Playing Petter Solberg

The tach sweeps past 5,000rpm and I look down the road, eyes focused on the quickly approaching guardrail on the outside of a tight left hander. I step on the clutch, and heel-toe shift down into second, blipping the throttle and spooling up the big turbo. Halfway through the turn, I let the clutch out, and all 300 horses are put down to the pavement.

About the time the engine reaches redline, there appears a quick right. No problem, except the new pavement that’s been put down has a nice bump in it. Near the apex.

The front suspension unloads causing instant understeer. Milliseconds later, the rear lightens. Tires chirp, three differentials and a host of yaw sensors jump to action. The rear steps out, and we drift through the turn looking like Petter Solberg. My passenger starts shouting pace notes, and we give a quick cheating-death cheer before reaching for third, and the next corner.

What’s this machine we’re driving? An older Subaru WRX STi. The beastmaster of the Subaru stable. The WRC car with a full interior. The car that comes factory-tuned by Subaru Technica International (STi) with all the parts you wish you could own.

Over the last couple decades, Subaru has made a few attempts at building a performance-oriented sports car. Among them was the odd wedge-shaped Subaru XT-6, and the bigger let-down with the funky windows, the Subaru SVX. Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, specializes in everything from aircraft to power plants to construction equipment, and a company like that has no business building sports cars.

And thank God they quit trying.

The result is a pudgy 4-door sedan (and now a wagon - Ed.) that will do 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, and a quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds. Stock. On a bad day.

Just approaching the car is imposing. The first thing you notice is the massive hood scoop feeding the top-mount intercooler. Then the car’s stance hits you, showing off flared fenders and a ride height a half-inch lower than it’s little brother, the WRX. But it’s pretty hard to miss the ironing board-sized rear spoiler. Our tester came with the optional gold-painted BBS alloy wheels, and the only color the purist in me thinks is worthy of being on an STi, World Rally Blue Pearl.

Inside, you’ll find a pair of STi seats trimmed in blue suede with deep side bolsters. They look more supportive than they actually are, but aren’t nearly as compromising as a dedicated race seat. Once in the driver’s seat, however, you’ll really enjoy the thick-rimmed MOMO steering wheel. The feel is wonderful, and looks trick.

Peering through the wheel, you’ll also notice red electroluminescent gauges, dominated by a center-mounted tachometer. Our tester was also equipped with the Performance Gauge Pack which includes a turbo boost gauge, oil temperature gauge, voltmeter and gauge pack housing which mounts to the center of the dash. A metal trimmed shift knob on a 6-speed transmission rises from the floor. It all provides for an environment that feels stylish, yet very purposeful, and reminds you that this isn’t your Mom’s Legacy wagon.

Of particular interest are three switches you’re not likely to find in any other production car. The one on the dash is connected to a pump under the hood that sprays cool water on the intercooler. Another on the center console is marked “DCCD”, or Driver Controlled Center Differential. And there’s a mysterious dial close by.

If you’re smart, you’ll leave the DCCD switch turned to auto. Otherwise, you’re in for a quick lesson in handling characteristics and weight transfer. You see, Subaru has equipped the STi with a manually adjustable center differential. Leave it on auto, and it splits the torque 35/65 to the front/rear wheels. But if you adjust it to one of the six manual settings, you can get the car to induce everything from controlled understeer to holy-crap-that’s-fun oversteer.

It’s like driving a video game.

And driving is definitely what this car is all about. Turn the anodized metal ignition key, and the 2.5 liter flat-4 starts with a sedate growl that runs through a custom STi-tuned exhaust. It’s surprisingly quiet inside the car, but is very deep and intimidating from outside. The engine note will seem odd to most people, as horizontally-opposed engines tend to do. Unfortunately, below 4,000rpm, the STi’s engine sounds very industrial, like a cross between an old Porsche and a city bus. But above that, the growl is surreal with just a small hint of a whoosh from the IHI turbo topping out at 14.5psi.

However, once you put the car in first and step on the gas, you’ll find the only thing you’re aware of is looking down the road to see what’s ahead, because you’ll be there very quickly. The engine has a very short powerband, but reaches it’s maximum 300 lb-ft of torque at 4,000rpm and tops out at 300hp at 6,000rpm. The 8.2:1 compression means the car is very docile before the turbo kicks in, and the STi tends to wallow around in it’s 3263lb curb weight. But once the turbo comes up to full boost, the car consumes asphalt at an impressive rate.

Braking is equally impressive due to the large 4-piston Brembo calipers on 12.7” front rotors with 2-piston rear Brembos on 12.3” rotors. Stopping from 70-0 takes just 157ft, and pedal feel is firm and controllable. The pads also heat up nicely, but their competition nature means they tend to be noisy when cold and give off a lot of dust.

Handling is a different story. The 225/45-17 Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires have sharp turn-in and very high levels of grip. But what keeps things entertaining is the computerized all-wheel drive system and differentials. Leave the center differential set to “Auto”, and the car does a fine job of cornering.

It’s at this point that the driver becomes the weak link in the chain, because if you forget it’s all-wheel drive, the car becomes unsettled. Power out of the curve like a rear-driver, and the STi goes from brief understeer to oversteer to balanced handling while the system anticipates what you’re doing, and what the car should be doing.

If you adjust the differentials to be rear-biased, the effect is much less and the car behaves like a RWD car with a hint of oversteer. It mostly comes down to overall feel and your own driving style, but after a few days with the car, it’s so user-friendly it’ll make even your grandmother look like a handling goddess.

What your grandmother won’t like, however, is the suspension. On a smooth road, the shock dampening and spring rates are an excellent match, complimented by 20mm sway bars on either end. But on city streets, the race suspension shows it’s weakness. Will you mind it? Probably not, but a daily-driven STi would be a poor choice for a car in a city full of potholes and other road imperfections.

So is the STi really all it’s cracked up to be? It’s loud, rowdy, and the styling is way over the top. But with pricing in the low- to mid-$30k range for a car that will outrun most street cars, embarrass cars costing several times as much, and will turn impressive numbers at the track, it looks like Subaru has brought the ultimate package to the everyday consumer.

photo from sportscarforums.com



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