Subaru Impreza 1.5T - test drive

Subaru last week launched the latest Impreza, a hot hatch and a departure from the saloon design we are so used to.
I got 2 colleagues driving subarus, one a legacy and one a Impreza. The road holding prowess of subaru is amazing, no doubt due to its AWD and boxer engine. (Boxer engine is flatter in design, compared to the V's watsoever and single line engines, thus its lower center of gravity enables the car to take corners faster.)
My colleague (with the legacy) is very tempted to test drive the new impreza, jus to find out its performance. I a bit butt itchy decide to join him (and his son, whom he has to babysit) today after work to the Subaru showroom at Toa Payoh.
He test drive the Tribeca first. Wah, i am very impressed by the size and comfort of the SUV, stable and can take corners fast (but must tahan the body roll). But all these come at a price, heavy bodywork and 3 litre engine will add up to horrible fuel consumption.
My turn to test drive the Impreza. Must make sure its the auto version, how to get a feel of the car when i keep dying the engine in manual mah. The startup is impressive, the speedo and intruments needles swing in tandem to greet me when the key is turned.
The impression of the driver seat is its more cosy than the one i am used to (ie Mit Lancer). But the steering wheel is set very much lower, majiam like drive toy car like tat. Moving off the block is slow but once i depress pedal a bit more, the power came on and i can overtake cars with ease (some vios and vans, nothing spectacular). I cannot get used to the signal stalk on the left, i accidentally flick on the wipers when i want to filter right.
Overall impression of the Impreza? Not bad. The sales guy claimed that FC is now improved to 12Km/l (13 on paper) due to the double overhead cams and VVT. No idea how to in-coporate VVT onto boxer engines but doesn't matter. Cosy interior and readily available power, especially when i switched to Tiptronics mode. And at $61k+, this is an absolute bargain.

But just too bad. I have not reach a stage when i desperately need to buy a car to satisfy my ego. So while i feel shiok after the test drive, i feel a tingle of guiltiness for wasting the SE's time and petrol. This is the only way that a poor chap like me can do to have a feeling of how some cars perform because i simply cannot understand by reading Torque, Motoring alone.

Should i continue to do this time-wasting (for the SE) and ego-fulfilling activity?

F.I.R - 月牙湾

F.I.R - 月牙湾

敦煌天空的沙粒
带着我们的记忆
我从半路看回去
这秦关漫漫好蜿踞

@梦想穿过了西域
包含了多少的巉屹
埃及像一本游记
我会找寻它的密语

#看 月牙弯下的泪光
在丝路之上被遗忘

*是谁的心啊~
孤单地留下
他还好吗
我多想爱他
那永恒的泪
凝固的一句话
也许可能蒸发

^是谁的爱呀~
用泪水坚强
今生呼唤
就让我融化
那一滴雨水
演化成我翅膀
向着我爱的人
追吧

9 Seconds

Today is the 8th session of my RT phase 1. Its the dreaded IPPT session.

Never like IPPT becos i suck at it. Standing Board Jump (SBJ) and 2.4k run were my killers. Today, it was a little more inspiring becos i have one friend with me to take the test, won't be so lonely.

Shuttle run was first, an easy 9.8sec for a 5 points. Never a problem for me.

Then the hated SBJ. My friend went b4 me and he got a 221 on first attempt. Thats a 3 points and good enuff but he tried again and got a 234 for a 4 points. Damn.
My turn, i got a 216. Not good enuff, i needed a 221 at least for pass. Second attempt and dunnoe wat got into me, i jus leapt off without thinking and got a 230 for a personal best. Weird, for me, SBJ is never a trainable item, depends more on luck.
Sit-up is next, getting a 40 is tough but manageable. With a tight stomach, going for the last static station chin-ups is shag. I squeezed out my milk-drinking strength to get 9 sets for a 4 points. So far so good, 18 points liao.

Yucks, i really hated this part. And now given that i have passed all those static stations, i desperately needed to pass the run, to clock 12min maximum (blame it on my vocation). I can still remember my timings for the 6 rounds.
Round1: 1:47
Round2: 3:56
Round3: 6:04
Round4: 8:09
Round5: 10:16
Last: 12:09

So thats how you get the title of this post.