what would you choose and why?
 

thinking about getting a newer impreza and two have caught my eye.first is a 08 hatch sti,standard from what i can gather,60000 miles on the clock,with a price tag of £13000,or a 56 plate hawk which has been forged and built by subaru4you,it has 55000 miles but 11000 since the engine has been done,the price for that is £12000.both very different but i just cant make my mind up,in an ideal world id like the hatch with the hawks engine but that obviously would cost me more.guys if you had a choice which would you choose and why?pros and cons for each?if i got the hatch id like to change the exhaust,cold induction and a remap,where as the hawk sounds sorted.what do i do?cheers,ryan.

same 2.5 engine but forged, me personally I would go for the Hatch as its a newer car, but it just depends if you want to take that £4k gamble on the hatch

the hatch ive got my eye on looks pretty smart,also its from a garage so should have some kind of warranty etc.also has full subaru service history.on the other hand the hawk looks nice,has a confirmed sorted forged engine and sounds looked after.this is the biggest dilemma i have faced for ages haha.

Flip a coin, Heads the Hawk, Tales the Hatch, by the time it lands in your hand you will know which one you were hoping for :)

Let me know the result

haha,it may come down to that mate!

go for the best of both? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-SUBAR...item541962a63c

ooooohhh.sounds/looks good.wonder if the mileage is mainly kms aswell?cheers for the heads up on that.

If I was in the market for a Impreza, I would be all over that.:luvlove:

Saw this for sale a few days ago and im surprised it hasn't been snapped up yet:Suspiciou

I'd go for the forged hawk if it was out of them 2. But JDM hatch all the way good price too

Dam that's where my money would be going

JDM Hatch every time, even when the 2.5 is forged, its still a lottery with them.

I had a JDM twinscroll Hatch, never missed a beat, & you cannot fault the low down spool, coupled with twin avc's engine.

I would go for a hawk. It looks more like a road rally car and what a impreza sti should imo. I'm not too fond of the later models as they look my like standard family cars.

thanks for the replys,i do like that jdm hatch but the miles are slightly putting me off.ive told myself 60000 tops.my main concerns are age/miles/reliabilty and trying to find a happy medium between thos things is very hard.if anybody want to have a look the hawk is on pistonheads,56 plate,50000 miles,12k and the hatch is at hoddeston motors,08 plate,60000 miles,12900 ish i think.am i right in thinking the main issue with the 2.5 is headgasket and ringland failiure?if i were to go for a 2.5 hatch could i have the headgasket,head studs etc replaced as a precaution with out skimming the heads etc??ive been told the ringland failiure is due to the lean map the car came out the factory with and that also **** fuel being used?sorry if the questions have been asked before,these 2.5 engines are new to me.trying to make the right choice for the money im looking to spend,thanks for all the replys,ryan.

I'd have a jdm hatch :)

Looks well and long as it been looked after it should be ok.

The 2.0 JDM engine if its got good supporting history, 60,000 is nothing, hence why do you think the 2.5 is already forged at a lot lower miles, you get avc's on inlet & exhaust cams, no ringland / headgasket issues, its the only model produced with the 12mm oil pump as std, 2.5's forged are still troublesome on hatch STI,s if the map issues from the std car are not fully sorted, it varies from car to car, some with a couple of std replaced engines, then a forged unit, will still cause problems if not fully investigated for the initial failures.

Get your heads skimmed if your putting Cosworth gaskets on, aswell as the block faces, otherwise you will be doing quite quickly again.

thanks for the detailed reply,thats the kind of information i need.so your vote would be that jdm hatch?if i were to go for a standard 2.5 hatch how much do you think im looking at to make the engine a bit safer?i wouldant be looking for massive power in a hatch.read on here somewhere with a full exhaust systen,aem cold feed induction and a remap it would be about 370bhp ish.cheers,ryan.

Hi mate
I have a standard hatch sti 2.5. And for peice of mind i wanted to forge the engine. The engine has been out this week and taken apart.. Upon inspection i had badly worn big end bearing on rod number 4. Basically i was abit lucky! Few more miles could of failed lol. So you just never know it is a risk but if you have the money to put it right then do not worry.





As the lads above said the twin scroll 2.0 hatch is pretty desirable and will hold value for what it is. Depends what you want mate. The forged hawk is the easier option all the work already done.

thanks for the reply mate,sounds like you were lucky!out of intrest how much is your build costing and what parts are you using?i agree the hawk does sound an easier option but the hatch ive got my eye on has really got me liking them.toughest choice ive had to make in ages,cheers,ryan.

Well as i couldnt really afford lumping 3/4k out in one lump. Ive sourced all the parts from Usa(cheaper than uk) and few bits from Uk over a year and now i have everything ready to go in and get fitted! Its been cheaper way for me and have a bigger spec than i intended lol which isnt a bad thing i spose!

I do love my hatch, its different rarely see many on the road and its nice to drive. Done right have a nice car!

If you choose the hatch theres different options to rebuild it etc. if you want to do what i done speak to a builder get idea of what you want/need Or choose from a list of engine builders on here that offer a drive in/out service

Choice is all yours mate

thanks for the reply,what age and how many miles has your hatch done?i agree you don't see many.ive only seen one on the road.they have massively grown on me.what parts have you bought for yours and who is building it?cheers,Ryan.

You have a pm mate

Really worth driving both if you can. I had a Hawkeye for a year which i liked, test drove a hatch which although a nicer car didn't really make me want to come back to an Impreza, and then test drove and bought my 'blob' STI instead which i love!

All 3 were surprisingly different to drive, but the majority of that is down to the engine as it's got progressively more refined and smoother in its delivery through the models and the delivery of the 2.5 in stock form isn't overly exciting. Obviously this is all stock for stock, and with the JDM hatch in the mix i'd be very very tempted by that. Best of both worlds!

I would go for the Hawk, never liked the Hatch, only angle it looks good at is the front

Same for me. I dont like the look of the hatch, so I wouldnt even contemplate it.

JDM Hatch

+1 and way more practical too.

It would be the hawk for me with the JDM 2.0l...and a little roof flap 😃

+1

forged or JDM hawk if it was new age, type R or RA if its a classic :)

if you go with the hatch its a gamble as previously stated although it does have full history, you may have engine issues. you might not..

if you buy the hawk, without causing offence and by no means im i slagging anyone off, how well do you trust the seller? whats to say the engine is solid? whats to say its genuinely forged? whats to say there might be something else wrong that may be wrong? i dont know the company, but if they are properly reputable and all is genuine then you have that in your favour which is a definate plus!

have you test driven either car? at least if you test drive both you can see which feels better...

personally id have myself a nice tidy blob widetrack... or a jdm model....