DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: 2018 Subaru WRX STI premieres

In a bid to keep its flagship performance cars fresh, Subaru has facelifted its WRX and WRX STI vehicles, adding new convenience features and recalibrated suspension to pique interest further.

Making their global premiere at 2017 Detroit motor show overnight, the pair of all-wheel drive turbocharged hotties look tougher now, sporting new front-end styling via updated grille work and more intimidating front bumpers, the latter incorporating larger lateral air dams.

The new-look vehicles will be coming to Australia around mid-2017 and, like the US-market designs pictured here, the Japanese car-maker is not expected to adjust the WRX and WRX STI powertrains.

That means the 2.0-litre (197kW) and 2.5-litre (221kW) four-cylinder boxer engines will soldier on.

Mechanical changes to the suspension are said to deliver improved ride comfort. This suggests the vehicles have taken a leaf out of the Nissan GT-R's playbook and softened the cars' raw edges.

The WRX models also get updated electric power steering designed to improve feedback through the steering wheel, and tweaks to the six-speed manual are claimed to improve shift feel.

Big Brembo brakes will fitted to the STI models too, painted bright yellow.

US versions of the boxer duo also get new adaptive LED headlights that follow the direction of the steering wheel to illuminate corners more effective, while passenger wellbeing is improved via improved seals and thicker door glass.

Driver's get a little more eye candy now thanks to a larger 5.9-inch trip computer screen (up from 4.3 inches) and top-spec models gets a 7.0-inch touch-screen infotainment system, which is slightly larger too.

Another upgrade to the US models are the addition of roof-rack mounting brackets.

It's not clear if all these specification upgrades will make it to Australian models, as the local importer will undoubtedly have its own negotiations with the factory, but some of them are likely.

As previously reported, Subaru is unlikely to deliver an all-new WRX until 2019, when it will make use of the newer, more advanced Subaru Global Platform, or SGP.

This will also give the car-maker access to hybridisation, and rumours of an electrified WRX and/or WRX STI have been rife every since the platform's flexibility came to light.

The first car to benefit from the SGP is the new 2017 Subaru Impreza, which went on sale in Australia last month and was named Japan's Car of the Year 2016.

Subaru's next all-new model will be the second-generation XV, which arrives here around mid-2017 -- around the same time as the facelifted WRX and WRX STI.

The Subaru Forester will also be completely renewed in early 2018.

Then the new WRX and WRX STI will follow roughly a year later – when power and tech boosts will potentially make them class-leaders once again.

The WRX and its hard-charging STI sibling are icons in the automotive industry but their stomping ground has been engulfed by a number of up-and-coming hot hatches.

Sales of the WRX and STI models in 2016 were down 17 per cent on the year before, with 2936 vehicles finding buyers.

What's coming from Subaru
Subaru Impreza – early 2017
Subaru XV – mid-2017
Subaru WRX/STI (facelift) – mid-2017
Subaru Forester – early 2018
Subaru WRX/STI – 2019