A few questions for hatch STi owners.

Horror stories apart.......:

How tractable is the engine? What engine speed does the power start to be felt and is it realistic for use as a daily driver - that is to say shopping trips and school runs aswell as the odd blast?

Standard seats or Recaros? I am assuming that there were only two options.

Is the optional Sat-Nav any good? If not why not?

Cheers for any advice.
Simon

 

I use mine to commute the 6 or so miles to work, SI drive modes allow the engine be toned down making the car perfectly usable for town driving, wouldn't be so nice for commuting if it was in Sports# all the time, great for country lanes .

Mine has std seats and they are fine, supportive but not uncomfortably firm.

Not got sat nav so cannot comment.

 

Very tractable. Daily driver no problem - not extreme at all.

Power felt at 3k revs, full boost by 3.5k revs. Under that OK and very usable.

Recaros are fab on 330S or Euro spec models only.

They also get the satnav and rear tints. Satnav very good imo.

1 in 10 gone bang - buy one with a 'aftermarket forged' engine.... or kept £2k under your pillow for just in case.

A

 

Have to say the recaro's are very nice but avoid buying a car with them in, there are too mnany issues with these, mainly bolster wear from as little as 10k miles on the clock and IM are not repairing them as they say its "normal wear and tear"

Tony

 

Std Sti excellent road car with sufficient grunt for fun. Can be safely tweeked to 340 ish BHP/ft-lbs for a bit more fun. I was very pleased with mine in std/340 trim. Excellent car.
Seats could be a problem. Sat-nav very good. Battery can give up within 2 years, but about £50 to replace.

 

I'm casting around at a variety of cars at the moment. I noticed the STis at Motorpoint but they are from Malta. Nice spec but I remember IM being very sticky over Warranty on this kind of thing - not something I want to take a chance on.

Dealer prices for nearly new STis are silly at the moment - presumably "justified" by the price of the new model. I'm a sympathetic driver and would leave the car standard so with the latest updates from Subaru would expect to be ok engine wise (he says firmly touching wood!).

 

Jesus!!! Is that true? What the f**k is wrong with Subaru these days? How can they say that is normal wear and tear. They really have gone downhill.

 

Yup unfortunately it is there was a thread on here a few months back, car had naff all miles on it really, seat bolster was knackered, if you ever owned a peugeot with half leather seats and 100k on the clock, it looked like that

22k miles>>> https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...per-usual.html

Tony

 

I've a 330S
Seats are fantastic, but I'd say if your waste is above 34" then you're not fitting in.
Navigation unit is also very good.
Power as above - S#, power from 3K
Driving round town - no problem what so ever.
I mode is dead to be honest and is probably a waste of time
I leave my in sport and flick to S# when warm depending on what sort of mood I'm in.
Very responsive in S#
Only other thing with mine is the rear seems a bit lively

Seats - we'll I slide my seat back when getting out to protect the side bolster
This is my 5th Impreza from new and by far is the best of the lot I've owned
Pity about all the engine problems, but seems that these are very capable of big power with a decent set of pistons

 

recaros very nice, but if ya a fatty stick with normal it wont keep all ya muffin top in.

Sat Nav is expensive at nearly 2k many after markets are as good and half the price, but ive never used the Subaru one and the guys here are prob right about how it works. the after markets are easy to fit and work with steering wheel controls if specified correctly.

As Urban Said I mode like ya grannies car flat as the wifes chest.
Easily drivable daily i use mine daily, before this i had a WRX-S and i totalled up 13k miles in 11 months easy to drive and fun

STI Boost is very good and after todays little blast ( still running in though ) i smiled when it kicked in and i never did that in my WRX-S manic boost, this isnt to say though if you decide on a lower WRX-S over the STI you wont have fun, there quite close to the STI in rapid terms, just the upper cut on the STI is more severe.

Good Luck in what you buy s&S services Ayr have a brand new 2010 in with 330R pack if your going that high, if not get a 2nd hand 330s i would

 

The Motorpoint cars are £23k, unregistered and come with what they call the "SE" pack. They have Recaro interiors and the Sat Nav. I still worry about the warranty situation though. Has anyone had any recent experience of this?

Are the back seats/door cards re-trimmed to match the Recaros or are the Recaros trimmed to match the oe STi interior?

 

The Motorpoint cars need to be registered with IM / Subaru Uk - which takes a couple of weeks. Then when you claim, they decide whether to honour the pan european warranty or not...

£23 k is a steal... surely with the money you save the warranty isn't an issue.

A

 

Think the ones at motorpoint are the eurospec ones. BBS alloys and recaros/satnav/tints as stated. Bought the same one from motor depot 2 years ago and the spec is brilliant for the price. I'm 34 waist and the seats fit snug. Every time I get out the car, I slide the seat back and this protects the bolster. My seats still look good. I am sure they will tell you that the warranty will be valid, but dont think that will be the case. When my pistons go, I'll try the waranty route, but I know i'll have a battle

 

Interesting. Have you managed to get the latest map updates from a dealer without any questions?

Anyone know whether the Recaros are trimmed to match the STi interior or the whole interior trimmed to match the recaros?

 

Recaros are both front and back as seat fabric (suede leather) is identical.
Christopher neil serviced my car and downloaded the reflash (no cost to me but have heard other paid £300). Since fitted a secondhand Prodrive back box (£150) and remap by Harvey Smith/Bob rawle. This cost over £500 but believe me is worth every penny. Feels like a different car now and fuel consumption improved if anything. Had a bit of a scare when it was overfilled with oil (3/4 litre). Blue smoke when start up from cold, thought it was the rings. But so far still on the same pistons. With regards to the warranty, tried repeatedly to get the car registered with IM but alas without success. The car at motorpoint!!! for £23k + secondhand prodrive back box and custom remap you have 340+bhp new STI for under £25k.

 

Recaro's are front only mate, the rears are just trimmed in identical suede but are subaru.

 

i get rather hot when im sat in em too, Must be the material and how it hugs you,

ADVICE dont wear white Boxers for Long Journeys

 

Don't EVER wear white boxers would be a better bit of advice

 

+1

 

LOl true there my old tatti ones

 

Warranty, mine is a euro car and so was my previous hawk and IM have been brilliant on all my claims, no questions asked and repair work carried out as soon as.

IIRC I have had a new battery, reflash on the hatch, 4 new STI lustic wheels at a cost of £275 each (book price) so I only have good things to say about IM.

Practicality and daily driver, yes yes yes, in the last 7 days I have been to the local tip to dump 6 bags or earth, 4 nursary runs, a bit of shopping and then just had a weekend in Norfolk with the Mrs, my daughter, my mum and her dog, so all in all I use it for everything come rain or shine and cannot fault the car.

Good luck if you get one.
A