ap_smith

Ok guys/girls,

As some of you may remember I had an MY96 UK Turbo 2000 earlier this year which I managed to sit on its roof.

I've had a few months of driving the wife's Rover and I'm going insane, so it's time to look at the options for early next year.

Is it:

Impreza P1. Heard lots of good things, write ups are all fantastic, but not managed to grab any P1 owners to talk with yet.

Evo VI/VII/VII RS. All write ups say little bit sharper than the standard Scoob, but how does it compare to the P1? Insurance and servicing add to the cost a bit, but who cares?

Skyline. Another big unknown for me, looking at an R33 possibly. What's the day to day ownership like, handling, straight line performance?

I've got to do loads of test drives (whatta shame) but I thought I'd pick all your brains before I do. Yeah, I know alot of this is subjective, but I'm vagely drawn towards the P1 merely 'cos I had an Impreza and it was great.

Opinions everyone?

wilf

I'll be surprised if you get many replies to this as its a real old can of worms. All great cars IMHO its what suits you. I own a P1 and rate it a much better than than my old MY98 and MY00s.

ap_smith

Maybe searching through the forums is a better idea.

I suppose my real question is how does the P1 rate against the Evo and Skyline. There are hundreds of articles about the standard scoob vs. Evo etc, but never really seen too much about the P1 in direct comparison.

Don't know much about the Skyline in terms of driving comparison. GTR.co.uk tends to be biased (obviously)

Mickle

I've got a P1 as well. Would have looked at an EVO but the running costs are suppose to be quite high. Haven't had any problems with the P1, servicing is the same cost as a normal turbo, insurance is just over a grand fully comp, overall not that bad to keep. Apart from the loan it's so far costing as much as the MY97 turbo I had before.

Main difference, it feels nothing like the MY97 turbo I had before, it's in a different class, fast as ****! Owned it for nearly a year now from new and still no regrets, sure the residuals hurt looking at them but then I'm not looking to sell my car full stop!

Skyline looks a bit big for itself (if you know what I mean) Not too pretty IMHO. I'm sure you'll make the right choice though in the end - P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1!

wilf

If you want me to send me some copy comparison road tests from all the mags email me your address off line.

ap_smith

Thanks Wilf, YHM.

Good to hear the P1 coming out so positive.

DaveR

I know the P1 and EVOs are great cars, but if you can afford to buy and run a decent R33 or R34 Skyline, how could you possibly choose anything else? They are the absolute daddies IMO - but then I am a big fan of 'japcrap' and they are about as insane as you can get out of the box ......

I'm sure you'll make a wise choice

ap_smith

Dave,

thanks for the reply, am interested in a Skyline mostly 'cos I know bugger all about them apart from that they have more technology than the average moon mission, and they can be tuned to hell.

I suppose I'm more interested in what the driving experience is like, and whether the Skyline can be thrown about and taken on the track? Sure, I know they have a successful racing heritage, but how bombproof are they in real life?

I'll be buying the car cash so I should be able to take care of just about anything, but having said that I don't want to be paying out a grand a month just to keep it in tip top condition...

Cheers

DaveR

I've only been lucky enough to have driven the R33 and R34 at track days before, not owned one, so I couldn't tell you about running costs/repairs and so on. On the track they are awesome, but having said that you will probably get more crack out of a P1 or EVO6 - you'll feel more like you are driving the thing instead of being driven by it and the technology. And yes, they do feel big!

Blowdog posts on here sometimes and seems to own a skylineR34. Check out his site at www.blowdog.com for his email address if you want to mail him.

cheers
DaveR

EVOVI

Get a skyline....I got rid of my evo vi back in July to get an R33 gtr.Much more of a car than the Evo.I drove both everyday to work and the Skyline is better on fuel both in normal driving and when giving it some.....Decent GTRs start around £15000...Get one and you wont regret it......

crazylaydee

P1

jasetheace

I have just changed from evo 5 with lots of mods and now in a P1....have to say the P1 wins 4 me....and its standard.......

Alfie

P1 all the way

turboman786

Wilf.......could u mail me some tests as well..if u dont mind....turboman786@hotmail.com

P1 Enthusiast

Few points to note from me a P1 owner who went to buy the Evo and couldn't, even the dealer admitted with my intended mileage and cost concerns the P1 was better for me (Ralliart said this).

1) Evo, service per 4500 miles, costs about 400 quid from Ralliart at this interval, eats discs (known fact - which are 400 quid to replace about), crap fuel tank, NOT easy to run across england with to visit friends, have to locate Optimax before u set out at regular intervals.

2) Skyline, friend has an R33, if you like B road driving simply dont bother, its crap on rough surfaces and NARROW B roads, it is after all a very wide car. Handles like tank on B roads also. On the track its an absolute monster / the daddy as rightly said.

3) P1, Evo performance with everyday love and care, LOW costs compared to other two for servicing and easy on wear on tear imho. On the B road you will be stuck to the other two's back bumper and in the bar you will be laughing your **** off at how much less cash you spent than them

Simply put the P1 is the performance car for everyday use imho and cheap as chips for what you get. I know that both my friends owning the other two would agree and have to resort to 'on the track' argument to win their point, despite neither of them having been on a track this year.

Stuart J

If you are looking for a Skyline & want some good advice talk to Mark at Abbey Motorsports, he also sometimes knows of a few good ones for sale.
They are in Oxted, Kent. If you cant find their tel no mail me direct & I will find it for you.
They specialise in Skylines & what they dont know probably isnt worth knowing, having said that they have sorted out the HKS bits on my Scoob a couple of times, were only too happy to help, charged me less than a certain other so called Jap specialist & did not slag off the scoob in any way even though it was in superior company.(OK Someone will disagree)
They also know a lot about building horrendously fast Skylines so if you fancy a Ferrari slayer they are the boys although it aint cheap!!!

Stuart

ap_smith

Hmm, sounds like I need to go and sample some Skylines and see how they perform on UK roads.

One of my concerns was that they would be just too big and bulky to throw around, both on the B roads and the track. When you get to that size of car you just have to be precise with your lines and tidy rather than being able to switch into hooligan mode when you feel like it. One of the things I enjoyed most about the Impreza was that it was still small enough to thrash around without having massive weight. (i still put it on its roof though)

Not looking to buy until March next year, but running costs aren't really the issue, although changing brake discs every other month and visiting a petrol station every 30 mins isn't really game on.

Hmm, bloody hell. Decisions! I think the Evo is slowly edging itself out of the running though. (cheer from the scooby owners).

importsti

To add to the excellent content so far...


Evo: best handling but too brash, uncompromising and expensive for regular use. Easy to tune. Plus relatively ugly.

P1: looks good, good (ish) value, bit soft, cheap to run (relative).

Skyline: the Japanese Godfather. the King. Looks good, ultra modifiable, different league and different price range. Expensive and way too big to be driven hard on our windy narrow roads.

Imported Sti V5/V6: get 17s, tweak the suspension get all the P1 benefits and save thousands. Downside, higher insurance.

If 15K My choice pound for pound imported Sti or ultra cheap P1.
If 20 K Evo
If 30 K Skyline or 993 Porsche

My 2 cents

super_si

Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline Skyline skyline skyline

Only if GTR34 not keen on the others

Si

M0NEY

Skyline! They are brilliant.

If you look at the recent banzai magazine i think, there is Ronnies R33 skyline which he has tuned sickly! Road car and its 0-60 in 3.05 seconds!!!!!

chrisp

Skyline if

- you dont intend any 'b' road stuff
- have a big budget
- have a big garage


I would have one but they just dont fit in a normal garage. GTR34 going to cost you best aprt of 40K for a good second hand one.

SUNDAY DRIVER

Depends what u want.If you want to go out at nite around B roads and smaller and get loads of air,then get an Evo,theres nothing that flies and lands better.If it is something else you're after,consider the other two.If you've heard that Evos are seriously hard to run,fuel wise,believe it,it's true.

ap_smith

Hmm, the car parking space that I hire isn't that big, bugger.

Looks like the Skyline might just work its way out of contention. Well, that sort of leaves the P1 really. I am going to have to test drive an Evo just because everyone says the driving experience is so good, nevermind the cost.

Exactly how wide is a Skyline then? Time to get the tape measure out! I think one of the things that concerns me is that I don't want the car just to to be able to get pub-kudos - it's real world fun that counts. If the Skyline is that bad on B roads maybe it's not the car for me anyway...

Right, off to Gatwick Subaru/Mitsubishi for me then!

Cheers.

davyboy

Skyline
Length / Width / Height (mm)
4600 / 1785 / 1360

Impreza
Length / Width / Height (mm)
4405 / 1730 / 1440

Yep............make sure you buy a garage 55 mm wider lol

Steve Fort

Bought my P1 a couple of months ago, after owning a modded MY00. Its a totally different animal. Its easier to drive slowly in traffic etc, but when you plant your right foot its amazing. Mines standard except for exhaust and brakes, and i cant see that i'd ever want anything better/faster, our roads seem to run out too quickly.
I've never driven a Skyline, but from what i've heard, you are very much a passenger in one, whereas you really feel part of the P1 (i'm even getting used to the p-zeros in the wet, which is quite fun. They're still **** tyres though!)

Get a P1, you'll never regret it.....and they look better....and for the price of an average'ish R33, you can get a good P1 that is only a year or two old and still has a warranty!

Nuff said!

Steve Fort

Forgot to say, if you get a P1, get a blue one!

RichiW

I dont normally reply to these threads in the main forumn, but i`m feeling quite annoyed at :

What a load of crap! The service interval yes is every 4.5k, but cost £220 for a Ralliart dealer or around £180 from a specialist.The Evo6 is prone to warping discs, you can replace them with two peice for £300 which will never warp ever again under road conditions.Fuel tank size is a pain at times, but the feeling of driving the Evo makes up for that fact, and you dont have to fill up with optimax, any superunleaded/normal unleaded with octane booster is fine.

Have a test drive in them all, i`m sure you`ll know which one is for you as soon as you drive it, there all fab cars, you`ll not go wrong with any of them!

Rich.

scrappydoo

I totally agree with Rich on this one. I drove one (Evo7 FQ300) the other day and it just blew me away. It took me 6 hours to come down off the high. The ride was also alot better and liveable than most people would lead you to believe. Oh yeh and whilst i was test driving it a skyline 33 came up alongside wanting to race so i blipped the throttle and he didnt want to know anymore Drove it for 3/4 hr and the fuel needle moved slightly and that was after a few blasts to. Ive now put an order down for one the day later. Im still a scooby nutter though and it would blow the wrx away no problem. Ive driven the sti PPP and i think it would even take that without to much of a struggle. I think i will keep it for a year or two then get another scooby once they have sorted their act out abit. Still cracking cars though.

Regards

Scrappy

p1 tud

get a p1 i did. went to buy an evo 6 rs brand new and took the demo for a run, also took an sti 7 a spin too, much preferred the p1, the evo was not nice to drive in my opinion. sti felt a bit slow. skyline = deep pockets. hope this helps u out.

P1 Enthusiast

RichiW ;

So to summarise :

a) You AGREE the discs warp and they cost over 200 quid to replace (400 for proper ones i recall)

b) You AGREE the servicing is at least TWICE as much as Subaru servicing costs over a year. Almost 2 services per one for the Scoob and 50% more cost per service.

c) You AGREE the petrol tank is a pain in the ***.

Thanks for posting and clearing up my invalid points
*heabutts keyboard at pedantic ppl, excuse me for being a few quid out on some points*.

P.S. Dont listen to the ****e btw, the Evo is not a better riding car on uneven camber or surface roads, the P1 is, on smooth roads the Evo is. Someone pls find me a perfectly smooth B road please!!