RRH

Had seven Imprezas now and love the bones of them (particularly all of my RA's with no exceptions), but am considering a change.

As I now have a track car, and also have my eye on an Elise, I can be a little more sensible if necessary (mid 30s, three kids etc... ) and am slightly paranoid about the theft aspect of the STi, hence I got a WRX wagon last time (MY03)

So then, not sure what to get. Know I'd love to get back in another STi, '05 stylee..... but..... also love the look of the Spec B legacy wagon, reasonable pace and loads of space, which comes in handy with 3 kids and 3 dogs. Also better for towing race and track cars.

Any thoughts guys, pref from owners of either.

Engineer@Uni

Don't know about the scoob, but I'd urge you to think twice about the elise. I test-drove all 3 models (the two with the rover k-series 1.8 engine @ 120 and 160 horse, and the one with the 1.8 toyota 190 hp block) and was amazed at the lack of refinement. Truly, there is nothing quite like it, it's tiny and astoundingly responsive, and I don't care how good the setup on anyone's scoob is, 750kg and a center of gravity about two pig's hairs higher than the wheels means the cornering speeds are spectacular. However, these poor little things are virtually plagued by a host of problems. Including the suspension up front having a tendeancy to bottom out and bend the wishbones, the acceerator pedal coming undone after 20k miles because it's secured with a bolt, and water seeping through the door to cause rust under the footwell's carpet on the older models. Although there really is nothing like it as far as cornering speed is concerned, there is also nothing like being stranded on the M25 in a broken-down Elise, wondering how many scooby owners are laughing as they go past you.
Having said that, there are a couple of coments I'd like to point out for myself: i did notice the servo breaking on the 111r elise to be a little overpowering, making the pedal feel numb, light and unresponsive. That and the toyota engine runs out of fun too soon. vvti kicks in about 7000 and lasts all the way to 8200. Not much. Vtec goes on and on from 6k to 9k. 8200 really is too soon to die out. I wonder what a little exhaust work and a fresh set of camshafts with a good ECU remap will do for it though...

RRH

It will be a cheap one if I buy one, for mainly track use.

just something I need to get out of my system so i don't go totally daft and buy a 340r or ariel atom.

Also considered a superlight r500 caterham, but decided against for two reasons;

first being I don't want that much money tied up in a toy (nor can i afford to have that much tied up) and
secondly- have you noticed the curious 'coffin' shape of the body......

Steve PPP

?????? Series 1 elise doesn't have any carpets, only bonded rubber floor mats,and the whole structure is bonded aluminium including the floors, so how can it rust?
Never had any of the quoted problems with my Elise, only little niggles, but hey it is a Lotus, so you have to be an enthusiast still. Fantastic car though, I thought my Elan Sprint DHC was good until I raced my wife in our Elise, and she beat me effortlesly

Lum

The new Legacy seems nice, but you can get an import 2.0 Twin Turbo Legacy B4 (or GTB if you want the estate version) for less which will wipe the floor with the non-turbo 3.0 UK Legacy while remaining just as practical.

Just a thought from a happy B4 owner

GTB Limited

Or if ya want 'new' JDM GTB twin scroll hubba hubba

Mark

RRH

mmmmmm