Blob eye 2.0 WRX wagon - Few questions!

[milfordkong]

I'm looking for something all wheel drive that I can have some fun with but retains some practicality and is also comfortable for long journeys - The blob eye WRX wagons look to fit the bill and I just had a couple of questions for current and previous owners. I had a classic shape Impreza wagon when I lived in Australia for a while and it served me very well indeed, so i'm keen to get back into Subaru ownership.

1 - Genuine real world mpg when driving conservatively (I know you shouldn't buy any performance car for mpg and I have no expectations of mpg when driving enthusiastically but this car will be doing long journeys to the French alps so i'd like to know what economy is realistic when cruising on a dual carriageway at 70mph).
2 - Any known areas of concern I should be aware of when looking at cars?
3 - Any issues that should have been sorted that I should check for?
4 - Any other comments on ownership of this gen WRX wagon

Thanks in advance for any help or advice given.

[TEKNOPUG]

milfordkong said:

I'm looking for something all wheel drive that I can have some fun with but retains some practicality and is also comfortable for long journeys - The blob eye WRX wagons look to fit the bill and I just had a couple of questions for current and previous owners. I had a classic shape Impreza wagon when I lived in Australia for a while and it served me very well indeed, so i'm keen to get back into Subaru ownership.

1 - Genuine real world mpg when driving conservatively (I know you shouldn't buy any performance car for mpg and I have no expectations of mpg when driving enthusiastically but this car will be doing long journeys to the French alps so i'd like to know what economy is realistic when cruising on a dual carriageway at 70mph).
2 - Any known areas of concern I should be aware of when looking at cars?
3 - Any issues that should have been sorted that I should check for?
4 - Any other comments on ownership of this gen WRX wagon

Thanks in advance for any help or advice given.

1.) Mixed real world driving they will do 28mpg all day, every day. The most I have ever got out of a tank is 360miles brim to fumes. Which is just under 33mpg and was a single M-Way schlep.

2.) Rear arches rust inside and out. Same as the Classic. Only you can't easily get repair panels for the Newage so fixes are more expensive. Lower radiator cross beam rusts but repair panels are readily available. Check for rust around the windscreens (same as Classics?). Everything else pretty much compares with the Classic with regards to known issues.

3.) There is a Subaru recall-fix for corroded wishbones. If they have not already been replaced, take it to a Subaru dealer and they will do it free of charge.

4.) Go for one with PPP fitted or budget for a remap. Otherwise they are a bit underpowered with 220bhp stock.
Headlights are rubbish.
Stereo is rubbish.
Seats lack the side support of the earlier Bugeye.
Steering wheel is too big and steering too light.
Natural understeer can be corrected with a decent alignment introducing more neg camber - fitting parts to increase castor and a bigger rear ARB make a big difference.
Brake calipers are prone to sticking and should be stripped and cleaned every time the pads are changed. Consider fitting stainless steel pistons. Contrary to a lot of opinion, the stock brakes a plenty adequate on mildly tuned WRX provided they are in tip top condition with decent pads and discs. Otherwise you can fit STi Brembos or aftermarket brakes but you'll needed bigger wheels most likely.
Don't fit oiled filters (K&N) as they bugger up the MAF
Only ever run them on V-Power/Tesco Ultimate etc.
There is no discernible mechanical difference between the Bugeye and the Blobeye. Just the front end has a face-lift and the interior is updated. To that end, pretty much every thing is interchangeable across the models. Many parts from the STi also fit, the main differences are the 6-Speed transmission and suspension/steering parts from the widetrack models. Most interior parts from the Hawkeye will also fit but far less mechanical parts (different engine, suspension, wheel stud pattern etc).
Look for a 2005 model as they have the latest interior updates (although they are mostly cosmetic).

While they have been surpassed in acceleration and power by modern hot hatches, a well sorted WRX will be able to maintain speed on all roads and in all conditions effortlessly. Meaning they can cover distances a lot quicker with a lot less fuss than supposed faster cars. If you keep on top of servicing, don't skimp on quality parts and apply some preventative maintenance, they are more than capable of very high mileage without any reliability issues. £<5K should get you a really nice one - I certainly wouldn't pay more. Condition/history is far more important than mileage.

You may want to also consider a Legacy if you need a bit more room and are happy to sacrifice a little performance for comfort.

Edited by TEKNOPUG on Friday 12th January 10:54

Edited by TEKNOPUG on Friday 12th January 10:58

[milfordkong]

TEKNOPUG said:

1.) Mixed real world driving they will do 28mpg all day, every day. The most I have ever got out of a tank is 360miles brim to fumes. Which is just under 33mpg and was a single M-Way schlep.

2.) Rear arches rust inside and out. Same as the Classic. Only you can't easily get repair panels for the Newage so fixes are more expensive. Lower radiator cross beam rusts but repair panels are readily available. Everything else pretty much compares with the Classic with regards to known issues.

3.) There is a Subaru recall-fix for corroded wishbones. If they have not already been replaced, take it to a Subaru dealer and they will do it free of charge.

4.) Go for one with PPP fitted or budget for a remap. Otherwise they are a bit underpowered with 220bhp stock.
Headlights are rubbish.
Stereo is rubbish.
Seats lack the side support of the earlier Bugeye.
Steering wheel is too big and steering too light.
Natural understeer can be corrected with a decent alignment introducing more neg camber - fitting parts to increase castor and a bigger rear ARB make a big difference.
Brake calipers are prone to sticking and should be stripped and cleaned every time the pads are changed. Consider fitting stainless steel pistons. Contrary to a lot of opinion, the stock brakes a plenty adequate on mildly tuned WRX provided they are in tip top condition with decent pads and discs. Otherwise you can fit STi Brembos or aftermarket brakes but you'll needed bigger wheels most likely.
Don't fit oiled filters (K&N) as they bugger up the MAF
Only ever run them on V-Power/Tesco Ultimate etc.
There is no discernible mechanical difference between the Bugeye and the Blobeye. Just the front end has a face-lift and the interior is updated. To that end, pretty much every thing is interchangeable across the models. Many parts from the STi also fit, the main differences are the 6-Speed transmission and suspension/steering parts from the widetrack models. Most interior parts from the Hawkeye will also fit but far less mechanical parts (different engine, suspension, wheel stud pattern etc).
Look for a 2005 model as they have the latest interior updates (although they are mostly cosmetic).

While they have been surpassed in acceleration and power by modern hot hatches, a well sorted WRX will be able to maintain speed on all roads and in all conditions effortlessly. Meaning they can cover distances a lot quicker with a lot less fuss than supposed faster cars. If you keep on top of servicing, don't skimp on quality parts and apply some preventative maintenance, they are more than capable of very high mileage without any reliability issues. £<5K should get you a really nice one - I certainly wouldn't pay more. Condition/history is far more important than mileage.

You may want to also consider a Legacy if you need a bit more room and are happy to sacrifice a little performance for comfort.

Thank you, this is all excellent info and I really appreciate you taking the time to post - Encouraged by 28mpg, was expecting less than 25 combined real world.

Does the Prodrive pack adversely affect the mpg? This one is £6k but perhaps a deal could be done?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[TEKNOPUG]

milfordkong said:

Thank you, this is all excellent info and I really appreciate you taking the time to post - Encouraged by 28mpg, was expecting less than 25 combined real world.

Does the Prodrive pack adversely affect the mpg? This one is £6k but perhaps a deal could be done?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I have a 2002 Bugeye WRX Wagon and a 2005 Blobeye Wagon. Both with PPP. I've done a combined 70k in both and they have always been ~28mpg whenever I have measured them. You can obviously get them lower but it's not really possible to drive them hard all the time on UK roads. Probably 10% of a typical journey is run up through the revs. Remaps generally increase economy as they run a little leaner than stock to improve burn efficiency and produce more power.

The advertised car looks very tidy and looked after. It has Zunsport grill upgrade and Rally Armour mudflaps (not cheap) same as mine. Front calipers are not original but aftermarket copies. I don't recall them being an issue though. I wouldn't feel like I had been ripped off at £6k but it will undoubtably need some money spent on it (even if it's just a service and full alignment) so I'd be much happier paying £5k or less for it. The advert doesn't set off any alarm bells with me.

[milfordkong]

TEKNOPUG said:

I have a 2002 Bugeye WRX Wagon and a 2005 Blobeye Wagon. Both with PPP. I've done a combined 70k in both and they have always been ~28mpg whenever I have measured them. You can obviously get them lower but it's not really possible to drive them hard all the time on UK roads. Probably 10% of a typical journey is run up through the revs. Remaps generally increase economy as they run a little leaner than stock to improve burn efficiency and produce more power.

The advertised car looks very tidy and looked after. It has Zunsport grill upgrade and Rally Armour mudflaps (not cheap) same as mine. Front calipers are not original but aftermarket copies. I don't recall them being an issue though. I wouldn't feel like I had been ripped off at £6k but it will undoubtably need some money spent on it (even if it's just a service and full alignment) so I'd be much happier paying £5k or less for it. The advert doesn't set off any alarm bells with me.

Great stuff, thank you for all your advice.

[TEKNOPUG]

milfordkong said:

TEKNOPUG said:

I have a 2002 Bugeye WRX Wagon and a 2005 Blobeye Wagon. Both with PPP. I've done a combined 70k in both and they have always been ~28mpg whenever I have measured them. You can obviously get them lower but it's not really possible to drive them hard all the time on UK roads. Probably 10% of a typical journey is run up through the revs. Remaps generally increase economy as they run a little leaner than stock to improve burn efficiency and produce more power.

The advertised car looks very tidy and looked after. It has Zunsport grill upgrade and Rally Armour mudflaps (not cheap) same as mine. Front calipers are not original but aftermarket copies. I don't recall them being an issue though. I wouldn't feel like I had been ripped off at £6k but it will undoubtably need some money spent on it (even if it's just a service and full alignment) so I'd be much happier paying £5k or less for it. The advert doesn't set off any alarm bells with me.

Great stuff, thank you for all your advice.

Obviously it could be mechanically knackered....Caveat Emptor etc

[milfordkong]

TEKNOPUG said:

Obviously it could be mechanically knackered....Caveat Emptor etc

Ha ha, nah i'll be expecting a full reimbursement from your good self should the washer fluid be empty! ;-)

[TEKNOPUG]

milfordkong said:

TEKNOPUG said:

Obviously it could be mechanically knackered....Caveat Emptor etc

Ha ha, nah i'll be expecting a full reimbursement from your good self should the washer fluid be empty! ;-)

I'm tempted to go and buy it myself so that may well be possible

[TEKNOPUG]

I have a project thread on Scoobynet of my 2005 Wagon.

Starts here with the previous owner https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-4...o-be-here.h...

And then here from my ownership https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-40/1049799-new-...

Give you an idea of issues and costs etc

[mlatham]

I bought a 2005 non PPP wagon in Feb last year and have covered 14,500 miles at an average of 28.8 mpg, around 70% of that being on the motorway.

It had 66k on it when I bought it and in the last 12m I've done a few of bits - sticking rear shocks replaced (I actually replaced all 4 in the end), leaking aircon, new oxy sensor, new battery, new starter motor, new front pads and most recently 4 new tyres and wheel alignment. I've also done regular oil changes and I did the gearbox and diff oil too last time. I also changed the fuel pump for an uprated one as I was going to get it mapped, but haven't yet.

So it's cost a fair bit in maintenance, some of which was preventative / necessary, but it's my daily and I need it to keep going and I like driving a sorted car.

I find it plenty powerful enough for day to day use. You have to keep the revs up to get the best from it, but if you don't like that buy a diesel! Mine has a Sport backbox on which makes a nice sound but isn't anti-social.

Agree about light steering, but you get used to it and I actually really like the Momo wheel. Headlights are poor but uprated bulbs help a bit.

It's a great car and I can't see myself changing it.

[TEKNOPUG]

mlatham said:

I bought a 2005 non PPP wagon in Feb last year and have covered 14,500 miles at an average of 28.8 mpg, around 70% of that being on the motorway.

It had 66k on it when I bought it and in the last 12m I've done a few of bits - sticking rear shocks replaced (I actually replaced all 4 in the end), leaking aircon, new oxy sensor, new battery, new starter motor, new front pads and most recently 4 new tyres and wheel alignment. I've also done regular oil changes and I did the gearbox and diff oil too last time. I also changed the fuel pump for an uprated one as I was going to get it mapped, but haven't yet.

So it's cost a fair bit in maintenance, some of which was preventative / necessary, but it's my daily and I need it to keep going and I like driving a sorted car.

I find it plenty powerful enough for day to day use. You have to keep the revs up to get the best from it, but if you don't like that buy a diesel! Mine has a Sport backbox on which makes a nice sound but isn't anti-social.

Agree about light steering, but you get used to it and I actually really like the Momo wheel. Headlights are poor but uprated bulbs help a bit.

It's a great car and I can't see myself changing it.

I bought my Bug on 120k and did 50k in 18 months. Never let me down once. Preventative maintenance is more economical in the long run than waiting for parts to fail.

[milfordkong]

TEKNOPUG said:

I have a project thread on Scoobynet of my 2005 Wagon.

Starts here with the previous owner https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-4...o-be-here.h...

And then here from my ownership https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-40/1049799-new-...

Give you an idea of issues and costs etc

Cheers Tekno, loads of useful stuff on there!

[milfordkong]

mlatham said:

I bought a 2005 non PPP wagon in Feb last year and have covered 14,500 miles at an average of 28.8 mpg, around 70% of that being on the motorway.

It had 66k on it when I bought it and in the last 12m I've done a few of bits - sticking rear shocks replaced (I actually replaced all 4 in the end), leaking aircon, new oxy sensor, new battery, new starter motor, new front pads and most recently 4 new tyres and wheel alignment. I've also done regular oil changes and I did the gearbox and diff oil too last time. I also changed the fuel pump for an uprated one as I was going to get it mapped, but haven't yet.

So it's cost a fair bit in maintenance, some of which was preventative / necessary, but it's my daily and I need it to keep going and I like driving a sorted car.

I find it plenty powerful enough for day to day use. You have to keep the revs up to get the best from it, but if you don't like that buy a diesel! Mine has a Sport backbox on which makes a nice sound but isn't anti-social.

Agree about light steering, but you get used to it and I actually really like the Momo wheel. Headlights are poor but uprated bulbs help a bit.

It's a great car and I can't see myself changing it.

Thank you, really appreciate the insight into your ownership.

[Mr Taxpayer]

I did 70k over 4 years in my 2005 WRX wagon. I had it LPG converted 2 weeks after buying and pretty much all those miles were on LPG. it returned 24.53mpg over the first 11 months, which was how long the £1270 conversion took to pay for itself. Thereafter it was saving money.

WRX performance for diesel Astra runing costs!

Headlamps: I replaced all the bulbs (dip, main and fog) with Osram NIghtbreakers.
Audio: I fitted a single DIN Blaupunkt Helsinki CD/USB/Aux head-unit with Bluetooth and steering wheel remote control. If I was doing it again; I'd go for a double DIN touchscreen.

I had a spare set of wheels with winter tyres on.

I only sold it because my children are too big to fit in it.

[milfordkong]

Mr Taxpayer said:

I did 70k over 4 years in my 2005 WRX wagon. I had it LPG converted 2 weeks after buying and pretty much all those miles were on LPG. it returned 24.53mpg over the first 11 months, which was how long the £1270 conversion took to pay for itself. Thereafter it was saving money.

WRX performance for diesel Astra runing costs!

Headlamps: I replaced all the bulbs (dip, main and fog) with Osram NIghtbreakers.
Audio: I fitted a single DIN Blaupunkt Helsinki CD/USB/Aux head-unit with Bluetooth and steering wheel remote control. If I was doing it again; I'd go for a double DIN touchscreen.

I had a spare set of wheels with winter tyres on.

I only sold it because my children are too big to fit in it.

Thanks for this information, really helpful - I'd actually really like to go down the LPG route with a WRX however I frequently use the Eurotunnel so unfortunately it's a no-go.

[LFB531]

You've been given some top pointers up there OP!

A properly good bit of kit especially in PPP guise. Adored my '04 version and it's still in the family, got the chance to drive it again at the weekend and instantly brought a smile to my face!

Good luck with the search, a seriously good car!

[epom]

Great timing. I've been looking for a car for the last few weeks.Sold my diesel as now have a work van. Was looking for a Golf MK5 GTI (standard apart from Bluefin) as I had one previously and absolutely loved it. Out of the corner of my eye I've spotted a 2005 WRX Wagon. Standard looking car, which is how I'd prefer it and 113k miles on the clock. For some reason I keep wondering about it, and its annoying me. Think I might go test drive it this weekend as I'd like to at least rule it out (possibly). Thread has been helpful.