Subaru WRX STI 2014 Review - International

Subaru WRX STI

If the current model is anything to go by, the new manual-only WRX STI should be priced from around $55k when it lands in Oz this April.

Since its debut at the Detroit motor show earlier this year, the team at motoring.com.au has been itching to get behind the wheel of Subaru’s new WRX STI.

The model marks a return to glory for the six-star brand, and in true Subaru rally-bred style, it features a turbocharged Boxer engine, symmetrical all-wheel drive and the iconic WR Blue paint scheme and gold BBS forged aluminium-alloy wheels (as part of a limited-run Launch Edition). In short, all the good bits we know and love.

The 2.5-litre horizontally-opposed turbocharged four-cylinder heart of the new WRX STI sees more power (+6kW) but less torque (-14Nm) compared to the outgoing model (227kW at 6000rpm and 393Nm at 4000rpm). Of course, power is channelled to all four wheels via Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive system and, for now at least, a six-speed manual transmission only.

The chassis is stiffer, the springs firmer and the steering box faster. The all-new model also scores Active Torque Vectoring for the very first time, as well as the well known Multi-Mode Driver Controlled Centre Differential (DCCD), Multi-Mode Vehicle Dynamics Control, and Brembo performance brakes with Subaru’s Super Sport ABS antilock braking system.

The spec sheet reads like a street racer’s dream, although the look of the car is anything but. It’s tarted up here and there with the usual aero bits, flared arches and hunkered-down attitude, but in the tin is very conservative, and holds a close resemblance to its Impreza donor car.

This is also true of the cockpit. Yes, the high-set Alcantara-covered seats are figure-hugging and the red-on-black accents catch the eye, but if you look at the predecessor, and then look at this, the roomier new cab is a little familiar.

We like the driver-focussed dash, the flat-bottomed leather wheel and the harmon/kardon audio system but a little more ‘premiumness’ would go a long way -- especially when you’re shelling out close to $60k. For this money, the cabin of Volkswagen’s new Golf R is much better.

So, just what do you get for your coin? In addition to lots of horsepower and ambitious handling (more on that soon), the new WRX STI comes with a scooped aluminium bonnet, a one-piece nose cone, LED low-beam headlights (which Subaru says are designed to evoke a raptor’s stare), and model-specific guards, doors, quarter-panels, bumpers and tail-lights. Carbon garnishes appear extensively outside and in, while the augmented rear spoiler and diffuser combined to leave what Suby says is “a distinctive signature”.

A number of the suspension components are now aluminium, to reduce unsprung weight, and, Subaru says, provide higher levels of cornering agility.

On the Launch Edition (shown in WR Blue and Gold), lightweight 18-inch alloys and stickier Dunlop Sport Maxx SP tyres are directed front-to-rear by Suby’s mechanical limited-slip centre differential, which is aided by an electronic controller to alter the nominal 41:59 torque-split as conditions dictate (and can split up to 90:10 or 10:90 front-to-rear as required).

This dictation can come from any number of sensors, including those for throttle and steering position, engine and road speed, lateral g-force, and even the severity of your braking action. Lateral torque-split is managed by a helical-style LSD at the front and a TORSEN (mechanical) arrangement at the rear.

Of course, a Subaru all-wheel drive system wouldn’t be a Subaru all-wheel drive system if you couldn’t adjust it a little and, to satisfy your inner fiddler, the DCCD AWD system is switchable through three automatic modes or six manual levels of lock.

Overcook a corner and the new torque vectoring system will apply brake pressure to the inside wheel and turn you in harder.

The stability control system, of which the torque vectoring function is part, is also switchable through three modes. Two of those operate in conjunction with torque vectoring, the ‘off’ position doesn’t. Got it? Good.

The slightly longer, wider and more rigid body assists in providing the WRX STI with better stability on-road, especially in faster corners. The tight, gnarly roads out of the Carmel Valley proved an interesting test for the firmer new set-up, and were perhaps not the kindest roads for Subaru to demonstrate the vehicle’s ride. However, the stiffer springs are well damped and never allow the body to hit the bump stops, even when ‘surprised’ by cattle grids over sharp crests.

The steering, still hydraulic, is thankfully faster (now 13:1), yet it remains quite communicative. That said it’s not exactly the most linear of instruments and is a little slow off-centre before quickening after 10 and 2.

It’s a similar story where brake feel is concerned. Initial bite is quite slack before half pedal which takes a little getting used to. But with a bit more ‘boot’, the response from the discs is no less adequate, and on track, the stoppers proved hard to fault. They also resisted fade, even after several hard laps of the Laguna Seca circuit.

But car’s the biggest improvement has come in terms of gearshift feel. The stick is less rubbery than before and slips cleanly between its well-spaced ratios via a nice short throw. It’s imperative to the car’s operation that the gearbox is exactly this way, because with next-to-no torque down low in the rev range, the ‘box does need to be kept busy.

The 2.5-litre engine remains virtually unchanged and despite powering a now-larger car, the amount of mass it’s forced to shove around is relatively similar. Ergo the 14Nm reduction of torque from the preceding model isn’t a huge deal, though the mid-tach delivery of the WRX STI’s twisting force is... The engine really needs to be in full song to drive out of corners with any gusto, and with the engine revving hard, fuel economy suffers.

Subaru’s head engineers said that the company had no plans to change this formula, and that offering most boost earlier in the piece would likely affect the Boxer’s longevity. On test the want for higher revs on track resulted in a fuel economy average of  13.5MPG (US, or 17.4L/100km) with a road average of 20.2MPG (US, around 11.7L/100km).

When you’re done administering your aggression on-track, you can jump on the highway and be engulfed with the WRX STI’s profusion of tech toys. There’s butt-warming seats, an LCD centre screen for every occasion, a reversing camera and even a reminder light to let you know when your Suby needs some under-bonnet attention and/or servicing.

The audio system scores just about every acronym-based function Subaru could throw at it, as well as sat nav and satellite radio (a damn shame we don’t get this in Oz) and, of course, Bluetooth connectivity.

There’s a lot to like about the new WRX STI, and although it’s not the quantum leap forward we had hoped for, it is a more stable, more liveable machine that sticks fast to the recipe previous owners know and love.

The intoxicating warble of the Boxer engine might be more subtle but the fundamentals of this cult favourite are true to form... Let’s just hope for Subaru’s sake that’s enough for buyers faced with so many other options, including automatic hatch variants, now offered for around the same price.

2014 Subaru WRX STI pricing and specifications:
Price: $TBA (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 227kW/393Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: TBA
CO2: TBA
Safety Rating: TBA