My08 Sti On 5thgear Tonight!

[thewelsho]

Heartily disappointed with that program - usual p.ish gear tripe !!

Where's the 'how many beach balls you can fit in the boot' test,

the ' lets rag it down a runway against a rival' test, I mean c'mon

there was nothing in it to say ye or nae aye !! Quite simply they just did not

do that car justice. This is the main prob with 5th gear you are always left still

asking questions after a 'review', or I am anyway. Based on that footage like the above

it certainly didn't give me an overpowering urge to plonk me erse in one.

Roll on top gear for the love of god

End of rant.....

Craig

TBH, I don't think Top Gear are much better these days. There is far too much emphsis on comedy features instead of looking at the car for what it is. For example: Here is £1000, go build a car from lego and see if it will cross the channel and then see if you can rebuilt it into a microwave to cook pies in. Yawwwn.

The review of the car on 5th gear said all it had to say. It wasn't as good as previous models and the three settings didn't really make much difference. What else do you need to know?

[craig79]

TBH, I don't think Top Gear are much better these days. There is far too much emphsis on comedy features instead of looking at the car for what it is. For example: Here is £1000, go build a car from lego and see if it will cross the channel and then see if you can rebuilt it into a microwave to cook pies in. Yawwwn.

The review of the car on 5th gear said all it had to say. It wasn't as good as previous models and the three settings didn't really make much difference. What else do you need to know?

Not entirely sure tbh, perhaps giving the review whilst on a B road perhaps,

considering that 90% of them will be used here. Like I mentioned previously

a little comparison test with the wrx (old or new) - just to see the difference ??

Sit a 6ft bloke in the back to gauge just how comfortable it is, a closer inspection

of interior quality? The impreza is hardly renound for quality interior finish, this has meant to

have been addressed and I for one would be interested to see if there is any truth in the statement.

I'm no tv producer but I always feel that you never get a realistic view on cars from tiff.

Craig.

[shane]

I don't think they gave it a bad review, maybe not the glowing report we would have liked as Subaru owners. It's the circumstances they tested it under which may have been flawed. The reviews that both Top Gear and 5th Gear are pretty meaningless to most of us ordinary folk who drive their cars on the road anyway. I drive my car pretty hard on the road every now and again and I’ve never yet found myself power sliding intentionally around a roundabout. I have however made tweeks to the handling on my Newage as when I took it out on a track I thought it was pretty crappy, I didn't notice how bad it was when driven on the road. Test drive the car yourself and make your own judgement.

[craig79]

Of couse any thrash around a billiard table track is bound to

magnify any handling issues a car may have but for as important

it is to hear of these it's only fair to get the other story. The

trundle down the shops version of how the car is to live with maybe ?

There is a bit more to any car of this ilk than just pinging it sideways

around an empty track - for as much fun that is

Tbh i'm biased, i'm not really a fan of tiff, my opinion may be fuelled

by the way I hate is smarminess and his feeble attempt to be comical ??

Craig.

[thewelsho]

Of couse any thrash around a billiard table track is bound to

magnify any handling issues a car may have but for as important

it is to hear of these it's only fair to get the other story. The

trundle down the shops version of how the car is to live with maybe ?

There is a bit more to any car of this ilk than just pinging it sideways

around an empty track - for as much fun that is

Tbh i'm biased, i'm not really a fan of tiff, my opinion may be fuelled

by the way I hate is smarminess and his feeble attempt to be comical ??

Craig.

I suppose a full and complete review of every part of the car for every type of driver would take too long. I guess they assumed that people buying such a car woudln't be interested in fuel economy, or build quality etc. so he cut to the "good bits". If you think about it, is there really anyway to give a defaco review of a car? I don't think there is. At the end of the day, its nothing more than an insight into the car; a rather blunt instrument.

[craig79]

I suppose a full and complete review of every part of the car for every type of driver would take too long. I guess they assumed that people buying such a car woudln't be interested in fuel economy, or build quality etc. so he cut to the "good bits". If you think about it, is there really anyway to give a defaco review of a car? I don't think there is. At the end of the day, its nothing more than an insight into the car; a rather blunt instrument.

True John, I suppose the report content is as only as good as the

reporter. I really wanted to start liking this car but the program

did little if not no inspiring. Suppose a wee nip across to a dealers

is needed to get the other half of the story

Craig.

[frank c]

What about the Scirocco featured at the Genva Motor show! Stunning in terms of looks anyway.

Aye, it looked a nice piece of kit..Makes the Golf look rather bland.

[dram300]

The Evo mag review that said it'll keep up with a gallardo in the wet. Shame Tiff didn't follow the lead and take a gallardo round the big wet roundabout as a benchmark.

[thefastone]

Well to be fair, they could bamboozle you with figures, and specs, but to be fair, you can find that info anywhere...

What you really get from top gear, is just honest opinion... those tests... ok, so some are silly, but you cant say that you have no idea about the cars that they are featuring... end of the day top gear is an entertainment program, they dont want it to be boring, they want it to be lively and exciting, thats just what everyone wants...

fith gear... yeah, I just dont rate them at all... i dont think that their info is that informative, i think that their tests are mostly flawed (i did really like the feature on petrol unleaded vs v-power vs BP...) otherwise, their tests are misleading...

[Boyakasha]

Past a WR Blue MY08 STi on my way home from Inverness on Monday, looked totally bland and the other half commented how boring it looked.

Then just to make things worse I watched 5th Gear, how crap does it look without fog lights Just a big boring black plastic front end, I'll be keeping my money and spending it on my Hawkeye.

[scouk]

I have to agree that the review was pretty lousy.. Not road tested, only mocked that it was gutless in standard mode (that's the whole point for easy drivability in town and economy) and then decided the fancy E-Diff was useless because the car still suffered lift off oversteer! Most cars suffer from that unless it has AYC or fancy ESP's and stuff. The Impreza does have a clever diff which he showed relatively well but little praise was given for its effect. Is the lack of extra electronics a bad thing for the impreza? maybe with other cars now having electonic wizadry.. But the Impreza is reliable because it relies mosly on mechanics than electonics for it's grip and handling. Also it leaves the driver more involved with the driving. And TBH for drivign on the public roads you want a car to be as stable as possible.. Not tail happy sliding on every bend! Same goes for being on a track.

The review wasn't up to the decent standards I've come to expect from Tiff / 5th Gear (BTW - I'm not expecting much from TG, but I hope to be surprised)... I got the feeling the whole review was a rushed just to fit the STi in at the end of the series. The 08Sport got a road test by Tiff (briefly).. The blobeye was tested on the roads by Plato as was the bugeye WRX both very good reviews. Tiff and VBH drove STi versions on the track....

Should have handed it to Plato first IMHO... THen we'd of had a true review.. Few weeks later give it to tiff and VBH for a STi / EvoX shootout on a track!

[martin_allen]

I think Tiff was like a lot of other people, quite simply he wants a rally bred car that isn't particularly comfy, is a bit noisy and eats tarmac. What Subaru have done is make a ver capable car but softened the edges a little to try and give it wider appeal. Tiff wasn't in any doubt about the ability, he just didn't think it was quite the cutting edge tool he was expecying. Anyone not familiar with Subaru (i.e. the people they want to buy it) will probably find it absolutely amazing.

5t.

[thewelsho]

I think Tiff was like a lot of other people, quite simply he wants a rally bred car that isn't particularly comfy, is a bit noisy and eats tarmac. What Subaru have done is make a ver capable car but softened the edges a little to try and give it wider appeal. Tiff wasn't in any doubt about the ability, he just didn't think it was quite the cutting edge tool he was expecying. Anyone not familiar with Subaru (i.e. the people they want to buy it) will probably find it absolutely amazing.

5t.

Hmmm not so sure about that with regards to the STi, there are plenty of other models in the range now that do that, starting from diesels all the way up to and including the WRX. The STi should be aimed at the enthusiast.

[martin_allen]

you'd think but personally i can't see any other reason for it. Tiff described it several times as 'soft'

5t.

[Subarstar]

Think I'll stick with my classic.

Sounds like the new one's a pile o disappointment!

It'd be interesting to do a poll in a few months time to see how many newage owners have returned to the "classic" fold.

A fair few if some of the recent posts are anything to go by.

[scouk]

I think Tiff was like a lot of other people, quite simply he wants a rally bred car that isn't particularly comfy, is a bit noisy and eats tarmac. What Subaru have done is make a ver capable car but softened the edges a little to try and give it wider appeal. Tiff wasn't in any doubt about the ability, he just didn't think it was quite the cutting edge tool he was expecying. Anyone not familiar with Subaru (i.e. the people they want to buy it) will probably find it absolutely amazing.

Fair point... But the people they want to buy it will be turned away from it with a review like that... No real world driving and not much good to say about it.. = Not good for sales. I'm sure subaru would have prefered it if 5th gear haden't bothered...

Now if they compared it to say.. a focus ST then maybe Tiff woudl of had more to say.. Being able to compare it to what else is out there..

IMHO

[4Hero]

Think I'll stick with my classic.

Sounds like the new one's a pile o disappointment!

It'd be interesting to do a poll in a few months time to see how many newage owners have returned to the "classic" fold.

A fair few if some of the recent posts are anything to go by.

not sure about the classic fold mate, been there, got the £1000 service receipts to show.

Audi fold for me next

[dram300]

not sure about the classic fold mate, been there, got the £1000 service receipts to show.

Audi fold for me next

Your £1000 will just about cover a main dealer service on your new Audi when you get it

[johnnyr6]

It didn't do well in this months Jap performance mag either, the civic type r was quicker round the track they use and thats down 70 bhp and front wheel drive. Pushing around 1500kgs doesn't help.

4hero, had my classic for nearly 5 years and been totally reliable, 1 big expense at the start but that was due to me using the wrong garage for the work.

Johnny