7 months on...
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From: Surrey
7 months on...
7 months since I part exchanged the S for the Scooby (2006 STi, standard).
For those that don't know I sold the S for the following reasons:
* never felt all that happy/comfortable in it after a big accident 2 years ago (rear ended at lights)
* got fed up with all the crappy workmanship and warranty claims my car had (all 4 new wheels, new roof, new rear bumper, new front suspension) in its 9 months
* got fed up with the dealers never fixing anything
* some of the impracticality was causing me some problem; boot space occasionally, noise on the motorway, visibility etc.
The S was my only car and did about 15-20k miles/annum including long drives and trips to the airport etc.
I took the STi out for a test drive and just fell in love. I bought it 2nd hand from Bulldog in Twyford and negotiated a free first service (it had done 3k miles in 6 months, and ha dalready had its 1k mile oil change).
Thoughts after 7 months:
Pro's:
* People move out your way on motorways
* Far fewer creaks and rattles than the S has; so far there's one in the passenger footwell somewhere (I think I might've found it yesterday)
* Bulldog are a great dealer; I think because Subaru is a "minority" brand, you don't get so much of that big dealer mentality. Bulldog do Subaru and Isuzu and have just branched into Triumph bikes (!?) and the service guys are always happy for a chat about cars. They're friendly (e.g. the other day they dropped me at the station and picked me up after a last minute change of plans when she had a service) and genuine enthusiasts about the car. Last week I was having a chat about wrapping the exhaust manifold on the Caterham, or what tyres to put on the Scooby, rather than the Honda dealer who often didn't seem to know one end of the car from the other.
* Space - obviously! I can now get my mtn bike inside it (if i take both wheels off) and my week-sized suitcase for work trips etc.
* Ground clearance - didn't occur to me, but now when I'm stuck in traffic james I can do a 3pt turn up the kerbs if I have to, or drive over grassy banks etc. to get off the road (has happened more times than I thought would!)
* Grin factor - a very personal thing but I love it still - no other car I've had (S included) gives me quite the same smile
* Puddle sploshing - lots of fun in the winter
The grown up version of puddle jumping !
* The car is just over a year old and so far only 1 warranty claim (the glass in the rear view mirror has come loose for some reason)
* No pressure to put the roof down. Sounds stupid, but on the way to work / meeting etc. I didn't want to put the roof down due to arriving all wind battered, but I always felt I "had" to, or I was defeating the point of a convertible.
Con's
* My God its a big car when it comes to cleaning it !!!!!
* You are majorly paranoid for the first few weeks about people breaking into the house and nicking it
* Tracker is fairly expensive and debatably useless
* Insurance is more than the S (at least my current insurers wouldn't cover the car as its a higher insurance group, and the new insurers were 300 quid more expensive)
* Fuel consumption is lower; if I fill up on the empty light it's about 48litres (I believe its a 60 litre tank). That does me about 250 miles doing 70 on the motorway without much acceleration/braking, or 220 combined, or less if you're pushing it the whole time.
* When the tyres go it'll need all 4 (they're about half worn at the moment and the car's on 10.5k miles)
* No convertible
I miss this more than I thought I would
* Chavs trying to road race you on the motorway, at roundabouts etc.
Neutrals?
* Handling - an interesting one. We all know it's going to handle differently to the S. The Scooby has this centre diff (DCCD) which I haven't really figured out yet so I leave it in Auto, but sure the steering is a lot numb-er. However, having been out driving with a couple of people I've learnt that it does actually feed a lot back through the wheel, its just you have to change what you're listening to. The handling is a little odd, and I actually find it an awful lot harder to drive than the S. It is quite sensitive to the amount of throttle, so it's easy to over-steer (not oversteer, but do too much steering). I find that the minutest change in your right foot can really force it to turn in quickly which can catch you out if you're not expecting it. Of course you can throw it around and it will look after itself, but I never accidentally slid the S on the road, whereas I have accidentally slid this. I suppose the difference is when I slid the Scoob we recovered quite easily, if it had been the S I don't know what would have happened (although when I did the same thing in the 7 it was also easily recovered so who knows). It's drive-by-wire throttle too, so the pedal is really light, which is a bit weird, and first gear is incredibly short.
It's a bit tricky to drive smoothly off from standstill and i've found the easiest thing (especially in traffic) is to do throttle-less starts. Either that or sometimes start in 2nd.
* Looks & Presence - I think the S is a beautiful car. I also think the Scooby is a beautiful car.... yep its also quite agricultural and functional, and a bit silly looking with the huge spoiler, but I think that makes it lovely
I love the way things are functional on the car and there's no pretense to make it something it isn't.
So all in all I'm happy I changed it, and after 7 months I'm not yet feeling the itch to change the car, so hopefully this one will last a bit !!!
Although
For those that don't know I sold the S for the following reasons:
* never felt all that happy/comfortable in it after a big accident 2 years ago (rear ended at lights)
* got fed up with all the crappy workmanship and warranty claims my car had (all 4 new wheels, new roof, new rear bumper, new front suspension) in its 9 months
* got fed up with the dealers never fixing anything
* some of the impracticality was causing me some problem; boot space occasionally, noise on the motorway, visibility etc.
The S was my only car and did about 15-20k miles/annum including long drives and trips to the airport etc.
I took the STi out for a test drive and just fell in love. I bought it 2nd hand from Bulldog in Twyford and negotiated a free first service (it had done 3k miles in 6 months, and ha dalready had its 1k mile oil change).
Thoughts after 7 months:
Pro's:
* People move out your way on motorways
* Far fewer creaks and rattles than the S has; so far there's one in the passenger footwell somewhere (I think I might've found it yesterday)
* Bulldog are a great dealer; I think because Subaru is a "minority" brand, you don't get so much of that big dealer mentality. Bulldog do Subaru and Isuzu and have just branched into Triumph bikes (!?) and the service guys are always happy for a chat about cars. They're friendly (e.g. the other day they dropped me at the station and picked me up after a last minute change of plans when she had a service) and genuine enthusiasts about the car. Last week I was having a chat about wrapping the exhaust manifold on the Caterham, or what tyres to put on the Scooby, rather than the Honda dealer who often didn't seem to know one end of the car from the other.
* Space - obviously! I can now get my mtn bike inside it (if i take both wheels off) and my week-sized suitcase for work trips etc.
* Ground clearance - didn't occur to me, but now when I'm stuck in traffic james I can do a 3pt turn up the kerbs if I have to, or drive over grassy banks etc. to get off the road (has happened more times than I thought would!)
* Grin factor - a very personal thing but I love it still - no other car I've had (S included) gives me quite the same smile
* Puddle sploshing - lots of fun in the winter
The grown up version of puddle jumping !* The car is just over a year old and so far only 1 warranty claim (the glass in the rear view mirror has come loose for some reason)
* No pressure to put the roof down. Sounds stupid, but on the way to work / meeting etc. I didn't want to put the roof down due to arriving all wind battered, but I always felt I "had" to, or I was defeating the point of a convertible.
Con's
* My God its a big car when it comes to cleaning it !!!!!
* You are majorly paranoid for the first few weeks about people breaking into the house and nicking it
* Tracker is fairly expensive and debatably useless
* Insurance is more than the S (at least my current insurers wouldn't cover the car as its a higher insurance group, and the new insurers were 300 quid more expensive)
* Fuel consumption is lower; if I fill up on the empty light it's about 48litres (I believe its a 60 litre tank). That does me about 250 miles doing 70 on the motorway without much acceleration/braking, or 220 combined, or less if you're pushing it the whole time.
* When the tyres go it'll need all 4 (they're about half worn at the moment and the car's on 10.5k miles)
* No convertible
I miss this more than I thought I would* Chavs trying to road race you on the motorway, at roundabouts etc.
Neutrals?
* Handling - an interesting one. We all know it's going to handle differently to the S. The Scooby has this centre diff (DCCD) which I haven't really figured out yet so I leave it in Auto, but sure the steering is a lot numb-er. However, having been out driving with a couple of people I've learnt that it does actually feed a lot back through the wheel, its just you have to change what you're listening to. The handling is a little odd, and I actually find it an awful lot harder to drive than the S. It is quite sensitive to the amount of throttle, so it's easy to over-steer (not oversteer, but do too much steering). I find that the minutest change in your right foot can really force it to turn in quickly which can catch you out if you're not expecting it. Of course you can throw it around and it will look after itself, but I never accidentally slid the S on the road, whereas I have accidentally slid this. I suppose the difference is when I slid the Scoob we recovered quite easily, if it had been the S I don't know what would have happened (although when I did the same thing in the 7 it was also easily recovered so who knows). It's drive-by-wire throttle too, so the pedal is really light, which is a bit weird, and first gear is incredibly short.
It's a bit tricky to drive smoothly off from standstill and i've found the easiest thing (especially in traffic) is to do throttle-less starts. Either that or sometimes start in 2nd.
* Looks & Presence - I think the S is a beautiful car. I also think the Scooby is a beautiful car.... yep its also quite agricultural and functional, and a bit silly looking with the huge spoiler, but I think that makes it lovely
I love the way things are functional on the car and there's no pretense to make it something it isn't.
So all in all I'm happy I changed it, and after 7 months I'm not yet feeling the itch to change the car, so hopefully this one will last a bit !!!
Although
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From: North Yorks
Originally Posted by dreamer,May 24 2007, 07:37 AM
I never accidentally slid the S on the road, whereas I have accidentally slid this. I suppose the difference is when I slid the Scoob we recovered quite easily, if it had been the S I don't know what would have happened (although when I did the same thing in the 7 it was also easily recovered so who knows).
Do you think the reason you slid this car was that it inspires more confidence than the S did so you pushed it further on the road than you might have in the S?
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From: Edinburgh
I can't comment on the hawkeye STI's as I've never driven one but I much prefered my S2000 to my current STI 5. The STI is a one trick pony - it goes like hell but that's about all it brings to the party. It doesn't look as good as an S2000, it's practicality is matched by many other cars (albeit slower OR more expensive), its mega thirsty and it's handling isn't fun - just 'effective'. Don't get me wrong - the scooby its a great car but you never escape the fact that its a saloon car that's been made to go fast. It's not a sports car!
After a hard blast I leave it laughing and smiling at some of the stupid things it could do through the bends but its always the things that are wrong with it that stick in my mind. I find myself thinking, "that was quick....but if the brakes were better it would have been quicker" or "that was fun, but I can't believe I've just blown
After a hard blast I leave it laughing and smiling at some of the stupid things it could do through the bends but its always the things that are wrong with it that stick in my mind. I find myself thinking, "that was quick....but if the brakes were better it would have been quicker" or "that was fun, but I can't believe I've just blown
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From: Nottingham
Great write up Jo!
Glad you still love the Scoob... I still get jealous when I see the pics... but I am not sure if the MPG and lack of roof down driving would have been good for me.
I think it's an awesome car and I really do think that you have got the last of the best Scoobs. The new one looks terrible, and they are not even going to do a WRX version (there will be an STI in mid 08).
Love the pic in the forest
Glad you still love the Scoob... I still get jealous when I see the pics... but I am not sure if the MPG and lack of roof down driving would have been good for me.
I think it's an awesome car and I really do think that you have got the last of the best Scoobs. The new one looks terrible, and they are not even going to do a WRX version (there will be an STI in mid 08).
Love the pic in the forest
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From: On a street corner
Originally Posted by MarkB,May 24 2007, 08:08 AM
Good write up Jo.
Do you think the reason you slid this car was that it inspires more confidence than the S did so you pushed it further on the road than you might have in the S?
Do you think the reason you slid this car was that it inspires more confidence than the S did so you pushed it further on the road than you might have in the S?
