2003 Subaru Forester XT, 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
1996 Rover 200 SD, 2001 Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec, 1995 Toyota MR2 G-Limited, 1994 Toyota MR2 GTS (exploded after 45 mins so not sure it even counts), 1994 Toyota MR2 GT (didn't explode), 1999 VW Golf GTI (1.8T), 2004 Honda Civic Type R, 1991 VW Golf GTI 16V, 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four, 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 2000 VW Golf GTI (2.0), 2002 VW Golf V6 4Motion, 1994 Eunos Roadster S-Special, 2002 VW Golf GTI 25th Anniversary, 2008 VW Golf R32
The Forester, and motivation for its purchase
"I'll start with the Forester as that was first on the driveway. Last July we picked up our first Labrador, Memphis. You will have seen him at a few Sunday Services, and not so long afterwards the rear seats of my R32 resembled the aftermath of a mudslide. The GTI we had at the time had a set of rather firm coilovers and access to the rear seats was very poor indeed so naturally my five-door was suddenly deemed the mutt barge. Knowing the answer to all things lugging on PH was a Forester I quickly found one a few miles away from my parents' home in Nottinghamshire. £2,800 later we had a 103,000-mile barge with a full history, two owners and a very happy Labrador. It was even blue. Perfect.
"The Impreza came as a consequence from the enjoyment we had in the Forester; more on that later.
"The R32 (no, the German one) I had at the time was on a lease as I used it for work where I do 20,000 miles a year and while it was completely wonderful in many ways I wanted to save some money as we were planning for a family. A 320d would probably have given me an early grave so with a very one-sided spreadsheet called howtojustifyanothersti.xlsx I found that I could get a bruising Japanese boxer and save a considerable amount of money in the process.
And this is the frugal one on the fleet!
"After only a few days of looking I found a magnificent looking Impreza at David Hendry Cars and promptly put my R32 on PH classifieds. A couple of weeks later we struck a deal and I collected the car on a beautiful sunny day ready for the three-hour drive back home. 72,000 miles, two owners (one in bomb disposal!) and a very healthy stage one performance pack installed to take power to somewhere between 320hp and 340hp according to David himself. Again, pretty much perfect for what I wanted."
What I wish I'd known:
"I have a fair amount of experience with Subarus of that era before but the Forester was quite new to me. Thankfully these were based on the Impreza platform and share quite a lot of parts and problems so they wouldn't be too hard to spot so I was well prepared for the usual bottom end knocking. The only problem we've had was a pair of lower arms at the rear but that was my fault as I fitted uprated Whiteline ARBs which appear to have given any part not up to scratch a firm middle finger.
"The standard brakes are pretty hopeless so we fitted a pair of WRX four-pot calipers with new discs and pads. Aside from that it's been magnificent and genuinely one of my favourite cars.
"The STI has been just as easy to own with zero issues and don't really expect any either. A well cared for Subaru will last for as long as you want with the right attention but it pays, or saves, to find a good one at the beginning."
The most PH way to ferry a Labrador?
"The Forester can do everything. It will eat up the motorway miles in comfort, go through any offroad terrain, swallow six-foot mirrors from Ikea, tonnes of shopping, home a dog for a few hours and produce some of the most easily controllable slides around roundabouts (when Memphis is still sleeping at home) on a Sunday morning. It's also packed with the essentials like a huge sunroof, heated leather and cruise control. The last owner must have fitted some sensational speakers in the front too which was a nice surprise.
"The Impreza is obviously the more focused model but is comfortable and easy to live with. Of course with the performance pack it is staggeringly quick too. Point it at any road in almost any condition and you will reach your destination as quickly as your bravery or licence will carry you. The grip is rib crackingly excessive but you can have a slip on exit if you keep your foot in or trail brake. Even as it approaches its 12th year of design, the Blobeye STI is still a devastating and rewarding steer and with a three-inch Milltek exhaust it makes the right kind of baritone rumble too. But do you know what? It's economical too. I kid you not but I'm averaging 29mpg and see 34mpg on the motorway with no requirements to sign up to the Morgan Freeman school of motoring."
Forester doesn't mind mud on its boots
"Rattles. It's like water torture for my ears. The Forester has very few but the STI appears to have a few clips missing from behind the instrument cluster leading to a prisoner of war percussion but it should be a simple one to investigate. Still annoying, mind, but that's just a by-product of older cars. The Fos has only one annoying thing I can't fix easily which is the rather short fifth gear resulting in 3,000rpm at cruising speeds."
Costs:
"To run they've been very cheap. Two MOTs went through fine and servicing is about average. We get all work done at Souls in Olney who have a couple of very good Subaru technicians and are always enthusiastic when tinkering or just carrying out regular work. MPG as I mentioned is astonishing for the performance so it's only the Forester that drinks a bit more at 27mpg rather than the 29mpg I see in the STI.
"The largest cost so far has been modifying the Forester with suspension improvements but that's also half of the fun. New ARBs, calipers, wheels, tyres and a new stereo have made it even more perfect although they've almost cost as much as the car itself. The STI has only had some new audio bits as I don't want to take the power any higher so in a way the one seen as the glutton has turned out to be the most frugal.
"One interesting fact I found out was the purchase price of both cars was cheaper than the just the options list on a fully loaded M135i. Makes you think, doesn't it?"
David can supply spreadsheet to justify this...
"The first major outing with the Impreza was a long weekend in North Wales with the missus taking in some of the famous routes I found on drivingroads.co.uk and discovering my own, coupled with a stay at the Groes Inn thanks to a recommendation from Mr Harris. It coped magnificently and was an absolute hoot to open up around some of the best roads on our island.
"The Forester just returned from a 700-mile trip to Cornwall and I was going to tell you how it took my good lady and I, and the dog, around country roads in between filling up with cream teas but we had to return after only one night due to a pretty ropey cottage. What this did prove though was that doing 15 hours of driving in 40 hours is actually possible and comfortable. All I needed was a couple of man-sized coffees and a burger on the M4."
What next?
"Next? Baby time. In February we'll pop out another PHer and that'll be when the Forester starts to return on our investment as a true family wagon. I can't say it'll be doing as many four-wheel drifts on the way to collect early breakfasts but that's why I bought the Impreza when I could. If you want that spreadsheet, just let me know!"
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