The 08 STi will grow on you whether you like it or not.
The 08 STi is getting good reviews!
November 15, 2007
When the first Japan-spec Subaru STI hit the scene back in 1994, it was all about all-wheel drive, rally heritage and dirt under the tires. Now we're in the Japanese-spec 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, there's fresh pavement under the high-performance tires and the end of the straightaway at this road-racing track is a distant speck in the windshield.
And between here and there we have 304 horsepower and 8,000 rpm to play with.
This is an all-new STI, and we don't mean just its provocative hatchback shape. There's still rally-style hardware built in, but this STI is being shown to us at Fuji International Speedway, Japan's newly refurbished Formula 1 track.
The 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI is an all-new deal.
Welcome Back, Surface Excitement
After months of squabbling by Subie fanatics about the look of the new Impreza WRX, the STI should finally shut everybody up.
With new five-door hatchback packaging and nondescript styling, the Impreza targets a whole new customer base — drivers more interested in 4WD safety and interior roominess than rallying heritage. But you'd never believe the STI is essentially the same car.
Subaru designers have penned a hatchback that looks like it's on steroids. It's not beautiful, but it does have generous servings of visual drama, and, well, that's really what this car is all about. Pure kinetic drama. The well-defined edges look menacing, although we can't help feeling that Subaru's designers could have extended themselves more to improve the generic grille and headlights.
Boasting specially designed body panels (including a front spoiler and chunky blistered fenders), a roof-mounted spoiler and a rear underbody aero diffuser, the STI is more muscular and edgy than the WRX. In fact, it is a completely different car. The only body panels it shares with the WRX are the hood, front doors, roof and rear liftgate.
Seeking Balance
As it turns out, the STI's hatchback configuration has been no accident. We know because Petter Solberg, 2003 WRC driving champion and Subaru factory driver, tells us.
"I had something to do with Subaru settling on a hatchback design for the new Impreza," the Norwegian rally ace blurts out. Then he laughs, "Don't tell Subaru, but I drive lots of different cars, and my experience tells me that hatchbacks have the best aero balance and handling performance at the limit. Because it's all about balance, you see. And a wider track and shorter overhangs complete the package."
Compared to the previous-generation WRX STI, the new car's front overhang has shrunk by 3.1 inches, while the rear overhang has dropped by 4.7 inches. The wheelbase has been stretched stretched by 3.3 inches. And compared to the new WRX, the STI gains three-quarters of an inch in the front track and seven-eighths of an inch on the rear track. It all adds up to the balance Solberg is talking about.
Hiroshi Mori, Subaru's project general manager for the STI, says, "The main difference between the WRX and the STI is the wider track. For the front suspension the lower arm has changed from steel to aluminum to make it lighter for better handling. Also we switched to inverted dampers for a more rigid suspension layout."
Nailed to Your Seat
The STI's turbocharged 2.0-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder is the first Subaru engine to break the unofficial 300-hp limit that has been observed by Japanese car manufacturers since 1989. With 304 hp available at 6,400 rpm and 311 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm, this engine is more powerful than we expected a
