mail2neil

[deep breath!]
I am no expert, in fact I have 2 weeks light research and 3/8ths of f-all else to base anything on..., so please have sympathy!

Today I missed a bargain '06 STi and it's left me pondering my options.

The same wholesaler tells me they can get me another STi in 2-4 weeks - and, reading the Subaru website, I quite like the sound of a TypeD (leather seats and sat nav). But are there other differences?

No matter what, it's going to ProDrive as I have heard they are easier to live with and faster.

But now I'm wondering... if it's going to ProDrive, then is it worth the extra expense of STi over WRX? What are the physical differences between WRX and STi anyway? - Where can I look for that info?

So, anyway, I rang ProDrive to book the whole thing in; The guy on the phone didn't sound like he knew everything but said;
1) If it's a wholesaler, then it can't be certified,
2) They can't upgrade a Type D,
3) He couldn't easily tell me the difference between the ProDrive'd WRX and STi in terms of performance, other than there was one.

I found it hard to believe 1), impossible to believe 2), and 3)....!?

If 1,2 and 3 are the case, then is there an alternative, or do I need to buy a Type UK?

Can anyone help me?

Many, many thanks

Neil

white

As far as I know the Type D is an STI but without the big spoiler for people who want to have a more subtle look.

mail2neil

Oh.. so why can't they upgrade it..
Thanks for the reply.
TBH; I just wanted leather seats and Sat Nav..

But what I do want is a nicely upgraded car, with no regrets.

In breif, what's the WRX -> STi difference, and if it's 5k in money terms.. is it worth it?

Adrian F

i believe if you PPP an import you void the warrenty.

The UK importer for Subaru's underwrite the PPP and therefore will only look after cars bought from official UK dealers.

As to differences probably best to go to a dealer and drive them.

stilover

Try buying a 06 STI uk with Prodrive from a dealer. From what has been said on here, they are struggling to sell them, so a bargain could be had. Nothing to lose by asking. A main dealer will/should have no problem PPP'ing a Type D.
One thing I would ask though, is why a type D? From my own point of view, I would have thought a Type D would be harder to pass on, as must people who want an STI, Want the big scoop & Spoiler.
If your wanting an Import, then get a STI/Type D etc, then get it down to Power station, or similar to get the power you want.
A WRX is a softer car than the STI. With the STI you get the A-DCCD, 6 speed gear box, better suspension, brakes etc. Plus, and this is a big plus, you get the thumbs up from 12 year old kids, where ever you go.

KiwiGTI

The Type D has nothing to do with ProDrive - why do you think they would be able to downgrade a standard STI to a Type D?

mail2neil

Who'oah.. This is where I don't understand..
Why is STi -> Type D a downgrade?
I was looking at STi Type UK and STi Type D as being on the same par, just one has leather seats and sat nav, the other has cloth?

mail2neil

I wanted a Type D for the more executive look, but keeping the performance.
I am going to use the car for work too.. so I need GPS and I like leather seats.
However, I currently use an IPAQ with GPS, so I could live with that.., and leather kills suits.., so that could be out the window too.

I guess what I was really asking is, 5k more for an STi, and no matter what I get I will PPP - So, is it worth it?

stilover

In my opinion, yes it is. I think if you just got a WRX, every time you see an STI you'll ask yourself why you didn't get one.
An STI with PPP, is a seriously quick car. £5k is a lot of money, but you do get extra bits. If you can afford the extra money, then get the STI. You know it makes sense.

stilover

They have the same engine, so the remap will work on both cars. Unless someone knows differently.

PHILL-WALES

WHERE EVER U GO IN A WRX U GET THE THUMBS UP BY 12 YER OLD KIDS DO U THINK MOST 12 YEAR OLDS KNOW THE DIFF BETWEEN THEM BOTH. IF U PUT A HIGH RISE SPOILER ON THE WRX

MikeWood

Neil

Not sure who you spoke to but I was out of the office on Friday so it won't have been me!

The performance package can be fitted by your Dealer to any UK STi including the Spec D as it's mechanically the same as every other 06MY UK car.

An 06 WRX with a PPP is not much slower than an STi as the torque is really easy to get at and the whole car is a bit more 'relaxed' in the way it drives. You'd need to try both to be sure which was the best option for you though.

Regards

Mike

D-an-W

iTrader: (1)

I get that in my WRX too Must be the PPP & ProDrive spolier...

svennard

Hi to all

It's my first post as a first time Impreza driver and proud owner of an STi 06 Spec-D.

I've had the car three weeks and just had the 1000 mile service / oil change today.

I've been reading through many of the threads over the last two months or so, right through thinking about getting an STI, to now actually having one.

As a completely new Impreza owner, I'd like to share my thoughts.

Just out of interest, I've made the transition across from VW Golf 2.8 4motion, which was a reasonably decent motor, but not in the same league as the STi.

I must say that on the whole, I'm really pleased with it, but I do have a few issues with it which I'd like to share, and hopefully I can gain some feedback.

Firstly, I must confer with Mike Woods comments - the spec d is an STi mechanically, with a more subtle appearance and upgraded interior.

The 'D' stands for discreet, not de-tuned, and it is a limited edition - 300 units only. In my opinion, that's likely to make it more desirable in the future, not less.

Having said that, I'm a little racked off, as no sooner did I sign for it, Subaru bring out a line of special edition WRX's - £22 grand, but with all the extras in the spec-D.

Ok, the spec D is a STi, but £6 grand more than a fully spec'd WRX?..not sure..

Even more frustrating given that Subaru are now offering the free ppp upgrades again!!

Bad timing for me!

Over the regular STi, the spec D has leather seats (not heated, which I find odd) Sat Nav, an uprated stereo - great with the Ipod and handsfree phone, but a nightmare to setup and operate (not sure about the blue radio color scheme). Lower WRX spoiler, and completely d-badged.

For me, aesthically, it's ideal, not being a blue and gold person, but it would be nice to have something visible, maybe a couple of small unique badges to make it easily distingusable from the standard WRX. (brake caliper / alloy differences accepted) suppose I could stick a few on..

Can't say I ran it in as you might do traditionally - I've just driven it - I was advised by my local dealership to just get on with it.

I did take it quite easy for the first 500 miles or so, just enjoying the pull from 4th gear, from 30-40 up to 80, 90 mph - great!!

My first thoughts;

- Handling is tremendous at speed, but it suffers badly from 'tramlining' at low speed on town roads, which is a little unnerving and makes hard work of day to day driving. It's almost, the faster you go, the better it handles.

Acceleration - absolutely brilliant when you catch it right!
I don't think I've quite got the technique right yet - depending on whether you plant your foot, or feed in the turbo, and what the revs are at the time, this results in a very different experience. The car can really take off, or feel quite out of breath and a little flat.

Again, responsiveness seems a little erratic - sometimes the turbo comes in and starts whistling nicely, but sometimes it seems to lag, and you can't hear it at all..

I've already noticed a difference between normal super and BP Ultimate - could be my imagination but the turbo seems more effective and there's less lag when I run the car on Ultimate - anybody else?

Generally though, the car feels a little lacking from 5000rpm upwards - a little disapointing having driven it well under that for the first couple of few weeks, enjoying the lower down torque, waiting to really go for it.

I've now started to open the car up a bit more, I think I'm suffering from a little bit of anti-climax now..!

Perhaps I was expecting too much given the torque curve, and of course, it doesn't take long to get used to the power when you drive the car every day.

Maybe its time for the PPP?

Whilst the 0-60 figure for the STi PPP against the standard car doesn't appear to be all that much of a improvement for quite a few quid, the midrange acceleration and top end figures do seem to reflect quite a good improvement - particularly in the areas I have noticed the standard car lacking.

I'm aware that the're are a number a alternative upgrades available, with more power over the PPP, but I want to keep the Warranty intact - PPP would seem to be the way for me.

I Know that Mike (Wood) might be a little biased, but could any one give me real experience of a STi06 PPP against the standard car.

I understand that the PPP helps the economy a bit?

I hope so - I didn't expect great economy of course, but I expected it to be similar to my V6 Golf - its nowhere near!!

I've done a little over 1000 miles - I've spent over 200 quid on fuel - quite frightening - and thats mixed driving.

Fuel gauge is a little strange - goes down to 3/4 full after about 50 miles, and kind of levels out around 1/4 tank.

It's strange that the capacity of the tank is supposed to be 60 litres, yet when if I leave it until the fuel light comes on, and then fill up, I still can't get 50 litres in.

Does that mean there's about 10-15 litres in reserve - That seems a lot?

The other small issue is on pulling away or reversing - I seem to be getting what appears to be 'clutch slip' or diff slip - might even just be the tyre friction on the road surface - only when just moving away - having said that it hasn't done it for a few days - perhaps I've worn the tyres down sufficiently to reduce the friction now.

On the whole, I am really pleased with the car and it was definately the right choice.

I'd welcome all and any comments

thanks

Svennard

MTR

Where have you seen this advertised, as I cannot see any mention of it on the Subaru UK web site for MY06 STi's?
The deal was available for MY05 STi's and WRX's.

Your username might indicate someone from outside the UK, but you don't say where you are from in your profile.

Cheers
MTR

svennard

http://www.hylton.co.uk/updates/deals/subarudeals.htm

Sorry haven't filled in my profile stuff - svennard is my nick name. I live in the midlands

http://www.hylton.co.uk/updates/deals/subarudeals.htm

I got my STI Spec D from Hyltons - but it looks like the're doing free PPP again on STI 06

Hope this helps -can't be the only dealership

MTR

Like yourself.
Too late for me, I bought my STi MY06 3 months ago.
My dealer wasn't/isn't doing that deal, but I have sent him a link to the advert.

But I didn't pay full price, and got a good p/ex on my MY02 STi PPP.

We always want more, and so do the dealers.
Funny old world.

Cheers
MTR

svennard

I guess you read my thread MTR?

How you finding the new motor - like I said, first one I've had, so judging it as I find it - overall really pleased, but could be that little bit better...gotta be PPP for me - just gotta find the extra 1700quid...um.

How does it compare to your previous STi, PPP included?

Interesting post from Mike Wood today - seems like Pro drive have experimented with a downpipe mod which, if released would improve the PPP from around 316bhp to between 340-350bhp - that is interesting -certainly would bring PPP in line with other upgrades, whilst maintaining the warranty - dunno if or when Pro drive will release though.. Might be worth waiting a while.

Its a bit of a drug though -only three weeks in - got a decent bit of power - want some more!!

Woody1

I bought an STi instead of a WRX for the following reasons:

1. Better styling as standard (IMHO - first thing I would of done with a WRX is change the spoiler and colour code the skirts)
2. More power as standard (£2k can get 300-330 bhp - on the 02-05 versions)
3. Stronger engine due to uprated internals. Better for modding if I take that route
4. Bigger brakes as standard
5. Stiffer suspension as standard. Even with PD springs, still softer than my Supra previous
6. Bigger wheels as standard
7. Cheaper insurance for a standard STi over a modded WRX.

Hope that's of some use.

Neil

timuk1

yes woody you are right but a WRX that has been ppp'd pisses all over a standard sti ..lol gearbox don't you know