esi

iTrader: (1)

hi guys, was looking on ebay and saw this nice none turbo impreza,

2001 SUBARU IMPREZA SPORT SPECIAL AWD YELLOW on eBay, also, Subaru, Cars, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 20-Apr-08 16:26:56 BST)


its only group 12 insurance and i am interested to buy it for my son .
anyone knows anything about this car?

how are the none turbos??
how is the reliablity?
how much would it cost to install a full turbo kit??is it worth it?

how do they drive??? are they really slow??

and finaly the price, he want £3500 for the car.is he asking too much !!!??

please give us some advice

corradoboy

The general advice is that there are much better cars for the money than a n/a Scooby. Sure, it's got 4WD, but do you really need it, really ? The drivetrain saps the power making it slower than 2WD equivalents, and apart from in extreme weather conditions it won't handle any better either. The whole point of a Scoob is that it is a turbo-charged nutter of a machine, and Sports just aren't, by a long stretch. Upgrading an n/a model to a turbo is a waste of time and would cost more than just buying a blown version in the long run. All IMHO.

esi

iTrader: (1)

well, i am only thinking to buy it for my son cuz it will get insured cheap and it has the look of a turbo, and also a nice colour.(dont want him to drive a turbo car as he will end up killing himself lol, he is also too young to be isnured and drive a turbo car)

so cuz i have never driven a none turbo was just wondering how they drive and handle.does the 4WD react good or its slow as a teractor lol,
is it worth paying that amount?

so what do you think about the price he is asking???

corradoboy

It'll still be insurance group 12 or so, and the minute you consider adding any turbo upgrades the premiums will go through the roof as it will become a mod'd car. It's well documented that UK newage STi owners often paid less than WRX owners who had the PPP. The STi is faster, more powerful, more expensive to replace and repair, but as long as it was OE spec it wasn't mod'd, so was cheaper to insure than the mod'd PPP'd WRX Young lads are better building there experience in hot hatches until they can handle the performance and cost of REAL Subaru ownership IMHO. I waited until I was 34 in 2004 to get one after wanting one since 1995. All many do that get Sports is throw a fortune at them making them look like turbo's and trying to eek out more performance, only to lose every penny come resale, along with the money wasted on inflated insurance premiums.

If I was advising my lad (who's 16 1/2 years away from needing it ) for £3.5k I'd be steering him towards a 106 Rallye or similar. Fantastic car to drive with peppy performance and razor-sharp handling. Often featured in Evo mags 'Car of the Year' and well respected.

averyp2

iTrader: (25)

look on imprezasport.net for owners opinions mate

1nten5e

If I was looking for a car for my 'son' or 'someone I know' I wouldn't be looking at a Subaru, or asking about adding a turbo, for a 17 yr old to be let loose with

Brun

As Corradoboy said - 106 Rallye / Saxo VTR or similar would be my route

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Ita already modded as it has the turbo bonnet, big spoiler etc.
Another thing to consider is that as its registered after march 2001, the tax is based on emissions. Its not going to be as bad as the turbos, but the will probably be more than your average 2.0 car.

*MUTLEY*

iTrader: (1)

I had a 2lt sport v reg it was bomb proof never spent a penny on it in three years, also a very safe car chassis is far in front of the engine power.

but tend to agree a little hatch back would be my route for my lad if only for the insurance saving.

Dannybwoy

Dont be put off with what some of these are saying about inflated insurance premiums as soon as you mod a Sport.

I have all my mods declared and my insurance hasn't go up one bit.

Have to laugh at Carradoboys comment about REAL Subaru ownership. As far as i am concerned i do have a REAL Subaru, its a real car, i can see it, i can drive it and i sure as hell can hear it.

Its all about what you want an Impreza for. If you are still wanting to race people off traffic lights to prove your car is faster than thiers, then yeah get a turbo, but dont expect to beat everything you pull up alongside anymore, other manufacturers have caught up.

If on the other hand you like how Impreza's look and sound then you can get that from a sport no problems, all with tastefull external mods ( without adding a turbo bonnet) And lets face it, most people, regardless of what model Impreza they buy, modify it with parts that were not OEM for that model, so no one can look down on a sport owner for modding a sport either.

I think my Sport is loads of fun to drive. I am not bothered about stupid speeds or 'speed of light' acceleration.

Edit - Carradoboy, is that a tall replica STi (or geniune?) rear wing i see on the WRX you had? Lol. Find it funny you pull sports to bits and thier owners for adding stuff on from Turbo models, when you yourself added a non OEM part from a 'higher spec' model to your 'de-tuned' version of an Impreza. Pot, kettle and black spring to mind.

gazza-uk

..

esi

iTrader: (1)

well, my son is 21 and he had all them hot hatches, saxo, 106, etc
he is after a saloon with the look

insurace and tax would not bother him as he works full time

anyway all i wanted to know if this none turbo car is reliable and wouldnt give any problem, and i would not let him to put a turbo on it at all , i just wanted to get some ideas

i think i will have to go and test drive the car to see how it drives

i am really curiouse to see how it drives, what is the bhp on these car? around 125bhp??

are they really laggy and heavy when you drive cuz it has no turbo?and will the 4WD act good?

averyp2

iTrader: (25)

They arent rapid but then they arent too sluggish either. My mate had a sport with the only mod being an uprated exhaust system, and a lad in a modified saxo vtr couldnt keep up on a longish road.
I certainly wouldnt get one if your expecting rapid performance but they do handle well and with the right exhaust mods can have that distinctive flat four burble. I say go for it, for the money you'll be getting quite a reliable, nippy, good looking and nice sounding car.
Although i would say have a look around, i've seen equally good examples go for around £3k

SetoN

You HAD a WRX, if an STI owner said the same thing to you because theirs was faster you would think they were pretty sad.

Imprezive_52

I'm a fellow sport (well, GX but 2.0 N/A Impreza) owner and i have to identify with both arguements here^.

There is no point buying a sport if you are going to try squeezing more power from it, because it's just not worth the bother.
But looks wise, my GX has had a fair few mods done to it, but only the same as what any other wrx or STI owner may do.
i.e. wheels, suspension, mud flaps, strut brace and some interior mods.

But, back to the orginal question. . . .

The car looks fairly good to me!
It isn't going to be massivly quick but will hold up against the likes of a fiesta zetec-s, saxo vtr etc.
The subaru's are well made and their is always a helping hand here on SN or over on imprezasport.net, if you get in to trouble or need advise.

Finally, on a personal note, i'm 22 yr old and owning my Bug GX is awesome and i'm sure your son will love having the scoob just as much as i do.
I can afford insurance just fine and the running costs are more than my old Fez, but not too bad at all considering.

Get over on Imprezasport.net and i'm sure i'll see you there. . . i think you'll get more luck in finding out about this car there too to be honest!

Cheers

gtijames

i had a sport for 3 years before going for a turbo,it was totally reliable,granted they dont have the ooomph of a turbo but they arent dog slow either.it felt slightly slower than my mk2 golf gti (8v)that i had before it.
insurance wise i wouldnt mod it too much as im paying less for my turbo than i was for my modded sport.
the best advice is to go and drive one for yourself and make your own mind up,as the sport debate has been raging since i signed on here years ago.
let us know how you get on and good luck.

corradoboy

I only knew 1 or 2 STi owners whose cars were faster than mine in any real world driving situation, proven many, many times. I would have liked an STi for the better centre diff and extra power, but preferred the WRX 5sp box.

As for my spoiler, never look a gift horse in the mouth. It was free, and was a genuine STi item. Every other performance part on my car which made it amongst the best WRX's I know of (purely driving) was acquired at a budget which would shame Netto customers.

I stand by what I said, a Pug 106 Rallye is a much better performance car for a driving enthusiast than any non-turbo Impreza.

My WRX by the way had a turbo so was a real Scooby, went to 60 in 4.8s, did 155mph and was devastating on a challenging road or track. I'd have the same car back tomorrow if I could justify the expense or had the time to enjoy it, and I'd have it back over many STi's, unless my budget extended to T20/25's, Spec C's, RA-R's or S204's.

Sorry if my opinions offend anyone, but I'm entitled to it, and stand by it based on experience.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

From my experience....
A larger car will survive any impact more intact, I speak from experience LOL !

I would rather have someone I care about run round in a "slow-ish" Subaru than a razor sharp bean tin from a Frog supplier.

IMHO

DunxC

El Cat

as far as car safety goes i had a 98 uk turbo and hit a hedge doing 50 rolled it twice and the car saved my life!!!
if id been i n a bean can id be gone!

finalzero

Fairly rare in that colour, I think as a starter car it's great and your son can upgrade to a WRX/STi in the future.

On the plus side hopefully won't ge slaughtered by the obscene tax on turbo cars.

chantelle xx

Yeah or maybe a 106 GTI, I got one of them when I was 20 to quench me lusting after a scooby I couldnt afford to insure, and it was still great fun

Dspeed

Buy it. They are good cars.

Dannybwoy

Lol, but you still didnt have the STi did you mate. Shame that!

Oh, also, what a nice way to make people feel welcome to the site and Scooby ownership by the way!! Well done there.

If you had stopped to think for a moment, you might have realised there are plenty of young lads who buy a Sport through not being able to afford a Turbo. They like Impreza's and can afford to run a sport and it gets them into Impreza ownership.

Then they come along to Scoobynet, which is genrally accepted as the most popular (by popular i am referring to sheer traffic that hits the site) Impreza website, hoping to join in with the community spirit, only to be met by arrogant people like you who will shoot thier car down in flames and put them off Scooby ownership altogether.

Comments like 'a Sport isnt a REAL Impreza' aren't very constructive, and only go to add more weight to the arguement that a lot of Turbo owners have an unhealthy amount of Turbo snobbery.

We should be accepting to all incarnations of our chosen car, whatever engine specification that may be. I am sure there are things you indulge in that are not at the highest level possible, but you enjoy it non the less. And to have someone more experienced or with more money come along and say what you are doing is worthless because your rubbish at it or havent got the most expensive equipment would be downright rude.

Keep on with your comments Carradoboy, they are only serving to prove you are the exact sort of person i have outlined above.

(i think the original discussion was what are Sports like as cars in thier own right, no comparison to other cars was asked for. And it is quite obvious that there are other faster, better handling N/A cars out there, so we didnt really need your glaringly obvious observation anyway)

Brun

No axe to grind here as i don't own an Impreza anymore. Most of what Corradoboy is saying, i agree with. An Impreza minus the Turbo is a mundane 4 door car which ain't very pretty. I've driven plenty of sports while mine was in for services etc, and i just couldn't wait to have rid. They wallowed (as my turbo did when i bought it) through the corners - no real pace in a straight line and the fuel consumption wasn't too far behind my Turbo. Call me a Turbo snob all you like - because i am

Dannybwoy

Lol, Brun, yes you are.

Thanks for clearing that up.

And the only difference externally between a standard Sport and a Turbo is the bonnet. So by saying what you said, regular, standard turbos aren't very pretty either?

There aren't many turbo owners that dont do external mods to thier cars in one way or another to somehow bring thier own car inline with what they class as thier 'ideal' vision of what an Impreza should be. Be that just adding an STi spoiler to a Sport or WRX or going to the other extreme and doing a full bodykit, 22B style etc.

I dont get why some people who own Turbo's have such a dire opinion of Sports. We're not asking you to own one, quite clearly you dont like the performance offered by one. But shock horror, and you might need to sit down when you read this as it may come as a surprise, but some people may actually like what a sport has to offer! Did you ever think of that as a possibility?

Brun

jimmyv

If he's into impreza's id say get one, i really enjoy mine (black sport special) and although i'd like more power im not exactly sure in which traffic jam i would use it. As mentioned insurance and tax are decent and as long as he's not thrashing the ******* off it everywhere economy is alright aswell.

While they certainly dont set the road on fire performance wise but they are more than capable of sensible, normal driving. Grip and handling wise i think its good, only had the geometry done but what a difference that made, body roll (not a major issue in mine i feel) can be sorted pretty cheaply.

Me personally, i do think that impreza's are good looking cars, even bug eyes

corradoboy

OK, let me outline my complete standpoint on Impreza's. They are ugly, ALL of them ! Even 22B's There, I said it. They are a badly styled 4 door saloon car which is often 'enhanced' by adding plastic bits to make it look like a rally car, much like some people choose to add plastic bits to their hatchbacks to make them look like cars in some magazines and usually make them look awful too. I didn't buy an Impreza for it's looks though, I bought one for how it goes, how it corners and how it makes me feel. Any turbo'd Impreza can give this thrill in varying amounts. A non-turbo Impreza would not. The don't go very well, they don't handle very well and they would thus make me feel flat, hence I would neither own one myself, nor recommend one to another. I believe my statement of there being much better cars out there for the money to be completely true and correct. Whether they be better for looks, performance, handling, economy or whatever, a non-turbo Impreza does not top any league in any way, shape or form. You can nit-pick about my WRX as much as you like though. It was mine, I loved it for all the right reasons and maintain that although STi's are better in most areas my WRX was very well suited to my needs and wallet. Exactly how well suited a Sport or any other car is to the O/P's needs only he can answer, but he came on here asking for opinions and he got many, including mine. He didn't ask for opinions on my opinions, or opinions on my car, so why not get back on topic and help him make an informed and educated decision as to whether he is making the right choice ?

sti degsy

ive got experience in this for you ive gone from a v5 sti to a sport back to a v5 sti type-r yes there is a big difference in speed but speed and trying to beat everything on the road isnt everything is it!
the sport is a good car in my opinion just change suspension set up and your sorted and you can style them using the turbo parts if wanted, my sport did have turbo bonnet and high rise sti spoiler and big bore exhaust the insurance wasnt a problem with all mods declared didnt even affect it.
its all about personal preference and a sport would be different to the usual pugs/saxo`s and corsa`s i think it would be a good choice
the sport is a real scooby as are all the sti`s ive owned they all give me the same sense of joy when driving regardless of what speed im doing!

jimmyv

Sorry i thought i was keeping on topic, i gave my opinion on the sport, nowt else, and yes you are right.
"Exactly how well suited a Sport or any other car is to the O/P's needs only he can answer"
I dont think anyone is disagreeing with the statement that there are better cars out there for the money, but as i mentioned if he's into impreza's then why not get one he can afford.

To the OP go test drive one along with some other potential alternative marques then you'll know which one is more suitable.