Come ride the Gravel Express!

Just when I thought I was coming to terms with the fact that Japan got all the cool cars and we didn't, this Subaru had to show up in my life and ruin it all again. I spotted this car at the recent ColoRetro car show, a show dedicated to 80’s and 90’s era cars much like the famous RADWood series of shows that happen in other parts of the country. Since it was the first year of this show, and probably because the Colorado Concours D'elegance was also happening the same weekend, attendance was a little low. What it lacked in numbers though it made up for in quality of cars. Well maybe quality isn’t the right term since a lot of these cars were kinda rough around the edges when they rolled off the factory floor, but it certainly hit that nostalgic funny bone for people of a certain age. Old people, I mean old people, a.k.a. Me, I’m old now.

It amazes me that there are still cars out there that I never knew existed from this era, but here was one sitting in front of me. Now let's get one thing out of the way, none of this is aftermarket tacked on crap. No this was a factory car and it's official name is indeed the Subaru Impreza Gravel Express. Now I will admit that the name alone is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in my choice to obsess over this car. And it is a choice, I can stop anytime I want

While modern crossovers market themselves as cars for outdoorsy active people, they almost always fail to deliver on that. The Gravel Express on the other hand is truly ready for some backwoods adventuring.

The Gravel Express may look like a USDM Outback Sport, and that's because it kinda is. Both cars were made in the same assembly plant in Gunma, Japan, both cars are 5 door wagons, and both cars have lifted ride height. That is about where the similarities end though. For whatever reason Subaru decided that America would only get the watered down version and the JDM version would get all sorts of extra goodies. Obviously you have that awesome brush guard and tire carrier combo on the exterior, with “Gravel Express” branding on the side. The interior is fairly basic but with blue zebra printed seats giving just the right amount of RAD.

The other big difference between the Gravel Express and Outback sport lies under the scooped hood. While it's easy to dismiss that hood scoop since the USDM Outback Sports also had a one, but on the Gravel Express the hood scoop isn’t just for show. Hiding under that hood is the same 240hp EJ20 found in the first gen WRX. In fact the whole drivetrain is WRX sans the automatic transmission this one is equipped with. That is a whole lot more power than the measly 165hp America got. Japan does know America has large open roads and loves horsepower right? Sometimes I think they just never got the memo.

The Japanese have truly mastered the english language.

So while my envy of the JDM car scene is alive and well again, at least we have not gotten to the point that the 25 year import rule has caught up to all the awesome cars I pined for as a kid. Now time to start stalking the JDM auction sites and hopefully I can snag a Gravel Express for myself.