spudgun

ok, this isnt to start a slanging match. my my00 is gone, and most people know i didnt rate it. so enough said on that one, ok
now, i want a second car for play/modding. princess will sell her scoob towards the end of the year, she's set her heart on a skyline( or evo if she cant find a good 'un)
SO...i will have to have another scoob.now, i think i'm gonna go 5 door next time, preferably green. dunno why, just like 'em
SO GUYS AND GALS...
which year do YOU think was the best impreza year? i like my95's. big turbo, good build, big character, i like the laggy shove in the back. i will get one, unless you folks can tell me if theres a better year to get.
SO ENLIGHTEN ME, and anyone else who is thinking of buying one. i already know scoobys are great, and fantastic value, so no repeating the "what else can you get for xxx pounds" point..fair enough?
i hope this is a positive debate, petes resolved his differences with IM, i sold mine. heres to a great car and a good debate...
let the games commence

letdown

After the last few days of threads.......Im not putting my money on it been 99/00MY .....phut! phut! wheezz

logiclee

MY96 big turbo version with Prodrive Recaro interior. Bags of character, lots of noise.

Lee

polarbearit

This seems obvious to me, but there could be a sensible reason you aren't doing it...

Why not buy the car from 'Princess'? A Known history is usually better with a car that age!

Jon

spudgun

lmao at letdown
what sort of money do they go for , logiclee?
keep 'em coming guys! i need to know good and bad points before i fully commit myself. i dont want my fingers burnt again.

logiclee

You could have had this one for £10000 last week

spudgun

polarbearit.
a very good reason. i want a five door, hers is a four door. also, i personally think the green five doors are a little less obvious, which is what i like. princess' car is very much like her...good looking, sought after, and LOUD
also, its done 75k miles, i want something with lower mileage. her car IS lovely, blue alcantara retrim, silver, P1's etc etc, but i want to start afresh.

NITO

I'm glad you got your priorities straight when picking a new scoob...(5 door...I like it )

I had both an MY95 wagon with recaro interior and an MY98 wagon.

MY95 - yes it has bags of character, larger turbo is more fun, handling with Prodrive suspension really was superglue, boot lends itself better to a decent music install, trim is harder wearing, more passenger leg room.

MY98 - Has a much better clutch (230mm as opposed to 225mm- kept having clutch/gearbox troubles with earlier car although an early sti ra clutch solved most of them!) MY98 has white dials, better interior although less hard wearing, can fit a triple gauge pack, more comfortable on long journeys, (centre arm rest and door arm rest) handling more adjustable, less rear legroom, bigger boot (due to design of plastic panels inside) re-designed front end. Better spec as std, seats/alloys etc. Engine more punchy but also more asmathic at the top end. (cured on mine with a larger turbo )

In all I would go for the later one, although the earlier one is also a very fine car and I would have no hesitations in recommending an earlier one. Is the new shape front end important to you? Is the redesigned interior important to you? I prefer the 98 to 99/00 models as you can fit an induction kit without it damaging Maf sensors and the 97 car had the early interior and the 95/96 cars had older interior and front end. I was/am over the moon with both of my scoobs. They both had their share of problems and they both have their advantages. It depends what you want from it and what you want to do to it.

HTH
Nito

Scott J Davies

Best Model Year Ever

Lets see

Well I would say 96, Linda Evangelista was at the top of her game looking sexy, Eva Hertigova was looking fine, Christy Turlington wasn't as affected as she was now, Naomi Campbell was seeing the U2 Bass player. And it was all pre waif.

Had to be 96!

Ian E

iTrader: (1)

My current UK MY2000 is far better than my previous UK MY1997.

Cheers,

Ian.

[This message has been edited by Ian E (edited 03 May 2001).]

lpitt

Gotta be the '98. Nothing much changed after that except the grill and wheels. Most people seem to prefer these wheels over the 99/00 version.

Personally I think my 98 5 door in green is the business!

Tractor

Hiya Spudgun, sorry to hear of your troubles with your previous Scoob.

Right. I have heard many times on this BBS that the best model year performance wise for a UK car is the MY98. Benefit is you also get the upgraded interior.

Or (and only if you are not too great friends with a certain bloke by the name of Pete ) you could get a proper Impreza - i.e. a Jap import. If you are buying it for the sheer ***** out nuttiness and performance hit - buy an Sti2 Type RA - I had one and they literally blow the doors of a UK car - 276BHP, 1200kg weight = way better power/weight than a P1. You would have to throw thousands of quid at a UK car to get the same performance, and you can get one for less than 10 grand. The choice is yours. Drive a Jap car see what you think.

By the way, I upgrade to an STI3, which is also now for sale , drop me an email and I WILL persuade you that you want it.

Mike

wilf

I reckon that if you were disappointed with the MY00 you will be more disappointed with anything that has gone before.

I definitely prefer my MY00 to my MY98 (which was a green 5 door). MY00 is faster less laggy better brakes seems to ride and handle better is alot quieter(cos 4 door)and looks better. Only downside is can no longer fit my surfboards inside it.

Hasn't given me any problems yet either.

My MY98 was a bit too much of a Q car good for parking up but used to get hassled by other drivers who didn't realise it was a turbo. Felt like a bit of a farmer driving it round in that shade of green all the time.

Representing the silent majority of contented MY00 owners.

Adam B

Hi Spudgun

... got to agree with tractor on this one (provided you can live with only 4 doors).

I went from a UK MY94 to a MY00 RA Ltd ... having just finished the running in bit, have to say the performance is staggering !

Adam

pslewis

I think the 5-door takes it in quirky looks - it kinda grows on you.

I like the look of the MY00 - it certainly looks better than some of the imports I have seen - the bonnet grills look crap? (thats for Tractors consumption!)

I havent had anything except my MY00 - but I wouldnt assume for one moment that the earlier cars gained their cult status with hesitating engines and choclate clutches?

So, looks wise, the UK MY00 takes it hands down IMHO (and a 5-door at that!!)

Spudgun - green?????????????????????????????/
we will have to call you farmer Spud!!

Pete

chiark

Isn't MY98 the year with (most) piston slap troubles? Is there a link between supposed "best vintage" and slap - perhaps its running closer to the edge than other cars, so for 99/00 they backed off something?

Just a thought.

Nick.

Steve Howat

I agree with Chiark, the '98 car has had more engine problems/failures than any other model (or so I've read on here ) I've got a '95 UK car which I've had for 4 years with no probs at all, apart from cambelt services . The clutch has even lasted 100k miles (but I do drive like a girl ). So I can't fault the reliability one bit. It was the first model to win the JD power survey and the last to win the world rally champs after all .

I always thought tho that the STI3 was the motor to get for mods, reliability etc.....

spudgun

tractor
is it green and is it 5 door? as for it being a five door in green being a q car...thats EXACTLY why i want one
if some idiot wants to play silly buggers coz he thinks i'm farmer piles, then so much the better!

bob

How many time have you heard me say it.

I wish I still had my MY98.

spudgun

daft question, but is it possible to get an sti3 in five door? and green? i have no problems with imports, i have scoobysport just down the road, also dragon auto sport in colchester who are a great bunch of guys who do a good job( princess uses them for her my95).
the one thing that DOES worry me, after reading about garages dropping sul( i noticed myself how hard its becoming to get hold of in my area), what fuel should u use? i read often that using normal unleaded is bad news on imports. adding octane booster? i thought that only worked with sul? if its no probs, then i'd be happy to get import, and save a few quid. i wouldnt plan on selling it so soon, so i wouldnt worry about depreciation
frankly, i dont have much faith in later uk cars. also, in a funny sort of way, i kinda like the early cars softer face..cute! i agree with pete. the hunchback definately grows on you. its so damn ugly its great!
my my00 was a work of art, p1's , prodrive spoiler, coded skirts etc. but the more i did ( appearance wise), the less i liked it.it just attracted TOO much attention
keep em coming guys, this is very informative
i'd especially like to know more from guys who own imports...thanks guys!

tarmacterrorist

Hi spudgun

I pondered for a while regarding imports but am glad to say that a white 4 door ST1 4 is sitting quite nicely on the drive.

I did do my homework & also chatted to people on this BB before driving a UK & import. As you are, I was not looking to get rid of the car for a few years so depreciation did not bother me considering the saving I was making. The spec of the STi was way above a UK turbo & I do like the look of the STi in standard form.

People warned about parts etc being hard to get for the import but this was a red herring as there are quite a few places that can source parts in a couple of days.

All in all I have ended up with a good spec car for a reasonable amount of money which looks good in standard build.

Hope this helps.