lamborgini8

Hey all, new here and considering a 2.0 n/a impreza... Yes I know, why not go for the turbo but simple answer to that is insurance... I am 21 and am getting £4000 quotes on the turbo and £1400 on the non turbo.

I will be having a look at a few over the weekend but the one thing worrying me is the miles per gallon.

I drive a 1.8 astra coupe at the moment which isn't great on fuel consumption getting around 25mpg on town driving but that's putting my foot down a bit.

Is the 2.0 n/a going to be much worse than that? Even if I drive it carefully?

Going by autotraders spec its...

Combined
astra... 37.2
impreza... 29.4


Urban
astra... 26.2
impreza... 20.9

The Zohan

Hi there and welcome,

The 4wd system saps power and increases the fuel consumption over a similar sized and weight 2wd car so do not expect the fuel economy to be great and i doubt it would be better than your ashtray I would drive one to see what you think. I got 28-30 or so on a run in my turbo and 22-25 around town. I guess i would average 26/27 or so combined.

the 2.0l n/could not be considered a quick car in std. form and costs a fair bit to tune to get mediocre increases in performance.

I would also shop around to insurance on a turbo. Try Keith Michaels - speak to Gary Moulson (Moley on here) and also A-Plan to get quotes

lamborgini8

Hmm well as long as it's around the same I can live with it, I keep seeing figures like 19mpg around town and what not which would be a nightmare for me as it would be the daily car and most of the time I am just making short 10 mile trips each day.

My issue is I just renewed the insurance on the astra but have decided to get rid as it spends 90% of its time in a garage being fixed. So I need to stick to the same insurance company... Plus bare in mind I am 21, have 0NCB, one accident and been driving nearly 4 years.

Frizzle-Dee

I must admit, I’m pretty hopeless with the whole ‘working out of miles per gallon’ side of things and it’s been something I’ve kept meaning to try and actually work out properly.

However, maybe I can help you a little. I have a 2.0 N/A and I put £50 in every 2-3 weeks. I don’t drive every day as I share cars but at a guess I would say that £50 lasts me about 160-180 miles
(urban driving-i.e. to work and back ect.)
I also drive to see my parents in Lancashire a couple of times a year. It’s 510 mile round trip (motorway driving) and one way uses just a tad over half a tank. (about £30-35)

Like I said, I don’t know how that works out miles per gallon wise but I hope it helps a little.
I personally don’t find fuel consumption to be that much of an issue. But as this is only my second car and I don’t have much to compare it to I guess it could work out a little guzzley to others

lamborgini8

Ah well that doesn't actually sound too bad, similar to what I do now.

I only work about 7 miles from my house so so there's a 14 mile trip every day to and from work, plus the odd occasion once or twice a week I am out at meets and what not.

I normally fill up £60 that lasts about 200 miles over a week and a half with just urban driving (town and dual carriageways).

Liking the sound of this haha

Does the impreza not have a trip computer with mpg and what not?

Also on another note, what's with the selectable close range gearbox or whatever it is? I keep seeing some on autotrader with a second lever by the handbrake, does it actually do anything worth while? I don't exactly go off roading but only advantage I can think of is driving in snow.

scooby.steve555

iTrader: (5)

Hiya, I used to get 35 out of mine on a good day if i was taking it easy, if your giving it a lot of right foot then anywhere from 25-30 really.

Brun

It sounds like fuel comsumption is a concern - why not get a TDi of some description with 50mpg and pocket the savings towards getting a Turbo.
Why do you want an Impreza?

lamborgini8

To be honest, going by what people have said above I am not too concerned about consumption now.

I have always loved the scoobie and always wanted one, it was by chance really as I didn't know what else to get after I get rid of my astra. I just got a quote on a n/a scoobie for the sake of doing it and was pleasantly surprised.

As much as I would love the turbo, I can't afford the insurance on that. Plus I have always been a bit of an audio nut so there's no point me getting a car based on performance for now when I am just going to weigh it down with audio. As long as it has the looks and enough power to pull the weight around I am happy.

Brun

At the risk of the normal crowd coming out of the woodwork to tell me how wrong i am:

The n/a Impreza is not very quick and returns fuel consumption not a million miles from a Turbo which for me would be a deal breaker. If you are into the audio then the already ****e mpg will be lower and the car be slower.
If the looks do it for you then that's fine but if long term aspirations of a Turbo are in place then i'd be looking elsewhere.

lamborgini8

Yeah I know that, the amount of audio in my astra doesn't help the mpg either but still.

As long as it has the power to pull the audio and a quick blast every now and then as well as overtaking easily I am not too bothered about the power.

Brun

Overtaking in my experience of the n/a ain't good even before the audio. Which specific car are we talking about. I'm talking about the 2.0GX with 123bhp.

lamborgini8

Hm right...

I am looking at the bug eye or even better the 2.0 GX Sport.

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Go drive one,,, they are slow as ****.

We had bug GX for about 3 months, couldn't live with it any longer. The wife now drives a 07 plate Astra, far far better car.

Also worth remembering, if you intend to make it look and sound more like a turbo then you need to notify your insurance.

Brun

Not sure what power they are but in the above example i'm using, the BHP / ton is dire imo at 92 when you compare it to a 2.0 Focus for instance at 108 bhp/tonwhich doesn't have the transmission losses of awd.
At the end of the day, you need to get out there and drive one - it might be perfect for you as mine and anyone else's opinions are just that

Frizzle-Dee

Your best option is to simply test drive one mate.

See how you get on, its the only true way to know if you'll be happy with it IMO

Its very easy to have exceedingly high expectations of a vehicles capabilities and its better to experience it first hand to really get to grips with what you're dealing with. Its better that than to be disappointed with your choice.

I personally don't really I have an issue with the power, but like I mentioned earlier, this is only my second car so I haven't got many others to compare it to.

On my long drives north I am often fully ladened with all manner of suitcases and bags not to mention audio and I cant say I've ever noticed a difference in performance. Overtaking has never been an issue either.

But as I said, if you find a GX that you like and you can test drive it then do so. You will get all manner of opinions on them here and you can ask until you're blue in the face but nothing will compare to your own judgement when it comes down to it.

andyyam750

I'm running a Classic GL wagon (N/A) with Borlas, an induction kit, 2.25 centre pipe and Magnex back box. The car is definately not as quick as a similar capacity 2 wheel drive car and fuel consumption is between 25 to 30MPG depending on the type of driving you are doing. Its a good stepping stone into impreza ownership but once you have driven a turbo you will never be satisfied with an N/A version...

Dark

iTrader: (1)

My wife has a 2008 Impreza 2.0 RX.

It averages 27mpg around town and about 33mpg on the motorway.

It drives nicely but it's not a performance vehicle! Unless you need the 4WD there are plenty of other options that have better fuel economy and a lower insurance group.

Mark

BaojeeX

I have a 2.0GL Sport Blobeye. 15.05L of Unleaded gives me 85/90 miles. That is around £20 petrol. That's Urban driving, town with some A Roads. However that is careful driving and a little spirited. Car has full decat/resonated exhaust system and unequal headers.

lamborgini8

The mpg doesn't sound too bad going by what everyone's saying.

To be honest, any 2.0 n/a model is good and the wagon is cheaper on insurance and is perfect for audio.

Also, is there an engine difference in the bug eye and blob eye? The bug eyes mpg is slightly lower than the blob eye on autotrader.

I prefer the blob eye but to be honest the bug eye with morette headlights looks mean so I am happy with either.

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

if you work 7 miles from home why not cycle to work ?
you`d save a bomb in petrol that you can enjoy at the weekend.

lamborgini8

I did consider it, I pick up a few colleagues on the way who insist on paying me so that cancels out my cost of driving to work completely. I have worked it out and in my astra it costs roughly £1.40 to drive to work.

Brun

7 Miles - **** that. I'd maybe cycle 700 metres

lamborgini8

Haha! Like.

Well there's a 2.0 GX Wagon nearby me that I will take for a test drive at the weekend and see what I think. On autotrader it says the 0-60 is 9.8 seconds which compared to a lot of modern cars like the new focus and what not its still not too bad.

Brun

The awd will help the launch.

trails

iTrader: (41)

182 FTW I say at your age...best advice as above is to go drive one first and see what you think. Good luck

Brun

But with Grp 16 insurance it may be a struggle for the OP!

trails

iTrader: (41)

ahhh yes, I forget I'm old now

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

I think the GX is group 14 so not exactly low when you consider the performance.

lamborgini8

Yeah my astra is group 9, and I pay £1200 on that.

It's coming up as £1800 for the 2.0 n/a and thats a group 14 so no point looking at anything above it haha.

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

This is only my opinion but If I was paying almost 2K a year on insurance alone I'd want something with a bit more performance than the GX Impreza.
The stats might say 9.8 secs to 60 but trust me chap, that is never going to happen.

"it's not all about performance, looks are important too " I hear you say...

Well the non turbo bug fails there also. The turbo versions with the bonnet scoops, nice wheels and spoilers are hardly lookers so take those away and it really is not good. And if you want to add those bits to a N/A car then expect your premium to dramatically increase above and beyond 2K.

I'm only talking from my own experience with a N/A Impreza, I was far from impressed but that's not to say you will feel the same. Many chaps on here love their non turbo Imprezas so maybe you'll feel the same, go drive it and see how it goes.
Good luck fella.