Subaru Impreza STi Spec.R 2010 review

SPEED records are as old as time. Neanderthals used to race antelope across plains, Etruscans sailed sun-dial timed races around Mediterranean islands and Mayans were big on stair climbs.

Though today the most cost effective way of getting quickly to places is commercial air travel, you'll have more fun in a Subaru WRX and possibly have the chance to set your own speed record on the race track. But for more street cred and a bit more technical sophistication, the race-ready STI takes all the anger of the WRX and makes it louder.

VALUE

Subaru's race-oriented hottie comes as a sedan or hatch, manual or automatic for $59,990 - up a monstrous $20,000 on the WRX.  But the test car is an STI Spec.R which adds more fruit - but no more performance - for $65,990 which is $26,000 above the WRX.

And that's a sticking point because the value tends to be diluted. It's still a single price for the hatch or more recent - and subjectively prettier - sedan fitted with automatic or manual, but it's still a lot of money.

The STI Spec.R adds a sunroof, sat-nav with a touch screen, audio with 10 speakers, leather (not Alcantara) cabin trim and BBS wheels.  It's strange but the stuff that's added in the Spec.R is suited to an owner who commutes while the car itself is suited more to competition tarmac events. If you want a commuter, this may not be the best choice.

TECHNOLOGY

A simpleton would say the STI is a case of a biggish turbo engine in a small car body and that any fool can do it. The devil is in the detail here, as Subaru draws heavily from a dirt and bitumen race win history for a brilliant drive system that aims to maximise power delivery to all wheels. And it nails it. The system is adjustable from the driver's seat, with incremental torque allocation front and rear to adjust for varying road conditions that would affect - for example - oversteer and understeer situations.

However, clever though it is, it takes a skilled driver to keep adjusting the torque split while working the wheel and gear shifter. For those who want to spend more time ensuring the scenery remains horizontal with the blue bit at the top, there's the "auto" button. Really, forgo the manual adjustment. Leave it in "auto". Otherwise, the 2.5-litre engine gets 221kW and 407Nm for excellent go and Brembos for whoa. Again, it's more suited to track than street.

DESIGN

The sedan version of the STI is a recent addition to the hatch. It harks back to the original STI rally cars and looks better balanced. It has a big boot, to boot. Lots and lots of Tupperware and blistered fenders give the car muscle, while black-out war paint with silver accents dress up the nose and the traditional STI wing stands tall above the boot lid.

It looks hot when its standing still and this clearly is where the STI holds appeal. At least with men. It can be a difficult creature in the city but at least it draws attention.

Inside it's a different story. The dashboard is all hard plastic and scratchable silver plastic trim. The touchscreen is excellent but the sat-nav's map image looks like some kid drew it in crayon at pre-school.
The STI seats four but though there's reasonable cabin room, this is a car that is focused on catering solely for the driver.

SAFETY

The STI picks up all the good safety news of even the base-line Impreza. That is, a five-star crash rating, six airbags, stability control and ABS brakes.

DRIVING

This is not a car that appreciates commuting. It will baulk at the frequency of traffic lights, frustrate its driver with low-speed suspension jarring and constant clutch feathering and worry the wallet with a habitual yearning for high-end fuel. That's a serious series of complaints. For a buyer of an STI to run on the road, they must be incredibly tolerant and unusually wealthy.

The more the STI is driven the more you start thinking an WRX is a whole lot better for the street.  The STI for the track. Which is where this car was pointed.

The RAC driving centre sits under the flight pattern of Perth's irregular flow of commercial aircraft. It's so close that by the time you look up, the planes have their wheels down and you can see faces in the windows. The noise is equally as tangible. But not this day. With the tacho needle jumping off the redline like a sugar-infused kid in a bouncy castle, the STI isn't a quiet car.

There's the off-beat mechanical anger of the horizontally-opposed engine, the subdued fan noise of air being sucked into the turbocharger, lots of throaty noises from the exhaust pipes and the chirps and screams of the Dunlop tyres.

Jets pass overhead in silence.  Everything is different above 3000rpm. The gearshifts, often tight and requiring a firm hand, introduce the next cog with slippery ease.

Though there's a meaty 407Nm of torque, the STI always feel it could stall off the mark. That's why it can be a bit messy in traffic. But here, on the track, you're living in the 4000-7000rpm band and it's a different car.

The clutch doesn't have to be feathered and so though the driver can produce jerky gear changes, out there on the bitumen paddock there's no one to complain. The fast-ratio steering remains as before, so this is a point and shoot machine that can be pushed hard across the track and then swung into the corner to chamfer the arc. Sometimes, with the traction control off, it will casually adopt a four-wheel drift but unless you've cooked the corner, there's no sense of drama.

The STI just feels so very confident. Helping that is the sports seats that keep the body anchored. They're even comfortable on the street, despite a thin wall of foam.

VERDICT

Addictive car that just happens to seat four adults and room for a pram but fails the value stakes in favour of its budget WRX sister.