Subaru STI: Oh, how the mighty have fallen

COMMENT

If you read my column from 2023 on how Subaru’s lost the plot, you’ll know I’m a massive Subi fan with infinite respect for the brand’s rally heritage and accomplishments both in the performance and SUV spaces.

My old gen-five Liberty GT was one of the best cars I’ve owned with a virtually unbeatable blend of performance, comfort, practicality, refinement and understated attitude – it was fantastic, and I’d happily have another one tomorrow.

It therefore boils my blood to see such an iconic brand dither about with bland non-turbo SUVs, half-baked attempts at hybrids, meagre generational changes and, worst of all, CVTs… shudder.

As a motoring journalist, I understand and appreciate more than most how brands need to evolve in order to survive in an ever-changing marketplace dictated primarily by never-stagnant consumer demand.

So I’ll forgive Subaru for some of its recent indiscretions… not all of them, but a few.

But I will never forgive it for taking the teeth out of its legendary STI performance division – one of the true icons of global motorsport and road-going performance.

The axe I have to grind with the Japanese brand on this decision is so big it would make Godzilla nervous, because as far as screw ups go, that was a huge one.

And the mistakes don’t stop there.

Subaru announced way back in 2022 it would not be producing an STI version of the current-generation WRX – much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone in the world – and instead repurposing Subaru Tecnica International to explore potential performance applications of electrification technology.

Rumour has it a battery-electric Solterra STI is on the way sometime this year, but unless it can outrun, out corner and/or somehow be more fun than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, it’ll be a largely wasted exercise that’s not even a true Subaru anyway. Remember, the Solterra is a is a rebadged Toyota.

WRX STIs always had rivals that could match them for outright pace, but very few of them – besides the Mitsubishi Evo – could conquer the mighty Rexy’s intoxicating character and sheer driver engagement.

Clearly someone at Subaru HQ has realised the cataclysmic error of their ways and started taking steps to undo the damage by means of the 2025 Subaru S210 Prototype, but that in itself is a bittersweet gesture.

On the surface at least, all the right ingredients are present: more power, a hunkered down chassis, angry looks and racy interior… but look beyond the tinsel and you’ll see it’s nowhere near enough.

The S210 develops considerably less power (221kW) and torque (375Nm) than the last-generation WRX STI, it doesn’t have the trick Driver Controlled Centre Differential, it’s only being built in limited numbers for Japan and worst of all – by far! – it’s only going to be offered with the ‘Subaru Performance Transmission’.

Subaru can spit out all the cool-sounding names it wants, a CVT has no place in a modern high-performance vehicle and I can’t think of one other model with sporting pretentions outside of Subaru that has one.

Of all the new WRX sedans sold in Australia last year, some 45 per cent of them were fitted with a manual transmission which is impressive since only two of the five variants (40%) offered here come with one.

That will change later this year when a three-pedal WRX tS is added to the mix, seemingly with the same aggressive chassis set-up as the limited-run Club Spec released in 2024.

Well-played Subaru Australia; at least the local division is keen to give the people what they want.

The S210 Prototype is the first clear admission from Subaru HQ that it made a mistake, but the company’s bosses need to pucker up, own that mistake and rectify the situation properly with a WRX STI the world (not just Japan) wants to buy.

230kW/400Nm is the absolute minimum for firepower, a variable centre diff is a must and for God’s sake, throw the CVT in the bin (for good) and give us back a six-speed manual.

Those are my terms, over to you Subaru.

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