topjimmy

My first post so go easy on me..

This morning I went to Wilson's Subarbu (Chadwell Heath, Essex) to test drive a 06 MY STi as a potential upgrade to my 53 registered WRX. The car in white had only arrived at the dealership last night and I was the first customer to get a drive, it only had 12 miles on the clock when I got behind the wheel! It whould have been nice if the car had been delivered run in as it was a bit limiting with it being so new. Before I get onto my comments I should also point out that during my discussions with the salesman I had expressed an interest in a 05 MY STi because they where so heavily discounted, when I also found out the PPP upgrade had been reduced in price I was very interested indeed. Because they didn't have a 05 MY STi demonstrator I got to drive a WR1 to give me an idea of what a tuned STi was like. I drove the WR1 first which I must admit probably spoilt me a bit but I'll get onto that later....

Never having driven a STi of any flavour I can only really comment on the difference between my WRX. The STi feels a lot more planted to the road, the quicker steering also gives much more feedback which IMHO is a good thing. The brakes are also superb a real step up from the WRX and not as grabby as I had been made to believe. The engine which has been the cause of much debate was "easy" to drive with much less of a noticeable dead spot and the turbo coming in gently. But the thing that really disapointed me was the noise or lack of, behind the wheel the turbo is quite noticable above the exhaust note and the distinctive flat four burble is muted. Also the connection between the engine and the car seems to have been lost a bit, the car doesn't rock gently when standing with the engine at idle. I'm also not convinced about the drive by wire throttle it's supposed to be more responsive but it just seemed a bit strange to me. The 06 MY STi feels like a much more "grown up" car to drive and the engine would make it a very easy car to live with as a daily driver. I have to confess that I'm not a huge fan of the looks of the new car and I don't buy the whole aero inspired thing it still looks like the front end of SEAT to me...

So now I have to come clean, driving the WR1 spoiled me it is a fantastic car, it's difficult to believe that it is basically the same car as my WRX with a few tweaks. For me it pushed all the right buttons and made all the right noises.

Although the 06 car was very good it's a little out of my budget and I'm still not sure I could live with the looks, I like the way my "old" car looks. So after a bit of soul searching and haggling I finally walked out of the dealership a bit lighter but with a piece of paper that says I will be the owner of a brand new 05 MY black pearl STi with PPP. Which at around £24K is a massive amount of car for the money and the best xmas present I've ever brought myself!!!

terryb

Nice one Jimmy - good report too.

So when do you pick the new car up??

I'm sure you'll love every minute of it

suffolkdar

Think you have made the right choice, the 06 model does not seem to be selling to well.... The looks really don't help it.... as for the engine? thats another dispute! lol

topjimmy

Terry, not sure yet I'm expecting a call on Monday to give me a precise date. With xmas in the way I'm expecting 2nd or 3rd weekend in Jan.

I can't wait, no longer will I walk down the street and feel cheated when a STi drives past...

compshack

I test drove the 06 sti today. After owning 3 previous sti's I feel that the 06 is far superour "out of the box" than it's previous models. There is no lag what so ever and the midrange torque is superb. It only had 55 miles on the clock but it felt like it wanted to go all the time.
I think with the prodrive pack it will be force to be reconded with.
The looks in comparison to the older model (they had them parked side by side) I thought the new model looked better, in the wr blue anyway.

All in all really impressed, but I still didn't want to part with my BMW 330D. The build quality of the 2 cars is like night and day which didn't go down too well with the Subaru dealer, it felt like a backwards step to me.

Anyway each to his own.

Dave_68

Nice one, I picked up my 05 MY black STi with PPP 3 weeks ago and absolutely love it Can't fault it apart from the fuel consumption which is a little worse than I anticipated lol...

Enjoy it.

Dave

topjimmy

Superb, it's good to know I'm not the only one that thought black was the new blue... I am prepared for the increased fuel bills as my WRX at the moment has always run on regular pump fuel so using super unleaded is going make a difference, also I know that my right foot and choice of gear is going to have a very large impact on my wallet...

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

I saw an MY06 STi at Powerstation a couple of days ago and I have to say, it looked good. The new styling is beginning to win me over.

Good report on your test drive!

terryb

They didn't let you drive it properly with only 55 miles on the clock did they?? I thought that Subaru dealerships limited their demonstrators to 4000 rpm for the 1st 1000 miles.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

I was wondering about that, I seem to recall another poster saying that the one he drove had significantly less than 1000 miles.

Those ex-demo cars aren't looking like such good buys eh!!!

NS04

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Every demo car I've driven has had a lot less than 1k on the clock and they let you knock the bollocks out of them if you so wish..! After all they sell them on once the get much more than 1k anyhow.

Took a scoob out once and it had 16 miles on the clock..! Even if you do give it some beans, you can't really tell what it's going to be like as they're as tight as F for the first 6k..!

It's no wonder an STI felt better, running any scoob on 95ron will make it feel very sluggish..!

topjimmy

I will admit I didn't give the 06 car as hard a time as I did the WR1 but I didn't treat it that gently either. Because of the price difference and my lack of enthusiasm for the looks I was driving the 06 car more out of interest than anything else.

compshack

I'd have to admit that I did give the 06 car a hard time because I could. Whats the point of test driving a car in the view to purchase if your not going to find the limits, yes it did only have 55 miles on the clock but the guy sat next to me didn't say anything so hey, lets go.

I think as I have said before that the 06 car is way better than the previous sti's and with a prodrive pack be certantly better than the WR1, which in my book won't be that difficult.

Stevie_h

Congrats on your purchase. I would say that a 05 STI PPP will be better overall than a WR1, out of the box. The WR1 may have a little more power, but the suspension modifications that came with 05 models make it a slightly better handling car IMO.

ste

Grahamwrx

Test drove an 06 sti today and was very impressed. OK i'm only used to a bugeye wrx but everything about the car was most impressive. The pickup above 2500 was much cleaner than my wrx and obviously the push in the back was relentless. The gearbox also impressed with precise, quick and smooth changes throughout the range. The steering was also a revelation, with the smaller wheel and presumably quicker rack it seemed much more direct and pointy than the wrx. Bearing in mind the car only had 700 miles on the clock and the roads were a little damp, maximum revs were limited to about 5500 revs then i'm sure at 100% this car will prove to the best uk model !

Unfortunatly this test drive may well test my marriage !

Smatt

I am afraid that I have a different opinion of the new style versus the old.
The new re-facelifted version is a tide over till the new Impreza. This will be a totally new looking carlike the Evo X, which is well into developement. With Mitsubishi due back into the WRC in 08 with the X. There is no doubt that Subaru will follow suit. The murmurs I have heard, is that the new one will be an 07 model. You can take all rumours as you like, but as has been said on Top Gear & in the press. New legislation dictates that all cars have to be safer for pedestrians. This is why all the fronts of cars look alike. The Evo X is a beefed up Astra.
The 06 is a nice car but, is a bit squirmy, when pushed. The new sensors that are employed to compete with Mitsi, are not quite right. It is a little bit unstable, when pushed on a damp uphill curve. You can hear the Dccd-a trying to deal with it. IMHO very un-nerving. When questioning the dealers, it turns out that, they have found it, aswell. Subaru's response" dynamics of the car". Sorry but Bulls**t.
As far as a new PPP, I reckon that it will only be about 325/330 bhp.
Why go any further, when the top selling Evo's are the fq 300/320.

If you can afford it go for a WR1. You get a 1 off colour and a serious map.
All the waffle about the longer/wider track, is in peoples mind. It is better, but who, honestly drives that close to the limit. 99% of owners, think they do, but i'm afraid they are disillusioned. Years ago I was treated to a ride in a friends 1.9 Puegeot 205, driven by a well known racer. In his hands the car about 40% more grip, than I had ever known. From that day to this, I consider myself a total novice.
The WR1 has so much grunt, that if you are a bit slower in the corners, who cares. You will be ahead at the end of the straight & stay there.

Andy Porter

Looked over an '06 STI in Cheam motors late last night, I must say the looks were dissapointing in the flesh, I prefer the back to the front !

SivMY05Sti

Well I hope the alledged MY07 looks as good as the Evo X.......else I'll be having one of those next (if they sort out the Service intervals that is !!!)

mas58

Can't get any ethusiam for the new Sti model. Now waiting for a test drive of the new Audi RS4. If its good, mine should be delivered by March 2006.

topjimmy

I've not been a massive fan of the new aero/SEAT front end from the first photos I saw of it last year and for me it didn't improve in the flesh either. At the time I said to myself I'd look into getting the last of the outgoing model to rectify my "mistake" in not buying a STi 2 years ago. With the new regulations for pedestrian safety I'm not sure the hood scoop can last that long and certainly not in the configuration found on the last STi, I shall be holding on to mine for quite awhile once it arrives.

Damn why did I order a car over Christmas.....

Smatt

I thought that 325/330 bhp would be the new PPP. To be as low as 316 is an insult to the STI.
It looks like Scooby owners, will have to look at the back end of an Evo for another couple of years.

bluto22b

Subarbu? Is this a new brand from Taiwan

bluto22b

Thats what I always used to say about our lass