Impreza 1.6 - winter hack
Discussion
I used to have a UK spec turbo wagon. Fantastic car, but it's a car that encourages you to drive it hard, so fuel consumption is not great. Insurance is also quite high on the turbo models as they are very stealable. Reliability wise it was bullet proof.
A 1.6 is certainly going to be much cheaper to insure, and give better fuel economy, but I've never driven one so can't comment on how they drive.
A 1.6 is certainly going to be much cheaper to insure, and give better fuel economy, but I've never driven one so can't comment on how they drive.
It's a truly terrible car. It is AWD but that's a hindrance in this car. There's no "scooby burble" from the exhaust because the 1.6 uses equal length exhaust headers (manifold). It's unbelievably slow as well, and the fuel economy is nothing special ( high 20s mpg). There are a lot of better AWD cars available for the money. If you want a scoob, I'd say push the boat out a bit more and get a turbo.
At last a thread about my car (have owned since 2004), despite the overly critical comment above the car would make a decent winter hack. It doesn't share the speed performance of its turbo'd brothers but as a vehcile to get you around in poor conditions it is perfect. It even has a dual ratio box however even in quite deep snow on gradients I didn't use it. MPG is low 30's.
eta
What is the price of the one you are looking at?
eta
What is the price of the one you are looking at?
Edited by CaptainSlow on Friday 12th November 09:29
CaptainSlow said:
At last a thread about my car (have owned since 2004), despite the overly critical comment above the car would make a decent winter hack. It doesn't share the speed performance of its turbo'd brothers but as a vehcile to get you around in poor conditions it is perfect. It even has a dual ratio box however even in quite deep snow on gradients I didn't use it. MPG is low 30's.
eta
What is the price of the one you are looking at?
Cheers for the feedback. I'm not expecting of after STI performance, I'm looking for something reliable for the winter that hopefully wont get stuck and is moderately comfortable (see profile for current daily driver)eta
What is the price of the one you are looking at?
Edited by CaptainSlow on Friday 12th November 09:29
the one i spotted is stickered at less than 2k - cant remember off hand
I have a 2.0 GX on an 02 plate and it has served me well. Only issues I have had in 4 years are a blown side light and a rattling heat shield. Low-range 'box is great getting down slippary slopes and in the snow around the Peak District last year the only issue became ground clearance.
Returns about 35mpg with mostly urban driving and a few motorway runs.sawman said:
Cheers for the feedback. I'm not expecting of after STI performance, I'm looking for something reliable for the winter that hopefully wont get stuck and is moderately comfortable (see profile for current daily driver)
the one i spotted is stickered at less than 2k - cant remember off hand
They seem to go for £2-3k retail, book price is about a grand. I did see a private ebay auction a couple of months ago that didnt get a starting bid at a grand.the one i spotted is stickered at less than 2k - cant remember off hand
Evil.soup said:
Seems like a good choice to me but will only really be good in snow with the right tyres. I have a hawkeye WRX and the power delivery isnt exactly smooth due to the turbo, but the biggest grip issue in snow is the summer tyres. The thing can be a right handful!!!!!
Mine was ok on all season tyres. We used to have the 2.0GX bug eye. Very very reliable, needing only a lamda after driving through deep water in 5 years of ownership. Interior is bog basic, but Subaru spent the money where it counts - nice very comfortable seats and engine and drive train.
They're even quite good fun (if roly) to hustle along a moor road, due to 195 tyres having not a lot of lateral grip. They are very very slow though, so I would avoid the 1.6 if you ever want to overtake.
MPG was low 30s in ours.
They're even quite good fun (if roly) to hustle along a moor road, due to 195 tyres having not a lot of lateral grip. They are very very slow though, so I would avoid the 1.6 if you ever want to overtake.
MPG was low 30s in ours.
Chris71 said:
Would a Legacy be a better option? I think they had more credible non-performance models than the Impreza did at this time (it's not all Spec Bs and the like)?
Depends what kind of Legacy you'd get for £1-£1.5k. At this price Foresters and Legacys tend to be older with higher mileages.I pick up my new (to me) Forester tomorrow.
CaptainSlow said:
Evil.soup said:
Seems like a good choice to me but will only really be good in snow with the right tyres. I have a hawkeye WRX and the power delivery isnt exactly smooth due to the turbo, but the biggest grip issue in snow is the summer tyres. The thing can be a right handful!!!!!
Mine was ok on all season tyres. Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff