Scooby 3 years old
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From: Surrey
Scooby 3 years old
You couldn't have failed to notice I chopped in my second S2000 2.5 years ago for a Subaru. It was 3 years old yesterday so it's time to reflect and I thought I'd share it (in case anybody was interested!)
It's a 2006 Impreza STi - 280bhp according to the manufacturer specs, and about the same torque in lb/ft. It's a 2.5 turbo (the first of the 2.5's) and a 6 speed box. It's now done 34k miles in 3 years which is above average - unbelievably people treat these cars like weekend toys
My thoughts.....
Dealer
I bought the car from a dealer, and the same dealer has done all the servicing and warranty work (Bulldog in Twyford). Having owned Honda's and Audi's over the last few years it's been a refreshing change. They are always friendly, they are knowledgeable, they look after the car well, they don't try to fob me off and try to sell me brake pads etc. when I don't need them, and they are genuinely enthusiastic. They've fitted sump guards and other bits and pieces when I have been unable to, and have just done the MOT. When you phone and ask a question they have a sensible answer and don't just quote the book at you. They also know who I am when I call
I can't fault them in any way shape or form.
Reliability
As you'd expect from Subaru the car hasn't missed a beat engine-wise; It doesn't really use any oil (I have topped it up once or twice in 2.5 years), and nothing has gone weird under the bonnet.
There have been one or two warranty niggles:
* rear suspension - something in the rear suspension went fairly early on. It's a known fault - one of the bushes or mounts or something. SYmptom was a weird clunking noise, and it sort of "sat down" when you came to a halt. Sorted under warranty with no quibbles.
* wheels corroding - the wheels have just started to bubble up and corrode. Photo's have been taken and are being sent back to Subaru so I don't know how that's going to work out at the moment - hopefully they won't give me any hassle! It's not a common problem on the Impreza apparently (usually Legacy wheels!)
* squeaky clutch - something is rubbing somewhere and it's done it on/off since I got the car. It now requires the intercooler to come off for someone to investigate further which is a shame, but it doesn't happen often enough for me to be too worried.
Overall I've been really impressed - not even any squeaks and rattles to speak of from those hard Japanese plastics.
Costs
Fuel is a biggie - approx 240 miles per 50L fillup, depending what sort of driving you're doing. I have seen >300 miles when sitting on the motorway, and I've seen much less when hooning around.
Servicing hasn't been too bad (every 10k miles), and the only problem at the MOT was the number plate bulb (50p!)
Insurance is another nasty one - more expensive than the S to insure unfortunately, and a Tracker with its yearly subscription is more or less mandatory if you want to insure it.
The only other costs have been my own mods; mud flaps, sump guard, rear diff guard, an exhaust, and a front wing (don't ask!) Oh, and I had to the have the a/c disinfected as it smelt damp - it still smells a bit damp!
The brakes are now due for replacement - the front pads have lasted 34k miles (which is very unusual I'm told) and the rears have got another couple of k left but really need doing. The dealer pads and discs are very expensive, so I'm looking at after market.
Depreciation... well let's not go there !! It cost me about 22k at 3 months old (I think they were about 25k list new?), and I would estimate it's worth about 14-16k now on a good day with a following wind. It's much like the S I suppose - if there's a buyer out there looking for that car then it's worth money, but there aren't as many buyers for them.
Day-to-day liveability
Very much a matter of personal taste really. Yes you get admired by the less-desirables (I gave a kid a lift to the end of the road recently because he was really enthusiastic about the car - he told me "I'm gonna have one of these one day, even if I've got to nick one"!!!!!!!). However you also get genuine interest in the car from lots of different types of people.
I haven't been randomly stopped by the police (once stopped for going a bit quick), I don't seem to get traffic light grand prix's (perhaps because I'm a girl), and the barry-boys tend to leave it alone - it seems to get a bit of "respekt".
It's got a big usable boot, my niggle is that the rear seats don't fold down, which is a bit of a pain.
It's very comfortable - I have a dodgy back and it's really good for that, even the physio was quite impressed with the seating position when she had a look around it.
It's a bit noisy, but that's only because I've changed the exhaust - the standard ones are like pussy cats, and the power delivery can be a little tiresome - nothing-nothing-whoosh turbo, although changing the exhaust has evened that out quite a lot.
Filling up with petrol gets tedious on long trips, and it really doesn't like BP Ultimate.
It always feels special when you drive it - if you forget what you're in you only have to look forwards to see the bonnet scoop, or backwards to see the spoiler, and you remember... or better still put the right foot down
It's a very versatile car - surprisingly so. It's come on rally stages with us (including the Wales Rally GB in December), it's been round and round the mountain circuit at Millbrook without brake fade and given us loads of grins over jumps, it's done the work commute to customers in Manchester a few times, and even has ISOFIX (something to do with child seats). It grips the road like you wouldn't believe (not even Don Palmer could slide it on a wet handling pan at Millbrook with severe lift off, turn in then jab the throttle), but if it lets go it'll do so in a BIG way !
Driveability
Controversially I find this a difficult car to drive. It's easy enough to get from A to B, but to drive it well is hard. It can understeer a little, and I haven't had oversteer problems, but to set it up well for a corner nicely isn't as easy as you think it should be! I actually found the S easier - at least you know it's RWD and what it's characteristics are, but the clever centre-diff on the Scoob confuses me a little!
When you get it right though it blows you away. You can see how people wrap them around trees - the speed is deceptive.
Quality and Toys
Well it's a Subaru so don't expect too much, but actually again I've been impressed. The seats still look brand new - there are a couple of scuffs on the interior but nothin too major. The plastics haven't started falling off or rattling and it still looks good inside - not as cheap looking as previous cars I think.
No real toys - electric windows..... a/c of sorts.... that's about it, but you're paying for the car not the add-ons. TomTom fits in the glovebox, and although auto-dim rear view mirror would be nice it's not exactly essential.
The main issue I find is the exterior paint - it's a black car and it swirls as soon as you look at it
I've had someone spent nearly 2 days trying to de-swirl it (a well known professional) and they couldnt' sort it out properly.
Conclusion
Lots of fun, not cheap, very rewarding, sometimes a pain in the bum, but still I'm not bored of it and that's unusual for me!
They're fairly rare still (no, not Subarus they're everywhere, but this iteration), which is nice. I see more Ferrari's than I do "Hawkeye STi's"!!
It's a 2006 Impreza STi - 280bhp according to the manufacturer specs, and about the same torque in lb/ft. It's a 2.5 turbo (the first of the 2.5's) and a 6 speed box. It's now done 34k miles in 3 years which is above average - unbelievably people treat these cars like weekend toys
My thoughts.....
Dealer
I bought the car from a dealer, and the same dealer has done all the servicing and warranty work (Bulldog in Twyford). Having owned Honda's and Audi's over the last few years it's been a refreshing change. They are always friendly, they are knowledgeable, they look after the car well, they don't try to fob me off and try to sell me brake pads etc. when I don't need them, and they are genuinely enthusiastic. They've fitted sump guards and other bits and pieces when I have been unable to, and have just done the MOT. When you phone and ask a question they have a sensible answer and don't just quote the book at you. They also know who I am when I call
I can't fault them in any way shape or form.
Reliability
As you'd expect from Subaru the car hasn't missed a beat engine-wise; It doesn't really use any oil (I have topped it up once or twice in 2.5 years), and nothing has gone weird under the bonnet.
There have been one or two warranty niggles:
* rear suspension - something in the rear suspension went fairly early on. It's a known fault - one of the bushes or mounts or something. SYmptom was a weird clunking noise, and it sort of "sat down" when you came to a halt. Sorted under warranty with no quibbles.
* wheels corroding - the wheels have just started to bubble up and corrode. Photo's have been taken and are being sent back to Subaru so I don't know how that's going to work out at the moment - hopefully they won't give me any hassle! It's not a common problem on the Impreza apparently (usually Legacy wheels!)
* squeaky clutch - something is rubbing somewhere and it's done it on/off since I got the car. It now requires the intercooler to come off for someone to investigate further which is a shame, but it doesn't happen often enough for me to be too worried.
Overall I've been really impressed - not even any squeaks and rattles to speak of from those hard Japanese plastics.
Costs
Fuel is a biggie - approx 240 miles per 50L fillup, depending what sort of driving you're doing. I have seen >300 miles when sitting on the motorway, and I've seen much less when hooning around.
Servicing hasn't been too bad (every 10k miles), and the only problem at the MOT was the number plate bulb (50p!)
Insurance is another nasty one - more expensive than the S to insure unfortunately, and a Tracker with its yearly subscription is more or less mandatory if you want to insure it.
The only other costs have been my own mods; mud flaps, sump guard, rear diff guard, an exhaust, and a front wing (don't ask!) Oh, and I had to the have the a/c disinfected as it smelt damp - it still smells a bit damp!
The brakes are now due for replacement - the front pads have lasted 34k miles (which is very unusual I'm told) and the rears have got another couple of k left but really need doing. The dealer pads and discs are very expensive, so I'm looking at after market.
Depreciation... well let's not go there !! It cost me about 22k at 3 months old (I think they were about 25k list new?), and I would estimate it's worth about 14-16k now on a good day with a following wind. It's much like the S I suppose - if there's a buyer out there looking for that car then it's worth money, but there aren't as many buyers for them.
Day-to-day liveability
Very much a matter of personal taste really. Yes you get admired by the less-desirables (I gave a kid a lift to the end of the road recently because he was really enthusiastic about the car - he told me "I'm gonna have one of these one day, even if I've got to nick one"!!!!!!!). However you also get genuine interest in the car from lots of different types of people.
I haven't been randomly stopped by the police (once stopped for going a bit quick), I don't seem to get traffic light grand prix's (perhaps because I'm a girl), and the barry-boys tend to leave it alone - it seems to get a bit of "respekt".
It's got a big usable boot, my niggle is that the rear seats don't fold down, which is a bit of a pain.
It's very comfortable - I have a dodgy back and it's really good for that, even the physio was quite impressed with the seating position when she had a look around it.
It's a bit noisy, but that's only because I've changed the exhaust - the standard ones are like pussy cats, and the power delivery can be a little tiresome - nothing-nothing-whoosh turbo, although changing the exhaust has evened that out quite a lot.
Filling up with petrol gets tedious on long trips, and it really doesn't like BP Ultimate.
It always feels special when you drive it - if you forget what you're in you only have to look forwards to see the bonnet scoop, or backwards to see the spoiler, and you remember... or better still put the right foot down
It's a very versatile car - surprisingly so. It's come on rally stages with us (including the Wales Rally GB in December), it's been round and round the mountain circuit at Millbrook without brake fade and given us loads of grins over jumps, it's done the work commute to customers in Manchester a few times, and even has ISOFIX (something to do with child seats). It grips the road like you wouldn't believe (not even Don Palmer could slide it on a wet handling pan at Millbrook with severe lift off, turn in then jab the throttle), but if it lets go it'll do so in a BIG way !
Driveability
Controversially I find this a difficult car to drive. It's easy enough to get from A to B, but to drive it well is hard. It can understeer a little, and I haven't had oversteer problems, but to set it up well for a corner nicely isn't as easy as you think it should be! I actually found the S easier - at least you know it's RWD and what it's characteristics are, but the clever centre-diff on the Scoob confuses me a little!
When you get it right though it blows you away. You can see how people wrap them around trees - the speed is deceptive.
Quality and Toys
Well it's a Subaru so don't expect too much, but actually again I've been impressed. The seats still look brand new - there are a couple of scuffs on the interior but nothin too major. The plastics haven't started falling off or rattling and it still looks good inside - not as cheap looking as previous cars I think.
No real toys - electric windows..... a/c of sorts.... that's about it, but you're paying for the car not the add-ons. TomTom fits in the glovebox, and although auto-dim rear view mirror would be nice it's not exactly essential.
The main issue I find is the exterior paint - it's a black car and it swirls as soon as you look at it
I've had someone spent nearly 2 days trying to de-swirl it (a well known professional) and they couldnt' sort it out properly.Conclusion
Lots of fun, not cheap, very rewarding, sometimes a pain in the bum, but still I'm not bored of it and that's unusual for me!
They're fairly rare still (no, not Subarus they're everywhere, but this iteration), which is nice. I see more Ferrari's than I do "Hawkeye STi's"!!
Member
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 33,838
Likes: 23
From: Sunshine Coast - England UK
Just can't be beaten for the money. They do it all pretty well.
I've just got back after a month and went straight for the Evo keys over the Lotus for some reason!
Think it's because you can just get in them and drive, whatever the weather...
Still think you need a remap though Jo
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 11,493
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From: Surrey
they are screen cleaners - useless though !Yes I do love Roxy - and yes she could do with a remap!! Most of my attention goes into the 7 at the moment so it'll have to wait ;-)
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,181
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From: Hertford
Great write-up; great car.
The SAAB interior really was a quality leap over the earlier iterations, it's true.
Depreciation's relative; you'd have paid 30 large for the Audi version, which isn't anywhere near as hooligan fun and doesn't ride as well...
The SAAB interior really was a quality leap over the earlier iterations, it's true.
Depreciation's relative; you'd have paid 30 large for the Audi version, which isn't anywhere near as hooligan fun and doesn't ride as well...
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,979
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From: North Yorks
Good write up - the car that's altered my perception most was the 12 year old beater of an Impreza - and we're still pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of the Legacy we replaced it with.