Masami

I am looking at getting a subaru Impreza 2.0 R Sport as a new family car, Motorpoint has them for £11,995 add to this the alarm, tax, delivery preparation and the bill comes to about £12600, they have offered me £6600 for my 04 Clio 172 sport.

I have also been to my local dealership to compare the cost who have been able to offer me an on the road '06 2.0 RX for 13,995 and are coming back to me with a trade in quote for my clio on monday.

Can anyone advise me how exactly the differences between the 06 and 07 model so I can see which is the motorpoint model and which is the better one for me.

Also is the UK Spec model alarm factory fitted (or fitted here on arrival in the UK), motorpoint have told me they are fitted in the UK, the dealer are telling me the alarms are fitted before they are sent over.

I realise that if I can get the dealer car for upto 1k more then it will probably be worth while since I figure I will get at least £500 more for it in 3 years time so the expense is offset.

I'm off to test drive at motorpoint tomorrow, but will need to wait until monday to see what the dealer can offer me trade in to see if its enough to clinch the deal.

Please Let me know what you think, any opinions appreciated.

evil.soup

iTrader: (1)

First thing is that i think you may hate it because the clio is far quicker than the GX and it doesnt go the way it looks. If speed and power isnt important to you i have to admit that i would never buy from a dealer after using an importer like motorpoint. The savings are huge and apart from an alarm the car is pretty much identical, probably even made next to each other in the factory. If you have got 14k burning a hole in your pocket the WRX is in your range and is a totally different car. Motorpoint have plenty you could test at the same time as the GX if you wanted to. That said you may have issues with insurance, fuel and other general costs but it is well worth considering if you budget allows.
cheers,
Ian

Masami

I can live without the speed of the clio (its been fun while it laster), I am after something more suited for the family, I have a 2 year old and another baby on the way.

I cant afford the 3k extra for the WRX as well as the annual running cost and the increased likelyhood of getting jacked by someone looking for a getaway car (afterall I do live in nottingham and work near the meadows)

Microstar

Having driven both a WRX and an '06 R Sport I have to say that the newer non-turbo Impreza's are not bad. They now have the 4-cam 2.0 engine with 160BHP (not the old 130BHP unit that was in the GX's). I read in one road test that you get 85% of the WRX experience for a lot less cost - and I would tend to agree. The car is also a bit softer riding and seems a bit quieter - they are a nice 'sports saloon'.

The 2006 non-turbo cars are badged "2.0 R Sport". The 2007 cars are badged "2.0RX". So far as I can see there is no difference in specification - although an RX-badged car is likely to be worth a little more at trade-in time.

One thing to be aware of is that the side airbags are NOT FITTED to vehicles imported from Malta. I found this out when I called Newregcars/Allbrandsnew. They kept telling me that they were definitely UK-spec cars, but when I specifically asked about side airbags they then admitted that they were not standard on their imports. I was not happy about this (i.e. them not telling me until pressed hard). If you want side airbags (which you would, having a family and wanting a truly UK-spec car) then you will need to do a special order - that's 4-5 months wait for it to be built in Japan, shipped to Malta and then shipped to UK. Plus £300 extra for the airbags.
I believe that the alarms are UK-installed by IM, probably when the cars arrive in the UK and before they are sent to dealers.

evil.soup

iTrader: (1)

THe Nottingham thing is a fare point, you can get a WRX for less than 14.5k but the long term costs cant be denied. You wont find a better car than the sport for the same kind of money to suit your requirements, i say go for it!

Sideways

One thing to be aware of is that the side airbags are NOT FITTED to vehicles imported from Malta. I found this out when I called Newregcars/Allbrandsnew. They kept telling me that they were definitely UK-spec cars, but when I specifically asked about side airbags they then admitted that they were not standard on their imports. I was not happy about this (i.e. them not telling me until pressed hard). If you want side airbags (which you would, having a family and wanting a truly UK-spec car) then you will need to do a special order - that's 4-5 months wait for it to be built in Japan, shipped to Malta and then shipped to UK. Plus £300 extra for the airbags.
I believe that the alarms are UK-installed by IM, probably when the cars arrive in the UK and before they are sent to dealers.[/QUOTE]


I am buying a new WRX from all brands new and they told me straight away that side airbags were an option and they have them in stock in Malta to ship here now.

Microstar

I was referring to R-Sport and RX spec. cars, which is what the OP wanted - Allbrandsnew do not have these with side airbags, they are special order (that's what they told me last week anyway, the salesman was 'Max').

wide

A great family car, but the fuel consumption still aint all that, but I average 25/26 city driving. Identical to the new WRX also interior wise ,and it is a lot less to run when you consider tracker cost, insurance differance and fuel differance. My personnal saving is probably around £70-80 a month and its still a great handling car


Hope you enjoy it

Masami

Thanks for your input guys, been and ordered it this afternoon, managed to squeeze another £100 on th p/x and took a 4.1% loan to save funding with my saving which gets more than that anyway.

Microstar

Nice looking car, Wide. Where did you get that mesh panel under the numberplate?

At the import prices (£12200 on the road with airbags) the '07 2.0RX makes a good buy. That's lower-spec Astra/Focus money and you get the handling, reliability and durability of Subaru.

wide

Cheers for that , the grill kit was fitted when I purchased it available from Subaru dealers its £275 mind dont think I would have bought it at that price

Boxerbhoy

Hi mate, enjoyed reading your thread as it was a bit of flashback for me. I had a 97 sport for all the same reasons you have stated. Had it for 8yrs and it was a terrific family car. Family are a lot older now so it was back to WRX (Motorpoint also) and I'm afraid I did pay the £275 for the grille kit. Good luck with the car cheers Kevan

Sideways

Yes sorry I missed the point maybe, I was talking about their WRX's. They have some ready to go in Malta with side airbags, I was going to get a different colour and they had most of them available.

Masami

Sorted the insurance changeover, was a bit concerned about insuring using a VIN as I had never done it before but posed no problems. Should be collecting Thursday 1st March presuming everything goes to plan.

The dealer said the only really way to tell model difference is by checking for folding wing mirrors and slightly different material on interior, can anyone confim this?

Gonna order some mats and locking nuts from ebay shortly.

Oh, and nice piccys guys, mine's a silver, wouldnt have been my first colour choice from a dealer but looks smart anyway....

Sideways

Where did you buy from in the end ?

Masami

Motorpoint, 12,6k on road with alarm, 1yrs tax etc... 6,7k trade in for my 04 EU Clio 172 Sport with 15k miles.

Sideways

Nice one mate glad you got it sorted in the end.
Picking mine up next thursday too from " all brands new "

Microstar

Not sure what you mean there? If you mean R-Sport versus RX then R-Sport is a MY06 car and RX is very similar but is MY07 car.
Paint colour choices are different and interior trim is a bit different. Don't know about the mirrors.

Masami

The im still confused, so how do I tell, the car isnt badged and its premium silver I believe.

Sideways

You could be cheeky like me and get a 2007 brochure from Subaru then you'll have all the facts.

Masami

I have the brochure here with the RX in, but it doesnt tell you much. (the impreza brochure that is)

Are the mats that are listed as for model 2001 onwards ok?

Microstar

The Subaru VIN will bring up a model designation, I imagine.

The brochures are pretty useless, but there must be some differences between the R-Sport and the RX because the RX weighs 5kg more and has 50L more luggage space (according to Parkers). Premium Silver is available on both.

RX production started from November 2006, so allowing for shipping (best part of two months) then any car that was in the UK before the start of February is probably an R-Sport.

Masami

Ah, my guess is the VIN is tied to a model at point of registration, motorpoint have it advertised as a R Sport so I have to presume that this is the case, but im not entirely convinced.

Microstar

No, what I mean is that the VIN must be tied to a model on Subaru's database.
If you go into a Subaru parts dept and give them a VIN then the screen pops up with all the model details, colour, day it was manufactured etc. They need this info so that they can give you the correct parts (esp. trim and bodywork etc).

Masami

I see, sorry I thought you meant on DVLA registration database, I have asked motorpoint to check the original paperwork issue'd with the car to see.

sirp

or give me the VIN craig and let me see if the SMMT registration has arrived for me to check for you

Microstar

I have just sent off an order to Allbrandsnew for a 2007-spec. Impreza 2.0RX with side airbags.
Having just done a bit of research on the web I'm now a little concerned..... The Subaru Malta website has just been updated and I notice that they list a 2.0R (no R-Sport or RX). This has OPTIONAL automatic air con, and does not have HID headlights with popup washers. Not sure about the audio. The side airbags are also optional - I knew about that though.

So the question is, is there anyone who has recently had a 2.0R-Sport or RX via Malta and can vouch whether they come with the auto air con and headlamp washers etc?
I may call Allbrandsnew and ask them, but TBH I am not highly confident that they will know the detailled spec....

Masami

I noticed the light washers yesterday myself, but the malta website seems to have a whole new range and the sport doesnt have the side skirts etc. I am not sure about the pop up washers being on it or even what auto air conditioning is, although I know it does have air conditioning as we tested this when we took it out.

Masami

oh, and i just noticed this on the site which may be of some help....

'Powerful jetwash cleans the headlamps. The device is pop-up, ready to deploy as you want. (Standard on the WRX models, optional on the 2.0R models)'

ELYA49

You can get an EU import WRX OTR for £14,248

Motor Depot, Car Supermarket - Hull, East Yorkshire

This includes metallic and medium spoiler. Side airbags are an option at £298 and sunroof another £200. Choice of colours.