Top-Class Upgrade
by David Finlay (08 Nov 04)

High-performance Japanese saloon cars continue to be developed at an alarming rate. Mitsubishi seems to introduce a new version of the Lancer Evo every five minutes, leaving rival Subaru with no option but to continue coming up with tweaks for the Impreza.

Here's the latest offering from the Subaru camp. The 2005 model-year Impreza WRX STi Type-UK is, like the car it replaces, quite well described by its title. It's based on the normal Impreza WRX, but with a huge amount of input from Subaru Tecnica International, which has, for example, replaced around 80% of the turbocharged two-litre engine's components in its efforts to raise power output to 262bhp. The Type-UK suffix indicates that this car is significantly different from the STi sold in Japan, though the changes are mostly to do with things like security and emissions rather than performance or handling.

Headline features of the STi include items which will keep pub conversation going for quite a while but do not, I think, add anything significant to the ownership experience. The fact that there's a dashboard button which allows you to spray water into the turbo intercooler comes into this category, as does the existence of driver-adjustable control for the centre differential. This allows you to choose between sharp turn-in and stable straight-line running, but realistically the effect is not going to be noticeable on public roads unless you are driving insanely.

More importantly, there's a new and quicker-acting front differential, a yaw-rate sensor and revised suspension which increases the wheelbase by 10mm, widens the rear track by 15mm and adds 1.5 degrees to the castor angle. Springs and damper rates have been re-thought, and there are stiffer anti-roll bars.

Clearly the STi folk have been busy here, but the basic Impreza package of soft but well-damped suspension aided by a relatively low centre of gravity (contributed by the layout of the flat-four engine) and with power distributed among all four wheels remains unchanged. This is a great basis to work from, and the new-for-2005 adjustments seem to be without exception beneficial to the package. The last STi I drove was great, but this one is better - even more sure-footed when you're driving it quickly, yet even more sedate and user-friendly when you're just pottering around, in the unlikely event that you ever want to do that.

The engine contributes to this dual personality. It has the same power as it did before, and nothing really happens below 3000rpm, when the turbo kicks in good and proper. Keep the revs below this figure and the STi is very tame, with a ride quality which I actually rate more highly than that of the standard WRX. Stay above 3000 (not a difficult job with six very closely-spaced gear ratios to choose from) and you have to concentrate hard because of the power, but at the same time the sovereign chassis and the excellent brakes do their best to help you.

More . . .

Back to Subaru Road Test index
Back to main Road Test index