[GhoSStRyda]

it has been a real quick month spent with my new 2008 subaru impreza wrx sti (daym thats a long ass name for a car...). i have to say that this car is an excellent car over all. it is my first subaru and first awd and turbo car. very different from the drive behavior of my fwd and rwd cars. imo, this car feels stable and safe in the rain (even with the sticky dunlops) and even more so on dry surface.

i have no gripes about the performance of the car. it is the fastest and most high tech car i have owned to date. it feels like its faster every time i drive it. i do have some gripes about the finish of the car:

one of the first things i noticed was the red LED light under the driver dash was out. i looked underneath to see if i can find the plug and just plug it in, there was none. i even took the bottom dash out to see if it was stuck in there somewhere and didn't find it.

then two weeks into ownership, the retractable cargo cover started to rattle. its a spring loaded mechanism that has a loose plastic cap that fits over it. the rattle is annoying and i had to put a piece of thin cardboard into the space between the plastic cap and the spring to stop it from rattling on every bump.

the interior's plastic was turning a white haze when ever something rubbed against it. i've all these white little rubbed scuff marks all over the door panel. i was thinking of wiping the interior down with armor all but i hate how that oily feel and its not good for the plastic in the long run anyway. gonna try mild soap and water on my next interior detail tho...

when i washed the car for the first time, i noticed the color of the scoop and the color of the hood was not color matched... tho you can not tell far away, but it is very apparent when you are up close examining the car.

for a car that costs close $35k-$40k, i didn't expect to find those things. but those things dont effect the driveability (is that a word?) of the car and can be fixed so im not too annoyed by it.

oh lastly, having filled her up 5 times with 1500 miles on the odo, the car gets an average of 19mpg with combined city and fwy driving. i usually leave the car in I drive and use the S and S# maybe twice a week just for kicks. 19mpg.... not bad but not good, its definitely better than spending $70 on my impala ss and getting only 14mpg...

[STIFun]

What made you purchase the Sti over the Evo X did you drive them both.

[MacAlert]

Originally Posted by GhoSStRyda

when i washed the car for the first time, i noticed the color of the scoop and the color of the hood was not color matched... tho you can not tell far away, but it is very apparent when you are up close examining the car.

My sister's AUDI is like that too. It's from the different panel materials.

[JuggernautTCW]

Originally Posted by GhoSStRyda

its definitely better than spending $70 on my impala ss and getting only 14mpg...

you must have a 1000 hp impala

[GhoSStRyda]

Originally Posted by STIFun

What made you purchase the Sti over the Evo X did you drive them both.

im not big into the evo vs wrx thing. but i will say that i do not like mistu's styling. i've also sat in one before and it just felt really cheap. i fell in love with the wrx's hatchback design and after researching about subaru's awd system, i was convinced that the subaru was the car i want.

[GhoSStRyda]

Originally Posted by JuggernautTCW

you must have a 1000 hp impala

no, just a 96 with a lt1 that guzzle gas...

[GoldNBlack]

The panels I have been 1 by 1 buffing with some lexol vinylx. You can feel it smooth out as you buff them so there must be some kind of flat spray coating on them. I was real annoyed by that too.

Around town mileage is OK, I can seen the 17mpg rating but I'm floored at the pitiful highway mileage I'm getting. It isn't much over 20.5-21. Where's my 23 at least?

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by GhoSStRyda

for a car that costs close $35k-$40k

The cold hard truth is that you are driving a $16,995 Impreza with $15K worth of drivetrain & suspension upgrades .

[Pre]

I just found out the ED pricing on a 335i with sport package is right about $37k. Hmmmmmm.....

[GhoSStRyda]

Originally Posted by GoldNBlack

The panels I have been 1 by 1 buffing with some lexol vinylx. You can feel it smooth out as you buff them so there must be some kind of flat spray coating on them. I was real annoyed by that too.

Around town mileage is OK, I can seen the 17mpg rating but I'm floored at the pitiful highway mileage I'm getting. It isn't much over 20.5-21. Where's my 23 at least?

thanks for the tip! imma try that on my next wash.

oh, g'luck on the quest for 23mpg, im on that quest too...

Originally Posted by Rootus

The cold hard truth is that you are driving a $16,995 Impreza with $15K worth of drivetrain & suspension upgrades .

im afraid you're right.

[OA4S]

Originally Posted by Rootus

The cold hard truth is that you are driving a $16,995 Impreza with $15K worth of drivetrain & suspension upgrades .

Well said

[steelgraySTi06]

Originally Posted by Pre

I just found out the ED pricing on a 335i with sport package is right about $37k. Hmmmmmm.....

This has nothing to do about the topic of this thread

[inpuressa]

Originally Posted by Rootus

The cold hard truth is that you are driving a $16,995 Impreza with $15K worth of drivetrain & suspension upgrades .

Not really when 80% of the body panel is not the same. The chassis consists of different types of metal thickness and reinforcements. The STi just "looks" the same.

[ploney]

Originally Posted by GhoSStRyda

when i washed the car for the first time, i noticed the color of the scoop and the color of the hood was not color matched... tho you can not tell far away, but it is very apparent when you are up close examining the car.


oh lastly, having filled her up 5 times with 1500 miles on the odo, the car gets an average of 19mpg with combined city and fwy driving. i usually leave the car in I drive and use the S and S# maybe twice a week just for kicks. 19mpg.... not bad but not good, its definitely better than spending $70 on my impala ss and getting only 14mpg...

I too just noticed last night that the hood scoop white is starting to lean towards a darker/more yellow of a white. I wonder if the paint on the hood scoop is "curing" with the repeated heat cycles of the engine bay??

No issues with the cargo cover or the red footwell led on mine.

After installing my lightweight Volk RE30's, I attempted a high gas mileage stint on the highway, was able to get the readout as high as 24.3 MPG, woot.
Shaving 10 lbs/wheel from the base model wheels has got to help gas mileage , right??

[GhoSStRyda]

i forgot one last thing i didn't like about the car... the brakes are really loud.... it squeaks from time to time but it stops on a dime. is that typical of sti's brakes?