I am just about to take delivery of my first Subaru, hopefully on Wednesday !

I have never driven in one or even been in one, only seen pictures of the one i am buying.

can anyone tell me what i can expect to experience ? r they really that fast ?

I have just been reading about the elise Vs Subarau and now im not so sure.

its a standard unmodified car so i think its 208 bhp, 17 " prodrive wheels.

 

Dont worry you won't be upset by your scooby!! i just fancy a elise for summer pose factor !! tommy

 

Are you serious?

You are buying a car you have never even driven!!

I don't think you will be disappointed though

 

well,
I have had a Impreza Turbo,
land rover 3.5 V8,
206 GTI
MR2
Boxter s
all new, in the last 3 years and I have just ordered a new Impreza you just can't get that constant factor from many cars
I think you'll love it

 

Doc

The first time I drove PTMW! or any other Imp Turbo was the day I drove away from the showroom - in fact 10 mins before

Sometimes you just know when a car is gonna be good

 

SuperGlue

I guess your Land Rover was built by SVO.

If it was a one off why not a 4 or 4.6?
I dont think the 3.5 V8 has been in a Land Rover since late H or early J reg. It must be 5 years since the Discovery went to a 3.9/4.0 litre. Just puzzled as to the small engine.

 

Me too I never drove one, back in 1998 you couldnt get a test drive as most dealers sold their demo models .

I told the saleman, "what happens if I dont like it" - his reply "bring it back I can make you money on it, I have 25 people waiting for one " - oh the good old days .

cheers

chrisp

 

melpaul2002,

be very gentle (you don't say how old/new your car is), but even if _it_ doesn't need running in - _you_ might prefer too!

Scoobies (Impreza turbos) are very quick, but it is not just the power - it's the amazing roadholding. 'Tis best to learn these new limits slowly and carefully (and you will appreciate them more).

If your are keen and serious, consider joining the SIDC (http://www.sidc.co.uk/), and possibly also look at some pro-car organisations such as the ABD (http://www.abd.org.uk/) to stop the authorities taking your licence away!

Enjoy,

mb

 

Stevie,
The Land Rover I had Was specially built by a company up North (only involved @ this stage) it was a short wheel base
designed for off road use mainly still road legal, the V8 had been modified as had the entire drive train and suspension,fun car on and off road. As I did not order the car direct I had no choice of engine size.

Terry

 

Chances are that you will love it. Out of all of the cars that I have had, it has only taken a 5 min drive in my last 3 cars to decide that I wanted them. 106XSI, 106GTI and my WRX. Some cars are an experience, not just a form of transport. Trust me, you just got yourself a good un'

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by boomer:
<B>melpaul2002,

be very gentle (you don't say how old/new your car is), but even if _it_ doesn't need running in - _you_ might prefer too!

Scoobies (Impreza turbos) are very quick, but it is not just the power - it's the amazing roadholding. 'Tis best to learn these new limits slowly and carefully (and you will appreciate them more).

If your are keen and serious, consider joining the SIDC (http://www.sidc.co.uk/), and possibly also look at some pro-car organisations such as the ABD (http://www.abd.org.uk/) to stop the authorities taking your licence away!

Enjoy,

mb[/quote]

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by boomer:
<B>melpaul2002,

be very gentle (you don't say how old/new your car is), but even if _it_ doesn't need running in - _you_ might prefer too!

Scoobies (Impreza turbos) are very quick, but it is not just the power - it's the amazing roadholding. 'Tis best to learn these new limits slowly and carefully (and you will appreciate them more).

If your are keen and serious, consider joining the SIDC (http://www.sidc.co.uk/), and possibly also look at some pro-car organisations such as the ABD (http://www.abd.org.uk/) to stop the authorities taking your licence away!

Enjoy,

mb[/quote]


The car is an " s " plate about 30 k so should be plenty " run in ", it looks very good thou, and thats a conservative comment. dont want to get too excited until it arrives !

 

melpaul2002,

even though you don't _have_ to, take it easy for the first few (many) miles - it will help you get a-customed - san-mistake!

mb

 

The first Subaru I ever had was a 1985 C reg 1800 pick-up and I bought that without a test drive!!! I didn't even specify a colour when ordered, just the quickest to deliver and I got white! (Hopeless colour on a farm, but blended with the sheep!) I have since owned 5 other Subarus.

Moss

 

Another, never drove one until I got mine over here

As for it being all that fast, well it really depends on what you have driven before, I must admit I did not find mine to be as quick as I had hoped following all the hype, but maybe that is just me Could really do with another 100bhp, but can't have everything

 

haha, you never drove one.. i bet you did read a lot of messages on this BBS. When all these different people like farmers, it-geeks and hairdressers love the same car that much, it must be a godsend. Could they all be wrong?
In the past, i bought a Merc-A as our second car. Never even seen one. A few months before delivery it fell over in a magazine. Oops! I cancelled that order.

 

(right move)

having owned several performance cars i.e.
1 GTI 16V, MK3 VR6 X 2 , 1 Corrado VR6 and
1 Cat Imprez (for only a week) and now I have a 99 spec you will enjoy yourself but
take your time and mould with the car and don`t push it too quickly as it takes a bit of getting used to..

 

Stevie,

As a Land Rover clubman, RTV and CCV trials competitor I am somewhat amazed that your Landy will do what you say? 65 in second - what the hell diff ratios/transfer gears have you got? Corner quicker than most cars when your vehicle is designed for off-road work? Leaf or coil springs? You say it's pretty tall - if you're on coils it'll tip to 45 degrees at about 35mph round any significant bend?? If you've got anti-roll bars - it'll be crap off-road? I'd be interested to know how it's all done!

I myself have a 3.9 RPi enginined Series IIA coiler for trials use (among 2 other Land Rovers). If it's going to be competitive off-road it won't do what you've said on-road??

I'm impressed

Moss

[This message has been edited by Moss (edited 01 March 2001).]

 

SuperGlue,

I know what you mean. My Land Rover is still quicker on Welsh A and B roads than most cars ( in traffic ) Base stats are 1.3 tons, 230 bhp Jon Eales V8, 7000 red line, 65ish mph in 2nd gear, etc etc. Built for off roading it is pretty tall so you can overtake around sweeping lefthanders as well as right.

Only drawback, people in cars who get so irate being passed by a Land Rover they insist on coming past at 95mph on a straight ( when the aerodynamic qualities of a breeze block have started to take hold ) and braking immediately. They will then fail pathetically in passing the next car but now they are expecting a move will block and weave deliberately. Jealous me thinks.

 

be prepared for a lot of people staring at you.... it is difficult to get rid of the daft grin that will be on your face... and people notice..

 

You'll wonder why you don't get lodgings in the petrol station!

But it's worth every penny.

 

Moss/Stevie/SuperGlue
Where were you all when I was trying to sell my comp safari motor a few months back eh?

Road legal, 4.4ltr tuned V8 w/ edelbrock, weber 4bbl, etc - you'd have loved it (sold now, btw)

Any of you in the AWDC?

 

OOOO the first drive that smile that lasts for days ( Sorry just noticed still got it 2 months on)

YOu will love this car more that any fantasy you had about Princess lea in Empire Strikes back desert scene

As above take it very slowly do not give in to the "Floor it " voices in your head....


J

 

As it's 2nd hand, check the basics before you take it out on the road in anger. Try and confirm that it has enough oil (don't laugh, it happens!), check the brakes look ok and that the tyres are decent.

Your first few minutes should be a shakedown, make sure it drives straight, brakes straight and there are no funny noises (although it <I>is</I> supposed to whistle when you accelerate and make a ticking noise when it cools down!).

Do try to take it out for a drive before you sign your life away.

Give the car time to warm up before you wind it up and <I>do</I> make sure you let it cool down after every run.

Take it easy to begin with, open it up in a straight line the first few times as you may find it's a lot quicker than you expect!! There is lots of grip available, but it isn't infinite. AWD makes you think that there is more grip than there really is, so work your way up to the limits.

Other than that, just go out and enjoy it, you won't regret it. Petrol costs are a nightmare, but hell, you have to spend your money on something!

 

Thanks for all yr replys, still hoping to hear more ! as expected it was delivered on wednesday, all the way from aberdeen to south east of uk, 98 terzo.

it is lovely, very fast, not sure if its faster or slower than i expected after expecting so much,

how long should i let it cool down after a run ?

didnt think petrol costs were so bad, done about 200 miles since getting it and used about £ 30.00, my last car ( MX3 V6 ) was not a lot better.

have only taken it up to about 80 so far, speeding aint my thing, 0 to 60 very quicky is !

does anyone know the 0 - 60 times for my model ?

to davep and jasonp you are right, first drive i put my foot down from a junction and just burst out laughing, not sure why i was laughing but i did all the way back to work.

also car has a nice WRC no plate at least until prevous owner takes it back.

rather than asking what cars is the subaru faster than it may be easier to ask what cars are faster than it. obvioulsy 911, M3 etc any others ?

was a bit worried on tuesday night b4 reading all yr replys so thanks .

 

glad you enjoy it mine scared the life out of me for a while, then you'll get used to it, add a goodie, be scared again, etc etc

Just make sure you are still careful and learn about how the car drives, gain confidence slowly, there are so many stories of people having a scoob for a week and smashing it, don't become one of those!

if it's practical I would go on a wetter the better course, I haven't yet but I definately want to.

wrt letting it cool down, prob a good 5 mins after a good blast, you could always get a turbo timer.

cars faster than a scoob...in what way, we talking acceleration, 'legs', top end? There is a cool pic of a scoobs dash at 160mph in france on the bbs, I've had some fun against an M3 and there wasn't much in it, if anything I think it had longer legs from about 70-80 upwards.

Of course there are tons of cars quicker but the scoob has a special place for me, I love Evo 4-6's but they just don't sound the same etc etc.

Oh, watch out for boy racers trying it on, you can have loads of fun with them although some will shock you...you've been warned (thinking about a VERY quick Nova and Astra GTE... i.e. they kept up no problem!)

have fun and keep an eye out for the scum...

ta,
Matt

 

i took my scoob for a test drive 1 year ago with a view to see what they were like and to replace my wifes escort with one in april 2002, but i signed up for the finance there and then, i wish i had waited longer, only for the fact that they have come down in price since then
mark

 

any idea where the video clip is ??

 

melpaul2002,

A few people have mentioned about taking it a bit easy until you get to know the car. The classic error is to go round a bend near the limits and feel the grip starting to go, which it can do very suddenly - don't let the magazine reviews let you think you are invinsible in an Impreza. In such a situation, the natural reaction is to ease off the gas which can cause the back end to step out quite violently. This is the dreaded lift off oversteer and if you don't have much road space for correction it'll put you in a ditch!

 

I would like to reitterate the warning about Nova's and Astra's, I was a passenger in my mate's 99MY PPP UK when he had a traffic light moment with Metallic Blue MK II Astra (Big Courtney Stickers). After beating the astra to 30 (He had wheel spin!) it followed us until double the legal limit, where he over took as we pulled past traffic.
The most frightening non-accident related motoring experience I have been involved in! I was I while before I got in the car with my mate again, and he has vowed to save for a skyline so he isn't embarrassed at 140 mph by an astra again!