John Hughes

Well facts and figures can be argued about, and conclusions can be made from these details, but whatever the result of the arguments, taste is and always will be a matter of personal opinion. Some of the delusional contributors on this thread can’t comprehend it when every member of the human race doesn’t hang on their every word like they are some kind of style and life guru.

J.C. of Top Gear also has his personal opinion, and if you want to follow his advice, that’s great.

I’m lucky enough to think that Subaru have made their best-looking car ever in the 08STi. This combined with the excellent practicalities and superb performance it offers, make it a fantastic package, and that’s why I bought into it.
If you prefer an earlier STi edition or an EVO, then good for you. And I sincerely hope you enjoy your car as much as I enjoy mine.

HOWY

Well I only paid 17K for my WRX and I will have peace of mind with 3yr warranty cheaper running and insurance costs than an old Sti and I would imagine in 3 years time the depreciation on the MY07 sti will be worse than on a new WRX

ajc347

I for one, like the shape of the new Impreza.

I've been waiting for a new Subaru hatchback model (as opposed to a wagon) to emerge since I sold my trusty Vivio a few years ago upon getting married etc.

I can't afford the insurance costs on a current petrol WRX or STI and the new ved charges (£400+ per year). The mpg figures are also a concern given the cost of petrol etc.

Have recently driven a 2.0rx which felt gutless and the emissions are far too high for a naturally aspirated engine. Is does, though, look significantly better in the flesh than on TV or in magazines.

I also drove a legacy with the new diesel engine which felt 100 times better and has good emission and execellent mpg figures (49.6 combined). I've never got on with diesel engines before but I was really impressed with this engine. Loads of low down grunt and smooth acceleration. It could do with a six-speed box though.

I'm very interested to see how this engine will work in the impreza even in its 150bhp version (as is due to go on sale in September this year) let alone a potential tweaked 200bhp+ WRX diesel version.

I'm convinced that it will work very well and will be the main volume seller for Subaru in Europe due to cheaper insurance, less emissions and excellent mpg. I wouldn't be surprised if Subaru eventually phase out most of the current range of petrol engines within the European market over time.

So for me, the new Impreza with a diesel engine is definitely the way to go, as it ticks more boxes than any other car I've considered over the last 12 months or so.

In terms of the STI vs EVO TG test, Why should there be any surprise that Clarkson dislikes the STI? Clarkson slates all Scoobys and Scooby owners on a regular basis and has done for years.

He is well known for not liking a number of cars and owners of said cars for relatively fickle reasons. Much of this is to do with his well-polished ability to be so opinionated as to seek to stir public debate and polarize opinions - this is exactly why he has had such a long and successful journalistic and TV presenting career.

I'd more easily trust a review from Needell, Hammond, Plato or VBH as they are more considered and rely far less on the initially humurous but very lazy opening...pause...punchline approach to reviewing that Clarkson has adopted for years.

Clarkson's entitled to his opinion of course, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he is right in his conclusions.

Andy

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

I'm undecided on the looks. the white one i saw looked fab, that red - no thanks.

That said it offers amazing performance for the cash. look at what it is in front of on the TG lap board

Lotus Elise 1.35.6

Audi TT V6 1.32.7

Ford Focus RS 1.32.2

BMW M3 1.31.8

Honda NSX Type-R 1.31.6

Porsche 911 Turbo 1.31.0

Volkswagen Golf R32 1.30.4

Subaru Impreza STI 1.30.1

Subaru Impreza STi WRX WR1 1.29.4

Porsche 911 Carrera S 1.28.9

Mitsubishi Evo VIII 1.28.9

Dodge Viper SRT-10 1.28.5

5t.

myblackwrx

iTrader: (1)

Except for when he tested the EVO8 and equivalent Impreza in Scotland and said he both were great but after filming he took the Impreza,he liked the petrol Legacy (hates the new diesel though).
His main bugbear is the sad prats who dress up in their Subaru hats,coats,tshirts,trousers etc which i think if you wear all of them together is bloody sad

But anyone who buys or doesn't buy a car on the opnion of ANY of the Top Gear/Fifth Gear needs a smack around the head imo.

Mus

iTrader: (2)

the new STI is looks ugly as hell, it looks like a mazda 3 gona wrong with lexus rear lights.its so dissapointing.look at the evo how it evolved.im a die hard scooby man but somethings are just better left alone.i would rather buy the new s3 rather than scooby atleast the new s3 has more class. the new sti looks like its been designed by a boy racer.sorry guys performance mite be great but the car looks wrong.

Brun

How often do you have to service the new Evo? The 4.5k thing of Evo's past has always put me off!!!

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I've seen 1 new evo on the road and about 3 new STi's, and thats travelling around the country oh and a couple of wrx's

Tony

lucky_strike

think the new Evo has 9K service intervals or maybe 10K as per the STI, pretty sure the 4.5K days are gone.

I did 15K miles a year in my Evo VIII and it seemed like I was never away from the garage, nice guys though.

Ved

If you gave me £1500 every 4 months I'd throw you a smile or two as well

PantsUK

iTrader: (1)

Your obvisouly happy with your purchase and good luck to you.

I was simply saying I don't get it and even at 17K I don't get it. Cheaper running costs and insurance is a given seeing as it's not their high performance model. For your 17K .... (piston heads/AT)

A wr1 (if you want to curtail depreciation)
or staying with WRXs for cheaper insurance a 1 year old 1000 miler for .... 12K

This is at advertised price pre haggle. I understand there is a comfort factor buying new but I just think for 5k there is a lot of comfort I could be having!

anyways as I said good luck to you no-one buys a scoob to be thrifty! except maybe a 22b to live for ever more in a bubble.

etc etc etc

andythejock01wrx

Cheers for those figures. What were the numbers for the 2008 Sti ?

Oh, and how on earth did the 911 turbo not do better ?! They have 4wd and 472bhp-ish, don't they ??

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

Wet Wet Wet.

andythejock01wrx

Bad band, but a good line, bluenose.

A. Hibbee

ballsie

iTrader: (4)

911 turbo was in the wet IIRC.

Point to note too - the M3 time was for the previous generation not the latest (E92 I think) model. New one would be quicker than an STi round a track I'd think.

Cheers.