- Awesome handling
- Great power once turbo kicks in
- Extremely rev-happy engine with a close-ratio 6-speed
Cons:
- Cheap interior materials
- Wish the 6-speed shifter could be quicker shifting
- Can’t miss it styling
The Subaru Impreza WRX STI has always been a fascination of mine right up there with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Both have their origins in World Rally Championship racing, where crazy drivers round blind corners on unpaved roads at blazing speeds dangerously close to even crazier spectators probably too drunk to understand the risk they’re taking. It is exciting to watch. Having test driven a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart (I know, not quite the Evo), I have been looking forward to driving the WRX STI for a long time. And I was not disappointed when my editor showed up with the STI Limited sedan with the giant functioning air scoop on the hood and the even more gigantic rear wing on the trunk. Unfortunately it’s in bright red.
Driving Impressions
The bright red color of the tester definitely scared me at first when driving the STI, maybe that’s why Subaru decided to put a red one in the press fleet. But once inside and after taking this baby on the road, you begin to forget that this is a cop magnet with a gigantic wing on the rear and you start doing stupid things. Like rounding cloverleaf freeway off ramps/on ramps/exchange ramps at 60+ MPH. In California these circles have decreasing radius as you go around the curve, and what are you supposed to do on a curve? Accelerate, of course. The WRX STI was the perfect car for this.
The STI improves upon the sport-tuned four wheel independent suspension system with inverted struts and aluminum-alloy lower L-arms. There was very little body roll. The STI’s AWD system also lets the driver control how it distributes power with the Driver Controlled Center Differential. You can set it on auto or manually moves it forward and back. Pretty cool stuff but unfortunately I didn’t get to play with the settings much.
On the STI the SI-Drive system lets the driver control how smooth and efficient the engine “behaves”, I kept it on Sport Sharp (S#) the whole time, which meant the acceleration was anything but smooth, but a lot of fun.
The 2.5 liter turbocharged Boxer(flat opposing four cylinder, lower center of gravity) engine produces 305 HP on the STI and is married to a close-ratio 6-speed transmission, it demands respect at the stop light. Subaru puts the tachometer front and center on the instrument cluster, a nice touch since this is such a high revving engine. The turbo doesn’t kick in really until past 3,000 RPM, but the good news is you get there in no time and you’re happily shifting.
The shifter is not as short-throw or quick as I expected, it definitely doesn’t compare to the short-throw shifter on the original Mazda MX-5. The hill assist is super helpful as I navigated through the streets of San Francisco over the weekend. Steering felt a bit light to me, both at highway speeds and on local roads. I wish there was more feedback.
Styling
Oh boy, where do I start with this one. The Subaru WRX is definitely not for the faint of heart. The STI takes it up a notch and is even more polarizing. If you’re into World Rally Car racing, you’ll love it. If you’re not into lots of protruding body panels, huge air scoops, and a rear wing that makes your car look like it just received clearance for takeoff on the U.S.S. Enterprise, the WRX STI is probably not what you’re looking for. I definitely felt a bit awkward getting in and out of the WRX STI in parking lots. My wife felt a bit embarrassed when I picked her up in front of a store. It’s definitely a boy racer type vehicle, and you expect some high school kid to climb out of the driver side. But high school kids can’t afford the WRX STI. The problem is that most people won’t know that, they’d have no idea the WRX STI Limited costs around $37k. So chances are they think you drive a subcompact and blew a bunch of money on a fake air intake and a huge wing on the trunk to try and look cool.
Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
Let’s make one thing clear- one does not buy the Subaru Impreza WRX STI for interior comfort. The STI Limited is pretty well-equipped, with Bluetooth, touch screen nav, etc. etc., but the design is “meh” and the plastics feel cheap to the touch. This is the exact opposite of an Audi interior.
The Limited has leather/suede seats, which are nice, but that’s not why you buy the STI. I found the seats supportive enough and controls were within easy reach. I’m not a big fan of the touch screen nav layout and the screen is hard to see in direct sunlight.
The steering wheel-mounted cruise controls and audio controls are fairly straightforward and pretty standard these days. This interior is definitely not what you’d expect in a $37k car, but most of that money went into things you can’t see on the interior like the engine, suspensions, and the symmetrical AWD system. You can only experience them while you’re barreling down the unpaved dirt road at over 60 MPH.
Value
The WRX STI is competitive with the Mitsubishi Evolution MR both in terms of performance and pricing. The Subaru has a bit more horsepower compared to the Mitsubishi Evo, but on the whole the two are well-matched. I think it’s kind of like choosing sides between the Coke and Pepsi wars. Except with a lot more money at hand. The STI, starting at $33,995, is significantly more expensive than the WRX (starts at $25,495), which has 265 HP instead of 305 but slightly better MPG (19/25 vs. 17/23). The difference is almost ten grand, depending on the trim of the WRX and the STI you select. You don’t get the driver controlled center differential, SI-Drive and some other goodies, but you get the same aggressive styling and most of the performance
Choosing Between the STI and Evo MR
If you’re looking for a high-performance, technology-packed, AWD, fun-to-drive-as-a-$90k-sports-car compact for less than forty grand, and you do not care about looking like you watched Fast and Furious one too many times, then your choices are really limited to the Subaru Impreza WRX and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution here in the good old United States. Both offer more rear wing per dollar than any other car on the road, and choosing between them is tough. While the Evolution MR offers the high tech dual clutch transmission (it sounds awesome), I rather enjoyed the close-ratio manual shifting on the WRX STI. The WRX STI feels raw despite all the technology onboard. That’s kind of nice for a change in today’s super technology-laden cars.
| BUILD | INTERIOR | PERFORMANCE | HANDLING | STYLING | VALUE | OVERALL | |
| RATING | 4.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0/B |
