Buy a Scooby... or modify an Octavia 4x4?

[bluesmoke]

As above. I'm new to this site, but I've just almost decided I'm going to buy an Impreza but have just had a brainwave regarding a Skoda. To be honest I just wanted to find out if it was a good idea and how capable a car could be built with a remap, exhaust and coilovers, plus brakes and interior to be upgraded also...

[SnailUK]

To be honest, id go with a Suburu.

The 1.8T 4x4 isn't really a sports car. Its a fast comfy family car. The Suburu is in a different league. It starts a lot further ahead than a Octavia, and getting extra performance is a lot cheaper.

[mdk1]

Stuart J had a very nice 4x4 Octavia running about 300bhp.

That would be my choice.

[P13SST]

It depends what your after. If you want a loud aggressive sports car for weekend/track blasts then the choice is obvious.

[Auric Goldfinger]

which ones more nick able....

[bluesmoke]

Well I have a 45mile round trip on the motorway per day but also live near the penines and not that far from North Yorks if I'm so inclined so I want something involving to drive. With a haldex controller I'd probably run the car 70/30 rwd biased. I currently drive an E36 328i Sport.

[Babs]

The Scooby will be quicker for less money, but you will look like less of a pr*ck in the Octavia

[skinnyman]

The Subaru would be an instant fix and as SnailUK said, starts ahead of the Octavia in so many ways. However, if you fancy a project and want to be a bit different, then the Octavia could be a nice little task to take on.

I've been where you are, but practicalities such as fuel costs, insurance and joining the baseball cap brigade steered me toawrds the Skoda. I still look longingly at the Scoobies, but know I'd regret buying one as it just isn't as useful to me as the Octavia.

[PastyBoy]

think you've just missed one already modded but this thread gives a rough idea of what's possible with a 4x4 Octy.

A search'll probably bring up the original build thread

[simonsheil]

While the octavia will be moddable to the power, the handling will never be that of the scooby.

[phillyctr]

ive just come from a classic scooby running just under 300bhp to a octy vrs and to be honest the vrs is way ahead in terms of build quality and the space in the octy is massive compared to the subaru.also they are very very thirsty it was the main reason i got rid.i do miss the four wheel drive esp in wet.but more then happy with the octy.

[bluesmoke]

I've seen that, it's epic.

That comment above about the handling, is my main concern. Surely decent coilovers and ARBs could provide something very similar to the Scooby? Or do I have to accept that it just wouldn't ever happen?

[TorqueXIsXCheap]

As above. I'm new to this site, but I've just almost decided I'm going to buy an Impreza but have just had a brainwave regarding a Skoda. To be honest I just wanted to find out if it was a good idea and how capable a car could be built with a remap, exhaust and coilovers, plus brakes and interior to be upgraded also...

I wouldnt go for the subaru, far to common. And the octavia is way of the pace of a subaru. What about a golf r32? Quiet well priced. great engine, 4wd and no chav statis

[oilburninnut]

am i the only ex scoobie sti owner who doesn't rate the handling?in my opinion my type ra scoob was slow,loved to understeer and did about 200 miles to a tank on a good day and the build quality was shocking,or have i just owned sooo many cars which are streets ahaed of the scoobie in all areas that i don't hold an unbiased view of it?

[simonsheil]

am i the only ex scoobie sti owner who doesn't rate the handling?in my opinion my type ra scoob was slow,loved to understeer and did about 200 miles to a tank on a good day and the build quality was shocking,or have i just owned sooo many cars which are streets ahaed of the scoobie in all areas that i don't hold an unbiased view of it?

Well perhaps I am being slightly uniformed having only driven one and perhaps not thrashed it. All I will say is the handling of my evo is a million miles from the octavia. Springs and shocks, roll bars will only do so much and emphasise the lack of chasis stiffness.

[andypandypoos]

your standard(?) evo was shockingly quick around the tank track

[octimark]

I've seen that, it's epic.

That comment above about the handling, is my main concern. Surely decent coilovers and ARBs could provide something very similar to the Scooby? Or do I have to accept that it just wouldn't ever happen?

Come to one of the meets sometime (Yorkshire - Sheffield, Rother Valley 20th Sep or one of the mothly snipe meets nr Mansfield) and i'd be happy to discuss the pros & cons with you. Will take you out for a spin too but just for the record wont be doing anything daft as thats how you end up in trouble. You will get a good idea what you can achieve especially when you keep in mind mines an estate Having said that I dont have a problem with the handling. Wet or dry. I do want some better tyres but thats only because I thinks theres some room for improvment in the wet. Which we have had a lot of lately:eek:

Its true about shocks, springs and roll bars. If the chasis isnt up too much to start with you wont get the handling improvements you want to get.

[oilburninnut]

Well perhaps I am being slightly uniformed having only driven one and perhaps not thrashed it. All I will say is the handling of my evo is a million miles from the octavia. Springs and shocks, roll bars will only do so much and emphasise the lack of chasis stiffness.

the evo was a milion times better than the imprezza in the hands of the average driver,a proper car if i were in the market for a 4x4 performance car an evo would be the one,i sometimes wonder why i never owned one after all the great ones i've driven,a evo 6 would be my weopon of choice,i wasn't steering the op towards an octy btw just highlighting the scoobie isn't nesesarily the performance weopon its made out to be

[foureyes]

The Scooby will be quicker for less money, but you will look like less of a pr*ck in the Octavia

Debatable - depending on how tasteful the Octy mods end up being!

[ScoobyChris]

Well I have a 45mile round trip on the motorway per day but also live near the penines and not that far from North Yorks if I'm so inclined so I want something involving to drive. With a haldex controller I'd probably run the car 70/30 rwd biased. I currently drive an E36 328i Sport.

Imho, neither of those two cars will be involving to drive. The Scooby is very quick from A to B and is good fun but, like the Evo, relies on huge amounts of grip rather than having great balanced handling. It will make average drivers look fantastic Out of the box, the Octavia 4x4 is well behind and would require a fair budget to get it to similar levels. You also get a non-sporty interior. Anything's possible though with deep enough pockets

What sort of budget do you have?

Chris

[adman73]

As a current Impreza owner I would say the Impreza is a better starting point if your after outright performance. However as a few people have mentioned anything is possible with money. There are plenty of modified Octavia's out there that are faster and handle better than a standard Impreza.

As mentioned by others the Impreza does understeer a lot more than people think, given that you are coming from a BMW 328 you will be dissappointed with the handling balance. The grip is fantasic as standard but the handling balance is poor(my old Pug 306 was far better balanced)

Having driven several Octavia's (although not a 4x4) and as the current owner of a Fabia Vrs I would say that Skoda's definately feel better built (the doors shut with a proper clunk) and are more comfortable as an everyday car.

Having said all of that I've owned my Impreza for 7 years and love it. From A to B it's still as fast as most things and it has that Subaru noise. Unfortunatley it now has a poor image due to the chav generation (probably one of the reason I will get rid of mine).

If you like wearing your cap back to front get the Subaru!!

[corradoboy]

I had an 03 Subaru WRX Prodrive for 3 years, and although Subaru's feel poorly made, nothing ever breaks on them. I did almost all my own mods and everything was easy with just a basic tool kit. Conversely, whilst simply trying to fit an ARB on our Octy I managed to snap two bolts, round a third, and found that the links have a 16mm nut to one side, but are round with no flat shoulder to the other making them a pig to remove. Add to that the seat fabric separating, the seat height adjuster collapsing, the airbag light being permanently on, the fuel filter leaking, the rear wiper failing, the aeriel amplifier corroding resulting in poor reception, a rear window motor failing and the headlights being dimmer than an Ikea tea-light unless you upgrade to HID's (or fit £28 Philips Extreme bulbs) and so far Skoda's are like all my previous VAG cars, a big bag of hurt. My Fabia has had all four doors resprayed due to water penetration under the side-strips, the front console bushes, leaking rear doors and has creaking front top-mounts. Gimme back my Scooby any day.

My old car ran just 260bhp with the Prodrive Performance Pack, but I seriously mod'd the chassis and suspension with AST coilovers, Whiteline bars, links and alignment products, some bracing and a monster alignment set-up by a genius. Add to that Bridgestone's amazing (in the dry at least) RE070 tyres and I could corner at speeds many would consider insane on a public road, and the car would remain so composed and calm that my mother-in-law could have a snooze on the back seat oblivious to the rate of progress. Over Strines Moor, Ribblehead or Greenhow I could easily hit 150+, and go into bends which other cars would find dangerous at 70-80 at well over 130.

If I wanted another fun car right now, it would be a JDM Impreza STi, possibly Spec C, and I would fit BC coilovers and the same Whiteline stuff along with some power mods to realise 330-350bhp. To avoid many of the 'chav' criticisms, remove the rear wing, pink and gold tatt, and avoid any body-kits or visible 'statements' of performance. I would also consider a Litchfield Type 20 which would have that spec out of the box, but these command a premium.

Older 'classic' Scoobs are now so cheap that every council estate scrote can have one. Well, for a short while anyway, until the fuel, insurance and running costs outweigh their NMW/benefits. The 'new-age' bugeye/blobeye/hawkeye shapes carry more respect and are much better cars anyway, being more refined, faster and better built. If you want a performance car, buy a performance car, not a taxi with slightly increased power.

My dream Scooby.....

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/largepic.asp?i=1081029&noPics=3&make=SUBARU&model=STI&imgsrv=1&current=1

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/largepic.asp?i=1081029&noPics=3&make=SUBARU&model=STI&imgsrv=1&current=3

Edited 12 September, 2009 by corradoboy

[oggy]

I thought of selling my vRS & buying an impreza or an Evo, but TBH I didn't want the running costs that come with them ie tax, insurance, fuel & servicing.

My friend sold his civic typeR for an 04 Scooby STI & he sold It for yet another Civic typeR as he said the handling wasn't as good, was quite expensive on the juice & he got left for dead by a supercharged civic typeR.

So you can imagine what he has done to his civic:rolleyes:

[danroly]

The Scooby will be quicker for less money, but you will look like less of a pr*ck in the Octavia

:rofl: True true

[simonsheil]

Imho, neither of those two cars will be involving to drive. The Scooby is very quick from A to B and is good fun but, like the Evo, relies on huge amounts of grip rather than having great balanced handling. It will make average drivers look fantastic Out of the box, the Octavia 4x4 is well behind and would require a fair budget to get it to similar levels. You also get a non-sporty interior. Anything's possible though with deep enough pockets

What sort of budget do you have?

Chris

I would say the evo has inncrediblly balanced handling coupled with massive grip, however, I agree entirely that its not involving in general driving as you are going too slow. I actually had more fun in the octavia as you could find the limits during normal driving, that said I do find roundabouts preety damn fun now.