real world running of a impreza wrx blobeye (questions)

[richcorsavxr]

Firstly can i apologise for the constantly repeated questions i guess that are asked here, i'm sure they've been asked many times i just can't find the answers i'm looking for.

Anyway

Recently looking through the classifieds i found a few 'blobeye' shaped wrx's i'm interested in, insurance is suprisingly resonable for the car its just the general running costs i'm unsure of.

can you give me a rough idea of the following:
MPG? mainly A road commuting
tyre size? and a mid range tyre of choice plus price?
service intervals and cost?
things to look out for when buying, and common faults to be aware of?
leg room in the back, can i fit two adults in the back comfortably?
where there any options which where avalible, (i know there not the best specced car)

anything else you can think of i should be made aware would be really appreciated.

[paulmoonraker]

I had the WRX PPP, which I would strongly recommend getting if your not planning to modify it.

MPG? mainly A road commuting
Depends how you drive – I used to get about 33MPG on the motorway.

tyre size? and a mid range tyre of choice plus price?
Not sure on size of the top of my head. I used to use Bridgestones which were good. Toyos seems to be a good tyre and not too dear.

service intervals and cost?
http://www.extremescoobies.co.uk/servicing.html

things to look out for when buying, and common faults to be aware of?
The suspension on the STi is know to play up (not sure if this extends to the WRX also). http://www.scoobypedia.co.uk/index.php/Knowledge/K...

leg room in the back, can i fit two adults in the back comfortably?
Loads. I have an STi now, and use it for my two children who are in baby seats (twins).

where there any options which where avalible, (i know there not the best specced car)
leather interior (SL I think). The prodrive pack is a wise choice as it totally transforms the car, or modify it yourself.

[richcorsavxr]

cheers for that, not as bad as i expected it to be.

[paulmoonraker]

They are reliable cars. Relative to the performance the running costs are tiny. The WRX with the prodrive pack (PPP) can hit 60MPH in 4.8 seconds (according to prodrive), which is the realms of supercar performance. If you can afford to get the PPP, or do the equivalent upgrades (exhaust, turbo pipe and remap), then it really will transform the performance. I had one for 2 years/40K miles and loved it – great car.

[AndySpecD]

MPG? I averaged 24mpg in the WRX, 30mpg+ is possible on motorway runs

tyre size? 215/45/17 on wrx, toyos are £65+, Bridgestone Potenza Re050 (OE) are £100+

Services - 10k/annual - circa £300 on average

Space in the back for two adults no problem, but limited leg room if front seats are set back too far.

Common faults? Rear shocks on WRX or STI both commonly go, had mine changed 3 times in 40k miles on the WRX and the fronts changed once! (Thankfully under warranty). Loads of other options out there though.

Anything else - well, superb performance and reliability for the money, not much else can compete. Worth considering some upgrades, rear ARB esp on WRX really does transform the handling, and geometry set to prodrive settings helps.

Main negative - what on earth do you buy next, apart from another Impreza (thats why I'm on number 3!)

[paulmoonraker]

AndySpecD said:

Main negative - what on earth do you buy next, apart from another Impreza (thats why I'm on number 3!)

indeed!... Perhaps an Evo

[TXWRX]

i would say about the rear legroom, i've yet to find anyone who likes sitting in the back, seats are basic and there isn't that much room, doesn't bother me but something to consider! for kids its fine i'm sure

Edited by TXWRX on Sunday 5th December 21:57

[richcorsavxr]

thanks again for the replies, rear seat leg room isn't a massive issue, i just about manage to squeeze people in the back of my corsa.

really suprised at the running cost's, i was expecting it to be a hell of alot more. espeacially tyres, looking on camskill there near half the price i spend on a bloody corsa..



i know what i'm buying myself for christmas

[nottyash]

I d a 51 plate last year.
I used to get 27-29 MPG every weekend on my 350 mile motorway/ A road trips. Marginally better than the classic shape I had.

Servicing was reasonable as I used a local Indy. I needed new Brakes.
I bought 4xgrooved discs and Mintex pads on ebay, and had the calipers re built using seal kits I bought from Godspeed. The parts are readily available and not too expensive if you know where to look and dont go running to main dealers.

Actually sold the car for £500 more than I bought if for making it free motoring.
My advice is shop around, dont buy off dheads that have tweaked them up and scimped on servicing.

[TXWRX]

i'd echo that last bit, there are plenty around so make sure you get a good one always remembering that despite what people selling them will tell you the vast majority of them will have seen some hard driving, anything modded even more so and there are more than a few people who will try and move them on knowing that whatever they have done to the car is going to go pop soon, seen it a few times and it's stress you don't need

[edar]

richcorsavxr said:

Firstly can i apologise for the constantly repeated questions i guess that are asked here, i'm sure they've been asked many times i just can't find the answers i'm looking for.

Anyway

Recently looking through the classifieds i found a few 'blobeye' shaped wrx's i'm interested in, insurance is suprisingly resonable for the car its just the general running costs i'm unsure of.

can you give me a rough idea of the following:
MPG? mainly A road commuting
tyre size? and a mid range tyre of choice plus price?
service intervals and cost?
things to look out for when buying, and common faults to be aware of?
leg room in the back, can i fit two adults in the back comfortably?
where there any options which where avalible, (i know there not the best specced car)

anything else you can think of i should be made aware would be really appreciated.

I've had my 03 WRX wagon for just over 18 months. 14,000 miles later and the only issues I've had is 1) the alarm/immobiliser not dis-engaging on the key. Basically I was stranded at a petrol station until help arrived courtesy of a flat bed. A quick key reprogramme at my local subaru garage (£68) sorted the problem out, and 2) an engine light popped on leading to a faulty air mass meter (£260) and a ten minute fix.

I've carried out a major service a few months ago but had all the parts fitted at work which saved me 3 hours subaru labour costs. I bought the parts from Roger Clark Motorsport who supply genuine scooby parts. Servicing should be every 10,000 miles or 1 year but I did 12,000 between services. Cost of parts came to around £230. Other than a set of pads and discs I can genuinely say it's been super reliable.

I bought it to ferry the kids and dog around, use it for tip runs, as well as my second business as a car detailer. It gets used every single day and being the wagon, I can drop the seats down and stuff all manor of things inside. As far as room is concerned, it's a bit of a squeeze with two 6 foot adults in the back but with a bit of shoulder shifting I have had five adults in without a hitch. To be fair it's not a massive car but my other halfs Legacy Outback is much bigger inside.

Fuel economy wise, I can get around 310 miles on a full tank if I drive sensibly on motorways (80-ish mph) and about 260-70 miles around town - ie to work and back everyday. But I garauntee you'll drink a little more as it's hard not to open it up.

I put four new tyres on recently albeit semi budgets which cost me £50 per tyre. They're not bad but you can pick up branded tyres from £65 each.

Good contact to have: Roger Clark Motorsport for parts and all subaru information / technical and general help. Ask for Ollie.

As for modding; don't go too mad as you'll end up spending a fortune but it's worth upgrading the brake pads and discs as the standard set are quite weak - the discs wear really quickly and score badly with heavy braking ie hoons and the odd track day - pads don't last very long even with fair everyday braking. Upgrade the rear anti roll bars on the wagon as it has a tendancy to lean too much (bodyroll wise). If you want, just upgrage the rear silencer to give it a better flat four burble. 2.5 to 3 inch tailpipe is a good choice - you won't get much noise interfearence inside the cabin.

I can't recommend the Impreza enough. It really is the best car I've owned and I have some good cars over the years. Best part: Although it only has 220 bhp, it really is very quick and can keep up with most high-end sports cars. I've managed to keep up with all sorts and people don't realise just how rapid it is, especially a few 911 Turbo drivers who are a little surprised to see me still keeping up . Good luck in getting one. If you need any more info just drop me a private message.

[kayzee]

Just bought my blobeye STI PPP, only previous owner, he gave me all the receipts so I added them up. £11,385.82 spent over 7 years, although that includes a lot of goodies as well, but that's £1626.55 spent per year, quite a lot! It's on 90k miles though whereas tbh I will hardly using it so hopefully it won't be that much for me!