Hi Guys!,

So I've been saving some cash up since November/December to treat myself to a new motor when my insurance is up for renewal.

Now that this is just around the corner I'm actively hunting for a new (to me) Impreza Wrx, looked over hundreds of ads and I'm hoping to go look at one I've seen advertised this weekend. 50k miles on an 05 plate for £4.5k or there abouts.

Problem is I keep finding myself wandering over to the Sti search button. Thinking if i put another £1500 a way (or on a card - which i don't really want to do) I could pick up a cheap Bugeye Sti or early Blob sti, only downside would be an extra 20k+ on the clock and an older model - plus i prefer the looks of the blobeye over the bug.

Whatever I go for I would like to chuck some coilovers on.
And if a WRX - some wilwoods (have some superlites that would be ideal and would only need some brackets engineering) and a set of wheels and pretty much leave it at that.

It's a bit of a trade off - a higher miles but better specced car or, lower miles but a more basic spec.

Do the benefits of an sti outweigh the wrx if you take suspension & brakes out of the mix?

I've also seen a lot of Sti's with rebuilds at 65k or there abouts advertised - is there a common issue with Sti engines that WRX's didn't suffer with?

Most of the miles I'll be doing are going to be out on dual carriage way etc, so will I find an Sti gearbox a PITA?

Those of you who have owned both, which do you prefer and why?

Is a cheap Sti going to be more hassle than it's worth?

Having owned old school Fords (forced induction) I'm looking for something that i can enjoy without having to spend 95% of my time under the bonnet!


Heads saying Wrx for being cheaper to run & maintain due to cost of parts compared to the sti if the worst happend plus there's the initial outlay, and my hearts saying Sti for the extra's and a more fun drive.

Cheers for any input

 

sti all day m8.

just sold my bug sti, bougt a blob wrx, yes the bloblooks r growing on me, but got to be sti all day long imho

 

sti for me

 

Stetch the budget and get the sti.

Bigger turbo, injectors, intercooler, and much better gearbox on the sti. All of which you will end up upgrading on a wrx in the long run

 

Sti. You will only regret it if u go wrx, and you will spend most of that extra 1.5k on a 6 speed upgrade.

 

I own a blob WRX and even I'm saying STI.. Although I do own a wagon I've done nothing but fit STI parts to it since purchase

 

to my mnd its all down to what you want the car for.
i had the same choice as you and went down the low miles (38k) newer wrx route and not regreted it at all.
i have had sti's in the past and yes they are quicker car but with a few tweeks and a remap a wrx ain't that far off a standerd sti.
tbh i personly think 145 mph and 0-60 in a tad over 5 sec is'nt that slow a car.

 

I understand your dilemma as I was in a similar position. Do I buy a newer WRX or older STI bearing in mind I have never owned a Subaru.

I decided that I did not want to go down the aftermarket parts & upgrades so I purchased a 2005 Blobeye WRX with 25k miles on clock with PPP.

The car is well fast enough for me (265BHP). I use the car daily & go for the occasional blast on B roads.

Having said that the decisions is yours to make

 

STI

 

Own a wrx and I would advise you to stretch and buy an sti. Love my car but have had to spend a fortune upgrading it to sti level.

 

Sti all the way mate

 

Sti

 

If you're going for a cheap(ish) Bug STi, do watch out for rust at the front hidden by the engine undertray and wheelarch liners. Look hard!

 

Ummmm! a question that gets asked all the time, so here's my 10p worth.

If you plan on modding for more than 350bhp then sti.

If your after a daily driver thats a bit of a wolf in sheeps clothing then wrx ppp.

I have the latter and it's a wagon, it also came with AP 4 pots and will be getting some light handling mods.

I personally don't like coilovers as they are way too firm for everyday road use and jar and jolt your kidneys and rattle your back teeth out, my friend who's 360 bhp wrx i'm in on a regular basis has them, and we both agree they are not suited to road cars, as at the point you are using them hard on the road they are bottoming on the bump stops and the rest of the time when pootling around town ect, just not nice, and thats eibacs which are supposed to be not so firm on the softest setting.

This myth that the sti is a faster road car is rubbish, as the ratios of the wrx gear box and the lighter weight of the wrx as well as the faster spooling TD04 turbo mean that the ppp wrx is more than a match for a standard sti, and is in fact quicker in a lot of situations.

The areas where the sti wins depend on wether or not you like bright blue seats, carpet and door cards, are the interior, which is a for me and the gear box if modding, tracking and doing the odd run up the strip and the brakes which can also be left wanting, if the above are done on a regular basis.

The 05 sti is also a cut above the cars you are looking at, as it has the dccd and the wider track, which are the only reasons i would choose that particular model above a wrx with ppp and handling mods.

A lot depends on how hard you drive when pushing on, as on the roads really firm suspension can unsettle a car and make it slower, when what you really need is compliant suspension, a well set up chassis and bloody good brakes, coupled with gear ratios that you can hang onto for that extra few seconds and mph, then add in the better day to day comfort factor and it makes the wrx PPP a difficult fast road car package to beat.

Whatever you choose, they are both great cars in their own right and both require similar handling tweeks to dial out the understeer as well as brake upgrades for the late persistant hard braking types amongst us .

And as for the bug looks but thats a personal thing.

Happy hunting.

 

It depends... I've got quite a heavily modded WRX - now track only - and a bug eye WRX wagon.

I doubt an STI PPP will be *much* faster on the road than a WRX PPP (or even better, a WRX with a custom remap), and a WRX will be perfectly happy and reliable under 300hp, provided you don't go launching it in 1st gear from every traffic light.

I fitted coilovers to my WRX, btw, and it completely ruined it for road applications - think carefully before you fit anything that is much harder than the standard stuff. It went from being perfectly composed over ruts and bumps to being a complete nightmare, and that's with a setup that is still on the soft side for serious track work.

 

STI, I dont agree with the "wolf in sheeps clothing" everyone thinks an impreza is going to be fast anyway (just ask your local chavs)
I went down the cheap wrx route then bolted lots of performance parts to it to bring it out to a similar power level to a stage 2 STI. If I had all of the money I have spent in total, then I would have went for the sti but couldnt justify the extra thousands at the time with just having had our third child. Saying that though, a wrx with a remap alone makes it a nice bit sharper.

 

I don't get the appeal of the DCCD, mine's a right pain in the ****! The only difference between the settings seems to be the amount of noise it makes when turning!
I had a Blob WRX and now have a Hawk STI. For bragging rights go STI, for the better daily driver go WRX

 

got this if you decide wrx

https://www.scoobynet.com/wales-26/9...or-locals.html

 

I was in the same situation. Shall i get bug sti or blob wrx. If you really want an STI you're better off with the blob or hawk and saving for a decent one, rather than a cheap abused example.
I live on very bumpy roads so thought the STI would be abit too harsh for my 70 mile commute.
Answer: I went for a Hawk wrx instead!! The 2.5 seems far more torquey than the 2.0 and eventually i'll remap it to standard STI level. Best of both worlds!

 

i owe 03 wrx ppp and i will change only for
2003 blob jdm sti (has dccd and other better parts ( saw few for 6k
but if this is real you should stretch to this http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3617810.htm


UK 2005 blob widetrack-main reason dccd , widetrack is overrated- wider half inch per corner (possible buy for 6.5k but over 70k on clock)
i changed suspension for coilovers and other whitleline staff plus tyres and brakes for safety on road
If I wanted comfort I would have bought a merc s classe

 

The good thing about the JDM WRX is it's a better specc'd engine and much stronger. I'd have it if I had the dosh, Ozz.

 

You'll need more than a just a map to be safe up to STi BHP levels.

 

Wow thanks for all of the replies, some really great info and advice there.

To be honest i was expecting near enough all replies to say Sti but I'm glad theres a bit of a mix.

I'm not overly fussed about all out power, at 24 265 bhp would be plenty enough which as i gather is possible in the Wrx quite easily.

The nicer seats in the Sti do appeal, not a fan of the blue carpet however.

Looks like I'm going to have to have a hard think about it and weigh up each option and decide which suits best.

Ozz, seriusly tempted by your import, sounds daft but the only thing that puts me off is that I'm not a massive fan of red cars
I'll deffinitely mull it over though.

Whilst I'm on here, does anyone know this car?:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3791542.htm

Looks a good price for the miles, but would the modifications and the fact that 2 of the spare set of wheels are "damaged" hint to a bit of abuse & suggest a rough history.
Styling looks a little too "busy" but that's easily sorted.

This also looks a good buy too:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-SUBAR...item4601d9b020

 

The way i look at it you could buy a WRX for say £4k and spend £2k spec'ing it up, and it be worth £4.5k-£5k, or just spend £6k and have a car worth £6k... simples.

Well not that simple, but i was in the same Dilemma, saved that bif extra and went for a 05 Sti Blob, dont regret it one little bit!

 

As above was going to buy a 2000 UK 300 but was adviesd to
stretch it out if possible to the STI.Bought a 2005 PPP Blob i think.
Had a 3" system and map 337/341 and the car is superb.Just have
to maintain now.I paid a little more, £8 with 32K on the clock.Hopefully
plenty of years trouble free mortoring.The car pulls like a train,i have
not got a bad thing to say about the car and i have owned fast fords for
20 years,the last being a 330/330 focus rs 2003 model.I must say that i
am more than impressed with the Subaru STI.

Good luck with the search.

 

Think its an STI then

 

Don't think I can quite stretch to £8k but £6K and as close 50k on the clock and i'd be a happy man!

Never quite got to the Focus RS, had a look and for the money the scoob seems to be the better buy, performance bargain. As much as I would love a mk1 RS.

Still got an Mk4 Escort Bonus Turbo that I'll stick a ticket on and use the odd day in the summer, just not suitable as a daily though unfortunately (MFI sucks).

Looks that way doesn't it

 

i dont know why people get so hung up on miles, a good service history is more important imo

to answer your question, get a blob STi if you can stretch your budget. I am also guilty of modding my wrx to STi spec.

I swore it was staying standard and it was fast enough when i bought it. I soon started chasing those horses.

 

Agreed,as long as it has a good service history and you take someone with you who knows what they are looking at.It's just a case of your
budget.I know loads of MK1 focus owners who's cars are getting up to
the 100K mark and are in great condition and still run like a dream.

Again good luck and don't rush,it's a buyers market.

 

If you plan on modifying it then get an sti as you will only be buying sti parts if you get a wrx.
I got a blob wrx because i didn't fancy the looks of a bug sti. I then spent a couple of grand getting it to the power that an sti gets with just a decat