Which is better; Classic or Bug eye?
 

Evening Guys,

A very subjective question I know.

My situation: I currently have a Mildly modified Clio 172 which has been a fantastic car. I am due to receive my company car within the next 2-3 months which will most probably be a Golf GT 170. The Clio will be kept initially to maintain some fun & my no claims as well as taking up track days & hill climbing.

I may never sell the Clio as it's worth relatively nothing & I l love it but I also had my first experince of an Impreza on Saturday & I could, without doubt spend half what I have on the Clio and have a far superior car.

I wasn't that blown away by the performance & there wasn't much in it in a straight line between my Clio & the Blob Eye WRX but I was very impessed by the relative simplicity & performance potential.

My question: If I was to spend 3.5-4.5k on an Impreza, would I be better with a late Classic or an early Bug Eye WRX? I'm guessing the engine is very similar but what about the chassis and handling comparisons?

What would you do???

Apologies for the massive post & thanks in advance.

classic id say due to the cheaper tax bracket and they have similar power and are just as reliable

Thanks for the quick response.

Any particular model?

Do they handle as well/better?

Any more opinions guys?

I've tried to do my research but the info is hard to find.

bugeyes rule:)

2 door classics still the best ever.

would you get a good bug eye for £4500? that is what i would be concerned about?

and yes, 2 door classics FTW!

what do the bugeyes weigh because i had a little burn up with a 172 a while ago and i destroyed it in my classic?

my tuppenth on this.

classic shape scoobs were indeed lighter than the newages, even the bugeyes (first generation of newage scoobs). but the late classics had 215bhp compared to the bugeyes 225bhp. depends on what the weight differences are i suppose.

probably very similar handling due to the tweaks for the newer cars, but i suspect the classics to be a little more raw and nimbler (in standard form).

£3.5-4.5k wont get you a decent bugeye wrx, but definatley a good late classic. but then with a classic budget of £4.5k i would say try get a wrx or an sti from around 98-99 and get 280bhp instead of 215bhp. if it was performance per ££ and insurance wasnt an issue, id go for the sti/wrx classic import.

All so note that bug eyes are butt ugly!!!!!!!

Sorry but true bug eye fans:nono:

bugeye look a lot better imho and the inside looks better as well

Decide what you want to do in terms of power and mods and decide where your money is best spent. No point in spending all your budget on a late classic and then spending £000's more moding it. May as well up your initial budget and buy a New Age STi? However there is also the option of looking for a quality early classic and making that into something special with the remaining budget.

I adore my classic but its not a cheap scooby, not when I tot up all the mods I needed to do to make it the way I wanted:D

Things that cost on top are going to be

Chassis enhancements
Additional Styling
Brakes
Wheels that you will fancy
ECU's and remaps
etc etc etc.

Buy the best you can for as little as possible and leave yourself some play money. You wouldn't have this option when looking for Bugs at this price:)

Thanks Guys, some really useful info there. So a Classic looks like a better option?

I've just found this (Subaru : sti type r) which I think would be ideal. A touch over budget but hey ho.

I'm guessing around 1250 kg, 280 bhp and 60 in about 4.5?

Any other trick touches these things have?

I'm a little biased as I have a newage but I always think the classics look a little dated now. Also I have seen no end of posts on SNET saying there classic has gone bang and its going to cost £1K-£2K to repair. Personally I would go newage everytime purely down top the more modern looks and more importantly the safety and reliability factor.
Yes, I agree 100% they aint as quick as a classic but is that the be all and end all? Surely you want a car that will last a few years with minimum repair bills.

You may struggle to find a good one for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 thousand.
My old bug, an early model on a Y reg sold for £5800 3 months ago.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/100_1361.jpg

Good luck with whatever you choose mate.

Good point Nathan, I have noticed there seem to be a lot of 'My car is dead' posts.

Did something drastic change on the mechanicals of the new age to improve reliability?

https://www.scoobynet.com/private-sa...p-my99-uk.html

Job done, you owe me a drink!

330 in a classic is very quick (would leave the Clio standing) this looks like a nice car with a rebuilt engine with only 20k on it with some great mods and a remap by the "Guru" Bob Rawle. All for 4.2K nothing you really need to spend on it, but I'd budget for a suspension refresh :)

Ns04

Thanks for that NS04, that did catch my eye last night.

I'm still torn on this as the Classics have a bit of a Stigma attached around these parts but the Bugs are a tad on the unattractive side.

Hmmmmm....

A car is not responsible for those who drive it mate. Drive the car; to hell with the image! :D

Mark my words, when the chavs have written off the dross and moved on to the next thing, there will soon come a time when a mint classic is looked upon with the same affection and regard as a well kept Cossie or Integrale

Ns04

I own both Classic and New Age.:smug:

New Age have their problems too, do your homework before during and after buying your scoob and you can avoid common pitfalls.:) Lots of classics have suffered idiot budget mod owners which unfortunately makes them go bang in some cases:brickwall

classic everytime for me...its the original (maybe not the best) and looks a whole lot better

I think a standard, looked after to Classic is the way to go if such a thing exists.

Bugeye's have 215 BHP same as a late Classic.

Blobeyes have 225BHP.

The Classic is more raw and nimble due to the weigh and poorer build.

The newage Chassis was much stiffer and adapts to modding very well.

Subaru Impreza WRX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scoobypedia | Trusted knowledge for everything Subaru | Knowledge / Knowledge FAQs

Mine was standard except a cat back 1 piece Apexi 3":luvlove:

Bought from a mature owner who had it direct from an importer.

Loads to choose from so don't be in too much of a hurry. I am close to Mocom Racing in North Weald and the seller didn't mind me driving it over there to have it checked out and road tested with det cans.

Parts on classics are so cheap. I recently bought an ally bonnet in the right colour, mint condition for £80, bumper same seller £60 and more recently a front bumper £20. Front is to be cut for a FMIC and the rear bumper was cheaper to buy again than have the parking scrapes resprayed ! I wanted an ally bonnet any way and even so £80 was cheaper again than respray. One side light was cracked and I think I paid £5 for a new one. Front grille pink didn't agree with me so I bought a genuine black replacement off ebay for £15. I could go on but you get the point :D

Has to be a Bug eye for me every time, the wrx sti Type uk prodrive 2001 / 2002 will give you a more BHP than an early 99 and if you look really hard you can find a few just a little above 6K. :thumb: