I know coming on a subaru forum, im obviously going to get a biased answer. But, the reason why i ask on here is due to the fact that the subaru is by far the favourite at the moment.

Basically, im caught between three cars....

Subaru STi Version 3, Evo 2,3, or 4, or a Nissan Pulsar.

I have heard countless horror stories about pulsars, my main concern is are they really THAT bad? I like them, simply because i have also had "hot hatches" so obviously this was my first choice - but im worried mostly about reliability, and also they are the oldest out of the three. Also, they are the cheapest to buy. Performance wise, i know little about, i know they are 4 wd, quick as you like, but once again the "BANG" factore scares me.

The Evo, well this is the hardest to get insured on simply because a lot of companies simply tell me to get stuffed as they don't insure the earlier evos. So this is really out of the question, unless of course i can find a good insurance company, and if its worth it over the other two options.

lastly, my favourite an STi 3, or and STi 2. Im worried mainly about being "disappointed" with regards to the other two. Im hoping to get an STi 3, but if a mint 2 comes along i will probably settle for that. What are they like over the above 2 contenders, i.e. handling, extras i.e. air con, comfort, RELIABILITY being very important, and performance wise?

Thanks all for help, much appreicated.

Chris.

 

Its the gearbox that is weak on a pulsar not the actual engine

 

For what it's worth I went through a similar dilemma when I got my first Impreza in 1998. I've had a 94 WRX, STi V3 Type-R, 99 RB5 and a 99 Evo VI.

Out of all of them I think the Evo is my favourite, the handling is better than the Impreza's and there aren't as many around. If you get an Evo 4 it would be very similar to a 6 from what I can gather so do go and look at one, you'll like it. Insurance-wise, try Tesco.

Having said that Evo is 'better', I do think the Impreza is possibly a little easier to live with as the fuel tank is bigger and so on, plus they sound great

Re: the Nissan, I contemplated getting one when I got my 94 WRX and am glad I didn't. Not that there is anything wrong with them but just remember they are very old now and that the gearbox definately is a weak point.

Whatever you get you'll enjoy but if I was doing it again I would probably go and look at an Evo 4 and an Impreza. If you can stretch to it, I would go for an RB5 - the dogs ***** and more forgiving than a STi V3

 

If you couldn't stretch to it matt, would you have the sti 3 over the above......

 

hmm, tough choice - I know the STi's are the 'must have' Impreza and are very desirable but to be honest I would go and look at some UK Impreza Turbo's as they'll be just as much fun and be cheaper to insure which can't be a bad thing

 

Skyline is the daddy!

 

i wont bother with EVO 2 or 3 as i think thir price is way too high and the rears are damm ugly, i would go for a STI 2/3 type ra with close ratio gearbox.........

 

I have driven a quite a few scoobs and had a couple, and am sticking with the version 2 RA, mine has air con, central locking and wlec windows (at the moment) by far the best and most fun out of what I have driven.....go for it!

 

im thinking about a pulsar two mate.

but im geussing here we wont get a good reception.

ill be honest performance wise i think they outdo the old chav mobile.

 

PMSL

 

Bigchris84

Theres a big chance posting on a Scoob forum that not all the advice will be impartial.

I think you should go for the the STi. Everytime

As far as the other cars are concerned, a mate of mine had a GTiR and although it was very quick, the interiors are bl**dy awful (and its a Nissan Sunny).

The Evo 4 is a really nice car but IMO a bit overpriced, and I would have thought that for the price of a decent Evo 4, you could look at an STi 5.

Just out of interest, what kind of budget are you looking at?

 

and did your mate buy the pulsar because of the bad interior or because of its rarity and its a lot quicker? before you go disrespecting a car why dont you do some research? im sure you will find a lot of interesting things about the pulsar - the AWD pulsar runs low 11's at crail and uses a std box, youve got to remember that nissan stopped making Gtir's nearly 12 years ago, the gtir was made 2/3 years before the evo and the impreza. during the 90's a lot of people thought paddle clutches were the thing to get for good launches and big power - this is where the problem comes in with the gtir box. theres nothing wrong with them using a normal clutch. so if you are buying a gtir - make sure its not using a paddle clutch.

as for the early evo's i think you will find the evoIII was the most powerful evo until the new one came out, this is the car that won the wrc the year before subaru.

im trying to be fair to all 3 cars, we all know the impreza is a safe bet. the sti will hold its value as well. prices are dropping rapidly on the pulsars. evos are overpriced, but you are paying for the rarity, wouldnt bother with an evoI or II.

 

my budget is around the 6k-6.5k mark...

basically im interested really in the sti 3, purely because i think this is running similar power to that of the sti type r - correct me if im wrong - i would love a type r, but insurance is a no no.

the pulsar would be nice, i do like them, only i dont want the headache of reliability, as i have had plenty of cars in the past that just keep going wrong.

the pulsars are cheap now, but i dont want a "cheap" fast car, i want something that going to have the reliability where i can drive to 200 miles without the fear of something going wrong - i mean this may be stereotypical, but i have heard so much, even from fans of pulsars that they spend more time off the road than on it. I just want something that i will own, where i wont think "should have got the other one" would i feel that a sti 3 would have better performance over the others?

 

Disrespecting a car

Actually, thats why he sold it, cos he couldnt stand being in it for any great length of time. Oh, and as for disrespecting it, Im sure I acknowledged its performance just as I did with the Evo

 

I think you''re best bet would be to go and drive all three and see what you like the best.

IMHO, I dont think the GTiR is in quite the same league as the Scoob or Evo as in an all round car - inside & out

 

What about a Cosworth?

 

sorry mate i didnt actually mean just you, in fact you only said about the interior. i'd read another post on pulsars and a few peeps were saying lots of stuff about them - mostly about the box.

i apologise sincerely

 

Accepted