 2004 Subaru WRX Sti
 GOOD STUFFUncompromisingly fast Fastastic handling Superb brakes Great seats  BAD STUFFRough, rough, rough No radio? Please.
 A Photo Story
Once upon a time, in 1992 to be exact, a funky all-wheel drive car called the Subaru WRX came on the marketplace. Alas, it was the Japanese marketplace that this 237-horsepower sedan beast came upon. All of the world, except Japan, was saddened. The world had to content itself with Honda Civics or pay through the nose and buy a BMW M5.
Americans whined and whined and whined. In 1998, Subaru hatched the STi 22-B model but made only 400 of them. None came to America. Next was the RB-5 model in 1999, a speedy number created to celebrate driver Richard Burns setting a winning rally record in a Subaru. Richard who? Now, Richard Petty we 'mercans know. Who's this Burns fella? In 2000, along came a 276-horsepower P1 model of the WRX. The howls of anguish from America and Canada became louder. Whatzamatter, you think we can't handle your horsepower? You remember the Chevy Chevelle 454SS, the Hemi 'Cuda, the Mercury Cyclone, the Dodge Dart GT? Give us the goods.
But it didn't drive normal. No. It screamed. It had this turbocharged four-cylinder engine in a boxer configuration that came to life about 4,000 rpm. And it cornered in dirt or on pavement like few things this side of a go-cart. Young people broke into broad smiles whenever they saw one. WRX envy spread. But, no, America could not have the special model, the Sti model created by Subaru Tecnica International. Lord knows what trouble they might get into with anything quicker than the all-wheel drive WRX. It was plenty quick. Quitcha whining. The whining continued.
Like most folks who like driving, I read reviews of those first WRX Sti models. I'd tested a WRX, been blown away by its capabilities, particularly on dirt roads, but hadn't had the Sti until a week ago. I got the first one in the press fleet down where I work and play. Oh boy. I'm a lucky guy. There will be only 300 Sti models sold in the U.S. each month, and they'll be available only at good-little-boy dealerships. There are 600 Subaru dealerships in the U.S., so the odds of walking into your local Subie stand and driving off in a WRX Sti are slim to none. Should the dealer have one, he or she will break into snicker convulsions if you attempt to dicker the price. These things are wanted. The dealer is almost doing you a favor by selling you one. Don't wear out your welcome.
There's a six-speed manual transmission, with very close gearing so gear changes will come quickly. The distribution of power can be manually adjusted by a little wheel knob on the floor console, but you're better off letting the car figure out power distribution itself. Believe me, you'll be busy doing other things. Because...
Rip 0 to 60 in 4.6 seconds! It can tear up a quarter-mile in 13.2 seconds, with a finishing speed of 103 miles an hour. You'll have to do some serious searching of history to find a street-legal equal. And you can expect to pay at least twice the $30,995 price to even come close to keeping up with this one from a stoplight. You probably won't. You certainly won't if the street is wet from a recent rain. Ha. What fun!
But you're sitting in these wraparound Recaro racing seats, pretending you've got an engineer beside you yelling out instructions about the road ahead, and you don't care. You don't care that a bump reaches your butt. You have this smile on your face and your hands are dancing the WRX Sti through the gears and you're listening to the engine wind 'cause there's virtually no sound-deadening insulation in this. No radio either. Hey, it's a road rally racing car. Those people don't listen to talk radio or some morning zoo show while whipping around snow-covered mountain curves with 2,000-foot sheer cliff dropoffs on the co-pilot's side. No. They're busy driving. You will be, too.
For the real world, the speedometer is quite important. Since 60 miles an hour comes in less than five seconds, it doesn't take long to reach speeds that could cost you $250 or more in traffic fines. Pay attention to that speedometer. God bless Subaru for putting cruise control in the WRX Sti as standard equipment because it kept me legal on the interstates. I'm purring along at 2,800 rpm at 75 miles an hour and I KNOW I've got so very much more under my right foot. Satan, get thee gone. I've got cruise control.
The first day of testing is get-acquainted time and the most important thing for me to learn is how to drive in serious rush-hour traffic. Some supercars are so fatiguing in those situations that I just want to park them. I once put a total of 17 miles on a king-of-the-hill Corvette cause it was just awful in traffic. This Subaru .. wasn't. The clutch does not overpower. Release without revving or slipping and it engages smoothly. You're off. Keep the rpm under about 3,000 and you move right along with the Suit Set doing business on cell phones while one-handing their supersize SUVs and rummaging through papers they've strewn on the passenger seat. Ah, traffic. At first chance, you blow his doors off. You can blow his doors off even if he's Mr. Carefully Coiffed in his red Corvette or Dapper Dan in his Jaguar XK-R.
The next thing you learn is that you stop better than anything else on the road. From 60 miles an hour, huge Brembo brakes and an anti-lock system haul you to zero in 110 feet. Mr. SUV has plowed through you and pushed you and him another 70 feet or so if you hit those brakes too quickly. Think of yourself as a SuperHero. You have awesome powers. Choose carefully when and for what purpose you unleash them.
There's a bumper-to-bumper three-year warranty, a 5-year or 60,000-mile warranty on the powertrain, and a 5-year or 100,000-mile warranty against the body rusting and falling off. Note that if do choose to race your beauty, you've voided the warranties. Mountain roads are hard on cars. I finished my week. I've got to give it up. And I'm left to wonder what all the fuss was about introducing this to America. It's joined in the supercar sweepstakes by Mitsubishi with a Lancer model turned into the Evo, or Evolution. Both these little monsters are beyond quick. They're incredible. But I remember back in 1991 when I was writing reviews for a newspaper. Back then, Mitsubishi came out with an all-wheel drive model that had 300 horsepower. Imagine that. Dodge got a model to tweak and also offered an all-wheel drive model with 300 horsepower. Dodge called its model the Stealth R/T. I tested one. Got my first and last speeding ticket while driving it. What's goes 'round comes 'round. The 300-horsepower, all-wheel drive beasties are a blast to drive. What took you so long, Subaru? 'nuff said.
Posted 2/1/04 |
Specifications
Then, in 1994, the Japanese maker of this magic chariot introduced it into Europe. It was offered as a base WRX with 208 horsepower, an Sti model with 247 horsepower, or a mind-boggling Type RA Sti with 271 horsepower. The latter was a rally race car, and the Japanese trembled at the thought of Italian drivers with that much affordable horsepower.
So it came to pass in March of 2001 that the Japanese surrended a WRX model to American Subaru dealers. It looked .. normal. Had a funky hood scoop and wing, but the Fast and Furious set already adorned their little hopped-up scooters with those. The WRX looked .. normal.
Until now. In July of 2003, the long-coveted WRX Sti model went into dealer showrooms at about $30,000. Oh my. The beast was let loose upon the land.
The tip-off that this is a honking car comes from a wing the size of which we haven't seen since our Richard drove a Plymouth Superbird around NASCAR tracks in 1969 and 1970, and a hood scoop worthy of a Pro Stock drag racer. Both the the wing and the scoop are functional. The wing keeps the Sti from launching into orbit at high speeds and the hood scoop serves up fresh air to twin turbochargers atop a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 16 valves and a 7,000 rpm redline.
This four-door sedan, tall, boxy blue beauty that can be driven oh-so-docilely if need be, can ..
In addition to the $31,545 delivered price, you'll pay a comfort penalty. It feels as if the shock absorbers have been removed and replaced with lead pipes. You will become intimately familiar with cracks in the pavement and can estimate the size of the acorn you ran over and squashed. It's rough.
You've got a Mono-inspired three-spoke steering wheel that's fat and grippy. Your feet dance on drilled-metal pedals. You do not have floor mats cause they might add weight. And under the top rim of the steering wheel are your instruments. They glow, day or night. The important one from a driving standpoint is the tachometer. Hit 7,000 rpm and the engine bogs down. Time your shift just before 7,000.
So it came to pass that this big, special key was passed to me. I had a week to spend in this special car.
You can, but you shouldn't too often. Mr. Law Enforcement might be watching. Cars with wings really tick off cops. Just a tip.
If worst does come to worst, know that your SuperCar has dual front and side air bags, active front head restraints to prevent whiplash from that SUV tap, and collapsible pedals to reduce risk to your feet in accidents. There's lots more and the Subaru WRX has done fine on crash tests. It earned a recommended reward from Consumers Digest even.
Home, James