Guys,

I'm currently looking for a new car, as we now have a second baby on the way and my CTR is looking like it may be a bit impractical. I'm not quite ready to by a MPV yet - so, I've narrowed my choices down to either a Scooby (WRX PPP or STi), or an M3 or S4 and have about a 20 - 22K budget.

I went to my local dealer on saturday to test drive the STi and ended up taking a Spec-D out for a test drive. Which I really loved! But talking to the dealer on the test run he told me a few things that sounded slightly odd - that I wanted to check were corect before I made a definate decision.

1. On normal (whatever that is?) driving you can return 25-30 MPG? I understand that on this type of car you're not going to return great MPG but what's a more likely figure? Evrything i've read suggests it's more likely to be low to mid 20's!

2. A WRX with the PPP kit fitted is almost the same performance as the STi, is is much better suited to the majority of daily driving. Also fitting the prodrive spring kit and 18" wheels gives an almost perfect setup. Odd then that, that was alomost exactly the spec of a car he had sitting on the forecourt!?

3. The WRX is Insurance group 18 rather than the STi's 20, and that the PPP kit doesn't add much to the premium?

4. The STi doesn't need to be run on High Octane fuel, they run perfectly well on standard 95 and you don't notice any real difference from higher octane fuels.

5. The service intervals on the 2.5 engines are longer at every 10K and alternate between about £200 and £400 for servicing.


What do you guys think, is he telling me what he thinks I want to hear to close the sale? Any thought opinions much appreciated!

Jay

 

20 mpg is about right around town 25 ish on a long run.
PPP WRX is group 20 insurance and is similar performance to an STI
PPP cars run best on 97 RON as stipulated on PPP cert.
WRX is a more relaxed drive for everyday, some find the ride on the STI to be harsh. Drive both and you'll see which one suits you best. Bob

 

1. My 2004 WRX tuned to 333bhp get about 24 mpg on average

2. A WRX with PPP will be about the same performance as a standard STi but you can also have PPP fitted to a STi and that will take it to another level , 18" wheels with the spring kit are supposed to be better than the standard setup

3. My WRX is group 19 and PPP will increase your premium

4. You can run a WRX or STi on normal unleaded but you will see a performance increase if you use super unleaded

5. My service intervals are 12 months or 10000 miles which i think they are for all newage cars

 

I drive an 06 WRX 2.5 and with sensible driving (not booting it at every opportunity) you can quite easily get 25-28mpg, 30+ takes care and patience and is not really practical to achieve.

The ride is a little easier to live with than the Sti and the PPP will take the WRX close to Sti performance but increase your premium. If you are looking for a performance car and considering PPP you may as well get an Sti as your budget allows for it.

But if you are looking for a new car have you considered Litchfield imports. You can get a new (uk spec euro import) 07 Sti on the road with warranty, cat 1 alarm and tracker for £22,995, and Litchfield have a country wide reputation for quality products and service.
Hope this helps,
Ian

 

1) Yeah right!! 25-30 if you drive economically i.e. off boost on the motorway. Otherwise expect late teens to single figures if you really go for it!

2) Yes, there is a valid argument for this! Drive both and see what you prefer.

3) Depends on who you insure it with, but asking what scooby is worse to insure, a PPP or a Sti is a bit like asking: "what hurts less: getting hit by a lorry or a train?"

4) B*llocks and he knows it!!

5) Not sure about this! Check with subaru UK or wait for a 2.5 owner on here.

Ns04

 

1 & 4) I average 21 mpg on the daily commute in my MY06 Sti. That's on superunleaded, it's much worse on 95 octane.

5) Service intervals on a UK dealer supplied 2.5 litre car are 10K, EU sourced imports seem to vary depending on where they came from and who you ask. Don't know about costs as I haven't had one yet.

 

The cat 1 alarm and tracker are standard anyway, its worth looking towards motorpoint. I the service isn't up to the same standard but you get the car with little fuss (merely arrogant attitudes) but the cars are cheaper at £20699.00 so its worth putting up with a little ignorance for a £1300 saving

I know gramby mentioned it but it may not have been clear as to whether his/her car had a PPP or not but I believe a WRX without a PPP is actually a group 19 not 18 insurance but I'm only 99.99999999999% sure on this so could be wrong

 

The Motorpoint cars don't have alarm, tracker or locking wheel nuts as standard. They will fit them for you but by the time you've added the cost plus their prep fee you're looking at close to £1k on top of their windscreen price. Still cheaper, but not as cheap as they 1st appear.

At least that's how it was with the Sti I purchased from Motorpoint in April.

Oh and I didn't find them arrogant, quite the opposite in fact, I found them very helpful and a refreshing change from conventional car dealers.

 

I thought on the '07 MY cars they were standard though... even on euro imports are they not? As for the arrogance bit, to be honest its a bit of a low blow because with retail customers they'll be your best friend IF you use their finance. I just mean from a trade point of view. one of my colleagues used to work for them and we occasionally buy cars from them (we're a car finance/car sales broker) and they can be a bit erm... maybe hostile is the wrong word but you know what I mean!

Out of interest... I see you're local to me too, I assume you used motorpoint at burnley?

 

Not sure about the 07 cars but it was all extra on my 06 car. Come to think of it, is Tracker available throughout europe ? The Motorpoint Subarus I've come across are all from Malta and Cyprus so it would seem a little odd to fit a Tracker if there's no coverage there.

I didn't use their finance but I just found them easy to deal with, like a supermarket I guess. It was a case of there's the car, this is the price, do you want it or not. Non of the nonsense sales talk I'd had from my local Ford, VW, Subaru and Skoda dealers in the preceeding week. Perhaps it could be construed as slightly arrogant but I didn't take it that way. They also offered me the best px price on my 2 year old Octavis Vrs without any of the usual mucking about.

Yes, it was Motorpoint Burnley, I'm just north of Blackpool.

 

they will run perfectly fine on normal unleaded but as said above to get the best performance out of it use the higher octane stuff.