I`ve owned a black 1988 series 2 for 9 years now and it just keeps getting better. Every year they bring out faceless, soulless plastic cars and the RST just looks better. It`s so tuneable and 200 bhp is easily achievable on the series 2 as they were de-tuned from the factory for road use. All you need is a new fuel management chip (Ahmed Bayjoo chips are by far the best), a -31 actuator to increase the boost (series 2`s can easily handle 1 bar( or 15psi) unlike the fragile series 1 engines) and a decent exhaust and a high lift cam will see you with at least 180 bhp. This amount of power in a car that doesn`t weigh that much equals a lot of fun and some embarrassed Subaru/Evo drivers! Obviously you can go with more power but then it starts getting expensive. Front mount intercoolers cost a bit and hybrid/uprated turbos are expensive, but add them to the RS and you`re looking at about 200+ bhp. As I`ve stated before, I`ve had this car for 9 years and the respectful looks you get from both old and young people are unmatched in anything else. This is an enthusiast`s car for serious drivers. Treat them with respect and use decent oil and regular services and if you can ever bring yourself to sell it (I know mine`s not getting sold anytime soon!) it will at least give you what you paid for it, or more than likely more than what you paid. There`s also one more thing that I`d like to add. It`s nice to go for a drive and not see another RS Turbo on the road. There are far too many Subaru`s around and because they`re so common they are falling into the wrong hands. More often than not they`re being driven by inexperienced drivers or being bought by boy racers who like to add about 6 exhausts and 2 spoilers along with a lairy paint-job. I`d hate to see an RS Turbo treated like that, but thankfully as they are a bit more rare and harder to find, the people who buy them tend to be enthusiasts and not boy racers. I wouldn`t be without my RS Turbo. It`s a passion.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: You can burn off a Porsche 911, or load it up for a summer camping trip, either way a very useable car! Disadvantages: Some problems on some models are possible, eg Turbocharger can suffer from severe driving.
andy5000 15.07.2001 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Volvo 850
Dec 4th, 2007
very helpful by (33%):
helpful by (67%):
