Met up with one of the local Edinburgh lads tonight for a run in his CTR :) We went down to peebles, had turn around in each others car and then came back together. At points there were some spirited driving and unfortunately for me my car is too bloody quick :(

As well you know I'm thinking of buying a ctr as a replacement for the scooby and was hoping for similar 60mph+ performance but it just doesn't seem to be the case. The scooby was pulling out massive leads in nearly all tests :(

The lad I met did have a passenger which would affect an N/A more than a turbo but when all three of us were in the CTR it was noted that the Impreza was a LOT faster! Even when the CTR hit VTEC it didn't seem to do a whole lot other than make a shed load of noise! (he has zorst and filter and RR @ 215bhp so its not even standard). That said I did notice that the guy for whatever reason seemed a little 'VTEC lazy' in that he was not always sitting ready in the zone and often changed and dropped out of it. Not sure if it was sympathy, his style, nerves or what!?

The big test was on the way back we pulled of a small roundabout with a massive (you could reach 150 if you wanted - we didn't btw) straight and no cars. I was in front and gave him the hazards which I'd told him was his few seconds warning to get ready in VTEC. We nailed it and from 30 to *ahem* the scooby pulled 10+ car lengths. In other words reduced him to a dot!!

Feck, bollocks, feck :( Please someone tell me they are quicker than this!? My car isn't exactly the "Starship John Banks NCC TD05-A" but still thrashed the Honda :confused: I'll still test drive one and see if I can get it for a day and really rev the balls of it but for now it's looking like I should got the whole downgrading hog and get an oil burner with creature comforts and be done with performance cars for a while :(

Figuratively speaking what should it be able to do with its fwd 197bph?

LMFAO :D:D:D

SB - get one that's done a good few miles and rev the nuts off it yourself. Only then will you know.

Must have been a BLOODY big toaster?

Sounds to me like the driver was crap, no way should you be able to pull 10 car lengths on him quickly. My MY93 WRX has about 250hp and didn't pull much against a Clio Cup (maybe 2 lengths at 5000rpm+ in 4th).

But even if he was crap, it shows that the CTR needs commitment to drive quickly, which is fine if thats what you want, personally I'm lazy and prefer "easy to drive fast" ;)

I think you need to test drive one yourself.

Why the change, BTW, you haven't had the Scoob that long?

Saxo Boy - What you need to remember is your Scooby is stupidly quick for the mods(in fact I still think your missing some out ;))

No other Scooby I have seen with a chip and exhaust goes that quick anyway.

So add that in to it.

However I simply don't think the CTR's are as fast as people believe, Supercharged VTR with 145bhp at wheels demolished one, and I mean DEMOLISHED. Young Asian guy driving was going mental "What's in that thing maaaan!!" :D

Over rated Jap Crap :D ;)

I'm not a huge fan of the CTR. What about a Leon Cupra R if you want a hatch with similar price but more toys and more go? They can be chipped to 270+bhp for a few hundred quid.

Alternatively go older and get something quick and cool for your £16k.

Fen

Saxo gimp what is your obsession with being able to beat subarus? Is that what you look for in a car just drive them see if you like them or keep the subaru stop making such a long drawn out thing of it.

SB...you didn't seriously think that the CTR is a 'fast' car relative to a scoob did you???

Its just a tepid hatch, nowt more...makes lots of noise and is very overrated by those who don't want to invest in a real fast car....

Have you driven one?

Never mind my scoob beating one, my Saab turbo gave one a load a grief, biggest problem is that they are always driving around outside of the powerband, therefore you can get a jump on them.

I also drove the bosses's wife's CTR and it's too much hard work to go fast

We have a scoob and a ctr cant remember when i last drove the scoob.

Know what? The true power of the darkside [cackle] ;)

I honestly thought the CTR would be a secret 60mph+ weapon. I know the Subaru would be outright faster but I hoped that I could get similar 'traction not an issue' performance when I wanted it (i.e. rev it stupid).

Barry my car has a full decat, remapped ECU, more efficient intercooler from a STIV, dawes, samco hoses and now a VTA dump valve which probably sacrifices a bit of performance but sounds :cool: Nothing more :)

The scooby has to go because of the fact I've just bought my flat and I was on the look out for something that is cheaper to run but also has the performance - having read so many 'CTR kept up with me' threads I thought that might be the one :confused:

There is a common theme here though! When I had the VTS few would believe that it was a fast as a 172 and there was shock when I beat one at Crail and shock at the 15.3s time. There was then 'no way' my car could get anywhere near 13.3 for the 1/4m yet it did a 13.4 dead. It seems that I have a knack and also total lack of sympathy (;)) for getting cars to go pretty quick in a straight line - if only this applied to cornering :( On that basis it would be unfair for me to write of any car until I've had half a day with it and I think that's what I should do with the CTR :)

Warning: This is it now for the next few months. I'll be thinking of CTRs, Golfs, push bikes, gas cars and will probably end up with a Skyline and big credit cards - you've been warned ;):D

AUTOCAR...driven one extensively thanks very much.

Do you call a subaru a REAL fast car then?

Uh-oh - in true playground fashion there has been a few shoves and a crowd is developing to watch what will likely develop into a scrap ;)

I'll give you 2:1 on S.B. ;)

145bhp saxo waste a CTR, LOL was he in reverse?

as for scooby(unmodded) vs ctr comes down to driver commitment in my opinion. Also neither a standard scooby or a ctr are "fast" cars they are rapid cars

fast cars are

porsche 911 turbo, TVR, ferrari350 etc

SB...I think SOME subarus are genuinely fast cars, eg Sti v5, P1, RA's etc, but generally they are not that fast.

LOL @ SB - what have you started? - come and buy your handbags here!!:D

i own both a v4 type R and CTR, has have the following comments:
(tried and tested at private roads of course in the wee hours)

Acceleration - har! CTR no chance. in other words, started accelerating coming out of roundabt, CTR was left for dead, i think due to handling and power.

In gear acceleration - CTR will kept up with scooby at high revs up to terminal speed of 1++. scooby has better power distribution from 4k onwards and CTR from 6k hence the difference in initial acceleration but at high speed shouldnt see any significant difference when CTR's in Vtec revs.

Personally think for what it is CTR is a fun car and to add cheaper to run but.... my CTR will soon be a CLK based purely on the Stares factor.

Then put my burberry base ball cap on......;)

I'm sure this discussion rings a bell somewhere :)

[Edited by juan - 6/11/2003 12:01:08 PM]

I've got an unmodded MY99 Turbo, and hanker after a CTR, cos they look brilliant.

I think I'll hold onto the scoob for a bit, as I don't fancy the idea of having to rant up to 6K everytime I want some decent performance!

LOL, I have no such clothing :D

It was a pre-arranged signal so he'd know to get ready in or near VTEC to make a fairer acceleration comparison :)

Saxo Boy - what are u after out of ur next car?
Performance compared to others with respect to times / acceleration.
Or perceived performance in isolation.

If its the former, then comparing a cheaper-to-run car against ur scooby might be a bit of a no-win situation.
I know ur saxo was fast - i remember being in my m8s when he changed up from a VTR to a VTS...
not outstanding difference until it was over 5500 rpm IIRC.
Then it was like.. wow :D

so maybe this guy didnt drive properly to compete against you - not hitting the vtec enough, or effectively.

I think that Diesel power is the secret weapon... in straight line performance anyway ;)

you could always judge it on:
Style
Performance
Damage
and Aggression
;)

*whisper* get the honda *whisper* ;)

if i didnt do 18k miles a year, i would have one :D

but i do - so its diesel power :D

Isn't that what they judge robot wars on? :D

Golf 150TD beginning to look sensible :eek:

Well, we have the luck of currently owning a MY98 with few mods and a BMW 330i. We recently have got a CTR too.
I do not totally agree with some comment about the real performance of the CTR. My experience so far, standard Scooby vs CTR:

Scooby: It’s easier to drive faster. Better low torque. Better grip so faster speed at the exit of the curves. A tiny advantage in acceleration over all.

Heavier, understeer a lot at the entry of the curve, especially on the wet. More difficult to control at the limit.

CTR: Do understeer less in the curve, do a very controllable lift power oversteer. Less body roll. The curve speed is a little bit faster than the Scooby (in flat and dry road). Good running cost. Better gear box. Better brake (efficiency and feeling) More fun to drive.

A bit slower in term of general performance. Nosier on the highway. Need more involvement from the driver to make it run fast. Crappier plastic inside (get scratch too easily)

To summarize my opinion, do not compare the CTR and the Scooby. One is a toy, for fun that makes any ride an enjoyment (if you like that kind) and the other is the best compromise in term of performance, price, comfort and quality. Of course I would never say that you couldn’t have fun in the Impreza.

At the end it’s a matter of what you would expect and personal feeling.

I own a CTR, the scooby is better to 60 however I have not found there to be anything in it from 60 -100 (Classic Standard Turbo). I did get my ass creamed by an STi 8 from 20-60 a month or so back though!

At knockhill the standard scoobies were no quicker than the CTR, speaking of which, that was an awesome 22B at the last top marques night.

Saxo Boy, is your Scoob not running about 275bhp?

We tried a CTR recently as my Wife fancied one. Neither of us were that impressed. The Honda dealer treated us like crap as well, until they saw me go out to my 02 WRX PPP to tell some guy to keep off it. After the test drive they tried the heavy sell too - "So few of them around...", "Hold their value so well..." etc etc

She bought a Scoob.