Just drove a Subaru WRX STI!

[Eddd]

Ooh, a Golf in drag. And topless at that!

 

[Carlouk]

In the mid 80s my uncle had an RS500 in black and my dad had an RS in moonstone blue, they were the b****cks at the time. Re Imprezas, my bros mate has a 22B, absolutley awesome!!!

 

[TAG]

The only real Impreza to have

http://www.wingersubaru.co.nz/media/about/winger_rally_car.jpg

Still love my 2001 WRX in mica blue. Ugly as sin but who gives a toss.

 

[RobFenn]

Quote: Originally posted by Darren555 on 01 May 2003


My reasons for hating them are, their the fecking most ugly car in the world, they have no character and theyre too easy to drive



My girlfriends dad is a Scooby dealer so I get to drive them quite regularly. I agree looks are entirely subjective but to say a scooby has no character is way off the mark. That engine noise is fantastic & if you get an STi or a P1 with a blue printed engine they rev freely up to 8000 rpm giving you that Honda VTech experience but with massive low down torque.

The only downside to them as far as I am concerned is that they are such accomplished road cars that you have to go at seriously licence threatening speeds to get a buzz & feel like you are pushing the car. A blast down a B road in my Clio may not be as fast point to point but it is more enjoyable & rewarding I feel.

Darren





Sorry but my defintion of character is not an engine note. A car has to have something about it. This usually is linked to italian or french cars. The germans and japanese are too clinical, theres no heart and soul, they have geeky "we must build the best car ever" point of view. But at least the germans know how to build a car which is handsome inside and out, something the subarus dont even have.

Anyway i dont mind the classic looking impreza, and they sound nice too but theyre still driven by pussies who think they can drive. I did actually say it was the new ones which had lost the noise ..

-Rob

 

[172Cup]

Guys et Gals,

I am currently on my 6th Impreza and having been involved with making Scoobysport a brand name wrt after market components etc over the past 6 years, I feel that I pretty much know everything there is to know about Imprezas and heres my unbiased view, its unbiased as ive got 4 other cars and love them all for what they are.

An Impreza Turbo is a great car that can flatter many a driver because it is so capable. For the price, the ability far outweighs most peer motors in the same price bracket, although many fwd cars like Clios and CTRs are getting up there. However as an all rounder, I think they are unbeatable. Put most cars up against an Impreza in the wet and itll leave them for dead and in safety!

For me their ugliness is their coolness. They are driven by people who have bought into the ethos of the cars ability for the price and that looks are not everything. If anyone remembers an Alfa SZ, youll know what I mean, beauty in ugliuness.

An Impreza is also very tuneable, not just from a power delivery perspective, but from a handling and safety perspective. I agree with Ben R that they understeer like dogs in standard form. This is due to the inherent nature of AWD and the standard set up that subaru employ. Why??? Like most manufacturers, they are selling cars that will be bought by many spectrums of users with differing abilities. They have to cater for the bad driver!!! But these problems can be sorted easily. We developed a LEDA suspension a few years ago that dials out the understeer along with geometry changes. We developed braking systems that are stunning and engine upgrades that make a fully loaded car unbeatable that can be tuned to meet the driving style and abilities of each user.

But yes they are sometimes too capable. I am currently running about 310 bhp and mapped to deliver power and torque when you need it and will tame a P1, but they sometimes become a little boring as you need to do stupid speeds to be on the ragged edge and if something goes wrong, you better make sure you are a cat with a few lives left. With the Cup I can have a great amount of fun and you really need to drive hard and be capable to get the best out of it and you are not generally running at stupid speeds. So day to day, I will choose the Cup at the moment over the Impreza,,,,,,,

,,,,,,but will I ever get rid the Clio?? Probably. Will I ever not have an Impreza?? No, as I will always have one.

I would personally advocate an Impreza to anyone. They definitely have something about them. There is a culture built around them. Will they be passe one day?? Sure every dog has its day, but they will always been seen as a classic.

172CUP

 

[Eric 16v]

Scoobys are like clits...Every c**t has one!

I think they are awesome cars, but unfortunately so does the rest of the world.

I would rather have something exotic and unusual than the same car as everyone else.

 

[Eric 16v]

A cossie would be more like it.

Talk about interesting to drive, I remember following one and watching him trying to put the power down in the wet, instant sideways mode! Very entertaining.



They are just a bit too much of an animal for me, I want a car that has stupid power when you want it but when its raining and Im tired after a hard day at work or when Im on a long motorway journey I want something that is nice to drive and controlled.



Then I cant comment cos the 300ZX in the dry is a pussycat. But its an animal in the wet and requires high concentration levels and a adultsize nappy.

 

[viceroy]

I had the option of getting a 98 WRX with about 260BHP at the wheels for 1000 squid less than I paid for my 01 172.

Still sometimes think Ive made a mistake, but then again Im a fan of small cars so maybe the clio is more for me

 

[RobFenn]

Thanks for the input 172Cup.

-Rob

 

[007]

I actually always liked the look of the early Scoobs before I knew what they were - back K & L reg when I was 15/16. I dont like the new ones at all - the front is now a lot nicer than the FUGLY was but the back is still rank. Only my opinion of course

 

[BenR]

Quote: Originally posted by 172Cup on 02 May 2003


Put most cars up against an Impreza in the wet and itll leave them for dead and in safety!

hehehe, does that include me up the inside coming OUT of a corner at a wet combe?

UNDEERSTEER!!! yes, of course AWD and a heavy front and a compramise in manufacture lead towards it, but a with anycar, throw wenough cash at it, and it can be a totally different beast!

I used to like them, but now.....well, the noise sounds like a high revving tractor (its missing 2 cylinders froma porsche! lol) and well........the looks of the new ones....ergh, old ones were acceptable.

Just rather spend my money on something else, once you spend all that cash getting up up to spec, for the same dosh, you could have a admittedly less compramising and daily car, but one that will blow a scoob into the weeds. Namely, a Caterham R superlight.............now theres a car thats ugly, yes beautiful, has character, a cult following, an ethos, and is jsut untouchable.

I got a vid of a race between scoobs, evos, RX7s, skylines and a 1.7 kent crossflow (130bhp) caterham 7.......and wathing the se7en come up the field from the back is pure bliss!!!!

 

[RobFenn]

Even though i cant drive them properly id have to get the R500, it has the best power to weight of any production car out the mo. Oh, and its not ugly!

-Rob

 

[Turkish]

Quote: Originally posted by BenR on 02 May 2003

Quote: Originally posted by 172Cup on 02 May 2003


Put most cars up against an Impreza in the wet and itll leave them for dead and in safety!

hehehe, does that include me up the inside coming OUT of a corner at a wet combe?

and that was with my chunky ass in the passenger seat slowing the clio down some more too

im sure ben annoyed that guy in the scooby that day, and it was NOT the pathetic 215bhp uk version it was a 280/300 bhp effort so made it even more impressive

 

[forest172]

I change my 172 mk1 for the STI8, havent had the PPP on it but Im chuffed to bits with it. I thought about having the WRX but you dont get all the goodies.

Only problem with it is the MPG 20 seems to be may average to date with 3000 miles on it.

 

[BenR]

*SNIGGER*......twas fun....

Rob, agree....they aint ugly.....but just saying you can apply the same thing thing about any car...lol

R500 it has to be.......stormers......although i dont like the service intervals! hahaha

 

[RobFenn]

Yeah thats the VHPD for you. It costs something like £30k as well doesnt it? Bit much for a cardboard box on wheels. The R300 is the better to drive to be fair but you cant mess with the 550bhp per ton or whatever it is of the R500.

-Rob

 

[BenR]

or the noise!!!!!!

*spoooge*

 

[black-cat]

Not to sure about Subarus or Mitsis any more; theyve gotten like BMWs recently ---- theyre bloody everywhere.

However..

A guy near me used to have a P! and was changing it for an M5. He changed his mind and bought a new STI from scoobysport. Total cost 40K due to 13k worth of mods, 380bhp apparently. Nice car but the bloody dork has plastered it in the 555 rally livery.