As much as i love my octy, ive over the last few months ive had an "itch" for something more....lets say, agressive.

Now ive spotted and viewed a lovely impreza WRX STi Prodrive and im debating weather or not to take the plunge although im struggling to part with my octy, reason being its been such a damn good car to me over this last year and has been trouble free. She returns 40mpg on a steady cruise and is comfy.

Now, upon viewing this rather tidy and standard impreza, i got in and fell in love straight away. With me only being 23 im still at "that age". Obviously i know the impreza will struggle to reach near 30mpg but my freind had one a few years back and it was so much fun to be in.

Do i stick with the octy or do i say farewell

Edited 11 December, 201114 yr by Liam-6

Depends on your mileage I guess.

I'm sick of paying for 20mpg in the RX-8, hence why I'm selling it in favour of something cheaper to run daily. If you can afford it - go for it! I just begrudge paying the extra on fuel when the Polo offers as much fun, with twice the MPG!

Speed and fun aren't always in direct relation to each other.

• They are good cars, but depreceation is HUGE

I probably do around 120 - 150 miles a week if that mixed driving. :no:

every one has to feed the scooby ich at somepoint in there life but at 23 i think not lol

i also think you will be dissapointed especially if a uk model

jap spec cars in classic shape are great fun to drive and have 280bhp but need to be mapped to run uk fuel ( not cheap ) running costs are big unless you have a scooby breakers near you !!!

also the gearboxes are shocking and engines need to be looked after big time

mpg will be low 20 and if you boot it can do a tank of fuel in 150 miles

If insurance is ok, then go for it

If insurance is ok, then go for it

Octavia FC all mods declared: £700, Impreza: £2300 :S , one of the reasons im being put off.

I probably do around 120 - 150 miles a week if that mixed driving. :no:

Okay I'm bored at the moment so :S

At the mileage and economies you quote you will be doing approx 7000 miles a year (at least). Based on 40 mpg for the Octy and 30 for the WRX (best cases). The Octy will require 796 ltrs and the WRX 1059 ltrs.

With a current fuel price of £1.30 per ltr (again best case as this isn't going to go down over the year). The Octy will cost £1035 in fuel and the WRX £1377 so overall the WRX will cost at least £342 more based on best case fuel alone. However I am sure that the price of fuel will go up, you are likely to do more miles than you think and something big may break (on either car).

What I don't know is what the difference in road tax, insurance or parts/servicing will add up to (my guess is more though). took too long to type and just spotted your insurance quote, frankly not really suprised given your age and the nature of the beast

That said, I tested an Impreza many moons ago when I was young free and single and it was phenominal compared to the 205 GTI I had at the time, as I remember the salesman kept going on and on about how fast it was and the handling but just not to speed as there were many cameras and police about so couldn't really push it on the speed but as I remember the acceleration was absurd! I just couldn't justify the cost of the car, insurance or running so stuck with what I had.

Edited 11 December, 201114 yr by gjlb

I used to work for a Subaru dealer. Having driven the WRX, the WRX with prodrive performance pack, STi and Japanese STi I would say that for the best raw power with a decent level of comfort and stuff would be a special edition STi WR1. 320bhp as standard...and buckets of fun!

A Japanese import can be spotted by the rear wiper which is not present on uk cars.

If your looking at the newer shape hatch, I wouldn't bother..my best mate had one for about 8 months. 30mpg, decent service costs but not as nice to drive as the previous saloons and just not right!

The Octy won't do 40mpg haha!

I've always quiet liked impreza's but i do drive my cars quiet hard at times and i knew if i got a impreza i would end up breaking it and it would cost me a fortune to fix, at least with the vrs its cheaper to fix

I'm 29 now so insurance isn't as much of a problem but i wouldn't pay 2300 quid to insure a car

I wouldn't pay it either, but it's nice to have the choice!

The Impreza can take a lot of punishment!

Have a drive of it. If you like it and can afford it go for it. Only live once ect...

The Octy won't do 40mpg haha!

The scoob won't get 30mpg!

Liam-6, I have just sold an Impreza and got an Octavia, I will not try to say which is better thats your choice. Mine was an un-modified UK Turbo and granted not as quick as a JDM, but you are only talking tenths of a second to 60mph, over the quarter half a bonnet. Yes they run 280bhp mine ran 239bhp and was quick, have the 4 wheel alignment done on Eibachs and it will turn like no other can, but tyres suffer. 20mpg - 25mpg will be average, press the loud pedal and it will be less 15mpg, you will never drive it like a Grandad because every other driver wants to say I raced an Impreza, you will have someone driving close to your rear, I will show him. If you can afford it go for it, mine ran perfect for me never a problem in 10 years, I do 12 miles a day to work no running around and it cost me £20/£25 everyweek. Just something to think about.

Now I've got a family, the days of even considering an Impreza have gone. It was always on my list as one to own, as is an Evo VIII and many other inappropriately fast cars. If you can afford it even for one year, then do it. You can always go back to an Octavia, there's plenty about. I regret not doing it when we both worked and had a surplus of money.

I spent mine on Capris and keeping them on the road, putting performance exhausts on and going sideways. I suppose I was having too much fun with the old skool Fords to get the Impreza. It's still on my 'to do' list.

As much as i love my octy, ive over the last few months ive had an "itch" for something more....lets say, agressive.

Now ive spotted and viewed a lovely impreza WRX STi Prodrive and im debating weather or not to take the plunge although im struggling to part with my octy, reason being its been such a damn good car to me over this last year and has been trouble free. She returns 40mpg on a steady cruise and is comfy.

Now, upon viewing this rather tidy and standard impreza, i got in and fell in love straight away. With me only being 23 im still at "that age". Obviously i know the impreza will struggle to reach near 30mpg but my freind had one a few years back and it was so much fun to be in.

Do i stick with the octy or do i say farewell

Best to do an experience day and see if that gets it out of your system.

http://www.billgwynne.com/res_web_voucher.asp?supplierCode=BGW100&action=spec&voucherId=6&activityId=&reselectItem=0

An STi driven anywhere near briskly, let alone fast will drink fuel. Also, they're a bit "old school" in the power delivery. It's all 3K-6K+ RPM. Plus they're distinctively noisy. Very hard to make quiet, efficient progress in one. They look fast even when parked and usually have "easy to remove" appendages. They atract a lot of attention, not always the sort you want.

Best of the bunch would be a Jap Spec C or a Litchfield T25. Both have a broader, more linear power delivery but not quite the same exhaust note as the usual Impreza. More like a very big sports bike than a pumped up VW Beetle 1303 etc...

J.

Liam-6,

i'm also 23yrs old.

why an Impreza? whats your budget? are you single? are you a chav(tatooed and pierced up)?

Impreza have an image, have shocking fuel economy and every single Boyracer with a little Saxo/Corsa will overtake you and try to race you.

If you are truly willingly to pay £2300 for insurance then i think there are a few others cars that will offer you MUCH MORE fun. 4wd cars are only fun to a point unless you really know how to push them.

If practicality isn't an issue then i would seriously suggest a Porsche Boxtser S(0-60 5.7 secs, 26mpg, 260bhp)

OR a Nissan 350Z(0-60 5.5secs, 24mpg, 300-320bhp and MASSIVE TORQUE)

both cars yes are two seaters, but will be equally as fast(in the right hands) and more fun due to the rear wheel drive nature of the cars. both will ultimately get better fuel economy. and in the Porsche's case it is much less likely to depricate.

Again if you are happy with 20-25mpg figures then an AMG CLK can be had for 5-6k, (367bhp, 0-60 5.2secs and a awesome engine note).

Yes Impreza's are fast, but there are some many better quality and more classy cars out there.

Oh and if you spend just a little time over on the Imnpreza owners club website you get a good idea of the demographic of owners, most are iliterate baboons that talk with there fists and even though only 23yrs old have 4 kids from 5 different women, and will send you death threats if you question their maths or their ability to count.

I've driven a few Imprezas and I was never that impressed with the acceleration, the road holding is very but they aren't as frighteningly fast as everyone makes out.

Plus they are uncomfortable and loud to be in for any long journeys. As sonner said above AMG CLK or even C-Class would offer great performance. I don't know about your budget but the E46 M3 is getting to a point now where it is a bit of a performance bargain, just avoid the SMG ones.

I was thinking E46 M3 but they are 10-12k for a decent one(lots of dogs around)

i assumed if Liam was looking at Pordive Impreza's, that he would be paying between 6-9k depending on age.

The M3 is a very fast saloon, people often think the CLK 55's aren't as good.

but at least the CLK 55 has brakes that work, an engine note to die for(although the M3 is a right screamer) and stupid amounts of equipment.

neither will lose to a Impreza, neither will look as tacky either.

if you had a few grand spare in the bank for a rainy day then a CL 55 AMG is pure class, they look amazing!!! cost over £120,000 new and can be had for unker 10k nowadays. or for a more refined ride the CL 600(see top gear) is also an option. (parts on these cars ARE pricey though.)

James is right though, Impreza's aren't all that. James is also my friend and hopefully will send me an Email the moment the 0% VAT offer comes back on for fabia vRS models.

thanks James.

I've always had an itch for a scooby probably just to say I've had one and add it to my list of cars

Had talked myself out of it but saw one for sale at White post the other day and it's got me thinking again

Also found myself looking at Mazda 3 mps's aswell...

And to the previous comment about being tattooed and pierced (which I am!) what's that got to do with what you want to drive?..Do you class everyone who has these as chavs? Bit narrow minded and insulting don't you think?

Hi Si-340T,

yes it is a little narrow minded and insulting, but i have very poor experiences of Impreza drivers.

1)first one i ran over after he took a spade out of his boot and started smashing the front of my car in.

the next day he was out of hospital and in his Friends Scooby(i had broken his ankle) and they saw me, after a chase through town, jumping red lights etc etc i finally managed to get my 65bhp corsa to a police station, i had phoned ahead as he and his mate both where waving around around carpet knives whilst chasing me. there where about 15 police outside waiting for me i drove straight into the police car park.

And EVEN though he was on CCTV and in front of 15 officers he still swung for me a few times before the officers got him to the ground.(his mate the driver remained in his car)

obviously the polcie wanted to interview everyone. i showed them the damaged to my car and admitted deliberately driving over him, he apparently had a few broken ribs and a broken ankle. and had his croutches in the back on his mates car.

The police let slip he had previous jail time and convictions. i explained why i run him over and even though he wanted to press charges they let me go and said next time i should try reversing away instead.

I should add that BOTH IMPREZA's, his and his mates, sported Impreza owners club stickers.

2) My mum 52yr old size 8 women with no tatooes or piercing had a run in with an Impreza owner, after a small mistake at the lights(she stalled) the impreza driver beeped her and started driving close behind her, he kept swerving out to check for overtaking oppotunities. eventually(in a residential 30mph zone) he managed to overtake my mum, however it was poorly judged and my mum had to break hard to let him in and he scrapped the front of her car. she flashed him and put her hazards on and went to pull over but he clearly had no intention of stopping.(my bestfriend and I who where following 2 cars behind my mum saw this) i made the judgement call, mainly out of rage and protectiveness of my mother, i quickly overtook the 2 cars and my mum and the Scooby(it was a 40mph limit road now) i then spotted a traffic island in the middle of the road and decided to stop abruptly just after it, so that he was boxed in. my friend and i both went to get out of my car(neither of us the aggressive types) but before we even had our belts off the guy and his rather skanky looking girlfriend where over at my mums car screaming abuse.(my mums car was parked close behind his as to block him in.

as i got out of my car he thumped his fist down on my mums bonnet and put a large dent in it. my mum was shaking and in tears. this guys clearly wasn't going to be talked to. i called the police, but before they arrived he had managed to ram my mums car back and fit out the gap. i recorded the scene on my phone and showed the police, there where a good few witness. i would have tried to intervene but believe me it would have just turned into a fight that i would have probably lost. he attended court a few weeks later, and despite the video evidence and witness statements, he got 6 points and community service for the criminal damage, should have been a ban, a fine and prison!

His car sported the imfamous Impreza owners club sunstrip.

Every person involved in both incidents who where in the subaru's had tatooes and piercing, hence my nrrow minded judgement and general distrust of Scooby owners

Edited 12 December, 201114 yr by Sonner

I've seen plenty of bad drivers with owners club stickers that we see every day

But yes, the Scoobarooo does tend to attract the tight v-neck t-shirt and white trousers and a small beanie even in the summer sort of driver

I wouldn't let that put me off. I've got a Scooby itch (as have most true petrol heads) that I'll scratch one day...

@sonner

I understand where your coming from and that is bad...BUT please don't tar us all with that same brush

I'd like to think I'm a nice kinda guy

I don't find it's the tattoo/piercing brigade round our way, it's more the folk that buy t shirts that are obviously way to small and would fit my 9 year old that think there clever. Non drive subaru's tho

There are LOAD of cars with stereotype drivers, doesnt mean I wouldnt get one, but it`d have to be a better car than a scooby I`d rather an Evo, i`m sure there is people who would rather something else, its all down to personal choice, tough question for one of us to answer for you tbh