What’s there to say about the B12 Sentra that hasn’t already been? It was what all Sentras have been.
And the Outback Sport? It never really occurred to me, but it’s just the predecessor to the Crosstrek. Both Imprezas with some off-road cues. The difference was that these Outback Sports were rather uncommon, unlike the Crosstrek.
Got more?
“this generation was built in Mexico as the Tsuru all the way until 2017,”
You’re thinking of the following B13 fwiw.
This one looks really sharp on larger 14 inch steelies with OE hubcaps off a B14 Sentra GXE!
Doh! Of course. Text amended.
I agree. Those larger hubcabs do make it look kinda sporty. Crazy how much a slightly larger factory wheel from a later generation will give a car a totally different vibe.
I’m seeing more and more old cars with larger-than-stock wheels (I mean for primarily non-cosmetic reasons) like replacing 13-inchers with 14s, and I think what’s driving this trend is the lack of availability of decent replacement tires in small sizes. I’m starting to feel this even with even with the 15″ steelies on my ’07 VW – they currently have higher-end Michelin Primacys on them, but they’ve since been discontinued, and the best new “touring”-type tires aren’t being made in high-profile 15 inch sizes anymore. I may upgrade to 16″ wheels (probably can source OEM alloys from a junkyard) just to be able to get better tires.
The Impreza-based Outback Sport was not actually jacked-up, unlike the Legacy-based Outbacks. It was merely a trim package. I researched them for a while before settling on our Forester, which was effectively the true Impreza Outback, with a roomier package … and except in LL Bean trim, no two-tone paint.
The 2008-11 Outback Sport (the first generation with framed side windows) did have standard 17-inch wheels (and a standard roof rack), whereas plain Imprezas of that era had 16″ wheels. So, to that minor extent, the car was raised.
I’m batting 000 with this post.
It could have been a SAAB 9-2x, huh?
Sad.
Subaru looks like a relative of the Gravel Express which was a lifted WRX Imprezza, Sentras which ever badge they wear are pretty much bullet proof rust will take them out eventually not much else will chain driven camshaft is a plus against the Corolla they ne
ver seem to need changing one 97 I had briefly just had oil changes and batteries and tyres from day one it ran great @356,000kms.And still goes Ive seen it.
My mother owned a ’98 Impreza Outback Sport similar to this one — it replaced her Mazda 323GTX, which was sort of a hard car to replace, but she found the Subaru rather dull, and only kept it for two or three years. I’d driven it several times, and I agreed with her assessment… it looked like it should be fun & enjoyable, but I didn’t find it so at all.
#IMO: This generation Sentra always came in a distant, dull fourth place behind Toyota, Honda and Mazda.
I bought a new red ’98 Outback Sport 5-speed in May ’99. The dealer said that people did not want the manual transmission, so I got a deal. It was my daily driver for 13 years and we kept it another 5 years. It was the most reliable car I have ever owned. For the first 10 years there was only regular service and brakes. After that I did have to replace the ignition, clutch and one exhaust pipe. Unfortunately, just a couple of months after I got it, a large branch came off a neighbour’s tree and landed on it. There was no major damage, but there were small dents from front to back, which resulted in most of the car being repainted, and required removal of the windshield and rear window. It all looked great at the time, but about 10 years later rust showed up along the sides and top of the windshield. This is not usually a problem for this body, so I think it was caused by improperly reinstalling the windshield. It would have been very tricky to repair the rust, so for a few years I used black duct tape to stop the roof from leaking, but after 18 years when I had some cooling system problems, it tipped the scales and it went to the wreckers. It had over 275,000 km and the heads had never been off. I was sorry to to see it go. It was fun to drive, and with the right tires amazing and unstoppable in snow (I was living in Toronto). Because it was a manual, it had a viscous central diff, which meant that in deep snow even someone as unskilled as me could do a 4-wheel drift. Lots of fun as long as there is no one else around. I replaced it with a Crosstrek which was even better in the snow, but not at all tossable. Very practical but not as much fun.