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Oct 10

Road Test: Subaru STI

I’ve gone over what I was going to write about this car a million times in my head this past week. Each time I parked outside Motoraddicts HQ I’ve had different feelings towards the Subaru Impreza STI.

It’s been a love-hate relationship since its delivery, but did I feel sad to say good bye? I’m still not sure.

What I had to remember when writing this report was that it wasn’t going to be about boot space, service intervals or fuel economy. There are 101 sites that will tell you that the boot can fit enough shopping to feed a small army, or that you’ll have to visit the pumps so often the garage attendant will become your best mate.

I wanted this to be about what the STI had going for it when it comes to guys who like to tinker and tune. I wanted to work out whether this new-look Impreza was up to the job of wearing that special pink STI badge?

Made a legend by McRae and Burns

Let’s face it. This new incarnation is one ugly mother and the metallic grey colour that mine came in, did it no favours. I’ve seen other STI’s in white and the classic ‘preza blue and it does look a little better, if you squint.

But quirky can be attention grabbing. It wasn’t often that the STI didn’t grab looks from shoppers or people waiting at the bus stop as I drove past with the quad exhaust snarling and arches flaring…

In my opinion the best view is from the rear and that’s all you get to see of the STI if it’s set in Sport Sharp mode and the driver has the minerals. That mode was really the only way to drive this car.

In the centre console is a silver dial that allows you to push and turn to set the car to, I - intelligent, Sport - a mild sportier option, or Sport # - the full package. I won’t even waste your time with talking about driving the car in the first two modes as they suck.

Ugly it may be...

The classic burble that comes from the horizontally opposed pistons is still there in the 2.5-litre WRX engine as it was in the classic. It could definitely do with being amplified by an aftermarket exhaust system and performance air-filter.

When you plant the good foot, first and second gear are gone in the flash of an eye and third and the rest of the gang don’t hang around for too long either.

It’s no slouch as the 296bhp lets the car hit 60mph in an un-shy 4.8 seconds. From driving it on a daily basis I felt a five-speed box may have been more suited and who wants to cruise in sixth anyway.

There is no mistaking that unique exhaust rumble

The handling is awesome and it’s here that the car really shows its pedigree. It may drink fuel like it’s going out of fashion and might look uglier than the girl I pulled when wasted, but all is forgiven when you put it through the twisties.

As much as I dislike the car, I also love it for the fact that when you gun it through the corners, the car behind almost immediately becomes a spec in your rear view.

Subaru have tried to make a car to appeal to a wider audience and compete with the more sporty-hatchy cars filling the market. In the process of doing so, they have lost some of what we loved about the originals. But, like any great legend its roots are never buried too deeply.