Another crap, biased review of the Scooby.
It tests the Accord Type R, Impreza and Mondeo St200. The Accord wins, scooby second?

'The impreza is a good car and offers a lot of performance for not much money. However the chassis and handling are'nt as sharp as the Honda's...'

- Too much body roll in corners

'It may not be the quickest in a straight line but on a lap of the race track the Type R would beat everything'

Oh Well and now back to the real world...

 

Hmmm interesting - as I took an Accord Type R out for a test drive a few weeks back.

Verdict - they are crap. No power - no obvious VTEC range - and I thrashed the car - felt no faster than a normal 16v

Biggest pain was no height adjustment on the seat
Bad dealerships that comment that if you want extra's like - aircon or electric gadgets like rear window electrics, etc you have to get a quote from parts
What a bunch of muppets, - and the base cost is £23k!

Just confirms once again that autoexpress is a pile of ****

 

What colour was that car in the report? And why could I not get my car in that colour?! AFAIK its not a UK colour, but the test car was supplied by Subaru UK.

 

All

This article made me laugh out load...!!!
Find me any review in any magazine ever that puts an Accord over a Scooby when tested head to head (& there have been dozens of such tests recently)
Also the guy testing was some F1 test driver from BAR or something - maybe he thought if he put the Honda first he may get a drive in a Honda powered car next season....;-)

Cheers

Jules.

 

That just shows how inconsistant Journalism is.

Last year in the Auto Express it put the result the other way around - see

 

evo magazine issue 002, December 1998.

UK Impreza Turbo (99my) versus Accord Type-R.

Technical:
Accord - 209bhp @ 7200rpm, 158lb/ft @ 6700rpm
Impreza - 215bhp @ 5600rpm, 214lb/ft @ 4000rpm

Verdict:
"The Impreza wins...But in a group test of a dozen such cars the Impreza and Accord would be the Schumacher and Hakkinen of the bunch, way out in front.
"The Accord has come closer to knocking the Impreza from its pedestal than any other saloon...the Type-R offers - uniquely - a taste of what it's like driving a Touring Car. It's high-revving engine asks a level of anticipation and commitment few road cars demand.
"Ultimately though, this is its weakness. The Impeza gives so much for so little effort, in both performance and handling...The moment you drive off you know you're in something special, and everything that happens from there just endorses that feeling. If you reckon you don't look at the fireplace while you're poking the fire, there isn't another saloon for less than £30,000, possibly £40,000, that satisfies like the Impreza."

Yes we all know evo's hardly neutral, but it least they talk sense. The 99my improvements made just enough difference to keep it ahead.

Cheers,
Mike

 

And besides - front wheel drive was designed for shopping trolleys. Ask any serious tarmac driver what they prefer and they'll say rear-drive first, four wheel drive second, front wheel drive a very distant third. Apply a budget to this, and the 4WD rally weapons come out even better, cos all the decent rear drive stuff is over 40 grand.

Cheers
Mike

 

The EVO handling test didn't classify the Integra Type R's handling a "distant third" by any stretch....

VTEC engines are an aquired taste. I used to love my Civic VTi. The change in sound as the VTEC cuts in fantastic and it just keeps revving while still pulling better from low down. I find the turbo lag on mY95 needs more anticipation and awareness than the VTEC ever did. The engines are very different in character and like all things some will prefer one or the other. What is not disputed is that Honda makes the best front wheel drive chassis' in the Accord and Integra Type Rs. In the original EVO Accord Vs Scooby test they were gobsmacked with the grip the accord produced. Fundamentally it is a BTCC type clone vs a Rally type clone.

Dean

 

Pete N
'- What colour is it?' - You have a womans appreciation of cars my lord.
- They do Fiestas in some nice colours now, although my mates wife prefered the options on Corsa range!