Have had my MY00 since March, and am very pleased with it. No problems bar a dodgy battery. Performance & handling are great. But....

Now I've got used to it my mind turned to upgrades for it, preferably PPP or Wheel & brakes.

Then I started thinking about the P1 & the new Impreza. The way I calculated it was this:

Basic Impreza 20,950
Air Con c 800
PPP 2,000
Wheels & Tires c 1,200 ( Prodrive 7's )
Trackstar c 600

Total around 25,500

So I was thinking it might be reasonable based on this working to look at a P1 ( is Air-con included? ) as this covers the upgrades I was looking at and then some, especially as demonstrator P1's are around for 29k. Warranty & support are essential so non-supported upgrades are not on the menu for me.

What does everyone think? Especially interested to hear views of P1 owners who have come from my situation. Or would it be worth waiting to see what happens with the new shape model?

Am going to phone my sales guy at Carstin's tomorrow to make some inquiries.... :-)



[This message has been edited by Dave25 (edited 15 October 2000).]

 

There is an X plate P1 in the Daily Telegraph Motoring Section (14.10.00) going for £28995 from a Subaru dealer.

Dealer is 'Anthony Betts Motor Group' (can't say I have heard of that one) and are on 0800 187 5542 or check out:

 

Dave,

I had a similar dilema myself (do I replace my MY98 with MY01/Low mileage RB5/P1 etc).

At the end of the day I went for a P1, and I'm pleased I did. The P1 has had more than it's fair share of critics, most of which I think is unfair. It's not an STi V with a new wing, there's a lot more to it than that, and it shows. I've just had my first service, so I'm being a little more enthusiastic with the throttle, and it just gets better and better!

A/C is standard, but a radio isn't!

Any other questions let me know, or email me.

Josh

 

Dave,

I just bought a P1 and it is fantastic.

I won't get into the whole "it's better than a..." argument - it sounds like you love your standard Impreza and want something with a little more pep - this is exactly what the P1 gives you.

Cheers
Rod

 

The P1 package is great, 280BHP, exclusive styling and a limited edition.

The ultimate track car it may not be, but for driving on english roads its superb.

Get one

 

Most of your post on new Impreza vs P1 is correct however the new car will cost only £500 more than the old car. Air con and 17" wheels (not that nice design IMHO) are std.

Therefore by the time you buy a PPP and decent rear wing the car will cost £24k roughly.

There are some points to note though.

1. The seats in the car at launch are not the full bucket type. Thats not until April.

2. Dont expect a PPP at launch unless theres a suprise at the Motorshow. Mr Woods are you out there ?

P1 vs New Impreza

Suspension

Although the new car is surposed to have new suspension and should be better it wont be as good as the P1's. Prodrive will still bring our a suspension kit/ P2 in the
fullness of time.

Style

New shape only available as 4 door/ 5 door.

Engine

Heavier car and same engine power as your MY00. Its not really going to compete with the P1 even with PPP. The P1 also has
slightly shorter gearing which increase the acceleration feel.

Driving

If you want the better driving experience, acceleration & handling go for a P1. For a refined ride with better quality interior buy the new shape.


Dont buy a brand new one look for one with the brakes, exhaust and maybe wheels.

Funnily enough I know of a car just like that that might be sold soon.

Jonathan
P11 WRX

 

P1 is great but there are loads unsold - wait a while and pick an ex-demo up for £20,000 (2 less doors remember and no radio!!)
pete

 

Whilst you are obviously one life's cynics Pete, I think it'l be quite some time before you see a P1 at the sort of level.

Even nearly new MY00's are fetching that.

As Jono (Kiwi from Hell) would say, your obviously a 'glass is half empty' kinda guy.

Josh

 

They cant sell 'em Josh !!! Far from being a cynic - I am a realist.
If there is no demand for something it finds its lower level to sell (around £20K)
Yes dealers are ASKING a lot for MY00's - but... shock of shock they cant get that money for them
Tell you what.....pop into your Subaru dealer and ask for a cash price for your car - that will put you into a state of shock as your little crystal world falls apart
Pete

 

First go at a price last week on my P1
£27,500 with prodrive brakes. Now lets see what happens if I try

Hardly £20k.

Jonathan

 

Dave I might be able to help....

A friend of mine has just picked up a MY00, I’ve just got my hands on a PPP RB5 and another mates just collected a P1 so we've spent a bit of time comparing (you know how it is)....

The MY00 is a glorious car with, as you know, plenty of grunt, lovely road holding and a wonderful ride.

The RB5 is definitely quicker, road holdings about the same but you do get the bonus of that glorious exhaust note and it's up to you what you think of the interior. I'm not sure if there's enough of an improvement though to warrant the extra money on upgrades for the MY00

The P1 though is something else....It feels a bit stiffer than the RB5, acceleration is amazing plus I just think it looks the dogs. If I could afford it and didn't need the doors I'd go for the P1.

Mike

 

PSlewis you,re right got offered £16,500 for my RB5 last month in 6 months time I feel you P1 owners are in for a shock, as for P1 being amazingly quicker than an RB5 PPP or MY00 even, come to that I would hardly call 0.1 of a second, EVO's test figures, amazingly quicker (0.5 compared to the MY00)

 

By the way

(putting on a flame proof jacket)

Anyone notice how the P1 fraternity are becoming a bit elitist, with a holier than though attitude. Got offered one and kept the RB5.Each to their own, live and let live and all that. (my cars better than yours!;( )

 

P1 for sale at Cross roads garage in shipston (warkwickshire).
A few weeks ago, I think I am right in saying, that I have seen it on the road with the number plate (was oncoming) of P1
saw no other garage plates. It also had full rally sticker kit. Looked the mutz.
They currently have a p1 for sale circa 32K ,is this the one I saw??

 

Well yes of course the P1 owners think they are elite - Subaru WANTS them to think they are special - how else in gods name would someone pay the price of an EVO6 for a P1?? AND to finally take the pi55 - remove the music!!! clever Subaru !!
We shall see in a couple of months when the P1's are £20K (mark my words!!)
Pete

 

As usual people seem to get bent out of shape when they see the word P1.

To answer some points

Pete

Why buy the P1 over the EVO. Easy its a better car. Secondly its only priced at the same as a non type approved, secondhand car warrantied hairdryer. By selling for less money you might infer its an inferior machine. By the way Mitsubishi also remove the stereo. So facts right please.

Steve

Didnt see anyone post that the P1 was far quicker than an RB5 PPP. I did say that the new car is 70kg heavier and even giving it a PPP it will not be as quick as a P1. 70kg is a nice bit of weight to add. EVO mag has not actually tested the P1 with timing gear. The only mag to do a side by side timing test was Top Gear against an EVO VI. The P1 was quicker at 4.7sec to 60 and in their own words pulled away after 100. If you go back a year a so ago you would see my post after going from my STI V to the RB5 PPP that I stated there was not a lot in it. In fact the RB5 PPP was a lot more driveable low down. One thing STI and P1 owners do have is the shorter gearing which gives a greater sense of acceleration (read sense).

As for eliteist what I would say is that most P1 owners have had to watch lots of posts telling them what a bunch of T**** they are for buying the P1. Just like yourself with your non PPP RB5 they can get defensive. I could understand all the flack if it was from poor disalusioned EVO owners who know they made a bad move, but most of its from Scooby owners.

I do hope that the first poor sole that really gets to drive the new Impreza and tells us that its miles better than the P1, RB5, STI etc doesnt get too much of a roasting.

Jonathan

 

Thanks to everyone for contributing. I'm going to phone my dealer tomorrow to get a feel for how the land lies. I will report back on what sort of deal they're willing to do.

The P1 is very tempting, and desirable. At first I wasn't keen but I like the look a LOT, and frankly I think the new shape Impreza just doesn't have the same appeal visually than the present. Just my opinion. Then again, as I said, I wasn't that mad on the P1 at first....

Personally, I think the extra's that have gone into the P1 don't make it a terribly overpriced car compared to the standard car plus the Prodrive mods, e.g. wasn't the RB5 around 26-27k new? ( If you had the full mods ) and it seems that a similar amount of hard work has gone into the P1.

Just as an aside, does anyone know how long the P1 will be available for, and what is the production run now? I thought it was 1000.

Thanks again.

Dave.

 

Elitist my ****! (I can't beleive I've taken the bait)

Personally, all I have said about the P1 is how much I enjoy the car, and how impressed I have been.

My real gripe is with the 'STI V with a body kit' brigade. These are the true elitists. Most of them firmly believe that you can't possibly be a true enthusiast unless you either have an import, or have spent fortunes on mods. Preferably both. The P1 is a hell of a lot more than just an STi, but at the end of the day it's all a matter of personal choice.

I, for one, would never dream of buying an import, because of all the potential expense and aggro which can accompany it. However, there are many people who would disagree with me, and have had years of enjoyment from their cars for considerably less than a UK buyer. Neither would I spend fortunes on mods, because I have neither the technical know-how nor the seemingly endless bugets of some members.

The main reason that I went for the P1 is that making similar modifications to a UK car (which probably wouldn't render the same results) would bring the car at least half way to the P1 price.

My car was due to go in Feb next year anyway, so I was faced with a choice between a MY00, MY01 or a P1. Since the 01 is an unknown quantity (and fairly ugly) and the 00 is a step sideways, so what choice did I have.

Why can't people here shake off this 'mine's better than yours' attitude. There are few people of long standing on this board who are begining to sound no better than Jason M.

Dave, sorry for the rant.

There are P1 demonstrators out there, go and have a go, and you'll only have to wait a short time before the 01 demonstrators will be available for a back to back test. Then you can make your own decision as to whether you want to spend the extra.

At the end of the day, you know you'll enjoy whatever Scoob you buy.

Cheers

Josh

 

Dave

Ive tried to send you an email twice, but each time it gets rejected.

Jonathan

 

The P1 is a fantastic car and every one should leave it alone.Although the STI cars are brilliant as well.I have heard that there are still some P1s left,is this true and will Prodrive be bringing out the P2 etc?

 

Jonathan,

Have mailed you again, sorry.

Work email is David_Doyle@3i.com if you still have problems.

Thanks.

 

Josh,

and I quote...

"The P1 is a hell of a lot more than just an STi"

...so who's not being elitist now then?


Anyway - word is that there are still over two hundred (and I have heard as high as FOUR hundred) P1s as yet unsold.

Certainly my local Subaru dealer still has one unregistered at the front of his showroom. Also a number of dealers have taken the pain and used them as demonstrators (something undreamt of when they first came out).

So the moral of my post is - if you want one, and why not, get into your dealer and make an offer. I believe the right amount is around £28,500 - for an unregistered, or possibly pre-registered but unused.

All this and only a month until the new one is out!

R

 

The STi brigade is envious because they are no longer owners of the undisputed top Impreza (22B owners keep quiet! ). STi owners are dismissive of the P1 because it contains a large number of STi parts. QED, Impreza 1.6 GL owners are dismissive of the STi because it contains a large number of 1.6 GL parts.

As far as I can tell, both are great cars. Unmodified, the STi is a better circuit car and the P1 is better on British roads.

Honestly, it's like the People's Front of Judea vs the Judean People's Front in here some days!

 

I would love a P1 but just couldnt afford one - also 4 doors was preferable due to the family. But ultimately I got a 2 yr old STI for £16,000 (ver 4 admittedly) - about half the cost of a new P1. As people say, maybe the P1 handling is better on road, but on the track (where i intend to really use it's abilities) the STI is probably better. Personally I love all these different versions, but prefer the STI's as they are the true Japanese original version .

p.s. Just been to Goodwood this weekend and had a great time out-dragging BMW M3 owners down the straights - they werent happy...Standard brakes survived incredibly well too...and the other drivers couldnt believe the sound it made (standard sti exhaust too !)

 

Dave25, the only thing wrong with the P1 is the price, a bit steep, and the timing, with the new model just around the corner.

Best to wait if you can. How good is the new Impreza? What will Prodrive do with it? My bet is that in a year or so the car to have will be the new shape with Prodrive tweaks.

But if you can't wait, get a MY00 UK spec import with Prodrive power pack, plus suspension upgrade and brakes. If the prices on this board are to be believed you could do all that for around £22k. Bargain.

Hoppy

 

Definitely don't.

The P1 is great but not worth the money.
Buy a nearly new STI V.
Uprate the brakes if you're going to do track days, otherwise don't bother.
Get it remapped for UK fuel.
Do wheels and tyres if you must.
Since even a NEW STI V is £22000 or less you'll same a fortune and get the same power.
The only thing you'll miss is the ride, but hey, the 7 or 8 thousand you save should make you feel better about that.

People who buy P1's are going to lose an even bigger fortune than the rest of us.

 

Hi,

Just my 2 cents worth about the P1..
I two was looking at putting the full prodrive WR pack on my UK Turbo which in all cost would take the cost of the car upto £30K... However, when I inquired about insurance (as I'm 26, 0 NCB) the cost was too high, infact a few hundred higher than insurring a P1.

I looked at buying a STi V new from an import dealer, ultimately it would have cost me a few hundred more to insure than a P1, but then it is a few thousand cheaper (£26K).. In the end I opted for the P1 because of the 3 yr waranty and because I preferred the handling characteristics...

I dont regret buying the P1, as the perform difference compared with the UK Turbo is astounding, of course the STi would be the same in comparison with the UK turbo.. Its horses for courses at the end of the day, and yeah the STi may be better for track use, but as someone else said, the P1 is great on UK roads.. As I do 700+ miles a week the P1 has just the right balance to make the ride comfortable and fun as a lot of my journey is on A/B roads...

I would say go for it, especially as the price of the P1's seems to have a dropped a little due to all cars prices... What you get:

Air con
Speakers (no headunit though)
Prodrive tweeked suspension
Prodrive Spoiler
Prodrive tweeked ECU
Prodrive interior
STi engine
STi exhaust (prodrive upgrade £350)
P1 badges
.. and lots of people starring as you drive by!! ;o)

But I wish they'd left the intercooler water spray on the P1, as I believe they are standard fit on STi Type R.. ???

Very very happy with the car though, still grinning for at least half an hour after getting out of the car ;o)

Alex

 

Rannoch,

Should have read '.....more than just an STi with a bodykit'.

However, you knew exactly want I meant you stirrer.

Josh

 

Dammit, you lot have got me thinking about trading my MY00 in for a P1 now!! DOH!

I've even started to collect pics and specs

I'll be ringing my dealer next, asking about ex-dems and stuff.

I'm in a slightly different position to Dave25 who started the thread as I've got PPP and Scoobysport full breathing kit on my car so its already up to about 260bhp I *assume*

Rather than ask questions on here, I think I'll have to test drive one. I need to know how more powerful I perceive the engine to be and if the handling is as sluggish (understear from softer frontspring/dampers) as I've heard.

Oh, while I'm on - are ProDrive planning any revisions to the car I should know before thinking of buying the old one ?

Any info on differences between P1 and P1 WR?

DOH!

 

Blessed are the cheesemakers!

Anyway Josh - it was the 'much more than bit'

They do look rather nice when they are cleany and polished tho' - love the colour.

Rannoch the Maelstrom