Potential Impreza buyer - trunk space?

[jchristopher]

Hey folks,

 

Potential Subaru buyer here at the research stage. Just trying to narrow things down a bit.

 

I'm looking at the Impreza wagons and wondering about the trunk space. Any cyclists here? Ideally I'd like to be able to fold the seats down and put my mountain bike in the back, without removing the wheels.

 

Possible with the Impreza? Or do I need to look at something bigger like the Forester.

 

Thanks for any input.

[outback_97]

The Impreza has limited space in the back, I think you'd need to look at Forester, Legacy, or Baja if that's what you want to do. We have an Impreza and 1st gen Outback and while the OB can do what you're talking about (I have a pretty large framed mountain bike that's been in there), I can't imagine the TS handling it although I haven't tried.

 

I'm a big fan of roof racks though... that's what I would use.

 

There was a great thread on www.nasioc.com that compared the relative dimensions of the three (Impreza wagon, Forester, Outback)... I'll see if I can find that... and here it is: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=689844 . Plus on www.scoobymods.com there's a thread with dimensions in inches, but I think that was Forester vs. Outback and didn't address the Impreza, so it might not be as helpful.

 

Go down to the dealership and try it out, they should let you do this (unless you just got back from a muddy trail ).

 

Steve

[jchristopher]

Thanks for the info. Guess it's time for a roof rack (or maybe a hitch rack) if I go for the smaller wagon.

[robb1]

Hey folks,

 

Potential Subaru buyer here at the research stage. Just trying to narrow things down a bit.

 

I'm looking at the Impreza wagons and wondering about the trunk space. Any cyclists here? Ideally I'd like to be able to fold the seats down and put my mountain bike in the back, without removing the wheels.

 

Possible with the Impreza? Or do I need to look at something bigger like the Forester.

 

Thanks for any input.

I drive a Impreza Outback sport..love it i think id use the roof rack......

and save money with better gas mileage from the Impreza.

[JT95]

I've never even sat in an Impreza, so I have no personal experience with one. I do have a friend who drives a little Toyota and he does the lay-the-seat-down thing and hauls his bike around that way. However, he only does this with his road bike. I'm not for sure what kind of riding you do, but there are many times I would cringe if I had to stick my dirty/muddy/wet mountain bike inside my car. Most of the mud or debris would wind up in the trunk area, but you'd still get stuff on your rear passenger area. Bicycle grease from a chain or fork can be a real booger to try and get out of carpet and/or upholstry. I have hauled my road or clean mountain bike around inside my Legacy wagon a few times, but I ultimately end up scratching some piece of plastic with a pedal or skewer end. Not a big deal for me, but I would cringe at doing that to a brand new car.

 

Other than causing some cosmetic damage to your car, hauling a bike like that can sometimes be bad on the bike if you're not really particular on how you lay it in there. Nothing permenant, but it can get your rear derailleur or brakes out of adjustment.

 

The Outback Sport, IMHO, looks sportier than the Impreza sedan anyway. I think as an active outdoorsy person you'd appreciate the wagon. I recently got a Legacy wagon and I LOVE it. Subaru makes the perfect vehicles for people who are active in the outdoors. Personally, I'd buy a Baja if I were getting a brand new Subaru. Hauling bikes on bed bike racks is the best way to go--keeps the car-truck clean and protects the bikes. No worry of snagging low hanging branches as with roof racks or pulling into your garage without remembering to remove the bikes first. Trunk racks suck, but if you really wanted an Impreza sedan, I'd put a hitch receiver on it and buy a nice hitch rack so your car can be "normal" any other time.

 

I have a roof rack on my Legacy now. Other than a bed rack, I prefer hauling on the roof. A trunk rack will get your paint rubbed raw and/or scratched (from pedals). A friend of mine scratched and rubbed the heck out of her new Honda's trunk and bumper. I used to have an upright roof rack, which I really loved. (It was an X-Port from the Performance catalog if you want to go cheaper than Yakima or Thule.) My current roof rack is a fork mount. I originally thought it would annoy me, but now I actually like it better than an upright. The bikes just seem so much more secure and it lowers the ride height just a little. I put two wheel carriers on the rack, so fooling with the front wheels is no issue. Mine isn't a Yakima rack, but I bought their Subaru factory rack mounts off eBay for dirt cheap and used them to mount my new roof rack more securely to the factory crossbars.

 

I had mentioned in a post a few days ago that Subaru offers a pretty nice discount for IMBA members, if you aren't one already.

 

http://imba.com/tcc/subaru.html

[Gnuman]

 

I had mentioned in a post a few days ago that Subaru offers a pretty nice discount for IMBA members, if you aren't one already.

 

http://imba.com/tcc/subaru.html

ANd if you arn't an IMBA member, why not!?!?!? These groups are the forefront of the continuing battle to keep trails open so people can ride. They do a lot to improve the sport of Mountain Biking, and they need and deserve our support!

 

(Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now. . . Seven years as a Service Manager in a bike shop kinda gets in your blood, I guess. . .)

 

To make my post relevant to Subarus, I would also vote to the Baja and a bed mount for the bikes as the most secure way of getting your bikes to the trail (if there are none in riding distance, that is). Also, with a bed mount, there is less of a drag profile so you get a bit better milage getting to the trail. Stuffing your bike inside a wagon is an ugly fix (will tear up both the bike and the car) and also limits you in how many can go with you (only you and one other maybe, if you don't mind tearing up both bikes by stacking them on top of each other)

 

Dang, there's that soap box again. . . .

[jchristopher]

On the point about IMBA, I'm definitely behind that 100%. But I've read elsewhere that the "discount" ends up being worthless... no better than what you could do through carsdirect.com or your own negotiation skills. Anyone here actually gone through the whole process and bought a Subaru this way?

 

Of course, if IMBA gets some slice of the total purchase (do they?) it would be worth doing, even if there was no net savings to the buyer.