i would imagine the biggest killer on mpg is the 4wd system.

 

Jesus god. That is terrible mate!!! In my civic (type r) I getting atleast 150 miles from 25 quid. But I think that's quite good.

Jesus! So in real life, what would I expect from a slightly modded wrx? Just for comparison.

 

similar mpg, the wrx is slightly better but not much.
i have an sti and my gf a wrx and the extra gear on the sti equals out the mpg on a run.

but the 2 cars feel very different to drive, id take the sti any day as it feels so much faster and tighter handling and both cars run 18inch wheels and coilovers and the wrx even has brembos fitted now.

 

I may be wrong but the STI gives can give you free performance over the same engined WRX. The additional power is supplied by parts that have less of an impact on economy than engine size and 4 wheel drive which are the same for both cars. This along with the 6th gear and the fact that you will be using lower revs to get to the same speed are contributing factors.

Remapping can often improve economy as you are releasing it from the strict and overly safe map that Subaru supply them with - saying that the recent 2.5 engines cant exactly be called 'safe' but the ones you are looking at are vastly superior.

^Have to say that this is from info learnt over the years from other discussions rather than from my own personal experience.

 

the sti has a bigger turbo and injectors and avcs heads and an extra gear.

both cars we have have been mapped by dunc (dynamix) but this didnt really affect mpg but greatly improved driveability and power.

its a turbo charged permanant 4wd car and has mpg to reflect this, type rs and the like are 2wd this is where it has an mpg advantage.

 

Didn't realise how bad running costs would be lol. Saying that I didnt expect much! But how come the sti insurance for me is jus over 700, yet a wrx is 1000??

I think what I also need info on is further costs. I.e servicing costs, brakes, general wear and tear costs. I think this is where the sti would surely skint me lol.

 

servicing etc are similar on both cars, brake pads etc are no different to any other performance cars and there are loads of specialist out there.

they are very reliable cars if you treat them right and service them, problems oocur when people mod them with out really knowing what they are doing.

a big no no is modding them engine wise without remapping them.

if you buy one look for history and make sure its been mapped if its modded. people think low mileage is the holy grail but service history and receipts for work done is a better thing in my opinion.

i would check your insurance again an sti is a higher insurance group than a wrx but i doubt the difference in cost is a lot.

 

Tbh there is not a lot in it cost wise bar pads and discs, which are about 25% more on an sti, filters and oil are the same, and apart from that there not too bad as nothing much goes wrong if you look after it.

Oh and i average 25mpg around town and 33mpg on a run but you do have to be careful to get those numbers, wrx is better in fuel than the sti.

 

So normal costs would be similar? Like servicing costs, brakes, clutch, tyres etc? Well that's not bad.

Seriously, my current insurer has quoted me on both and those were the prices. I mean I haven't shopped about yet that was just for an idea.

I don't want anything too modded, but I know down the line somewhere I probably will spend a few quid. I do an average of 5/6000 miles a year. What about taxing the thing? Everything seems to sway towards an sti. But as fuel costs at the moment are crazy, this time around it is seriously worth a good thinking about.

 

if your modding then sti is the sensible choice as the 5 speed box will break under bigger power on the wrx, also the sti already has brembo brakes.

tax is about 250 ayear on sti pre 06 models, not sure on wrx but its not much less.

if fuel costs are a concern avoid an impreza as this is the single biggest downside.

they are an expensive car to run the end

 

Yes I think you've hit the nail on the head there mate. They will be expensive to run regardless.

This feedback is brilliant cheers lads. Just what I was after.

So if I want big power and mods, sti all the way.

But I'm not after huge power? But I still wonder if I went for a nice wrx, would I end up regretting it slightly, especially when I pull up next to an sti?? Lol.

Thanks for all input lads. It's left me a lot to think about. Cheers again

 

Don't settle for the WRX, the STi is clearly the car you want so you'll just feel like crap everytime you pass one on the road!

I did this with my old car, went for a Civic Type S instead of the Type R to be "Sensible". They looked the same aesthetically and had a similar number of toys, but of course the Type S was never a Type R. Two months later I traded up, and lost a bucket of cash in the process.

The WRX is a brilliant car I'm sure, but if you want an STi... then get an STi.

 

+1 if you have the money for an sti get one.

 

I get around 18 mpg,servicing costs not too bad (cambelt change is cheaper for my sti than my van!!).If you mod a wrx up to a sti level then insurance will cost more.

 

Good point regarding insurance. To the OP, who have you managed to get quotes from? Have you used a specialist from here? I did after I paid £545 to a mainstream company (Axa) who didnt know their exhaust pipe from their intercooler, as all the confirmation paper work was wrong. Ended up cancelling the policy and tried Adrian Flux. Got a quote for £430 with much less excess and bit their arm off.

 

Had an 03 wrx ppp from new and as my first Scooby absolutely loved it to death and thought I'd arrived, then two years later the finances allowed a swap to a 55 plate widetrack blobeye STI and I have to say I now really felt that I'd arrived.

However then I got hold of Kas's old S202 and 440+ horses really really makes you feel that you have arrived. I guess the moral of the story is you'll never be satisfied. I'm not

 

It's not just the power.

Don't forget the uprated brakes, suspension, gearbox, suspension, interior, bodywork etc etc etc. Even if you don't want big power the STI comes out of the box with 265bhp and better everything else.

As for the cost of servicing, expect a car like the Focus ST to about £100 to £150 cheaper in almost every area.

This link shows servicing costs:

http://www.extremescoobies.co.uk/servicing.html

Of course, while you may want to run/have run/compare a Focus/Civic/etc these are not comparable to the Impreza.

Totally different kettle of fish, different ethos, back ground and intention to the design of the car. Think of a really well sorted STI as being closer to an M3 than a Civic in intention and capability. When you start comparing Impreza servicing costs to M3 servicing costs and it suddenly doesn't seem so outrageously expensively.

 

Amen, im proud of the fact that ive managed to get 4mpg out of my scoob, and on general every day driving i get about 100 miles to a full tank lol

 

Haha comon 4mpg??? The fuel wouldn't bother me for the first few months, but I'm sure after that it would be a real pain in the ****.

To the lad asking about insurance, my current insurer is Adrian flux who I think are half decent. At jus over 700 fully comp for an sti I didn't look about as I know Thatl be the most I'm paying so I'm not too disheartened over insurance costs. It's mainly the running costs and pros and cons of both models that's all.

About comparing to an m3, I see you ethos, but if I compare it to a Boeing 747 then it's a compete bargain isn't it lol.

I honestly didn't realise it would/could be costing me an arm and a leg just to get about. But then again, it would be in a car I really want. And after all, that's why I work to have a half decent life and buy things I want/need.

Again, you've left me a lot to think about. Cheers again lads.

 

[U]Bare in mind my scoob is 500+hp so the fuel consumption is slightly worse than average BUT, your not buying a scoob because you are worried about fuel

 

Running costs may seem high but you get a lot of car for the money.

 

As above. When I had to fill up my Impreza and insure it it felt like it was a lot but thats because it wasnt a Turbo model. Insurance for me was more than the WRX as I had WRX brakes and alloys fitted (go figure). MPG was slightly better but not proportionate to the performance. If it had a turbo I would have seen the running costs as perfectly acceptable.

 

Are the 2.5 2006 STi models the ones with dodgy engines?

 

WRX & STi are both great cars, but I suggest you go for a low mileage, well looked after Impreza. Particularly look out for dodgy mods & re-maps!

UK models are easier to insure.