Subaru Impreza WRX

darkslider

Greetings motorists,
I'm looking into buying a 03-05 WRX (Big-eye version). I've always loved my cars and I really would like to buy something I want to drive rather than something I have to drive. This car would be used to drive to work and back every day - mostly motorway driving down the m1.
I'm finding it tough to get any definitive answer as to MPG for motorway driving. I'm more interested in an Irish or UK car as I don't want the hassle of fuel issues with the Japanese model (that and most of em seem to be STi's).

So, I'm looking for some advice from Impreza drivers out there or those of you that have owned a wrx (not sti) and driven it in a similar scenario. I'm not goin to be driving the stones out of it to and from work (Obviously there may be some spirited driving but that will be confined to weekends) so what kind of MPG could I expect?
Any stories or pearl of wisdom appreciated.

Thanks all!

Lex Luthor

Have a look on the isdc forum. You should get more info plus theres a For Sale section

Anan1

I've a Forester with (AFAIK) the same engine, I get around 15l/100km around town, and a (largely theoretical) 10l/100km on a run if I play nice. They're very hard to drive gently.

darkslider

Anan1 wrote: »

I've a Forester with (AFAIK) the same engine, I get around 15l/100km around town, and a (largely theoretical) 10l/100km on a run if I play nice. They're very hard to drive gently.

My folks have a forester - great jeep, it'll go anywhere. It's at least 100KG heavier than the Impreza based on curb weight though so I'd expect the impreza to do a little better.

Anan1

darkslider wrote: »

My folks have a forester - great jeep, it'll go anywhere. It's at least 100KG heavier than the Impreza based on curb weight though so I'd expect the impreza to do a little better.

Or you might just drive the Impreza harder.;) Seriously, though, they like a drink.

darkslider

LIGHTNING wrote: »

No offence but if your wondering about MPG then a WRX impreza is not the car for you. A couple of friends have had various models and they were horrific on fuel no matter how you drove them. One of my mates had an estate one and it cost him a fortune driving up to Mondello and it was motorway the entire way.

No offence taken, but I'd be a fool not to take it into consideration. If I didn't care about MPG I'd buy an STi, an Evo 8 FQ (if I could find an unmolested one) or even an M3. There's a fairly significant difference between the fuel consumption of a WRX and an STi hence why I'm willing to sacrifice the white knuckle ride of the STi in favor of the lower powered WRX. Anyone who would buy a car like this without considering running costs has enough money to buy a car with higher power and a larger price tag, I don't, so I am.

darkslider

Anan1 wrote: »

Or you might just drive the Impreza harder.;) Seriously, though, they like a drink.

Point taken, I'd just like to try and work out some kind of comparison with previous cars I've owned in terms of how much it will cost to run.

Anan1

I'll put it like this - it's a lovely engine, but it's a lot harder on fuel than its power output would suggest. The general wisdom seems to be that this is a result of aggressive throttle mapping, a small turbo which spins up very easily, and jackrabbit gearing - the end result is a car that goads you into driving like a hooligan pretty much all the time.

darkslider

A major draw is the reliability and the AWD system. At the moment I'm driving a MK3 Mr2 roadster. It's spec'd at about 38 MPG but I reckon it's getting in or around 28-30MPG based on age for one thing. It's a mid-engine RWD so I'd like to retire it to the garage as a summer driver and a restoration project. It's pretty skittish cos it's got no traction control so it's not well suited to Irish winters. I've had a BMW 323 schnitzer but because of ridiculous reliability issues and the poor quality of dealer servicing I'll never buy another BMW and in my experience asian engine build quality is far superior.

So basically I'd like something with a nice bit of grunt, 4wd, reliability and an asian marque. The scooby seems to fit these criteria quite well but I'd just like to figure out if I need to be sponsored by Topaz to run it

si_guru

http://www.fuelly.com/car/subaru/wrx/2003

Anan1

Just buy it. You'll love it, and you'll learn to live with the fuel bills.:)

ste.rst

i have owned a 01 irish wrx a 06 irish wrx and now drive a 03 jap sti and out of the 3 the sti is better on petrol but you can expect low 20, but realisticly id say around 18 to 20

Pdfile

darkslider wrote: »

Greetings motorists,
I'm looking into buying a 03-05 WRX (Big-eye version). I've always loved my cars and I really would like to buy something I want to drive rather than something I have to drive. This car would be used to drive to work and back every day - mostly motorway driving down the m1.
I'm finding it tough to get any definitive answer as to MPG for motorway driving. I'm more interested in an Irish or UK car as I don't want the hassle of fuel issues with the Japanese model (that and most of em seem to be STi's).

So, I'm looking for some advice from Impreza drivers out there or those of you that have owned a wrx (not sti) and driven it in a similar scenario. I'm not goin to be driving the stones out of it to and from work (Obviously there may be some spirited driving but that will be confined to weekends) so what kind of MPG could I expect?
Any stories or pearl of wisdom appreciated.

Thanks all!

buy stock ( non modified ) and always go for the full serviced model as wrx's love thick oil and when most mod them, they forget basic maintance let alone keeping the balance of the car so save yourself a few quid + heartache and Don't rush the purchase.


have you concidered any alternitives liek the nissan steaga or legnum ?? loads of bargains to be had their, heck class them as commercial if your really cute and get the lowered costs.

darkslider

Anan1 wrote: »

Just buy it. You'll love it, and you'll learn to live with the fuel bills.:)

That's exactly what I'm begining to think.

ste.rst wrote: »

i have owned a 01 irish wrx a 06 irish wrx and now drive a 03 jap sti and out of the 3 the sti is better on petrol but you can expect low 20, but realisticly id say around 18 to 20

Don't you have to pour an octane supplement on top of your petrol when you fill it up? Or have you got the car re-mapped for irish fuel?

Pdfile wrote: »

buy stock ( non modified ) and always go for the full serviced model as wrx's love thick oil and when most mod them, they forget basic maintance let alone keeping the balance of the car so save yourself a few quid + heartache and Don't rush the purchase.


have you concidered any alternitives liek the nissan steaga or legnum ?? loads of bargains to be had their, heck class them as commercial if your really cute and get the lowered costs.

Amen Brother! I've already view a few different scoobies and there's a lot of badly modified rubbish out there, particularly when it comes to suspension geometry. I'm in no rush right now so I'm willing to wait for the right car to come along.
I had considered a Legacy GTB. The Legnum is a serious machine but a good one is rarer than hens teeth and I'm not about to buy someone else's problem for the sake of saving a few quid.

All good advice guys and all being taken on board - keep it coming.

R.O.R

I had a Jap import WRX wagon (95) around 1998. I never really paid attention to the actual fuel consumption, I just know the damn car nearly bankrupted me, and fuel was only around £0.70 (punts) a litre.

Cracking fun to drive, but very thirsty. Most of the use would have been between Swords and Drogheda so part motorway, part fast (ish) N1, part crawling through Balbriggan.

copeyhagen

dot buy a jap one or else have the cash ready for a rebuild, though UK/ Irish ones arnt much better. and yes this is from experience.

they are absolute PIGS on juice.

for the money your spending you could buy a cl7 accord euroR

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2509230

big comfy cruiser, oozes sex appeal, and has a nice k20 lump with vtec there whenever you wanna 'play'

Lex Luthor

copeyhagen wrote: »

dot buy a jap one or else have the cash ready for a rebuild, though UK/ Irish ones arnt much better. and yes this is from experience.

they are absolute PIGS on juice.

for the money your spending you could buy a cl7 accord euroR

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2509230

big comfy cruiser, oozes sex appeal, and has a nice k20 lump with vtec there whenever you wanna 'play'

love these but this one has been ruined by that goofy spoiler and red rims

copeyhagen

Lex Luthor wrote: »

love these but this one has been ruined by that goofy spoiler and red rims

wouldnt go as far as to say its ruined, the wheels i deffo wouldnt be a fan of, the small lip on the bootlid looks nice, though i prefer the mugen spoiler on the cl7.

darkslider

copeyhagen wrote: »

dot buy a jap one or else have the cash ready for a rebuild, though UK/ Irish ones arnt much better. and yes this is from experience.

they are absolute PIGS on juice.

for the money your spending you could buy a cl7 accord euroR

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2509230

big comfy cruiser, oozes sex appeal, and has a nice k20 lump with vtec there whenever you wanna 'play'

It's a nice looking car, but totally overpriced and pretty small in the back I thought. That car is 11 years old and the guy wants nearly 8.5K for it, there's an 03 on done deal and the guy wants 11K for it. By the looks of things it marginally better MPG (around 26-29 average) than the WRX for a lot more money.

ste.rst

ye mine has been remapped and i was actually advised by an expert to buy a jap newage sti over the irish and uk ones as there a stronger block

copeyhagen

darkslider wrote: »

It's a nice looking car, but totally overpriced and pretty small in the back I thought. That car is 11 years old and the guy wants nearly 8.5K for it, there's an 03 on done deal and the guy wants 11K for it. By the looks of things it marginally better MPG (around 26-29 average) than the WRX for a lot more money.

trust me, the mpg will be a WHOLE lot better than a awd wrx.

they still hold their value well as they were jap only and vrt on them is still ridiculously high, but dont get me started on vrt, a 1989 rx7 is still 2500vrt. :eek:

if it was my money and it was between the two i would be buying honda reliability

darkslider

Yep. I know all about the VRT mate. The country's a joke when it comes to stealth taxes. And now they want to bleed 50M out of us for using the M50 :mad:

Anyhoo, I do appreciate what you're saying with regard to value retention but that's not really that much of a concern to me. I really just want to try and work out roughly how much per week it'll cost me to run a WRX.

If it does turn out that it is too much and I don't want to pay it, I'll consider other options then.

PatrickBuzzin

I have a 05 WRX SL and use it every day. For a full tank €75 I get usually 400 to 430 kms that's a mix of town driving and a few quick runs. Excellent car to drive and very comfortable. If you want one my advice wud be to get one. What sort of price range you looking at? Mine is for sale on isdc.ie. That's an excellent site for any info on anything Subaru

darkslider

PatrickBuzzin wrote: »

I have a 05 WRX SL and use it every day. For a full tank €75 I get usually 400 to 430 kms that's a mix of town driving and a few quick runs. Excellent car to drive and very comfortable. If you want one my advice wud be to get one. What sort of price range you looking at? Mine is for sale on isdc.ie. That's an excellent site for any info on anything Subaru

Thanks mate. That's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. So it's working out about 22-25 MPG on average based on current Petrol prices. That's around what I would have expected. I think your car is a little higher than I can afford at the mo mate, but good luck with the sale.

sleepysniper

Cant beat the rumble from an Impreza!

There really is no other car under 2000cc that sounds as good IMO!

Id go for it based on the sound alone:cool:

darkslider

darkslider wrote: »

.........So it's working out about 22-25 MPG on average based on current Petrol prices. .............

I doubt you'd be sinking the shoe much to see that sort of mpg really. Anyone I knew that owned one rarely saw 20mpg, 6 to 8 miles of sedate driving and the decent ish mpg would be "ruined" by a foot to the floor half mile spin up a hill.

darkslider

An Evo7 RS will get about 22MPG stock, and it's a far more harsh engine than the impreza. This is a WRX I'm talking about... 225bhp not an STi 300hp.

Mr Benevolent

darkslider wrote: »

An Evo7 RS will get about 22MPG stock, and it's a far more harsh engine than the impreza. This is a WRX I'm talking about... 225bhp not an STi 300hp.

But is that pottering around or using the engine the way its meant to be used? I'd love an Evo in a few years but I just know its going to be painfully expensive to insure and maintain. Fuel costs are controllable by buying a Cinqucento and using that for the short journeys. Tax barely comes into it.

darkslider

That's average fuel consumption so it would allow for some thrashing, some easy cruisin on the motorway and some throttle up and down in the city. Evo's are not that expensive to maintain as long as you stay away from FQ's - they're vicious on oil and clutches and obviously the more you mod it, the more wrench time you'll be racking up.
High performance is always high maintenance but if you look after it right you'll get years out of it.