Hi all.

Well, I've been the proud owner of my MY99 for four months now (time goes so quick) and thought I'd give an account of the effect that having had the car for a short while has had on my opinion of it. Lets start with the good stuff

Performance.

I was worried that I might get used to -and potentially- slightly dissatisified with the standard car's performance. Oh no! It still makes me grin every time I give it some right foot and get the turbo going! This is old school turbo fun: light the fuse and hold on! I hear people go on from time to time about "Scoobies not being that quick" Now, I know that the Scoobies no longer have the performance market to themselves and that -of course- there are faster cars, but this is a blooming quick car and no mistake. Of course, with a few well chosen mods it can be made even quicker.....but we'll come to that later!

Handling.

An incident comes to mind. I was on my way back from Xtreme Scoobies, enjoying the country lanes, when a ford Mondeo came charging around the corner (straddling the centre road markings) and forced me to test the brakes! I've yet to trouble the scooby; every time I go into a corner thinking, "Oh, I've overcooked it this time" it goes around without any fuss whatsoever! It really is a friendly, forgiving car and just starts to warn you if you're taking the p*ss by understeering. I think some may find that the understeer occurrs a bit too early and that they'd prefer a bit more throttle adjustability, but for a keen, but inexperienced performance car driver (i.e. me!) the standard Scooby is very well set up indeed.

Everyday driving.

First of all, that sound!!! The boxer growl is just sooooo good. I'd never tire of it! Here's how much I like it: when I got the car, it came with a minidisc player. Nice, except for one thing...I didn't have a minidisc to my name!! Do I buy myself a player/recorder? No, I buy myself a H&S backbox first!!! I've only just got that player.....and more often than not I'm too busy listening to the exhaust note to switch it on!

The action of the clutch and the major controls feels very positive and tight; it's an easy car to pootle around in. Only real criticism is that it's not particularly refined as a motorway cruiser; there is appreciable wind noise, tyre roar and you can hear each and every stone that the car chuns up hit the underside! Oh, the clutch also gets rather smelly in heavy use. The ride is firm around town-as one would expect- but does improve with speed and is only really upset by large potholes. I'm happy to put up with that, though. It is a performance car after all! It should also be noted, that it's never what you would call an "uncomfortable" car! That's impressive given the handling.

Reactions of others.

Predominantly very positive. Everyone who has been for a ride in it comes out with a huge grin and says words to the effect of, " Damn fast isn't it?" and "lovely noise". I've yet to have one negative comment from anyone who's been for a spin! I've had compliments from passers by: men, adolescents, ladies!! Everyone seems to have some idea of what they are!

Unfortunately, there is a flip side! Performance cars -especially icons like the Scooby- can bring out the worst in some people. It's hard to belive the kind of vehicles that try it on from time to time and engage in really dangerous driving just to get past you for no other reason than you're adhering to the speed limit!

Still, it can be good for a laugh though. I recall one incident when a 1.2 Swift pulled up alongside me -chav in cap and orange g/f inside- in the right hand turn lane only. They clearly were going straight ahead. For those of you who don't know, there is an established procedure for dealing with these kind of challenges.

1) Get out of car
2) Open bonnet
3) Disconnect Turbo
4) Remove one spark plug
5) Get back in car
6) Laugh your *** off as chav gets left behind by you, a clapped out old escort, a white van and a grandma in a milk float if I'm not mistaken!!

Of course there is also the scum of the earth at the back of your mind: theives etc.. You do get a little paranoid However, as I've said so many times, you can't let them discourage you. You just have to spend a few pennies on good security and get on with enjoying the car.

Running costs.

Ouch, no comment! Lets just say that a Scooby is an expensive mistress and leave it at that eh!

Modifications. Hard to resist. So far, I've held back, partly for wanting to get used to the car as standard, partly because of financial prudence and partly for (probably unfounded) fear of compromising the car's reliability! I did have to go for that wonderful H&S backbox though. Worth every single penny!!!! Also got the car colour coded (looks fantastic) and invested in a set of mudflaps to protect the paint work from stone debris. Next planned modification is the brakes. I think the current set up is under-exploiting the strength of the calipers and the std pads are fairly worn and produce copious amounts of dust. They also don't really give the pedal feedback I'd like. I will be replacing the discs and pads (Pagid), and fitting some braided hoses.

In the future I plan on getting a decat centre and sports cat downpipe and then going for a Ecutek 3 remap. I think I'll leave it at that then! Honest.

Well, maybe an Sti 5 spoiler

Without doubt, the Scooby is the best purchase that I've ever made and I'm loving every minute of ownership.....except maybe the insurance!!!!

The good folk here on Scoobynet deserve a special mention for really making a large positive contribution to the ownership experience . It's nice to be part of such a large and friendly community!

All the best.

 

Seems you're enjoying it. Don't work out how much it actually is costing you though
Alas

 

Good aint they!

 

Oh yeah!!! Amazing they can live up to all the hype they get really, but they do!

Best

 

Imho, best real world, real roads car you can get. Does it all for me.

 

"...Nice, except for one thing...I didn't have a minidisc to my name!! Do I buy myself a player/recorder? No, I buy myself a H&S backbox first!!!..."

I've been an owner of 2 Scoobs over the last 18 months. Prior to that I had a Golf GTi with an excellent sound system on board and it was played to death. Now, I am a music lover but I have to say there may be some logic in IM having a low priority in terms of standard ICE in Subarus. The reason I say this is that I can count the number of times I've had the stereo on in the car over the last year on 1 hand. The STi PPP with TSL group N back box is all the soundtrack you need while driving (even in current weather with window down, heater blasting and fleece zipped up!). I keep the CD's for @ home.

 

Hugo,

Definately, Getting my backbox first was a good move! Th reason I didn't bother with any ICE for a while is that I really didn't want it, was just content to listen to the burble. However, it was a bout time I left the stone age in terms of personal entertainment, so I got a minidisc player and recorder! it gets used on motorway cruises and when passengers are in the car who would object to going everwhere with the window down LOL The rest of the time, I let the car provide the ICE! :-)

Best.

 

When I got mine I said I would never change anything on it Then came along a decatted centre section Scooby sport exaust and back box then the air filter, then clear front and side indicators the list goes on and on, and the noise from that flat four is amazing I love it
Cheers
Colin

 

Scoob99. Yeah, that's what we all say, then once you get the wallet open, you can never seem to close it again!! :-)

Best

 

That sounds about right