N/A engineering into countless westfields. For the hundreds of blats where i arrived p1ss wet through due to no screen/roof or sense. For not having had a go years ago and for being stubborn. For laughing at all the people in matching jackets and hats and for giggling at the silly exhausts.

So recently a mate was looking for a fun car that the family could use, but was hell bent on 4wd due to the 15 flakes of snow we get a year and inevitably came to the impreza. He found a black WRX estate with the 2.5L engine and a Prodrive Performance pack fitted by Lichfield, all stamped and correct cherished but still driven by the owner. Deal done he has been like a dog with two dicks for the last few months.

So in return for his virgin Ferrari experience he was keen to show me the Scooby....or at least i think that is what the kids call them. Now i've experienced and owned a few cars with circa 300bhp before, but not with the torque and delivery this thing developed. I am sure this is a weak one in Scooby circles, but it was enough for me, quite literally eye popping for the first 5 mins. The speed was impressive, but it was the complete lack of drama and ability to shrug of ruts/cambers/wildlife that impressed the most. 

So my turn. OK i will admit to a bit of in trepidation now, my mate has set the bar and wants me to drive it for my opinion, not because i want to drive it. Yep the composure is just as impressive behind the controls, but the speed or rather the instantaneous speed is impressive. I don't remember accelerating as mealy arriving at a far faster speed seconds after prodding the on switch with my right foot, didn't really matter which of the cogs you used, i even tried it in reverse for a giggle, the result was the same. Big smile, big heart rate, big speed.

However it left me cold, not even a fait fizzing as James May would describe or even the raising of a single goose bump. For me at least it lacked any sense of occasion or drama as a car, not the driving (pilot) experience, but the ownership part. That is not to say that it is not a good car, it is, both outright and in terms of what my mate purchased it to do, perfect in fact. To be honest for the price paid it is a bit rude all be said and done, traveling and accelerating so fast used to mean strapping yourself to a rocket, but is now yours for the price of a decent family holiday.

So 10 mins changed my perception and cost him £25 in petrol. I still don't really get them nor want one, but i don't hate them, in fact i was pleasantly surprised and may have even been wrong.