What about that wing?
The 2011 Subaru WRX STi wheeled into the motorvision.com parking lot and jaws dropped! “Where is the wondrous wing! You can’t give us the car without it’s ‘bar-room counter’ at the back!” But then comes a sigh of relief for, after a good three years, as a modest compact the WRX STi once again has four doors an a decent trunk at the rear. And – to our immense relief – the famous rear spoiler is available as an option extra for just 389 Euros. For us that’s an absolute ‘must’. But of course it was not just the car’s shape which disheartened fans of the top Impreza model in its fourth generation from 2007. The real problem was the serious deterioration of the driving dynamics. Now Subaru promises a complete renaissance with the latest version, not just a new shape and a new name, (now the model is just called the WRX STi, ‘Impreza’ is no more) but also very much modified running gear. Let’s see what difference all this makes.
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- Although there is a slight tendency to under-steer the WRX STI behaves well in the curves, with a much more confident feel and even when driven in rough and tough style maintains good control. Photo by Peter Wagner.
Much is new, and all is better
To underpin the latest facelift and to add punch the spring rate has been tightened, at the front by 15 percent, at the rear by all of 53 percent. There are now more robust stabilizer at both ends, modified wheel mounting and the whole car has been lowered by 5 millimetres. A further improvement is the increase in the size of the rims from 17 to 18 inches while the weight of each wheel set has gone down by two kilos. Instead of 235/45/R17s the tyres are now 245/40/R18s. The SI-Drive offers now three automatic drive options as well as manual with no less than six settings to ensure the most advantageous distribution of power between front and rear axles. The ESP can also be adjusted to three settings – ‘Normal’, ‘Traction’ and ‘Off’. But of the course the big question is whether all of these innovations introduced by the Subaru engineers have a tangible positive outcome. And the answer is ‘yes’, definitely! Although there is a slight tendency to under-steer the WRX STi behaves well in the curves, with a much more confident feel and even when driven in rough and tough style maintains good control. The steering is very direct, although for our taste it is slightly too light. In spite of the harder springing the 2011 model is far from uncomfortable.
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- The 2.5 litre boxer gives 300 horsepower and 407 Newton metres of torque. The motor itself makes no apologies for being almost unchanged. There is a turbo lag at about 3,000 RPM but there follows a serious kick in the backside.
Character as standard
While the running gear has been completely overhauled, the 2.5 litre four-cylinder boxer engine remains almost unchanged. As before, it puts out 300 horsepower at six thousand revs and 407 Newton metres of torque at four thousand. A welcome tweak: The new exhaust system has larger diameter tubes and permits the charming boxer sound to be expressed more fully. And the motor itself makes no apologies. In practice this means that while there is a turbo lag at about 3,000 RPM there follows a serious kick in the backside. Today we can call this ‘character’ and in any case it does no harm to the overall performance data. Making proper use of the improved crisp and firmly shifting six-speed transmission the driver can hit the hundred mark in 5.2 seconds and push on to an electronically limited 255 kilometres an hourtop speed. We should perhaps draw a veil over the fuel consumption data. Subaru claims 10.5 litres. We have our doubts!
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- Looks better than it is. The materials used are for a car in this price range very cheap. But the steering wheel lies comfortably in the driver’s grip and the six-speed gearbox does an excellent job. Photo by Peter Wagner.
A disappointing interior
There is little to be said about the interior of the fastest Subaru, perhaps just a single word. Disgusting! Particular when one considers that this is the automobile we tested comes with a 52,900 Euros price-tag. The materials used are clearly cheap and in the car we tested there was already squeaking and groaning in the A-pillar area. The radio and navigation unit is a joke. But the odd thing is that one forgives these deficits. If the driver wishes to be cosseted in a an elegant interior he would be weak advised to go for an Audi. And at least the Recaro seats installed offer a perfect driving position with all the side support one could hope for.
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- This is how a WRX STI should really look: Blue and with that huge wing at the back. It costs 389 Euros as an option. And at the same time the gold toned 19 inch rims for only 299 Euros would make a good investment.
Costly but cool
The final question: Is it worth laying out over 52 thousand Euros for the new WRX STi? For drivers wanting a really quick car with lots of character with an extremely refined all-wheel-drive system, and who have the occasional day on the race track in mind, the Subaru must certainly be taken into account. I found myself wearing a broad grin every time I took the wheel and so to be completely honest it must be said that this is a seriously cool automobile, especially when the bar-room counter is proudly erect on the lid of the trunk.
