WRX STI - zero to PH hero: PH Blog

Hacks on the WRX STI launch were ready to sign the death certificate ... and then it rained

A funny thing happened on the Subaru WRX STI launch. In the pause between shredding rubber on the rather mediocre handling track among clumps of cones on the Trosta Park circuit and heading out onto the Swedish hinterland the assembled hacks compared notes over coffees.

Things improved once we got out on the road

"Um, it's possibly a bit crap isn't it?" was the general, if reluctant, consensus. Which was a bit awkward. On paper and in the metal there never was much going for the WRX STI, those present with experience of the new Golf R (we've got it booked in...) saying how outdated it made the Subaru look and feel. As pointed out in the comments thread from the review, back in the day Imprezas were in a different performance league from anything else of comparable price. In the 15 years since hot hatches have got significantly faster, grippier and more luxurious but the WRX STI still has the same power output and all the familiar compromises in thirst, CO2 and the rest.

First impressions after those tyre torturing test track drives seemed to confirm what we feared. Namely that its time was long since passed and, beyond a dwindling number of die hards, who on earth would buy one?

But hang on a sec. Sure, Subaru hasn't changed the basic formula of the WRX STI much, simply evolving its trademark turbo boxer engine and symmetrical four-wheel drive with incremental updates and slightly flashier styling. Not sure anyone's moaned at Porsche doing the same with the 911 for the last 50 years. Nor does anyone say "Yeah, 458's OK but, really, a thirsty, normally aspirated V8 with no low-end torque? They've been doing that for decades. It hasn't really moved the game on when you can get an Audi RS6 with similar power for half the money and it's got room for the dog, the CO2 is much more reasonable and it won't upset the neighbours."

Rain and exchange rates make it relevant again

And you know what, much like the 911, Mercedes G-Wagen, Caterham Seven or other so-called anachronisms the WRX STI has its place. Thankfully for Subaru that turned out to be treacherously slippery roads in rural Sweden. And through a combination of excellent route planning and some fortuitously bad weather the revival of WR Blue, big wings and burbling exhausts was rescued from the brink of disaster.

Based on that first taste many in the party were preparing to administer the coup de grace to the fast Subaru. But by the time we reconvened after the road route the talk was much more generous. Sure, there's little logical case for the continued existence of the WRX STI; both the appeal and compromises are exactly the same as they always were but the competition has legged it into the distance.

But there's little logical case for many of the cars folk like us love. That the mainstream has taken this long to wake up and, by most measures, beat Subaru at its own game is in a way a backhanded compliment. In effect the WRX STI is now back where it started; it's ugly, expensive to run, feels cheap inside compared with other cars at the same price and most mainstream buyers don't get it. And on the right road, in the right conditions, goes like nothing else. Exactly the things those early adopters in the mid 90s loved, and what set it apart from the crowd at the time. And still does.

Dan

Vid from Subaru's Trosta Park handling track (contains excessive understeer)

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Evil.soup

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