Subaru R1

Have owned this car for around 6 months now and I am glad to say that I do love it! The berry-pink colour draws out the sleek curves of this 3-door beauty and the interior styling is fantastic. This little wonder has drawn stares from many people on the roads. It is definitely a great, tiny car to love! Great dark grey + reddish tint plastic is used inside here, and the semi-bucket seats with good smooth upholstery are really comfortable. The mark of a very well-made car. Engine response is a little laggy on the lower 1-2500rpm range, but once you hit around 50km/hr and/or 3000rpm onwards, this car drives smooth and swift. Handling is wonderful, the powerful power-steering makes it a breeze to drive. Very stable at speeds of 110km/hr (my husband likes to push it a little sometimes) and I have outran many bigger cars on the highways. Although the car is a little pricier than other small cars, but it has really good 5-star JNCAP crash ratings, on top of ABS and twin airbags, so it makes this tiny car a really safe drive, as compared to the other small cars which usually has neither. It's the peace of mind and the security that you are paying for here. Fuel consumption is fantastic (full tank on 95 is usually under $40). I have consistently achieved 17km/l despite being a rather heavy-footed driver. Boot space is sufficient if you don't have to ferry passengers around all the time, as you can easily fold the back seat down flat to attain a considerable boot size. I have stored large suitcases with no problems. The hidden sub-trunk keeps a small water can, emergency triangle, shoes and other knick knacks to keep in the car! Backseat seats 2 (with seatbelts!), but the inconvenience of them climbing in through the front passenger seat is something to consider. I have driven 4 persons (including me) in this tiny car and although it seems to respond slower, it still climbs up-slopes rather fine. All in all, it's a very good car, for a lady, a new driver and for those who want to say... "I can afford it, and I know what I am getting - a good, small car."... Read More

I still regret selling this car! Fuel consumption was good - about 17 to 19 km to the litre on a mix of expressways and town roads. It was really easy to drive too - and park, especially. Pick up was slow, but it was ok once it got up to speed - it is possible to break expressway speed limits in this 660cc car and handling is steady at speed. Still, overtaking was an effort, though going up ramps was fine. You need to tank up often, though. It is comfy on the inside, with lots of nice touches like a cavity for a laptop on the back of the front passenger seat and a deep insulated bin at the back for high-heeled shoes or food, preventing the cabin from stinking up. Backseat space is very tight even for 2 small adults. Tuning the very nicely built in radio is a bit tricky as mine was a JDM model. The frequencies are a bit skewed. It was also a real attention magnet - everyone loved it! People would stop and ask about it and everyone I knew loved how it looked. It is at its most adorable in red, by the way. The dashboard panel is in metallic red to match the car's exterior and the red and black seats were a nice touch. But this is no budget car. It really is overpriced now - it's about $10,000 more than a Kia Picanto (which also has a bigger engine and manual shift and more space). For the extra money you get a prettier car - sort of like an iPod over a plain vanilla MP3 player. And for a little more, you could get a normal sized family sedan. The R1 is really for someone who wants something a little different, has a little attitude - well, all those intangible things that make us willing to pay more for something. It's more practical than a Copen, but nowhere near an R2 or a Picanto. An even pricier 660cc car option is the Mitsubishi i which has a lot more space - and turbo. So why would anyone want to pay prices comparable to normal sized cars besides the cool factor? Well, rising fuel prices are a pretty good reason. Lower taxes and insurance. Environmental conscience, perhaps. But ultimately, I think, it is about how it looks and how it fits your lifestyle - reasonable for any car choice. So if you need discreet space for your heels, a laptop next to you, and a chic car to complement your image and passengers are not an issue most of the time - this is a nice car to own. If only Motorimage would just bring in the AWD supercharged version!... Read More