Subaru Impreza WRX STI R 2008 review

I've driven this car both on and off the track. There's no doubting it goes hard and the smoother ride is a godsend, but at the end of the day I find myself drawn back to the same question. That is, does the STI cut it as a hatchback?

The answer, in an Australian context, perhaps not.

That's because hot hatches, as nice as they may be, are really training wheels before you have the money for a real car.

Personally, I miss how raw the STI was, the glitzy gold wheels and outrageous rear wing, even if it did block rear vision.

Subaru argues the new, more refined STI will appeal to a different buyer, to well-heeled young execs who don't want to be tagged boy racers.

The company could be right, but it might have also inadvertently abdicated its throne to arch rival the Mitsubishi Evo a sedan.

The point is Subaru buyers have proved notoriously fickle in the past when it comes to style.

STI has only been on the market since February, so it's early days yet, but Impreza sales are down 21 per cent this year, maybe because the standard Impreza is available only as a hatch.

Priced from $59,990, the STI finds itself under siege from a host of competitors, more so now that it's a hot hatch.

In Spec R form, it's an even bigger ask at $64,990.

The competition even VW's V6 all-wheel drive Golf R32 is cheaper.

There's no word yet on prices for the Evo X, which was to have been launched last month but here's something to consider. For the same money you could buy a full-sized, fully-blown Falcon GT and have spare change.

Questions of styling aside this third generation STI is tangibly more refined than its predecessor.

The greatest step forward is undoubtedly the smoother ride.

It's also more livable and much easier to drive. You no longer need to be a body builder to operate the clutch and the six-speed manual transmission is a snack to use.

Having said that, it still takes some finessing to get off the line cleanly and things don't really start to happen until the top end of second gear, or about 4000rpm.

Sixth gear is for freeway use only and the car makes some odd pops and whistles as the turbo does it stuff.

The 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine kicks out 221kW of power and 407Nm of torque (up from 206kW and 392Nm).

Weighing in at 1505kg (just 10kg more in Spec R form), the STI blasts from 0-100km/h in 5.2 seconds (0.2 seconds quicker than before).

Fuel consumption is lower at 10.3 litres/100km but it takes 98 strength unleaded, which can be difficult to find.

For the enthusiasts there's intelligent drive, switchable traction and more centre diff settings to play with.

However, for most of the time the defaults will do.

Our test car was the top of the line Spec R, which adds leather and lightweight BBS alloys.

It's a bit plastic inside and for the price, we expected to see Bluetooth and an auto-dimming mirror.

Finally, it would be nice to see larger Recaro seats fitted for the fuller Aussie figure, and it's unfortunate that the spare is a space saver.