Impreza Sti or Meganesport R26 or ...

[RZSupra]

Sorry - yet another what car post!

I have a maximum of £9k to spend and fancy something that doesn't need to be garaged (I have T2 Westfalia and kids bikes taking the space!). I am currently driving a Xsara £400 snotter having sold my Caterham Roadsport in the late summer.

I need a car that doesn't feel too slow after the 7, that has nice steering feel, that I can take to Cadwell a couple of times a year, that doesn't understeer too much and that isn't an MX-5 or Elise (had these before).

I've seen good reviews for both the R26 and Sti as driver's cars and welcome advice on these or any other suggestions.

Thanks

[RZSupra]

Any thoughts?

[boomboompow]

Haven't driven either, but I prefer the image of the R26, especially in Liquid Yellow. What age of Impreza are you thinking about? I'd say the Scooby is more likely to hold it's value if that's something your concerned about.

[Arun_D]

I did love my Liquid Yellow R26, it was a fantastic all-rounder, and I much preferred the drive to the 2004 STI I tried.

[ewenm]

Why did you sell the 7? Might give us some pointers to what you like and what's not acceptable.

[pitbull turbo]

after diving both i really didn't get on with the r26 and i drove 3 of these ranging from the 230 f1 and the r26 standard and i thought they where nasty inside . the power wasn't great and didn't feel that fast to the point the clio 182 i drove back to back felt just as fast if not faster and i didn't like the poor understeer and even worse wet weater handling. put my fait coupe turbo to shame with the understeer and torque steer.
on the other hand i sti's and sti's with ppp and the wr1. simply another leaue to the megane it felt fast and handled just as you would expect, crazy grip with a touch of under steer but you can control it with ease and even fight through it, having the dccd in the wr1 and the 05 ppp i drove you can dial it out moreto but it handled very well and steering was nice. the power felt good and strong and wouldn't leave you struggling on long straight.
was very comfy inside to even if the dash was typical jap but still nicer than the megane.
all in all i really really wanted a sti with ppp and dccd and was the only car i drove in 4 months of test drives that had the wow factor, ok the image is a bit bad and it makes loads of noise and so on but i couldn't care less and if im a chav for drivin a car i like then thats not my problem.

i really wanted to like the megane hence the 3 test drives but not good at all. well over hyped car.

by the way ended up with a mazda 6 mps after all and it was more my budget wiuth a new born baby and closest to the sti i could find!

[ortontom]

ah ha - Ive an R26 - just changed my E39 M5 for something with less miles that can do 1000 miles a week.

MPG 26.8

Overall - In gear to about 80 its about as quick as the M5 - well the majority of time, brakes are great and chassis is brilliant.


I would have it over the scooby - its far more rewarding to drive....

Hates for me - its french and clutch pedal broke 4 days in, stickers are a bit nasty...all good though 8/10 car.....

[homerjay]

Scoob would feel more of an occasion when driving without doubt.

The r26 would be cheaper and easier to live with.

[everGreddy]

The Megane, with the LSD in the R26, is an awesome car and as good as FWD gets IMHO. I've driven a few, and although I've not had much time behind the wheel, they instantly invite you to take the pi$$ and throw them around.

However, it was that accessibility that put me off in the end and instead I bought a modified 200sx (which costs me far more to run, despite being 10 years older!). The 200 scares and rewards me every time I take it out. I like to think of it as the Macca F1 effect; Joe Average will be faster in other cars of a similar ilk, but driving at 90%+ commitment will leave you tingling, if not shaking, and is what makes the drive so enthralling and engaging in the long term.

If you could get an Impreza with the adjustable centre diff, to bias towards the rear then I suspect it might be able to provide the same entertainment. Otherwise I'd be looking at a 350z, or a later S2000 given your budget.

[RZSupra]

Thanks for the comments.

I sold the 7 as I was using it so rarely. By the time I'd checked the weather, got the harnesses on, fastened the doors, driven 100 yards then remembered I'd left my breakdown cover card at home, reversed, unfastened door, taken off harnesses, slowly unfolded myself out etc it would be nightfall. I much preferred it to drive over the elise but there was just too much faffing involved - hence <2000 miles in a year.

For those who have Imprezas, which sub-models give the best feedback to the driver? For those with R26, do they have the poor reliability of earlier Megane?
Also, which will cost the most to run including depreciation and fuel over a year if comparing an 03 STI with an 06 R26.

Thanks

[danneth]

3 mps