In the interest of balanced reporting, we bring you the following thoughts on the Subaru WRX STi from Terry Box, the Dallas News' erstwhile car critic: "Remember how pudgy and plain your old girlfriend looked at the last high school reunion and then you saw her six months later [and] she was cut-and-buff, a woman suddenly with muscle and attitude and presence. That's the way I view the '08 Subaru WRX STI." Yes folks, the same car Jeremy Clarkson destroyed in The Sunday Times gets a glowing review in the Dallas News. Like Clarkson, Box had problems with the myriad of controls festooning the center console. Unlike Clarkson, "it didn't matter." And so it goes. Box gums the car a bit ("you'll just have to accept that Subaru apparently put most of its money into the engine and suspension, not the dashboard and door panels"), and then gushes all over the poor thing ("around 3,000, the fuse gets lit, and the car rushes to 6,000 rpm so quickly that mere mortals will struggle to shift fast enough to keep up with the motor"). At least Box didn't denigrate those who buy the WRX STI and enjoy driving it. But as you'd expect from a car review where advertising limits editorial freedom, the plain unvarnished truth doesn't get a look in.
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The wagon doesn’t look bad to me. The sedan on the other hand…
When are you guys going to get your hands on one?
I hate the look of the new Scoobies. They’ve lost everything that made them Subarus. They don’t look quirky and interesting anymore…I remember the first time I saw the new WRX, I thought to myself “Toyota is making an AWD Turbo’d Camery?” I want the Bug or Hawk eyes back, and the big ol ironing board spoiler, and the loud paint, and the overall ELTFAM Styling.
I saw a regular WRX hatch the other day, and honestly thought it was a Kia or a Hyundai or such. It didn’t look like a Subaru anymore.
As far as the Texas reviews go, I’ll be looking for Wallace’s.
The more I see it, the more I like it. Even with a higher sticker price – it’s still insanely fast and now also practical.
There is nothing special about this vehicle’s looks. It could easily be mistaken for a Mazdaspeed3 or garden variety volkswagon GTI. This car is in desperate need of a styling makeover or redesign.
I’m in the “love it” camp on the STI’s new look (though only with the BBS package–the standard five-spoke alloys make it look like a squashed Lexus RX).
Still, a car this capable deserves sports-car steering, a trait Subaru seems determined to deny it…
timoted:
Try even a regular Mazda3 Hatch. On one of the Mazda foums I frequent, someone put up a picture of a regular three and the WRX in hatch form, both in blue, and they looked 99.9% identical, down to the wheels. I think there was like one or two small differences in the body.
You would think they could at least give it some Ricky Racer touches like a oversized air opening up front or a couple of grapefruit shooters out the back. I guess they are leaving that for the aftermarket industry to take care of. You would think for a car that has decent performance specs the mfg. would want to distinguish it from the sea of clones.
how does even an older sti go like from say 1500rpm up through the gears? it would be kind of embarrassing being overtaken by minivans until the turbo kicked in?
Heathroi:
My understanding is that in bone stock form (and good luck finding an STi/I in that form), its a mid thirteen second car. Not going to be overtaken by minivans anytime soon.
The world needs more light, awd, hatchback, hoonmobiles. I’m glad to see another entrant in this class.