Faults:

Front toe arm badly worn on purchase.

Handbrake shoe worn on purchase.

Rear seat belt not reclining on purchase.

Headlight washer not working.

A few other small things nothing major.

Speedo not working (happened yesterday)

General Comments:

I have a GT555, which I bought in January of this year, it’s a 98 model. I have been waiting for one of these cars for a very long time, and was not disappointed. The car is to be serviced every 5000 miles, serviced mine as soon as I got it, and its going in next week for another one.

The handles like a dream, but can suffer from some wicked understeer when really pushed in a bend.

As for top speed, the clock goes up to 160 mph, and I have cracked 145mph in it. At that stage I was shouting at the other people in the car, one in the front and one in the back, because the windows seals cannot keep that amount of noise out. And at that speed the car kept going so I have no doubt in my mind that it will hit the 160 mark.

The ride is rough on the back roads to say the least (car sitting on 17” low profiles which does not help), but sitting in the drivers seat you don’t really notice as the bends come up on you at a very quick pace.

As far as fuel consumption goes, avoid firing up the turbo and it's quite decent. Went nearly 300 miles on one tank, but seeing that the fuel tank is the size of a zippo lighter and the turbo is like an alcoholic at a free bar, get to know the people in your local petrol station as you will soon become very good friends.

The car certainly does give ya some looks, and is a magnet for the “Saxo” brigade and the police, so watching the speeds is a must at all times. And where you park it.

This car has so much going for it when you take in the looks, that bonnet scoop is a thing of pure beauty, and a joy to look out over. Nothing sounds quite like the flat 4 rumble slowly going down the road, and add in dump valves and induction kits, and you have something that scares young children.

This is a car that demands respect - certainly not for the faint hearted.

Word of advice - if you do get one of these cars, take your time get to know the car, don’t just sit in it and think “hey, I have a rally car, so now I am a rally driver”. If you do it will probably kill you. And never let anyone other than another Scooby driver sit behind the drivers wheel.

Enough of the boring stuff, this car does rock, to hell with MPG and all that, GET ONE …….

Faults:

Nothing yet phew!!!

General Comments:

This car is the most deadliest car for the money on the roads to date. Think about it all you M3 drivers etc you guys are paying almost twice the amount to get to get the drives of your life... why I ask you why??? Anyway just came on here to tell all the heathens to buy a scooby since it would be illegal not to.

Faults:

Bulbs needed replacement.

Occasional starting problem if you started from cold and turned off after a minute.

Oil filter needs special tool.

General Comments:

This was a grey import. Bought at auction in Japan and imported. Find yourself a friendly grey import dealer and go, best holiday you'll ever have. Put through SVA which is like an expensive MOT. MPH speedo is required so has the advantage of "chipping" the engine, i.e. removing the 180km/h (112mph) speed limiter. You just solder an electronic element on the back of the speedo head. You'd be advised to buy the Impreza WRX (not STi) 250bhp auto hatch on the assumption that you will be the last owner, as future buyers want the manual, saloon version only. Which means they are missing the bargain of the decade. This was wife's car and she got some 265 miles per tank (regular, green) full per week and only hit 100mph once. That's once on the way there and once on the way back. Really easy, fast car to drive when you're dog tired. Good car in Europe, pulls away from Mercs and BMWs. Was too chicken to exceed 130mph (in Germany) but there's still a lot more. With a manual, the gear changes come up really fast, but an auto means you can keep both hands on the wheel and there's no chance of over-revving it. Brakes don't fade, presumably as harder pads are used compared to lower performance models. Headlight performance is nothing to write home about, but a little better than Lucas, prince of darkness glow worms.

Handling is good by normal standards, but understeers on wet roads compared to say a Legacy. You can go a lot faster on minor roads without increasing top speed, just by braking later. You half the braking distance and still find you have braked far too early. Best check this on an airfield first.

Disadvantages are you tend to get into a race with other "nutters" which is not so good for a woman driver. Also, the bonnet bulge identifies it and makes it a target for joy riders and other negative elements in society. Standard anti-theft protection is almost non-existent, Japan is (or at least was) almost a crime-free country. Disconnecting the battery does not mess up radio, etc. like Europe-sourced cars, which is just as well as you need top remove battery, air-filter, washer bottle to change spark plugs.