BY DAVE VANDERWERP,PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORDAN BROWN
April 2008
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive,
5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: $37,878 (base price:
$35,640)
ENGINE TYPE:
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve flat-4, aluminum block and heads,
port fuel injection
Displacement: 150 cu in, 2457cc
Power (SAE net): 305 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 290 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
Wheelbase: 103.3 in Length: 173.8 in Width: 70.7 in Height: 58.1 in Curb weight: 3386 lb
PERFORMANCE: NEW
Zero to 60 mph: 5.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 13.0 sec
Zero to 140 mph: 36.1 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 102 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 155 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.93 g
Top speed (governor limited): 151 mph
EPA fuel economy, city/highway driving: 17/23 mpg
C/D-observed fuel economy: 19 mpg
Unscheduled oil additions: 0 qt
WARRANTY:
3 years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper;
5 years/60,000 miles powertrain;
5 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection;
3 years/36,000 miles roadside assistance
From a somewhat ridiculously be-winged sedan to
a bulging five-door hatchback with a friendlier ride and a much more inviting interior, the STI underwent quite a change in its maturing, second-generation transformation, even as its powertrain—a 305-hp turbo four and six-speed manual—carried over mostly intact. To see how this hooligan hatchback handles the miles—and to have a regular drift-friendly steed for the winter months—we ordered one up for a 40,000-mile long-term test.
A Unique Color Combination
Just to be different, ours is black with gold BBS wheels—a compelling combination that isn’t available from the factory. With the $2000 wheels, a $75 plastic cargo-tray protector, and a $163 armrest extender, our STI totaled a not-inconsequential $37,878.
Initial comments were positive: “This is going to be a great car to spend a year with,” said one staffer. Another commented, “The interior is very pleasing, although the STI needs darker taillights (especially with black paint) and also a bit louder exhaust.” Nearly everyone commented on the excellent driving position, grippy and comfortable seats, and expansive, helmet-friendly headroom.
But we also noted a couple of curiosities, such as a dash display that only shows outside temperature and average mpg. What about a distance-to-empty estimate? Another involves the stability-control system, where a single push of the button shuts it off completely and an extended push puts it in its more lenient, sport mode—that’s exactly the
opposite of basically every other car with stability control. After taking it easy for the first 1000 or so miles, we took the STI to the track, where its initial performance was in line with the other STIs we’ve tested—60 mph arrived in 5.1 seconds and the quarter-mile in 13.6 at 102 mph. It’s a tricky car to launch, though; just the right amount of clutch slip with a 5500-rpm launch worked best. The STI’s straight-line numbers would be even more impressive if the power didn’t fall off considerably between shifts (when you lift off the gas to shift, the turbo boost plummets, and it takes a split second to build up after the next gear is selected and you’re back on the gas). Also, the short gearing means getting to 60 mph requires two of these time-consuming shifts.
On the skidpad, our STI pulled a respectable 0.93 g, but it didn’t feel all that happy doing so. Getting the best result required lots of steering input, and it felt and sounded as though the all-wheel-drive system were binding up. It wasn’t as satisfying as dancing on the limit of adhesion in a well-balanced rear-drive car, although all of that would change when the grip levels drop, as on snow and ice.
A Killer Winter Wheel-and-Tire Setup
Since our STI arrived in March when there’s still snow on the ground here in Michigan, we quickly outfitted it with a
second set of wheels and tires. We chose 17-inch wheels to broaden the available snow-tire choices; based on their impressive results in various tire tests, we ordered aggressive Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60s in a 235/45R-17 size
and a set of black O-Z Ultraleggera wheels. Everyone was impressed with the menacing black-on-black color scheme, but this setup wasn’t cheap. The tires cost $592, and the wheels were $1052. Our new wheels and tires came mounted and balanced from the Tire Rack, and it also installed tire-pressure sensors ($152) that work with the factory Subaru system. The only problem is that it will cost $30 to sync the wheels and tires to the car (in order to keep the system operating properly and the warning light off) at the dealer each time you swap. The Tire Rack is working on a more modular solution with generic (and therefore less expensive) pressure sensors as well as a way to sync them yourself.
We quickly put the Blizzaks to work at a local ice autocross, where literally everyone in attendance was impressed. Due to heavy wind, all the snow had blown off the frozen lake, leaving almost nothing but extra-slippery, polished ice. The Blizzaks—and the STI—performed amazingly. Just watching our car, many people commented that we had visibly more grip than anyone else; our STI could actually brake and turn controllably. The results proved it: Our times were seven seconds better than the next-best contender and more than 30 seconds better than the next WRX.
(Skeptics, check out the results here.)
And the STI lives for this type of low-traction, sideways action, drifting easily and controllably. Check out our
ice-racing video from an earlier event here (before we had our black long-term car and before the Blizzaks, too).
We’re currently averaging 19 mpg—although we’ve seen as high as 21 mpg on extended highway trips. That’s not great for a car this small, and we’re still a ways away from the first required maintenance stop at 7500 miles. Stay tuned for monthly updates as we pile the miles on our STI.
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