STi: All revealed in Tokyo

Subaru's new WRX STI is the most luxurious and prestigious Impreza model ever to wear the STI badge.

Just a glance inside the car reveals the interior -- including the heavily contoured sports seats -- is finished in a leather and alcantara combination, raising the car's interior presentation well beyond the snob value of other models in the Impreza range.

The STI story doesn't end with luxury trim. Subaru has distinguished the new model from the standard WRX cars by designing the former with flared guards, a big rear wing and revised bumpers and grille. New alloy wheels are also specific to the STI.

The car on display in Tokyo was built to a Japanese market specification, with a 2.0-litre engine we won't be seeing in Australia. That engine develops 227kW of power at 6400rpm and 422Nm of torque at 4400rpm. For the local market, we'll be getting the 2.5-litre turbocharged 'boxer' engine.

A six-speed manual transmission has been developed in-house by Subaru and drives to all four wheels. Drive technology has been adapted from the Liberty and the driver can select the torque split required through the 'DCCD' centre differential.

According to Nick Senior, Subaru's Managing Director in Australia, the STI is unlikely to land here at a price below the luxury car tax threshold. Senior predicted the car would be priced around the $65,000 mark, but the value of the Australian dollar will have some bearing on the final cost to the consumer -- so it's barely possible the car may finish up closer to $60,000.

The STI will go on sale locally during the first quarter of next year.

At the opposite end of the Subaru performance scale, the Japanese firm also unveiled the G4e electric concept car at the Tokyo show. Subaru announced that the G4e was a hint of what the company had in store for 2010, aiming to be market leader in electric cars by then -- particularly in Japan.

The G4e draws its power from a lithium-ion battery and Subaru claims it can run 200km without recharging. Subaru further claims that 80 per cent of the battery's charge can be recovered from an AC mains power supply within 15 minutes.

Subaru's other concept in Tokyo was the Exiga, a seven-seat cross-over wagon which will be the basis for a new production model aimed at the Honda Odyssey. This vehicle was possibly the mule recently caught testing, disguised as an Outback (more here).

Although the production version of the Exiga will be competing with the Odyssey, it will offer 4WD and will be a sub-Tribeca entry. According to Subaru sources, the production version won't be as overtly sporting as the concept. It will be launched in Japan some time during the third quarter of 2008.

Subaru in Australia will need to make a decision within the next couple of months if the car is to reach us by the latter half of 2009 -- twelve months after the Japanese market introduction. At the present, the production version of the Exiga is for the Japanese market only and Subaru Australia would have to mount a strong business case for the vehicle to reach our shores.

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