For fuel consumption it is easy to get 600 miles out of a tank of diesel in the VRS than 300 miles out of a tank of v power in the STI. In fact it has only managed 300 miles once. It normally does between 200 to 270 miles were as the VRS is an auto estate which will do between 550 and 650 to a tank. I love both cars but the VRS is easy to drive and has neutral handling were as you have to drive the STI and is much more rewarding and has much more traction but the power to still make it slide.

270 MILES to a tank is the most i could get out of mine,but i didn't mind though.Owning a car like an impreza isn't cheap to run,but it was an effing blast everytime i drove it,snow was an excuse to go out in it.

How big was the tank on an Imprezza ?

How big was the tank on an Imprezza ?

Mine was about a 50 ltr tank.

Think the Classics had a 45 litre tank, I miss the sure footed feeling, nice burble sound it just felt so safe, nothing was to much trouble for it, except MPG, it was gastly. I do like my VRS but in a different way. Mind you once rolling I think my Octy would give an Impreza a run for its money.

I have a set of 16" Audi Rims 5x112 that will fit the Octavia, £100 if that helps! They've got Michelin tyres at the moment but I was intending to put a set of winters on them myself...

It's obviously up to you anyway but that's probably the cheapest option for you, you could always get a set of hub adapters but they'll be over £100 anyway...

I might be interested but I need them by Friday morning as I have now ordered some new tyres that arrive at my local ATS shortly and I have a fitting appointment on Friday lunchtime. As it happens I am going to be at a meeting in Heathrow on Thursday lunchtime so perhaps we could meet somewhere? Are your wheels alloys and do they look OK? Otherwise I guess I will need to fork out £300+ for some new ones...

Thanks

Andrew

Hi AndrewB W8 performance are in Kent and are an authorised Shark tuner using the sts system. They have a 2.0 TFSI estate with a Shark map on which I'm sure they will be happy to take you out for a run.

I've seen a local company called Angel Tuning (I think they actually have local fitting centres but are based elsewhere) who say they can remap the 2.0TSFI to give an extra 45BHP (+55lb ft of torque) under their basic remap service, without new hardware. They are mobile so come to your home or office if you want. The normal price for this is £275 but they have a Christmas gift voucher offer on at the moment where you can pay £25 for £100 credit so if you buy one of those for yourself then the price for the remap comes down to £200, which is cheap as chips if it's any good.

At the other end of the spectrum my Skoda dealer recommended a very posh outfit in Thurrock called AMD Tuning who will do a stage 1 remap for £500 and claim +60 BHP (+78 lb ft). They do a before and after rolling road test. You have to visit the premises - obviously.

I can't quite work out the Shark Performance prices but it looks like £450 for the basic stage 1 plus £150 if you want their STS handset gizmo, and they are claiming +40BHP. Quite pricey.

Then there is the Superchips Blue Fin gadget which is offering +41 BHP at a cost of £395 (less a 20% discount if you order before the end of the year).

Decisions decisions? And how much will my insurer sting me?

Lots of choice. In this world you pay for what you get ! Shark have an excellent name and as stated before W8 are on your doorstep and will travel to you to perform re-map and also let you have a test drive in their Octy Vrs.

Also shark are doing a Christmas discount offer on all re-maps.

Oops. Forgot to say that I bought my "new" vRS on Friday and I'm very impressed so far. It's a lot of car for the money - even though I probably overpaid a bit for the comfort of getting a dealer warranty. I paid £9.5k for an 07 plate petrol estate with 18,000 miles on the clock. Options include maxidot, 18 inch alloys, front and rear sensors, sunroof, auto-dim mirror, aux in socket(?), auto wipers. I saw some lovely 2011 bargains with DSG, Xenons etc but didn't have £15k to spend. Here's a bad cellphone photo:

Compared to the Prodrive Scooby it's obviously a lot more refined and quiet and solid feeling. Impressive space inside for growing kids and growing dog. A bit of understeer in the corners but not too bad, although it doesn't inspire the same desire to go around roundabouts 2 or 3 times just to feel the cornering ability, which the Scooby does. Having said that I haven't pushed the vRS to its limits yet so perhaps I am being unfair. It also doesn't feel as if it will do the 4 wheel slide thing as well as an impreza but I could be wrong. Actual acceleration is pretty impressive and it is quicker than you think because its refinement (compared to the Scooby) means that you don't realise how fast you are going. Also it doesn't have that sudden turbo shove in the back of the scooby - but I quite like the refinement of a smooth power delivery. I would like a little more torque in the 2.5k to 4k range though, so perhaps a remap would be in order...

I only seem to be getting about 27 mpg at the moment but perhaps I am doing too many short runs and being a bit unsubtle with the right foot!

Thanks to everyone for their comments and advice.

Andrew

Spot on that one Andrew and super low miles. Hope we shall see you at some Kent meets in the future ?

Hi Andrew. I have sent you a pm

Hi Andrew. I have sent you a pm

Sent you one back (I think!). I think I live about 3 miles away from you...

Andrew

Forgot to mention in my Scooby vs vRS comparison that the brakes on the vRS are WAAAAY better than those on the Scooby ever were. That's only a small compliment since the Scoobys were notorious for having poor brakes as standard. But I do like the reassurance of those on the Skoda.

The best value for money mods you can do are, as you already mentioned, a remap from the likes of Revo or Shark and stiffer rear anti roll bar. Really stiffens up the rear of the car and improves the feeling in the corners no end.

nice car with good spec and low miles.as its 4 year old before you get it mapped it will need its cam belts etc changing so I would check the service history and if they have not been done get stuck into the garage that sold you the car as its 60k or 4 years what ever comes first.What I have noticed since I got my vrs is that after the first few weeks of ownership I now dont fell the need as much to drive like a nutter to enjoy it.I used to have a hond and dont think i could last longer then 10 mins before hitting the v-tec and driving like i had just nicked it.the skoda is a much more grown up family car that will shift when you want it to but does so much more,enjoy her

Edited 13 December, 201114 yr by 2WSR55PB

nice car with good spec and low miles.as its 4 year old before you get it mapped it will need its cam belts etc changing so I would check the service history and if they have not been done get stuck into the garage that sold you the car as its 60k or 4 years what ever comes first.What I have noticed since I got my vrs is that after the first few weeks of ownership I now dont fell the need as much to drive like a nutter to enjoy it.I used to have a hond and dont think i could last longer then 10 mins before hitting the v-tec and driving like i had just nicked it.the skoda is a much more grown up family car that will shift when you want it to but does so much more,enjoy her

Thanks for the advice. Fortunately I had read about the 4 year cam belt change on Parkers so I insisted they do that (and a MOT) before they sold it to me. It doesn't need servicing till next June or July under the fixed annual intervals. They also offered me a service plan that looked like OK value (about £700 for 3 services) but I wasn't sure whether to take them up on that.

Lights!

The other thing I noticed when I drove at night over the weekend was that the lights, especially on dim, were really clear and especially wide in their coverage, picking out the hedges along the country lanes near my house. Then I noticed that when they are turned on they make a little upward movement all by themselves. And there is no facility in the car to adjust the tilt of the lights (just a dial for adjusting the brightness of the dial lights), which I thought was weird. Then I read a thread on here about Xenons and realised that I might have bought a car with Xenons without knowing it! So I went outside to the car, turned on the lights, opened the window and standing outside the car by the drivers door I reached in and pulled on the windscreen wash control - and got sprayed by some headlamp washers that mysteriously appeared out of the front bumper in James Bond fashion!!

So it looks as if I have some free Xenons in my spec

So it just gets better lol !

Thanks for the advice. Fortunately I had read about the 4 year cam belt change on Parkers so I insisted they do that (and a MOT) before they sold it to me. It doesn't need servicing till next June or July under the fixed annual intervals. They also offered me a service plan that looked like OK value (about £700 for 3 services) but I wasn't sure whether to take them up on that.

Dont think that £700 is that good of a deal for 3 services,think only the cam belt service is a big bill,I would say no.see what other members think as this could well be wronge,have only had the car a few months prob not the best one for advice then.

One thing about the Xenons is that although dipped beam is REALLY good and bright white, the main beam is yellowy and nothing special. Is that because it's just an ordinary halogen light for main beam with the OEM Xenons? I've never owned a car with Xenons before so I don't know what is normal.

One thing about the Xenons is that although dipped beam is REALLY good and bright white, the main beam is yellowy and nothing special. Is that because it's just an ordinary halogen light for main beam with the OEM Xenons? I've never owned a car with Xenons before so I don't know what is normal.

Pre face lift are dipped xenon only I think?

Fl too.

By the way, if anyone would like to give a good home to my old Scooby, it's on Pistonheads here: Impreza Turbo Prodrive (1999)

I have seen that driving about. I noticed the number plate on the bonnet. Hope it goes to a good home

I have seen that driving about. I noticed the number plate on the bonnet. Hope it goes to a good home

Thanks. I had a serious buyer within an hour. He's coming around on Friday morning to inspect and (I hope) pay.

Still interested in trying your Sharked estate and getting mine done. Let me know when you are around. Daytimes are easier for me at the moment because I seem to have endless kids' Xmas events and other parties in the evenings.

Andrew