Andy M3

I am trying to think of the shortest way around my epic story, but here goes.

My wife is currently without any transport at the moment (although we have borrowed one). So we are looking purchase a car that is practical, economical, safe, well built, durable, desirable etc etc.......

Her preference is the VW Touran, probably in a 1.9 TDI SE guise.

HOWEVER, for some strange reason i have a real desire to laugh in the face of practicality, econamy and maybe a couple of the others, and get a WRX STI wagon !?!?

Having sold a T5 on grounds that it was too thirsty and a big and not as practical as it could be, i am tempted to walk straight back into the same scenario.

I am not sure whether i posted this in the hope i would be put off or talked into one. I will let you lot decide.

Andy

(P.S we do have 2 young children and i have been informed that might not be all )

MJW

I was in the same boat - 2 kids, one teenager one toddler and needed a car that could lug all their stuff about and at the same time put a grin on my face, so I bought a MY02 wagon from new and had it PPP'd and it's a spot on family car. So much so I'm thinking of chopping it in for another exactly the same ! Running costs wise, the only downer is insurance and fuel costs. You'd probably be looking at 23mpg round town (maybe a couple mpg less with 'spirited' driving) and up to 30mpg on a decent off-boost run.
In my opinion the wagon is the perfect compromise even taking into account the running costs, although of course the missus doesn't think so when I nail it !!

GC8

Perhaps a Forester Turbo is the answer; although not if the question was: economy?

Simon

Andy M3

Maybe i should consider the lesser stock WRX wagon or indeed another subaru model. Can fuel consumtion on a stock car remain in the 30's !?!?

And another thing, do all of them have to run on 97/98 ron ?

cmot

Practical , good question depends on how you view it, fuel is always going to be an issue , if you drive and keep the revs down, easy on the boost then the fuel consumption can be in the mid to high 20's tried this myself and it can be done so this is reasonable but then why have a scoob !.
Tyres servicing and insurance all add up , but then again a waggon with the seats down is great I've loaded in mine so far, 1 fully boxed 42" plasma screen ,can't do that in many cars. 3 large adults 3 sets of golf clubs and a trolley no problem ,1 set of golf clubs and the weekly shopping easy, perfect for trips to the dump the inside is hard wearing ,easy load space so yep their practical but if economy and running costs are the main concern ,buy a cheap estate car and keep a scooby for the weekends

Andy M3

So they are very practical !?!? hmm. Well the main issue is the fact i have just picked up my 05 Fabia vRS. The idea is we have cheap cars and not expensive one's. I used to run an E30 m3 and the mrs as i said had a Volvo T5. Bare in mind we are both under 25 expensive motoring is all i have ever known. So really hense the reason for going as far in the other direction as is possible.

So the scooby. Well i am tempted by is the 3 years free servicing, so the only concern is insurance (still awaiting a quote) and the consumption of fuel, but it would be our main family car........

I think i will wait on insurance and way up pro's and cons. Any MPV is obscenly bland so that is a massive draw back - ? - ?

Might pop down to monty's at lunch time -lol .

Andy M3

NO NO NO NO NO. Insurance has come back. £1480 for a basic WRX wagon. Social use only up to 8000 miles.

Holy poo. That is £500 more than what i paid on the M3 when i was 23 and that was an import !!!!!!

May have to keep it as a dream until i have saved money owning a fabia for 3 years then drop in a totally outrageous Subaru model !!!

OllyK

Bloody hell - do you live in Brixton or something? Try Elephant, Tesco or Liverpool & Victoria. Mine is about £800 pa with me and the misses, covered for business use and up to 20K per year.

As far as the wagon goes, it's fun, moderately practical - the roof bars are far more use than the boot, thirsty and pricey in terms of service interval. It's been fun, but I wouldn't do it again, I'd go for a boring derv estate and a separate fun car next time.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

10K SDP , Garaged, wife and with Tracker Monitor with Churchill £480. Only down side with my wagon is clearing the dog spit from the side windows after a vigorous winding bit!!!! He tends to look like he's licking windows, poor chap.

IN THE STICKS

LOL

OllyK

Ahhh - you get that as well huh?

prodriva

My bro has just bought an 04 (I think) Vauxhall Zafira GSi 2.0 Turbo and that I can tell you is in no way bland. The thing really does shift considering its a people carrier and they are kitted out to the hilt. I belive they also did a 2.2ltr one but not sure if it was turbo'd. Take a look at one, they look pretty good with the body kit and huge alloys. His wife loves the thing but is a bit scared of putting her foot down when the turbo kicks!!!

Brendan Hughes

Impreza wagon
Legacy B6 (?) wagon
Forester STi

all fast, not great fuel consumption.

Or a new BMW 330D. But not great if you get a third kid. Though neither is an impreza.

shaunywrx

Only down side with my wagon is clearing the dog spit from the side windows after a vigorous winding bit!!!! He tends to look like he's licking windows, poor chap.[/QUOTE]

I think this is quite a common problem, iv'e got two collie's that now look like boxer dog's, where they keep head butting the side window's.