Stueyb

Hi Everyone,

I'm going to have to start looking for a new car soon as mine is pretty old now and bits are falling off (yes falling off!) left right and centre.

Now some time ago I owned a 93 WRX and it was great, if a bit of a pooper if you know what I mean. I'd like to come back to scooby ownership. However the petrol costs were like £60 a week and I was only doing 300 miles! That was when petrol was 70p/ish a litre. It was always "I'll keep my foot off the loud pedal" but it never worked!

I don't really do many miles, maybe 200 a week, but im considering getting a sport because

a) I can pay cash, rather than a loan
b) It will be a bit more economical on the fuel and insurance.
c) Non turbos (with a few exceptions) tend to be a bit cheaper.

I will miss the turbo kick, but are they still pretty nippy? Are they still spot on the old point it round a corner and it goes? And im sure the flat 4 burble is still there.

What sort of car can I expect for £3.5 - 4K ?

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

to be honest, a sport is pretty much the same to maintain cost wise as a turbo really, apart from the turbo itself etc going,but thats few and far between.

i owned a 2000 model sport and paid MORE for that than my WRX.

the sport drank the fuel like a turbo, parts are the same price as a turbo etc so really, it will only be the insurance that will be cheaper,give or take a little bit of course, the wrx will be similair in runnin costs to a sport, thats what i found

HTH

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

oh yes the burble is still gainabale on a sport, some borla headers do the job with an aftermarket back box.

the sport isnt that quick, really, about 130 bhp.

my missus primera GT is quicker,so its kinda sad when you do traffic light gran prix especially if you have a turbo bonnet like my sport did ha ha ha

Brun

Sport is dog slow - you will get your **** handed to you on a daily basis by 17 year olds in Saxo VTRs...

Schumacher

Get over to

.:ImprezaSport.net Forums:. (Powered by Invision Power Board)

WRX-DAN

yeh i had a sport was a very nice car to drive but not all that quick, i have a wrx now and it feels alot more positive in everyway! £60 for 300miles seems a bit much! i drove approx 190miles on £36 back from plymouth

GlesgaKiss

As above, I thought the sport was still a great car to drive but its certainly not quick for its engine size. I wouldnt even say its performance could be classed as average against similar cars today. So still a fun car to drive, but also costly to run and slow! Get a ford focus. I had a 1.8 zetec for over a year...quicker than a sport and amazing to drive, plus it was driven seriously hard constantly and nothing ever went wrong, all it needed was servicing.

Alan

filfy

I take my gf sport out alot as my scoob goes through fuel like theres no tomorrow But i do like the sport as it has got the borla headders and afterburner back box and sounds better han my RA The only problem is The NO BOOST but the noise makes up for it

fl6

i beg to differ, thay dont bother me
and the newage are not that slow i now iv try'd it

Microstar

Depends what you want out of a car, how you are going to use it and what you're prepared to pay.

I owned a WRX in the past and it was expensive to run (very heavy on fuel, plus heavy on parts like brakes and tyres, plus fairly high insurance). I did enjoy the car though, and it was reliable.
Last year I decided to buy a new car for commuting and general 'family taxi' work. I decided to look at a Subaru again (because they are reliable and I like the layout of the cars) and saw that they'd changed the Sport engine and upped the power to 160bhp.
Eventually, after some test drives, I came to the conclusion that buying a 2.5WRX would be nice, but probably overkill for use as a daily 'trafficjammer', so I bought a new EU-import 2.0RX Sport for £12k instead. Had the car 6 months now and very well please with it. It will do about 38mpg on a long run keeping to the limits, and even in town and driving hard it will never do less than 26mpg. Insurance is Grp 13 and costing me only £260 for fully comp. So far as I can figure out the suspension etc on the latest Sports is very similar to the WRX - I've driven both (Hawkeye models) and handing feels much the same (ARB's are same diameter etc etc), its very surefooted. Naturally its not nearly as quick as a WRX (0-60mph quoted at 8.5s), but its a very smooth engine and acceleration in 2nd and 3rd is enjoyable.

I think if I lived in a rural area without too much traffic and speed cameras then I would definitely go for a WRX. But with living in a busy suburban area and acting as the kids' taxi the Sport is a good compromise. I could have bought a bottom-range Focus for similar money of course, but I really don't think I would enjoy driving a Ford as much as a Subaru.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Good write up - but you'll not get one for £4k (unless you know otherwise )

You should get a good one for your money. I had one as a company car - 99T and it was ok. Not too fast; 125bhp IIRC, but handled reasonably well - plenty of grip. More grip than grunt I used to say. It will be passed by all the Saxo boys, so you'll have to not take their bait.

Cost wise, I'd get high 20's commuting and even low to mid 30's on a run. Parts and insurance wise; I didn't pay as it was a company car, but I'd guess parts will be a little cheaper than a wrx.

Microstar

"Good write up - but you'll not get one for £4k (unless you know otherwise )"

Ah yes, sorry, I didn't spot that he was only looking to pay up to £4k. I would think its Bugeye at best at that price.

I don't know much about the "old" Sport (with SOHC engine) but I imagine its a rather different beast to the latest one. Didn't the older ones lack a rear ARB (although I guess that would be easy enough to add after purchase).

EddScott

I got more MPG from my UK turbo than my friend in his Sport.

Completely off-boost I think I could have got near 350 out of mine

SetoN

Yeah they like petrol just the same as a turbo. But the modded ones turn heads just the same as the turbos as well

I still really want a turbo though

EddScott

Without meaning to be rude without the turbo I don't see the point.

trails

iTrader: (41)

much better cars around for the money...why pay for a thirsty slow car?

SetoN

The point in what

Sports are cheaper to run overall. I think thats what he wanted.

SetoN

Find me a car for 4k that looks as good as a Sport and as cheap to insure.

Ive looked and it cant be done

trails

iTrader: (41)

depends what you want I guess...I just brought a nice 2.0 ESP series one Focus for less than £3k, insurance is only £300. Quicker and better handling than a Sport IMHO

Dannybwoy

I think all the Turbo owners are missing the point (as always! )

If you aint bothered about lowering yourself to take the bait of a 17 year old 'boy' in his 'Halfords Finest' Saxo, then what does it matter what car you drive?

I love my sport, i have been out in plenty of turbo's, most far from standard engine and performance wise, but i still wouldnt change my sport for anything right now.

I know it isnt the fastest thing on the road, but neither are a lot of turbo Impreza's now a days. When i first got it, i did succomb to 'traffic light' grand prix's with several little hot hatches, Saxo's, Peugeot's etc and i was noticeably quicker than 99% of them. Then i realised i was being stupid proving a point to someone who hadnt even grown pubic hair, so dont bother anymore.

Sports are not 'Dog Slow' as has been mentioned, and without a Turbo there is still plenty of point. We just all aren't bothered about racing everywhere at warp speed. If you want a well sorted looking car (with a little external tweaking, but then a standard Uk turbo needs a little external tweaking too to make the most of its looks), that handles and sounds great (with the right mods done) then a sport is a definate contender.

I am not saying they are the only car to go for that would offer this, but they as good as most other choices in a similar price range.

Microstar

Its a bit pointless arguing about turbo and non-turbo models. People aren't stupid and will buy what they want and can afford and what suits their requirements. I'm a bit too mature to worry too much about kids in Saxos.
Personally I just like Subarus - all of them. I like the boxer engines and I like the engineering. They all (Impreza, Legacy, Forester) feel well-balanced and I would take one over a Ford or Vauxhall any day of the week.

I have owned an older WRX and now I have a Hawkeye Sport. Both being good cars IMHO.
Its not all about speed, power and torque either. Two years back I bought a new Fabia VRS - basically on the strength of all the road tests which said it was an 'outstanding' car. Yes, it turned out to be fairly rapid, but underneath it was a nose-heavy supermarket hack with an over-hard ride and rubbery steering. An over-rated car IMHO. Not to mention the fact that it broke down on me twice and needed a complete new power steering unit within the first year. Much prefer my new Sport to the Fabia, its just a nicer driving experience (although not as cheap to run).

[-(o)-]

iTrader: (1)

Can't talk speak for Newages, but Classic Sports are great. Loads of grip and not enough power to get into trouble. Not too expensive, MPG was 28 at worst and saw 35 on the longer journeys. They're reliable too, mine saw over 160k and never let me down.

Good if simple engine, smooth torque delivery and throttle response that I miss. Yes the chassis needs a few tweaks. TBH it was a much more involving car to drive than the STi that has replaced it. Light too - less than a RA.

They're perfectly capable of embarassing a Saxo if you must, just don't try doing it in a straight line

SetoN

Well put Danny

superscoobx

For what you want it for I think it will be perfect.

you will get a bug eye sport for 4k these day's. decent dash and interior, very good brakes as standard. obviously unlike the older sports you get the rear discs and 4wd. All the other parts are bolt on from the wrx and sti (apart from the engine etc!)

I would get another non-turbo in a heartbeat. Fantastic car. for the buyeye onwards tho i believe they did away with the 'sport' logo and it became a gx or simelar.

in no way shape or form is it ever going to be a turbo. but mine did twice the mpg of the turbo scoob i have now, which incidently started life as a 2.0gx bug eye that i drove everyday for a year. 65-70 miles for £10. Now a Sti8 conversion doing more like 35 miles for £10.

A clutch was £200 for the GX, where as a turbo is £4-500.
Full exhaust £180 from Stealers,
Bumpers £120 each from subaru
Bonnet £180 from subaru....

They are so much cheaper to run.

Fantastic car. does EXACTLY what it says on the tin. Subaru looks, AWD chasis and fair to run.

No-where does it ever say please compare me to a turbo varient!

jimmyv

To echo what some of the others said the sport is great car, affordable, enjoyable to drive, has the grip, has the looks and so far mine has not put a foot wrong *touches wood*. Personally i couldnt care less who or what beat me even if i was in a turbo, but thats me and i dont rise to traffic light challenges.
go test drive some its the only way you'll know for sure