... and very nice it was too.

Ended up at Bridges in Cirencester, using the "closest dealer to my house running a demonstrator" technique - good choice as it happens 'cos they picked the best way to sell me a car; sign here, heres the card, put it in that slot, press the button, come back in an hour or so.

Nice car - coming from an Impreza WRX PPP its not got the instant buttock clenching acceleration out of juctions that Im used too but its not far behind, and with a cheerie chirp from the tires to make you grin. Once moving theres very little in it - I have no doubt that once Ive worked out how to get the best out of the car it will be as quick in normal "spirited driving thru the backroads" use.

Decent offer on my old car but think Ill be lucky to get £1k of the list price on a new one; they do have the demo car I drove up for sale at a better price, + I wont have to wait while the frenchies get back to work. Im tempted, very tempted.

To counterpoint this, I popped into the Jeep dealer in Swindon later in the day to try the new Jeep Patriot. Completely different experience - short testdrive with the salesman who clearly didnt know as much as me about the cars & couldnt remember the script, hard sell of the "make a commitment today" type - put me right off doing any sort of deal with them which is a bit of a shame 'cos the Patirot is a decent 4X4 at a decent price. Guess that they have to pay for that big posh showroom somehow, but I'll be buggered if I'll contribue towards it.

Hi OxfordNick, you should deflnitely be able to get £2-3k off the list price if you phone around enough dealers, £17500 came up from quite a few dealers offers to me.

Steve @ wests is the man to talk to matey! Bargains galore! :)

Take a look on the renaultsport forum too, there is a section from trade dealers and there are always bargains to be had.. Might not be as convenient, but well worth a try ;)

Thanks Chaps - havent really talked money yet, Im expecting to be spending some time on the phone tomorrow at work. After all Ive paid my six quid membership now & so I have to get the car otherwise thats two and a bit pints of beer Ive wasted.

Thanks Chaps - havent really talked money yet, Im expecting to be spending some time on the phone tomorrow at work. After all Ive paid my six quid membership now & so I have to get the car otherwise thats two and a bit pints of beer Ive wasted.

Two pints of beer in Oxford for 6 quid, I must have went to the wrong pubs when I went out there! lol.

R26 is fantastic overall package, between performance, handling, usability, etc.

On a side note, how did you compare it to the WRX, I test drove a standard WRX 2.0 (old shape now) a couple of years back and was horrified at how rubbish it was, does the PPP make all the difference?

Oh and Welcome :)

Nick, welcome to the site. Defo shop around though.

Thank you for your kind words - I can still get a pint for £2.40 at my local, but I'm nowhere near the trendy center of Oxford. Thankfully.

Didn't get a chance to sit down with the phone today, hopefully Ill get a chance tomorrow - Ill let you all know.

With regards to the Impreza, Im on my second one - I traded my Clio 16v for the first one (classic shape) in 1999 ; there was nothing on the market at the time to touch it for the money. The current car is an 03, the second of the remodels & in standard tune its not as good a car as the original - its heaver, down on power & just less of a drivers car.

The PPP does two things - it adds 30BHP which gets the power back to around what I was getting on the old car, and it delivers it from lower down & pulls all the way to the limiter. Its a much better car to drive - it also highlights the problems with the WRX; noteably the breaks dont feel like they can cope with that much power & its quite easy to upset the chasis - breaking hard into a bend with a camber change nearly always sets the ABS off for example; not a problem if you expect it but its a shock the first couple of times. Both these things are adressed with the STI, but Ive tested a couple of those & neither liked the crappy B roads that we have in Oxfordshire.

Definately showing its age now - but even after four years I still get a grin when the conditions allow. Cant be bad.

Ok - looks like the deal is done, I got a couple of K of list, but with the spec & colour I wanted + I get to pick it up on Friday.

Now all I have to do is get thru the rest of the week without stacking the Impreza

nice one Nick.
What did you go for and how much (if you don't mind me asking)

I dont mind at all, but I'll PM you the details on the deal - car is

R26
Mercury, Decals on
Xenons
Spare Tire

could you also E-MAIL me the info please
that is the exact spec i want but just want to get some ideas of prices

svmark@hotmail.co.uk
thanks

I dont think I can PM you unless you become a member - but it worked out at just over £2k off list. I would have expected to get a little more if I had no PX, or something more mainstream than the Subaru.

There are better deals out there, particuarly if you are flexable on colour & spec - keep an eye on the dealers forum on renaultsport.co.uk. Bridges in Cirencester have a Silver demo with 2k miles on the clock if you want nearly new; no Xenons though.

just realised i don't have PM so put my e-mail up
thats a problem with me and the p/x i have a honda civic and it is only 6 months old and 3k miles on it and i know they would try and take the p!ss

I dont mind at all, but I'll PM you the details on the deal - car is

R26
Mercury, Decals on
Xenons
Spare Tire


Best choice of colour that, nice one.

Same colour as me... :) good choice.