The iconic Subaru Impreza STi has been a long running favorite of fans of performance cars, but in recent years those fans have seen the car change from a dedicated high performance sedan to a softer edged performance hatchback as the car maker stepped away from the World Rally Championship. But now the sedan is back, along with the traditional huge rear wing.
STi Automatic Gearbox
What is not so traditional though is the availability of an automatic gearbox. This is likely to be a very contentious issue, as most devotees of STi models maintain that it must always be about performance and power sapping automatics do not have a place in a real Japanese performance car.
But there is a group of buyers out there who like self shifting gearboxes, and STi has done a very good job of integrating the five-speed automatic into the STi sedan and hatchback.
Detuned STi Engine
That automatic does come with one large downside though, as the 2.5 liter turbocharged engine has been detuned from 300lb ft (407Nm) of torque to 258lb ft (350Nm) to preserve the gearbox. The engine still produces the same 305hp (221kW) of outright power found in the manual version, but there is no doubt that anyone after the ultimate performance should be looking at the manual.
The upside is that the automatic gearbox works very well indeed. When the driver is braking hard into a corner the gearbox will quickly slip down a gear ratio or two to keep the engine rpm up and the gearshifts are remarkably crisp. In fact it is better to let the gearbox do all the work, as when changing gear in manual mode using either the paddles mounted on the steering column or the gearlever, the electronics will often beat the driver’s response time and change gear automatically anyway. Understandably this can be extremely frustrating.
Subaru Symmetrical All Wheel Drive
But as always the STi grips hard to the road and the full time all wheel drive provides plenty of traction, helped in no small part by exceptionally grippy (and noisy) tires. The car’s cornering performance is so great that it really can only be fully exploited on a race track as the cornering speeds attainable can be virtually dangerous on public roads. But this, after all, is exactly what STi is about – ultimate performance. Despite the shortfall in torque the car is still quick enough in a straight line to panic passengers and thanks to the wide body, functional vents, and big rear wing, it looks the part.
Inside the STi
On the inside though, there’s a reminder that the STi is still based on what is essentially a small economy car. The dashboard is hard shiny plastic and even a large number of STi logos cannot make up for the look. The driver’s seat is clearly designed for people of wider than usual girth, as it doesn’t grip the body the way the driver expects and certainly past STi’s have had seats bolstered to the point of being painful to sit in.
Subaru Intelligent Drive System
And finally, the STi has Subaru’s Intelligent Drive, which uses a rotary dial to change the engine boost and management and in this case the gearbox settings. The first two settings are Sports and Sports Sharp, with increasing levels of throttle response and engine power, but the third option, Intelligent, is intended to make the engine as efficient as possible. That is certainly not the reason anyone buys an STi.
So the latest STi in automatic form is a softer, more user friendly performance car. Purists will not even consider the car, but for many people the attraction of sufficient performance with a self shifting gearbox will be an irresistible attraction.
Sam Domett - I have been a motoring journalist for over 15 years, beginning with my own website. I then moved on to the Manukau Daily News. My next job ...
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