First post on here. I’m a Brit living in Japan, and until a few weeks ago, drove a 2003 JDM Forester Cross Sports (2 litre EJ20 turbo) which I loved but got fed up with the very competent but boring automatic gearbox. After flirting with but failing to find a decent Forester STi within my budget, I decided to go in another direction and bought a 2005 JDM Impreza Sports Wagon WRX instead. Manual (of course) and in world rally blue, it's a 2-owner car with 111K km (69K miles) on the clock. It’s fairly stock with just an STi/Genome rear box but it’s noticeably sportier/lower/lighter and with that exhaust, louder than the Forester. Although they share the same engine, the 5-speed manual brings it alive. Not that the Forester was slow, but the WRX feels so much faster. That gorgeous exhaust note no doubt helps but three weeks in and I’m still driving with a permanent smile on my face! I’m going to keep it fairly standard, at least for the moment, though have already bought a turbo timer and am thinking about an air/oil separator, both for reliability/longevity reasons. Have added a few pics of the new arrival. 😎

Wotcha and welcome - some great backdrops there. feel free to get stuck in, all  friendly on here 🙂

Thanks man! I'm not planning on any big mods (famous last words) but will definitely post up some pics and progress as I go. I also have a ton of questions about this, that and the other, but will wade my way through the forums before starting any new threads that repeat what's already here. Thanks again!