[supermarkus]

I had the opportunity to go on a short 4-5 mile test drive in a Lightning Red STI today. To save you some effort I'm going to lead off with my overall impression.

-I love the added utility of the hatch and the suspension is tuned exactly the way I want for a daily driven STI, but overall it costs too much for what you get.


Overall the car is a big step up in refinement from my 2005. The decrease in road noise, easier ingress and egress for rear passengers, linear acceleration, lack of bobblehead, interior rattles, and ticket-me spoiler are welcome changes. Surprisingly, I liked how the seats felt, I sat into them rather than floating on top of them like in my car. My passenger did not like the high belt line, this made him look just like a rally co-driver, barely able to see above the hood.

I found the softer, less frantic ride to be much more confidence inspiring while the car was on full boil. Yes, the dealer let me rev past 5k for a short burst on this car. Just enough to let me feel the VDC kick in without killing the engine output, i forget what mode it's called. Over real roads, I found the grip levels on par with my current car but with one huge difference. Over bumps that would unsettle the rear end of my car, especially mid corner bumps, the car is waaay more sure footed even with cold summer tires in 40 degree Seattle weather. I tested this by flooring the car around a right hand corner and clipping a sidewalk ramp. My car would jump around making me bobble around in my seat, not so with the new STI. It was a revelation to drive an STI with a more Bimmerish suspension feel, for lack of a better term. It made me realize just how fed up I am with the valving of the stock STI struts. After 5 years of STI 40mm inverted struts, I'm over them, DONE.

I have heard from several RB320 owners and people who have upgraded to the RB320 suspension and I get the impression that it would feel a lot like the 08 STI. You get plenty of suspension travel, a good amount of roll resistance, no bobblehead ride, and a very composed ride over all real road conditions. I was also surprised that I couldn't feel the extra weight this car has over mine, it didn't feel slow and ponderous like I anticipated. BUT the steering took quite a bit more input to get it to move as fast as my car. I run 6.5 degrees of positive caster so steering effort is pretty substantial. The 08 felt plain weird to me. I didn't notice the steering so much when I was in the turns, but I did in a 40 mph quick lane change, it just didn't hustle like my car.

I suppose one in my position could just track down the RB320 suspension and 18x8.5 wheels like the Gram Light 57f and call it good but then you'd miss out on the added stability of the extra wheelbase, quiet interior, and added utility of the hatch. I don't know how many of you daily drive your STI, but I for one HATE all the road noise and rattles in my car. Over a long distance, like a 600 mile drive, I feel much more aggravated and tired than I do in a Legacy over the same route. It boils down to that constant thrumming from the tires and the wind noise. The new car exhibits none of this.

I make my living traveling all over the world and one thing that drives me absolutely crazy is the white noise in airplane cabins. I drug myself and wear earplugs or noise canceling headphones just so I don't have massive headaches and upper limb tension after 14-20 hours of traveling. The last thing I want to do when I finally get home to my beloved STI is put up with road noise. I love everything about driving this car except for that. I can put up with a touch of understeer, the bobblehead, and the guff I get from every Tom, Dick, and Hank out there that thinks he needs to cut the flashy looking car off and brake check him. But I don't think I can put up with driving while feeling edgy and aggravated with a tension headache for much longer than 300 miles. I want to enjoy every minute I spend behind the wheel.

There are a lot of little details that Subaru has addressed to make living with the new Impreza more pleasant. I know I might be in the minority on these boards but I like a more linear feeling engine. I don't like huge rushes of boost. I like the fact that the car doesn't feel like it's hauling balls, then you look down and WHOA! you're really scooting along. The engine feels plenty ballsy from 3k on up where my car doesn't feel like it's on boil until 4200 rpm. After feeling a 335i accelerate, I really like the feel of this revised engine. I didn't really notice the results of the weird engine mapping that Perrin etc. have reported but it was only a short circuit on public roads. The brakes felt really good too, much better than stock 05 brakes. I have Project Mu pads and upgraded lines/fluid and the 08 brakes feel just as good, surprisingly.

More details. For any of you with a 02-05 WRX variant, you'll know what a pain in the ass detailing the wheel well area can be on these cars. to effectively clean the side skirt/wheel well junction you pretty much have to take your side skirts off when you wash the car. It gets packed with evergreen needles, leaf litter, soil, gravel etc and when not cleaned can eat through your paint. On the new WRXs and STI the wheel well liner integrates much better into the side skirt area making this a breeze to clean. Also, the ever annoying VIN plate dash rattle that I've had in all of my GD Imprezas is GONE. That trim plate no longer exists. I imagine that the strut clunk will be a thing of the past too. The synchro revisions the performed on the 6 speed make for MUCH smoother shifting over my 05, especially in 3rd gear. Mine is a little stiff, especially when cold, and the new car just pops in with no funny grumbling. I miss the red stitching on the shift knob, and the shift lever feels rubbery but it felt very smooth. It's not really fair to compare to my shift feel because I have a full TIC/Kartboy workup on my shift linkage and lever. I definitely think it would benefit from the bushing upgrades, but now I'm not so sure I would shorten the shift height because the extra leverage makes the shifting much easier.

For those of you that complain about your hood lifting/bulging at speed, I'm betting the extra venting will go a long way toward preventing that, well...coupled with the less conspicuous scoop. They also moved the boost control solenoid closer to the turbo, I'm wondering if that will improve boost response at all. Even if it doesn't I like the idea of shortening those tubing runs.

For all these things I like, I sure do hate the fact that the invoice on this car is 3000 dollars more than I paid for my car. I am also disappointed that the rear glass has so much rake to it, cutting off quite a bit of possible cargo room in the rear with the seats up. I'm also not digging the Dunlops so much, they didn't feel as good as my RE050PP in the same size and they were pretty noisy. The 5 spoke wheels look like they took about a pound of weights to balance properly but they look much better in person than I would have expected. Also, the hill holder takes a bit of getting used to. Especially backing up on a slight decline...I killed the car about 3 times just backing down from a parking spot then once on a hill because I slipped the clutch too fast and misjudged the throttle angle. That should go away when one is a bit more practiced with hill holder. So that's about it for now. I'm not in a financial space where I can afford this new car and I can live with mine for now. I appreciate the car for the evolutionary step that it is, but not the price for that step.

All that being said. I have decided at some point that this car will sit in my garage. I was not swayed either way by the armchair critics on this and other boards that wrote this car off before even seeing it in the metal. My advice is to go test drive this car, it may surprise you. You may not dig the looks or the hatch form factor, but this STI is a damned good road car. I never considered any Impreza (other than the P1 or 22b) to be a beauty queen, but the test drives sold me every time. YMMV.

[Spork]

Thank you for the writeup!

[Blip]

The more I read write-ups like your the more I am glade I did not go with a 07 S5. Thanks for the great review.

[Seppo]

Very nice writeup. Thank you!

[supermarkus]

For somebody looking at an STI for the first time, they will be very impressed by the car. If you aren't used to the levels of grip an AWD car can give and the increase in power, this will make you giddy. For repeat owners, the car is less impressive but noticeably better as a daily driver. Make sure you don't pass up on the opportunity to test drive one.

[Rootus]

Nice write up, thank you.

I think I'll avoid the test drive for now to avoid temptation . I've got enough invested in my current STI that it makes little financial sense to toss it all and go with a new one right now. I do have the RB320 suspension, at least . Between that, the Recaro seats, and the 25 pounds of dynamat I used, I'm good to go for a while longer .

[StealYourFace]

Great write up.

As you stated, the car is 3 grand more than your 05 was, or about 10%. Do you think the new car is at least 10% better than the old one?

[supermarkus]

Originally Posted by Rootus

Nice write up, thank you.

I think I'll avoid the test drive for now to avoid temptation . I've got enough invested in my current STI that it makes little financial sense to toss it all and go with a new one right now. I do have the RB320 suspension, at least . Between that, the Recaro seats, and the 25 pounds of dynamat I used, I'm good to go for a while longer .

Oh I'm right there with you brother, only I'm lacking the goodies to make my car more civilized. I'm pretty sure I'm not in the financial shape to go with another long term loan, plus I don't want to be on my back in a winter cold garage putting my car back to stock for sale or trade in.

[supermarkus]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

Great write up.

As you stated, the car is 3 grand more than your 05 was, or about 10%. Do you think the new car is at least 10% better than the old one?

As a daily driver, when you add up things like the quiet ride, hill holder, added throttle mappings, and added grip... yes. If I were a track guy, i would be less inclined to dump my heavily modded car for one that is only 12 more hp up in stock form. But it is hard to ignore the potential of this car as a track monster.

[CFar]

Being the street guy who may see a race track at some point (but certainly no junkie), this is a good review to read.

Still waiting, tick tock

[trevoro]

Guys,

When you talk about the price increase you also need to realize that the cost of metal is up by quite a bit. I shoot competitively and reload many rounds a year. The price of bullet components is up by around 40% because of the cost of the raw material. I have a metal worker friend who says the cost of steel is up a similar amount. The most simple explanation I have for this is that China's economy is exploding. Their demand for metal as they industrialize and establish infrastructure is more than the current supply can easily manage--thus shortages and the price increase.

Add that to inflation and it is actually a miracle that Subaru only added 10% to the price of this car. All the improvements completely aside. I'm sure that all auto makers are having to deal with this. Most consumers will not be sympathetic to the price of metal affecting the MSRP.


Should I get into the cost of crude oil affecting the cost of petroleum products (plastic)...and has anyone seen how much plastic is inside an 08 STI?

This is all, of course, just MHO and might not hold any water at all.

[supermarkus]

I've taken all that into account and it still doesn't put my mind at ease. I know it's packed with more gubbins and gadgets than ever before, I know all the little gripes I have with my car have been addressed, and I know petroleum is sky high. It doesn't change the fact that inflation has gone up, but my salary has stayed within 10 percent of my 2005 salary, and now I have a mortgage to think about. The only way I can afford this new car is if I sell mine privately. But I don't feel like I need to run out and get the new car, I'm pretty content with mine as long as we take somebody elses car for long road trips.

[chmura]

You guys should know MSRP might not mean much. You can even get the car under invoice if it doesnt sell well. MSRP means nothing to me.

I dont know about the STI but when I got my 2007 Lexus IS250 MSRP was $35,222. I paid $29,436 for it, before tax of course. Thats almost $6k off sticker, one of the best deals heard of. When the IS250 came out people were paying close to sticker. Now a year later I got 6k off sticker. People need to be more smart about their car purchase and not rush into things.

I plan to get an STI in 2009ish and I'm sure as hell not going to pay close to MSRP for it. People need to learn not to buy a car the first year it comes out and not to be in a rush when buying a car if you want the best deal.

And I'm almost certain with the US ecomony, dollar dropping, fuel prices rising, etc. And if the STI doesnt sell well at first there will be incentives for it.

[Pre]

^ Agreed. I will wait until I can get it at invoice or under, and when they are offering a nice low interest rate. I'm willing to wait rather than waste thousands.

[polyol]

Well slightly off topic...I work in the polyurethane market and my raw materials have sky-rocketed as of the last two years. My polyols cost me 1.10/lb vs .79c. Some cost 1.87/lb vs 1.00. My isocyanates cost me 1.30-2.00/lb compared to about half that last year. In case you dont know urethanes are all over your car. From your bumpers to your seat cushons to your underwear.