The Chief

Will i be dissapointed???

I sold my Scoob last year as it was crippling me (stood me at 13k with mods and i sold it for 4.2k) plus a bit of bad luck i.e. blown engine, gearbox etc, but i loved it and miss it like mad. I would get another but i was sticking 60-80 quid of juice in a week and it had to go

now i need to get another performance car and was thinking of a CTR which i admit is not as quick but handling is very sharp indeed, coming from a car with 300 ft lbs torque and loads of midrange to something that has around 145 ft lbs and screams to high heaven, would imagine its a totally different experience though. CTR's seem a bit cheaper to run, more bullet proof and with better economy, want something i can hammer around a track a few times a year as well without thinking it may blow up.

Now i know you'll say just drive one (which i will do eventually) but has anyone gone down this route, was you dissapointed? or surprised with the performance.

Thanks chaps

Beefy

Carl, I didnt go directly from a scoob to a CTR, but I have owned both.

To cut a long story short the CTR didnt do it for me, not much torque low down and I found the high revs needed to make good progress quite tiresome when you werent "in the mood". I kept it for just under a year but couldnt wait to get back into another scooby (which was what I traded it in for)

On the plus side it was nice and practical being a hatchback, seemed to handle well for a front driver and definately had reliability on its side. It also didnt cost a fortune to run either.

As you say in your post, drive one and see what you think as they definately divide opinion.

rb5_336

i've owned both. The CTR costs peanuts to run, and as long as you know how to get the most out of it (i.e. compared to scoob) you'll not be dissapointed.

Sean

richs2891

I went from a Bug eye to a CTR (with a Nissan 200SX in between - but only for three months). Swapped as Bug eye got written off when parked up by a truck. 200Sx was a run around until found the right CTR - a black 30AE. Really liked it- power / speed wise very simlair to a standard / lightly modified bug eye to drive (once running). You will to learn a different driving style - ie using the gear box a lot more - and remembering the power is high up in the rev range. Great car to trash when in the mood (and feel quick due to noise) and enough power to get past most of the cars when not really trying. Terrible traction off the line in the damp as standard - wen compared to a Scoob but a LSD does improve things.
Needs JDM rear anti roll bar to make it handle, but cheaper to insure and cheaper to run than the Scoob. Are enough places that can modify them so can keep that hobby up if you like !
Can be just as crashy on poorly maintained roads though !

Richard

RS Grant

Have had a few Classics and currently have a Hawkeye STi and my wee sister just bought a Black 2006 CTR Premier Edition (Recaros/Tints etc) and I've had a fair bit of time driving it already.

Its amazing fun, runs VERY close to being as much fun on my favorite twisty roads as my Imprezas have been.....in the dry..... in the wet they are a bit difficult to exploit due to c200bhp going through the front wheels.

I honestly cannot praise the car enough and despite jumping from a lightly modified 2.5 STi into it, I dont really see how people can say that its gutless, it pulls fine when out of VTEC in my opinion.. but it really pulls well when it goes past 6000rpm!! Peformance-wise, my friends standard Bugeye STi (265bhp) was only pulling slightly (1-2 car lengths from 40-11*ish) when we had a wee run off a roundabout.

Oh, the noise from it is amazing.


Cheers,
Grant

The Chief

I've heard that they respond well to a geometry set-up and suspension mods - hmmm they sound quite quick, i had a dice with one when i had an A6 2.8 and that was very fast once above legal speeds and this CTR was right behind me.

a lot of sub 7k bargains out there now

I think you've sold me

skoobidude

Chief

Rather than buy a performance car you may not be 100% happy with, why not but a cheap diesel and run around in that until your bank balance recovers then look at other options .
I sold my Scoob and had a £500 Xantia for a year. Real street cred killer but the money I saved during that year was

Nick

subevo

owned both.i would say its a step backwards going to a ctr in terms of driving satisfaction.the wheelspin in the wet is awful .i would suggest a chipped fabia vrs for fun and 50mpg.every time i drive my mates vrs im amazed at the in gear acceleration.good luck in whatever you choose.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Why not go for the ITR instead? Bullet proof engine, handles great for a FWD, fuel economy below VTEC zone, 9k rev limit, amazing sound & acceleration once in VTEC zone & (IMHO) still looks good after all these years

Google Image Result for http://www.cargurus.com/gfx/buttons/play_video_thumbnail.gif

TX.

NotoriousREV

I went from a bug eye WRX to a VW diesel and then to a Skyline GTR. The GTR has no torque which meant the first 3 months of ownership was a bit frustrating. Now I'm getting used to having to wind it up a bit more i.e. get the revs above 4k and she flies. If you can stick with the different power delivery during the "familiarisation" you'll probably be OK

P.S. Going back to filling up 3 times a week both sucks and blows.

lukey1

YES......


done it twice now, went from an evo 6 with 330 bhp to a ctr a few years back and recently from a evo 8 MR with 375 bhp to a ctr, reason being the overall cost of insurance fuel and servicing costs added to that the thought of any thing going wrong so a downgrade was the sensible thing to do.

At the end of the day they are completely different cars but i had forgotten how much hard work the ctr was to drive quickly and can be frustrating sometimes but it is still a performance hot hatch so can be fun but not in the same way. 300 miles to tank of fuel and generally cheaper to run when needs must, i guess it isnt that bad.

Lukey1 (missing his evo8MR)

jonc

If practicality isn't an issue (2 car household) instead of taking a "backward" step to a CTR, what about a side step to a VX220 or an Elise. Good performance, great dynamics and pretty good on the fuel.

mykp

Chief into a VX or Elise!!!!

have you seen the size of the chief, Pint in to a half pint pot I think!

The Chief

yeah i did think that ha ha

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Another vote for the Fabia vRS here, friends wife runs one, pulls like a Scoob, briefly, (****** next gear) repeat.... and STUPID mpg as well !

DunxC

P.S. PM Corradoboy for details....

stiscooby

I have a Civic Type R, come this April I will have had it for 4 years (although thinking of selling it sometime soon as fancy a change, possibly another Scoob if I can ). Before the Civic I had a JDM STI Type R Scoob with 320Bhp.

My old Scoob was a different beast altogether and obviously the Civic Type R feels slower. As others have said in the Civic you do have to rev it a bit to get it shifting but the performance isn't bad at all. Plus running costs are also reasonably low. With a mix of motorway driving and slow 30-40mph driving to work I get about 300 miles to a tank.

Servicing is ok too, I have never had to pay over £300 for a service.

Dare I say it but I have never had a problem with my Civic since I have had it so reliability also seems to be good

Best thing is to test drive one and see what you think. You just have to drive them a bit different to the Scoobs if you want to get a shift on and use the rev range

alpha charlie

Honda : Honda Civic Type R

I sold this car to buy the Scoob and now the girl who bought it from me is selling to buy a house.

Loved it but as ive said i spent money on it and eventually decided enough was enough and time to move onto the next league.
Good luck with the hunt matey
Cheers
AC

alpha charlie

My Mrs still has here fettled VRs Fabia and its a joy to drive, the handling of the STI over the CTR does show the flaws of the VRs but a rear ARB should sort that out for her for a few hundred quid (on the list to do)

I love driving it and its easy to embarass a few cars if they arent aware
Cheers
AC

Andy M3

I have had a Fabia vRS and it was pretty fast with remap/filter & eibachs all round, but it bland and safe to drive.

I think a happy medium would be a BMW 330d sport, 35+mpg the 184 model DMS' well to over 200hp/350lb/ft giving you performance economy & handling.

If you don't want an oil burner some of the JDM TypeR's are a little more aggressive which could be entertaining?!?!!?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Not the same but similar, went from a Saab 9-3 Turbo to a Clio 182 thinking it would feel good, it didnt, totally gutless low down and not that quick when you wound it up.
I think when you are used to a torquey car something without feels a bit lacking even if its faster, I would imagine Scoob to CTR would be similar, so its either as the lads have said a chipped diesel or another Petrol Turbo, I went for another Saab seeing as middle aged loomed, that was ok but needed a remap to hit the spot.

The Chief

I know what your saying Jacko especially as my Classic was putting out only 250bhp+ but over 300ft lbs of torque but i've been smoking around in an old 2.0Si Mondeo for a few months so i might not be that dissapointed - as long as it had the same midrange as my Mondeo then i would not be that bothered to tell you the truth.

Anyway been looking at Accord Type R's - they seem to have a bit more midrange ummmphh

RS Grant

Just conducted my 'test' with my sisters EP3... basically, from the exit of a roundabout, up the hill to the first junction on a dual carriageway. So it vaguely tests the way a car can put its power down during and leaving the roundabout, its torque and top end and its something I have done with every car I've owned or car that I've driven for any period of time (just me in the car, in early hours, full tank of fuel)..

So here is a wee comparison of some cars:

- 220bhp MY98 Impreza Wagon: *04mph
- 190bhp MY03 A4 1.8T S-Line: *07mph
- 219bhp MY05 330d Cabriolet: *11mph
- 260bhp MY99 Impreza Saloon: *18mph
- 400bhp MY94 Celica GT4 WRC: *24mph
- 200bhp MY06 EP3 Civic TypeR: *13mph
- 360bhp MY07 Impreza Saloon: *31mph

Obviously there are some things I couldnt get exactly the same, tyre life, weather, etc..... but its a reasonable indication of the difference between all the cars IMO. Plus, I'm bored, so thought I'd share it with you all.


Cheers,
Grant

The Chief

Nice one fella

Bloody hell not much in it between those two - basically i was running around 260bhp so not a lot in it.

Thanks again

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like fun, but doesnt that just test ***** out, foot to the boards performance, when most of the time its just putting your foot down and getting some go without dropping 2 gears, it doenst give much of an idea of driveabilty ?

You could include a race tuned N/A 2.0 producing 250 bhp and it may get up the hill quickly but be flat as a fart low down.

Tidgy

should have bought a 1.7td corsa run around, would have saved even more cash on fuel and then still have the scoob for weekends (makes it seem even quick driving around a slow car most of the time lol)

The Chief

TBH mate your spot on there - made a big mistake by not doing that from the start. Should have bought the Scoob and bought a cheap Corsa or Fiesta for a grand instead of running about in my Scoob all the time racking up big miles and as a result big fuel bills, more frequent servicing and more things going wrong quicker (due to the extra mileage)

If i got another Scoob i'd do things much different i.e. only use it on pleasant days and at weekends - i'd also would go to a cheap specialist as opposed to a Subaru dealer - this alone would have saved me a couple of grand.

shooter007

ctr is a great car had one before scoob as long as you leave it in one or two gears lower than scooby it will shift and it likes revs not as good a sound as the 1.6 but you cant have every thing would have another (not the new shape) you will go through front tyres dont refit bridgestones something like toyo,s will grip better and cheaper

RS Grant

Yea, it does... but as there were doubts over the performance of the car then I thought it appropriate to list my own un-scientific results.

Obviously driveability would be a fair bit more manic than nearly all turbocharged cars, as thats the nature of VTEC engines.. just depends how often you are able to, or find yourself in the mood to really give your car the beans.

I know that if I want to push on, or overtake, in the Scoob then I'll use its torque and blast past the slower car... but driving the Type-R, if I want to do the same thing, I dont mind dropping a couple of cogs to get past quickly and safely using the top end power.


Cheers,
Grant