ascender

Hi,

I am due to drive a 2003 Turbo Wagon tomorrow at AF Noble in Penicuik. Its their demonstrator so I'm not necessarily looking at buying that new a car.

But I need something practical that will take dogs, mountain bikes, boards etc and also be a lot of fun to drive all year round. And I keep coming back to the fact that a Turbo Wagon seems to be the best option. I hear they also handle quite well for an estate car...

Anyway, I've used the search function but frankly there are so many threads returned I could spend days looking through them.

Is there anything I should know about Wagons?

I'm looking to spend under 20K, but is there any year of car I should avoid or try to buy?

Is it worth spending the extra on a new-ish car to get the Subaru approved warranty?

For a normal everyday car, how do the running/servicing costs stack up?

Is there such a thing as a PPP for the estate version?

Any advice, opinions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,


-Mike.

sexy-blue-scoob

I have a turbo 2000 wagon and I love it !

(Although it might be for sale soon :-( as i seem to be doing an ever increasinng amount of mileage and I think I might need to think about a diesel.)

Mine is the classic shape - some people think that it looks a little dated but its a question of taste ! Personally I would avoid the bug-eyes as I have heard so many negative opinions about them-I think they are OK - but to be honest I do prefer the new shape.

Yes you will fit dogs etc... in the back but be warned the cars look bigger than they actually are and depending on the breed of dogs you have you might want something bigger.

As for handling - I think its great and prefer driving it to the P1 - it under stated and pretty quick.

The classic shape require frequent servicing - and I believe the sevrice interals on the new ones are longer - but you should check with Nobles. To give you an idea of running costs - I use Optimax and a full tank is just short of £50 - for which I will get between 220-260 miles !! - That is driving in town (gently)-you probably get better economy on longer trips but even so - running costs can be high !

If you do decide to buy a turbo wagon - check out the Scotland page as there are regular track days at knockhill - it's always fun to take the car for a blast without the need to check over your shoulder for the 100's of speed cameras that keep appearing in Edinburgh !