What car do you drive and why did you choose it

[Norm75]

Following on from the silly season thread, I thought I'd post this, just to get a little cross reference as to how relevant rallying is nowadays to the old adage, race on Sunday, sell on Monday.

To kick off I'll start with . .
Volvo estate . . Work horse, no reason other than had a few Volvo's now
Mini cooper s (r52) . . Wife's car for dog carrying/commuting
Subaru Impreza WRX . . A lot because of rally.

[Rallyper]

Since I was a kid Opel has been my favourite brand. Not only bcs my father had several Rekords 1,9, but also their success in rallying with kadett Rallye Sprint.
Owned one myself doing rallying in 73 -74 with a Gr1.

I always put a brand doing rallying for a better brand (except for BMW which even without rallying, is German high quality brand...) but still have older Opels, Astra and Corsa, which me and my wife going to town shopping with...

[RS]

Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo of course :)

Because I like the brand and their history and it is currently the most suitable car in their range for me.

[Tarmop]

Branding meant something in the beginning of 2000s, most lately. Now its all about cheap insurance, taxes, economy and other running costs, comfort + a long warranty. Sell as quickly as possible, when that ends and look for another bargain.

(This thread should be in a more sensible place, not under WRC)

[MrJan]

VW Caddy, because I can have a bed in the back and use it at various motorsport events or mountain biking....not really a whole lot of influence from the 'win on Sunday' idea.

[deephouse]

Peugeot 206, Audi A4 (B5), Mitsubishi Colt CZ3, again Peugeot 206. I really don't care about new car as long as it drives me from point to point and I haven't much cost with it.

[WRC1]

Skoda Octavia RS Tdi 4x4 :)

I like the brand, i do almost 50.000km per year, so it has to be a Diesel, i life in the Mountains so it has to have 4x4

I spend so much time in the car, i love the Sport Seats of my RS, DSG is comfortable and sporty as well and it has enough space for my 3 kids!

I am very happy and satisfied with my Skoda!

[Mirek]

50 thousand a year. That's something like one whole month spent in the car every year. That's when your car is your second home :)

I have an Octavia III 1.4 TSI. I bought it exactly for what it does. It's a very easy and friendly car to live with. No sportscar of course but one which somehow does everything as you expect. Actually I bought it after I already spent quite some time with similar ones during my business trips and I liked them. I didn't buy it specifically because it's Škoda.

[pantealex]

Audi Q7 e-tron (Porsche Cayenne before that)
BMW 4-series GranCoupe M X-drive (Audi A5 sportback quattro before that)
Mercedes SL 500 (only for summer drive)
just sold my ur-quattro (chassis #131, motor #58) which is/was built Juni 1980

New MB Sprinter is coming in January, current one is 4y old.

I drive for living.

[OHL]

I'm another Skoda Octavia owner. Octavia II 1.9 tdi. I got it because I like Skoda's design philosophy and the flexibility of the car. I see Skoda where VW was in the early 90's, a solid car that is great value for money. Mine is now 10 years old but still in great condition. Will replace it with another Skoda.
I also like the fact they are in rallying and have a long motorsport history but it's not the primary I got one. I do think that seeing them in rallying made me look at what else they built aside from the Fabia though so there is a strong tie in.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

The only car I've bought that was directly due to rallying was an Opel Manta B coupe back in the 80's. I was a massive fan of Brookes and McRae and adored their battles in their Manta 400's in the BRC.

Later I had several French hot-hatches because they were the most fun to drive. But my dream was an Integrale.

Then when Ford finally made a decent car - the Focus - I've had three of them: an ST170 & two ST225's (which were maybe rally-influenced with them winning the Manus in 2006 & 2007).

As for now I dont think I would base my car purchase on rallying. And I wouldnt have a Hyundai for free.

[Tarmop]

They are good cars nowadays, i thought the same, based on some bad experience and seeing ugly and rusty Hyundais...then i used a i40 and owned one for 4 years, spacious, cheap and for that money quite comfy. Needed one with the same space and ground clearance and had to get an Outback, they are still on the ground with their prices, unlike Hyundai in that class, sister company Kia offers the same for less. Some old hothatches from Germany and France for trackdays and ice driving.

[dodge33cymru]

I have a Seat Leon (the previous gen), which beat out the Mazda 3 at the time, and currently weighing up a newer Leon, a Fabia or Octavia RS and an i30N.

[SubaruNorway]

Started with:
American 98' Impreza 2.5 RS
00' Impreza GT/WRX
Now i own a 340Hp 03 STI previously owned by Petter Solberg.
Got into my sensible 30s and also have a 05 Diesel Focus Wagon work car, mostly because i work at Ford.

[quick]

2004-2018
Opel Vectra
Evo9mr
STI 06
Evo6gsr
Evo x
My dd is Accord.
Today I am facing a dilemma, which car to buy 18 sti, type r or focus rs

[skarderud]

Volvo XC60 R-line
Impreza hatcback 2.0 petrol
2 x Volvo 945 turbo
4x Volvo 240
3 x Saabs
3 x Beetle (old)
Some Astra diesel and work cars just to remind me that life is too short to drive boring cars....

Volvo for safety and comfort, Impreza, older Volvos and Saab because of rally.

[AndyRAC]

I've had:

Seat Ibiza GTi Cupra Sport 1998-2008,
Skoda Fabia vRS SE 2008-2016,
Abarth 595 Competizione 2016-2017,
Ford Fiesta ST-Line 2018-

[Barreis]

at the moment:
vw golf VII, tdi
suzuki swift gti 1.3

[Norm75]

I've had:

Seat Ibiza GTi Cupra Sport 1998-2008,
Skoda Fabia vRS SE 2008-2016,
Abarth 595 Competizione 2016-2017,
Ford Fiesta ST-Line 2018-

Any of these directly influenced by rallying? (Particularly the fiesta?)

[atsiotras79]

Since 2002, Peugeot 106 S16.
No comfort, not many extras, very tiring on the highway, but so fulfilling to drive on the twisty roads in my area. If you learn to drive fast this one, you can drive anything. Big school!

The reason... it is obvious...

[wia5958]

Currently mk6 transit, mk3 sri cavalier, mk2 cortina 1600gt and wife has a cmax

Previous mk3 astra saloon td, suzuki baleno 1.6 gs, bora 130 sport, b6 passat (wifes), xr3i
Not such a fan of the newer cars

[Andre Oliveira]

Ford Fiesta MK8 ST-Line 1.0l 140cv

Felt in love with WRC car... the cupid attacked me. 9 months and 10.000km of fucking fun :)

[dimviii]

i ll talk about the sport ones,these i was smiling/smile driving them.
my first one was a Lada 2105 ex rally car, which had participate at Acropolis too.

renault 5 gt turbo 1990 model.Plenty of mods,renault sport/bilstein grN suspension,engine mountings from renault sport,full hand made exhaust,ds 21 ferodo pads(best pads ever) renault sport head gasket,and from 0,7 bar as oem,i had tune it to 1,3-1,6 bar depenting what fuel i was using.
After some 200k kms,i build another engine with turbo from saab 9000,Piper uprated cam and some more tweeks.

Then at 2000 came the 306 race 6 speed.Keep it for 5 years completely stock.Excellent suspension,chassis,steering,you could do whatever you want with that feedback itgave to the driver.

At 2005 till now a Mitsubishi evo 8 with Ohlins suspension(tweeked with different settings/coils) ap racing 6pot front /4pot rear brakes,thicker antiroll bars front /rear,some upgrated cams with more duration/lift,and tuned to some 390 bhp and 540Nm

[AndyRAC]

Any of these directly influenced by rallying? (Particularly the fiesta?)

The Seat definitely was; I'd be interested for a few months, and obviously knew of the F2 success/ BRC campaign; it was after watching a TopGear motorsport programme I decided that was the car I was going to buy. It was very good value for money, and a great little car.
The Skoda was probably influenced by the sport, but it was an under-rated car, which ticked all the boxes.
To be honest, I'm not sure about the Fiesta; it was a decent deal on offer and the right colour; my first ever car was a Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus - so I hadn't driven a Ford for 25 years; maybe the rallying helped, even now I'm not sure.

[cali]

Currently
Škoda Octavia RS MkII 2.0T petrol 2007 (just hangs in the yard, using it once after every 2-3 months)
Honda CR-V 2017

4x4 Octavia RS sounds nice but my wife probl would not be very happy about it ;)

[kirungi okwogera]

no car now. last one was a 1981 mini HL which I loved and wish I could've taken across the world with me

[Norm75]

(This thread should be in a more sensible place, not under WRC)

I get that, but the silly season thread was becoming cluttered with the subject of rallying being relevant to car sales nowadays, so thought I'd post this here to try and get an idea if it actually is relevant nowadays.

Where do you propose I put the thread?

As for relevance, so far out of 25 or so posts, two people have cars that are production vehicles that are used in current rallying, one of which purchased because of the link to the rally car, and another not sure. So far, and this is a rally forum, goes to show that rallying is not the best place to spend money in an ROI point of view.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Rallying can only influence you so far.

I love rally and support M-Sport Ford, but havent bought a Fiesta ST after driving one. It's just too small and raw for everyday use.

My (remapped) Focus ST is faster, the 2.5T 5-cyl sounds great and its like a limo in comparison.

[redlancer555]

Previous cars off note
Sierra 4x4 - closest I could get to a rally car
Then Cosworth Sapphire 2WD daily car for 5 years and 100k miles
Then came along a certain McRae so got a MY98 Scooby Turbo PPP. So easy to drive. Had this for about 6 years
Next, mainly due to a certain Tommi, an EVO7, which was modified by Tony Cox (Tommi's mechanic). Hard to go for a EVO7 over the TME 6 but again as this was a daily drive a newer car made more sense.
Cosworth you had to have your head on right to drive it as it could bite, scooby was just the easiest car to drive. Evo was back to Cosworth, it was something else.

So for me win on Sunday buy on Monday works. But back then the cars weren't that far off the rally cars.

Current cars
F Pace - daughter works at jag so get a good deal
Exige - love raw british sports cars. Go camping in this to LeMans.
Wife used to have a Fiesta St until youngest daughter passed her test. Again this was sold to her by showing Evans and co racing around a forest :)

Eldest daughter, has a Hyundai I30N in the rally blue, which is 99% due to WRC.
They started watching rally about 4-5 years ago and stand on a Welsh forest for 4 days a year. So without any badge snobbery and history to go off, Hyundai have always been their favorite cars in WRC and the Skoda's in WRC2. Ford a close 2nd due to the British aspect.

If I won the lottery I would have an R5 spec car for the road over any super car.

[Norm75]

Sierra 4x4 was my first performance car too. Loved the engine note, the power delivery (could drive a roundabout in 5th and still pull away like it was in 3rd) and the balance close to 30/70 front to rear drive split, and the fact McRae drove one in Sweden.

Always felt a little like a wound elastic band on fast sweeping bends though, giving the impression it could snap if you needed to lift off suddenly.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Those real rally-inspired cars have gone now. The Mk2 Focus RS was perhaps the last.

Ford took the 'world car' approach since, with the Mk3 Focus only being a very dull-looking 5-door.

My next car will probably be a Golf R, as it's 4WD, still available as a 3-door and has such a quality interior.

[Tarmop]

Speaking of Golf R, i was thinking about a Cupra estate (the same), which is the most sensible car performance and price-wise at the moment, but couldn`t really sell myself that idea over a M3.

[Mirek]

As for relevance, so far out of 25 or so posts, two people have cars that are production vehicles that are used in current rallying, one of which purchased because of the link to the rally car, and another not sure. So far, and this is a rally forum, goes to show that rallying is not the best place to spend money in an ROI point of view.

That's not the correct point of view though. What You must look at is the brand. So far it's very clear that Ford or Škoda has much higher percentual share in this thread, i.e. among the rally-oriented people, than in the real world.

You can't base Your assumption on the share of Evos or Imprezas because these cars are
1) only available with two brands currently not involved in rallying on works level at all
2) very specialized, i.e. completely unsuitable for anyone who doesn't have them for fun driving but for everyday's life

The target is to enhance brand awarness and boost sales of profitable vehicles. As a result it makes much more if You raise sales of Fiestas by 1% over 10% or even 20% with Evos because Evo sales are very marginal and moreover not profitable. Evo is a pure image maker not a car to make profit from.

[Tarmop]

Or maybe its just because they are cheap, practical, have good appearance and offer performance-versions also with the same principals? SuperBs and Octavias are also used as taxis and police cars in some places + company cars etc, they offer the best quality-price for that warranty period. Known as a "poor mans" Audi/VW---> once an indicator of quality. When i was young once, and started hobbie-motorsports, i bought a Clio RS 172, searched for similar cars in the net and because it was the cheapest, good enough in stock, i bought it. After that i started to cheer for Renault F1. Did i buy the car because of that team- no, would i have bought one because of them-no. The same applied for Subaru`s and Mitsubishis`s, when someone owned one old, non-rally related model, they tended to be on those teams side also.

[Norm75]

That's not the correct point of view though. What You must look at is the brand. So far it's very clear that Ford or Škoda has much higher percentual share in this thread, i.e. among the rally-oriented people, than in the real world.

You can't base Your assumption on the share of Evos or Imprezas because these cars are
1) only available with two brands currently not involved in rallying on works level at all
2) very specialized, i.e. complete unsuitable for anyone who doesn't have them for fun driving

The target is to enhance brand awarness and boost sales of profitable vehicles. As a result it makes much more if You raise sales of Fiestas by 1% over 10% or even 20% with Evos because Evo sales are very marginal and moreover not profitable. Evo is a pure image maker not a car to make profit from.

Exactly right Mirek. Imprezas/evos etc are not relevant to what I'm getting at. Yes seems quite a lot of Skoda's, good car my brother has Octavia vrs, seems about half maybe bought because the brands rallying pedigree.
More interesting to know those that have bought a new car in the last year or two, and if the brand had any relevance in rallying and if that played a part in the purchase but still interesting none the less, seems it used to be more relevant than it is now.

[Mirek]

Or maybe its just because they are cheap, practical, have good appearance and offer performance-versions also with the same principals?

This is one of the very common mistake people do. It's not true at all that people mostly buy cheap cars or cheaper versions of cars. Actually most of the cars is being sold with mid to high level of equipment and only a very small percentage with the base equipment level.

I can give You exact numbers for Octavia III. Before the facelift the sales of the base model were exactly 4% of all sold cars. That's why they completely canceled the base model with the facelift, i.e. raised the base price by some 4000 Euro. For them it was not profitable to have the cheapest variant in the portofilio.

[wia5958]

the rallycars of today are small hatchbacks. Small hatches are Mostly for young people or elderly people or to a family just as a second car. Most young people wont have the performance version as the insurance is crazy most old people wont have it cause well y would they. They dont need it. N the wife isnt gonna want ot to run to the shops. It was different in the 90s when u could have bout 4/5 door version of what u seen on the stages and headed of with the family on a sunday run. If i said to the wife come on strap the 3 kids into the back of a 3door fiesta child seats and all we are goin for a drive i know what she would say

[Norm75]

the rallycars of today are small hatchbacks. Small hatches are Mostly for young people or elderly people or to a family just as a second car. Most young people wont have the performance version as the insurance is crazy most old people wont have it cause well y would they. They dont need it. N the wife isnt gonna want ot to run to the shops. It was different in the 90s when u could have bout 4/5 door version of what u seen on the stages and headed of with the family on a sunday run. If i said to the wife come on strap the 3 kids into the back of a 3door fiesta child seats and all we are goin for a drive i know what she would say

Well yes, but as Mirek rightly pointed out it's not just about the particular car, but the brand too, be it a focus, i40, avensis or whatever that you can fit a family in.

Commercial vehicles even, there might be a builder out there for instance that choose a transit van because he follows m-sport, you can even get an m-sport edition transit custom, and ford ranger. All the four wrc Manus make vans.

[T16]

Previous cars off note
Sierra 4x4 - closest I could get to a rally car
Then Cosworth Sapphire 2WD daily car for 5 years and 100k miles
Then came along a certain McRae so got a MY98 Scooby Turbo PPP. So easy to drive. Had this for about 6 years
Next, mainly due to a certain Tommi, an EVO7, which was modified by Tony Cox (Tommi's mechanic). Hard to go for a EVO7 over the TME 6 but again as this was a daily drive a newer car made more sense.
Cosworth you had to have your head on right to drive it as it could bite, scooby was just the easiest car to drive. Evo was back to Cosworth, it was something else.

So for me win on Sunday buy on Monday works. But back then the cars weren't that far off the rally cars.

Current cars
F Pace - daughter works at jag so get a good deal
Exige - love raw british sports cars. Go camping in this to LeMans.
Wife used to have a Fiesta St until youngest daughter passed her test. Again this was sold to her by showing Evans and co racing around a forest :)

Eldest daughter, has a Hyundai I30N in the rally blue, which is 99% due to WRC.
They started watching rally about 4-5 years ago and stand on a Welsh forest for 4 days a year. So without any badge snobbery and history to go off, Hyundai have always been their favorite cars in WRC and the Skoda's in WRC2. Ford a close 2nd due to the British aspect.

If I won the lottery I would have an R5 spec car for the road over any super car.

Nice! Especially the last sentence.

[tommeke_B]

My first car was a Polo 6N2 1.4 TDI from 2000. Then a Fiesta "Red Edition" (1.0 Ecoboost, 140hp). In the beginning of a year I've traded it in for a Fiesta ST from '15. Haven't regretted it. Did 25 000kms so far, with the ST, had quite a lot of fun. :)

[Tarmop]

For sure, BUT...25k for a new 200 kW I30N is cheap, catalogue price...

Another century, guys. Once it was wow, a 4wd fast rallycar and their street-legal versions also great , in terms of performance (road-legal). Now we have economical and powerful diesel and petrol engines (well, another changing thing i guess) mounted to 4wd and a comfy middle/high-class, offering same or better dynamics for road users, than the once "wow" impreza etc, but the comfort, no competition from them... Then we have those old cars, for parts, ebay, aliexpress, etc, that offer cheap tools, cheap tuning options etc...end result is that building something like...lets say, from modern age, a Fiesta mk7 4wd 400bhp (or more, depending how much money you have) or from older cars, an Audi b4/BMW e30/e36, born as a 1.6l or something....world is open, things are cheaper, you can get much more fun for less money, fan of rally or not. Just like smartphones, available today for 20 usd. People spending 30-50k on a car, minus the cost of production, minus dealership fees, minus taxes etc...not profitable, apart from brand awarness, testing something.

[AL14]

I've never owned a car in my life. I use car sharing services at my city and if I have to go out of the city I rent a car and/or use my gf's car.
At the end of the year I've spent less money and I don't have to think about fuel, insurance, tires and so on.

[Norm75]

. . . . use my gf's car.. . . .I don't have to think about fuel. . .

Ahh the old fuel light roulette . . . bet your gf loves you! ;)

[AL14]

Ahh the old fuel light roulette . . . bet your gf loves you! ;)

I don't have to think about fuel when I use car sharing. But when I use her car I pay fuel and also help with other expenses. I love her too. :)

[JUF]

Interesting thread.

Currently we're owning three cars:
-Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDI quattro Competition
-Audi A5 1.8 TFSI
-Audi S5 (still with a V8 engine inside)

We´re Audi lovers, not much to explain :D.

[stefanvv]

I don't care about road car versions of rally cars. Always had the C line models of AUDI, petrol N/A engines with some cylinders in advance:D

[Franky]

Currently have 2014 Impreza 1.6 hatch, because the Mazda dealerships weren't interested in selling me a car and got a good deal for Impreza. Had Forests in the family before.

The other one is Daewoo Tico 0.8. The cheapest way to live life on the edge. You need to be truly mental to drive that thing fast but drove through the Pamirs with it last year and even at 4000m, it was fun on the twisty gravel roads in the Wakhan valley.

[GravelBen]

Saying that owning a Subaru isn't related to rallying because they aren't in WRC anymore is rubbish to be honest, they are still in many national championships with production-based cars that are far closer to what you can buy. I think the closest road car you can buy to a rally car is still an Impreza STI.

I've had 4 Subarus (currently a Legacy GTB for compromise between fun and practicality), all of my Subaru ownership has been at least to some degree related to their rallying - not just because of the brand association, but because of features that were developed/improved through rallying like AWD and good suspension etc.

[Mirek]

Saying that owning a Subaru isn't related to rallying because they aren't in WRC anymore is rubbish to be honest, they are still in many national championships with production-based cars that are far closer to what you can buy. I think the closest road car you can buy to a rally car is still an Impreza STI.

I've had 4 Subarus (currently a Legacy GTB for compromise between fun and practicality), all of my Subaru ownership has been at least to some degree related to their rallying - not just because of the brand association, but because of features that were developed/improved through rallying like AWD and good suspension etc.

It's not rubbish. They are not involved as a factory anymore and the small marketing effect which their rallying still brings has little to do with the recent factory activities in rallying (simply because those are near non-existent). It has more to do with the brand's history.

For Your information in many European countries Subarus nearly dissapeared from rallying. Here in CZ there is rarely more than 1-2 per rally and it's a miracle when it appears in top 20. Also Subaru sponsorship of the teams is close to none unlike several years before.

And I would say that there is also less STIs overall in the country. Those You can still see parked around are mostly older models. Very very rarely You can find some recent one. This used to be different in the past.

[GravelBen]

It is absolutely rubbish - you're saying that if someone buys a new STI because of the connection to rallying and the engineering spinoffs from rallying, they just don't count. You're welcome to speak for your own reasons for buying cars, but assuming everyone else shares your thinking makes you look arrogant or stupid, which I'm sure you're not really.

It seems like you think WRC marketing is the only part of rallying that matters or influences car buyers, which is not the case at all - local profile affects local markets, and many people (in NZ at least, maybe Europe is different) actually buy cars for their capability not just for the badge.

Skodas aren't very common in NZ, and they are mostly driven by old people for fuel economy. Subarus on the other hand are very popular - partly because we have a lot of gravel roads, and they are very good on gravel. Part of the reason they are good on gravel is because of what Subaru learnt from rallying. Its not just about marketing, but engineering as well! And production based rallying gives a much closer link.

Overall sales have many other factors too - local economic situation, different taxes (IIRC European made cars get much better tax rates in Europe so Japanese cars become relatively more expensive), competition etc. The competition combined with taxes might be the biggest factor in reduced Subaru sales in Europe - there are more different options with similar performance to choose between now like Golf R etc.

[RAS007]

Great thread. Currently, 2018 Mercedes Benz GLS550 (previously a 2013 BMW e92 M3, but needed something much bigger/more comfortable for long interstate driving; also, 2016 Range Rover HSE. My dream car is still a 1994 Subaru Impreza Turbo.

[Duvel]

My cars i had in the passed are a bit more boring..

I got a Isuzu Pick-up as a first car, got it from my parents.

Then i started working in a Peugeot garage so i bought a new Peugeot 206 2.0 HDI. That was and stil is a nice, little fast and strong car. Had it tuned to 130hp.
Stil have that one, but not using it, no nr plates.

Now i drive an old Citroen Jumper for my wife's shop, and as our family car we have a 307 break. It fits 3 children, thats the most important. It is the "strongset" version they have at Peugeot in a 307 diesel..


I would like to buy a 206RC once, also looking for options to buy a yountimer wich also could fit the whole family for when going on holiday. Any tips?

[cali]

I've never owned a car in my life. I use car sharing services at my city and if I have to go out of the city I rent a car and/or use my gf's car.
At the end of the year I've spent less money and I don't have to think about fuel, insurance, tires and so on.They say in my country that if you drive around 10 000 - 15 000 km in a year it's cheaper to use a taxi... I have never done the calculation myself but I guess for 10 000 km a year you do not need to own a car.

[Mirek]

It is absolutely rubbish - you're saying that if someone buys a new STI because of the connection to rallying and the engineering spinoffs from rallying, they just don't count. You're welcome to speak for your own reasons for buying cars, but assuming everyone else shares your thinking makes you look arrogant or stupid, which I'm sure you're not really.

It seems like you think WRC marketing is the only part of rallying that matters or influences car buyers, which is not the case at all - local profile affects local markets, and many people (in NZ at least, maybe Europe is different) actually buy cars for their capability not just for the badge.

Skodas aren't very common in NZ, and they are mostly driven by old people for fuel economy. Subarus on the other hand are very popular - partly because we have a lot of gravel roads, and they are very good on gravel. Part of the reason they are good on gravel is because of what Subaru learnt from rallying. Its not just about marketing, but engineering as well! And production based rallying gives a much closer link.

Overall sales have many other factors too - local economic situation, different taxes (IIRC European made cars get much better tax rates in Europe so Japanese cars become relatively more expensive), competition etc. The competition combined with taxes might be the biggest factor in reduced Subaru sales in Europe - there are more different options with similar performance to choose between now like Golf R etc.

I admit that it's different on NZ than in Europe but still You have to agree that the times when Petter Solberg was driving Impreza WRC and literally everybody knew that are long gone. Our Norwegian members once posted nice study of the Subaru Norway sales. When Petter got the title the market went crazy. There's no way to achieve comparable level from few privatteers running here and there especially when even in NZ You have now the faster AP4 cars. Here in Europe most of the championships are totally dominated by R5 cars and Subarus have been disappearing (they are still somewhat present in gravel countries but they are near non existent in asphalt countries).


They say in my country that if you drive around 10 000 - 15 000 km in a year it's cheaper to use a taxi... I have never done the calculation myself but I guess for 10 000 km a year you do not need to own a car.

I do around 15-25 thousand a year and if I haven't had my own car I wouldn't probably buy it now. My company has a Hertz garage directly in our facility (they supply us with cars for business trips) and since they need to have their cars somehow used also during weekends and holidays they give us employees very cheap rental offers. I live in Prague and during the week I don't need a car at all when public transport is much faster and very cheap (0,4 Euro/day if You pay a one year ticket).

[mArvAlcao17]

I literally asked my dad to choose Ford Fiesta over some other cars (including first gen of Yaris) 4 years ago simply because i saw their WRC car.

Kinda happy, but also kinda regret it because the part's price are slightly more expensive than the others, plus Ford has left Indonesian market a year after

[GravelBen]

I admit that it's different on NZ than in Europe but still You have to agree that the times when Petter Solberg was driving Impreza WRC and literally everybody knew that are long gone. Our Norwegian members once posted nice study of the Subaru Norway sales. When Petter got the title the market went crazy. There's no way to achieve comparable level from few privatteers running here and there especially when even in NZ You have now the faster AP4 cars. Here in Europe most of the championships are totally dominated by R5 cars and Subarus have been disappearing (they are still somewhat present in gravel countries but they are near non existent in asphalt countries).

Yes, I definitely agree that it has changed and that they can't rely on past rallying to boost sales. Subaru have a longer rally history here than in Europe too, Possum Bourne was rallying 4wd Subarus from about 1983! We know that AP4 and R5 can beat them especially on tighter roads (though Ben Hunt's Subaru was second in NZRC this year behind Hayden Paddon), but rally people also know the road cars R5 and AP4 are based on aren't really performance cars - so if we want to drive something that actually feels a bit like a rally car there aren't many other options. People like us are a small portion of the car market though, its interesting to see how much Hyundai's mainstream profile in NZ has also been improved by the association with Hayden and rallying.

My disagreement was that you seemed to be saying there was no connection at all anymore, and that nobody buying Subarus had anything to do with the rally connection. Maybe that was a misunderstanding of what you meant.

Back on topic, as well as the Legacy GTB (2002, the last of the 2.0 twin-turbo version) I have an old 1996 Nissan Terrano (aka Pathfinder in some countries) 3.2td for off-road fun. It goes ok for an old 4wd but the Legacy feels like a spaceship after I've been driving it for a while!

[Norm75]

Subaru sales are really strong in America. Here in Britain they no longer sell the WRX STI, but still do in America, South Africa, Asian markets.
Whether the fact that Subaru are still prominent in American rally championship has much to do with car sales over there I don't know.

[pantealex]

Skoda is interesting brand, it has that "cheap car" image but here in Finland where Octavia has been Top3 most selling car for years now, most selling model is RS. And overall most selling engine 2.0TDI not any small benzin or 1.6TDI.
So common Skoda buyer is ready to pay 15000€ more than basic model.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

A big disappointment for me was the Mk3 Focus RS. It's just way too ordinary-looking for an RS and the interior is just normal Focus and quite cramped for a family-size hatch.

The other problem was/is the engine - getting good power from the 2.3 Ecoboost was a struggle. They had big cooling problems... and then they used the wrong head-gasket and let it go into production !

[L555MAT]

A big disappointment for me was the Mk3 Focus RS. It's just way too ordinary-looking for an RS and the interior is just normal Focus and quite cramped for a family-size hatch.

The other problem was/is the engine - getting good power from the 2.3 Ecoboost was a struggle. They had big cooling problems... and then they used the wrong head-gasket and let it go into production !

I agree when I bought my STI last year there was a Mk3 RS focus parked next to it in the garage and I thought the scooby had much more presence

[L555MAT]

WRX STI. One reason. McRae

[bennizw]

Ford Fiesta R2. A proper built rally car, which is great fun to drive.

[RAS007]

A big disappointment for me was the Mk3 Focus RS. It's just way too ordinary-looking for an RS and the interior is just normal Focus and quite cramped for a family-size hatch.

The other problem was/is the engine - getting good power from the 2.3 Ecoboost was a struggle. They had big cooling problems... and then they used the wrong head-gasket and let it go into production !


For me, the last real rally-related Ford road car was the Escort RS Cosworth; looked very similar to the Gp A / WRC car, and was clearly a breed apart from any other Ford road cars, at least in Europe.

[AL14]

They say in my country that if you drive around 10 000 - 15 000 km in a year it's cheaper to use a taxi... I have never done the calculation myself but I guess for 10 000 km a year you do not need to own a car.

Well it depends. I think taxi is very expensive where I live. But car sharing allows you to check your expenses: when I have more money I use car sharing, when I want to save I use public transport. But it really depends on the situation. I work 20 mins walking from my home and sometimes I can work directly from home, which means that I can stay without car for days.
And I am a freelance: car sharing expenses will give me fiscal advantage along with public transport.
If I want to go out of the city for work or on a weekend I can afford to occasionally rent a car for half a day because I don't do that all the days.
At the end, having a more "flexible" day by day life I prefer not to have fixed expenses of a normal car.

[able1]

87 mk1 sierra coupe. bought it in 93 and is to this day only car i have ever owned.

[Karukera]

Life split between my native island in the Caribbean FWI and South of France.
Toy Land Cruiser for rough terrains, Audi 2.0Q cab, Clio RS for the Lady who's a fine and quick driver, former regional kart champ.
South of France : Audi A5 cab, 206 GTI (S16) bought new because of rallying, Autobianchi A112 Abarth 85 for historic events.
Been rallying for almost 20y. Official driver in the modest Fiat 500 Sporting Trofeo. GPN, GPA in Golf GTI, G60, Peug 205GTi, 306, Clio 16S, Citroën AX GTI, Honda CRX VTEC 160, Delta Integrale i rolled twice, Escort Cosworth, Astra GSI...
Now doing historic rallies with Fiat, Lancia, Abarth friends.

[swanny]

'94 Hiace Jumbo - Bought to convert to campervan, loads of space and 4WD. Had to be partially converted back to fit the kids in!
'11 Skoda Superb 2.0TDI (6 speed manual). Cheaper than a Passat and slightly more load space. Comfy and actually not that uneconomical cruising at speed (160+) for long periods. Only missing radar cruise control...
[in different countries, so different driving conditions]

Can't say rally has influenced either of them unfortunately :(.

[Rally Power]

After using the Bus :) , my parents cars and my sister’s Corsa 1.2 for a long time, the first car I managed to buy was a 106 Rallye, the closest thing to a rally car my low budget allowed; it was fabulous and had only one catch: it was impossible to drive it on daily roads in a sane way… after the 106, I’ve been mainly buying/using large sedans or big coupes (a CLK currently), besides some 4x4 off roaders at work. Btw, in the barn there’s also a classic Morris 1300 (the car my Grandad taugth me to drive) and I’m getting room for a new project: a rusty Golf II 16v to restore and maybe prepare into N3.

[Gregor-y]

Subaru was just testing the low-price performance market in the US in the late 90s, selling an Impreza with a 2.5L engine when I was looking for my first new car. It got good reviews in magazines and they highlighted the car's rally and general performance potential in Japan and Europe which appealed to anyone that didn't want to soup-up a Honda Civic, which was the king of do it yourself cheap speed. When the turbo came along in 2001 for the price there wasn't anything better available and there was a real boom in Subaru sales among kids looking for good (relatively) priced performance.

Thanks to the magic of the internet in 1999 I got involved with a group in Chicago before I even bought the car while I was temporarily working in Ireland where my coworkers were more excited about the Clio V6 than anything else. When my original RS was wrecked I bought a WRX in 2004. Since then the old group's moved on for the most part but as I don't drive to work yet make a number of long winter trips I've kept the car. I started getting involved in local rallies where most of those cars are old Imprezas running out their last miles as either competitors or third hand cheap speed for a new generation of kids.
https://i.imgur.com/1IRGwM3.jpg
I've probably kept it out of laziness. It's not cheap to park in the city but it's paid for and hasn't broken other than needing some rust cut out. There's nothing you can get in the US these days that's anything like it, let alone under $30,000.

[redlancer555]

Sierra 4x4 was my first performance car too. Loved the engine note, the power delivery (could drive a roundabout in 5th and still pull away like it was in 3rd) and the balance close to 30/70 front to rear drive split, and the fact McRae drove one in Sweden.

Always felt a little like a wound elastic band on fast sweeping bends though, giving the impression it could snap if you needed to lift off suddenly.

I had both 2.8 and 2.9, much preferred the 2.8 and it was in Moonstone blue. Loved the car.

[Norm75]

I had both 2.8 and 2.9, much preferred the 2.8 and it was in Moonstone blue. Loved the car.

Cool, moonstone blue must have been quite a rare colour on the 2.8, or was it an early MK2?

Mine was an early pre LSD mk1 in nimbus grey with rs turbo doglegs on it. Was looking for either a 309GTI or Renault 11turbo but a mate offered it to me for good money, and he had an xr3 at the time that he turbo'd and was a Cossie eater, so I knew it would go well.

Being a non LSD model, I used to be able to perform donuts on the spot (in a private field) no larger circumference than the length of the car. Even used to go through the gears, up to 3rd gear with the speedo reading 90mph :)
Mate of mine had an identical car, but slightly later with LSD. He could never make his do it, would just pull round in a large arc. Loved that car too.

[Jewy46]

Current Road Car: Ford Focus ST3 (247bhp of fun)
Previous: 2007 Skoda Octavia vRS Petrol, Toyota Corolla EFi

I bought these cars I guess because of their rally heritage and rally styling, also because they are petrol. I much prefer driving petrol cars than diesels and I don't travel huge mileage;
In my day job I am fortunate to drive several different types of cars, Mercs, Ford jeeps, Jaguars, BMWs etc so I want a high revving petrol with power when I have my own time to drive.

Rally Car: Honda Civic EK4 SiR

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Was looking for either a 309GTI or Renault 11turbo

I actually had both of them among my French hot-hatches.

No real rally link and it was the time of bad car crime and those two were more subtle than the well-known 205GTi and R5GTT.

[Norm75]

I actually had both of them among my French hot-hatches.

No real rally link and it was the time of bad car crime and those two were more subtle than the well-known 205GTi and R5GTT.

They were both rallied, 309 by Richard burns and r11 by Jean ragnotti.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

They were both rallied, 309 by Richard burns and r11 by Jean ragnotti.

I know, but their rally pedigree wasnt really what made made me want them. I loved the way the drove - great handling especially - and their understated looks.

I did look into the R11T's rally history after I had one and read how good it was on asphalt. They even beat cars like the BMW M3 and Sierra Cosworth in the 1987 WRC !

[Munkvy]

I rally a 95 GC8 when I have time, and have an E30 325i that I put a cage in too, so use that for track and hillclimbs. My daily drivers are 2014 Impreza 2L as its practical and a GTB Legacy as it tows the fun cars. So definitely bought the cars because of rallying...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Toyota WRC fans... the Yaris GR MN does well in this latest hot-hatch test !

https://youtu.be/7ynOVRMKjPw