I own a 2002 WRX. And love it. Very much. I drive it every day, and look forward to getting into the car. I've long wanted to drive an STI, but the dealer's always been difficult about getting me into one for a test. And I don't like lying to them, stating that I am going to buy one because I'm not at the moment. Nor will I later for the reasons articulated below. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
My luck changed for the better the other night when I noticed my neighbor in the used car business driving a jet-black STI down our street. A quick call to him revealed that the car is from his lot and has 25K miles on it. I suspected it was an accident victim, traded in by its owner looking to walk away from a problem. It turned out it was traded in because the owner's wife had twins, and they bought a Ford Explorer with a third row seat out of necessity.
My neighbor said I could take it for a ride. He tossed me the keys and told me to take it for the evening. I was so excited! Finally, a chance to drive this car of acclaim. Did it live up to the promise? Yes, and no.
First, the exterior. Not much different than my WRX, but the HID headlights are a nice improvement over the halogens in my WRX. Yeah, the hood scoop is a little bigger, but who's really going to notice that? The rims are nicer, looking positively mean. But that rear wing is a real problem. It looks ridiculous, drawing all sorts of unneeded and unwanted attention. And from the inside of the car, it looks like somebody's about to pass you. I never got used to that crazy spoiler.
Next, the interior. I really like the form factor and material used on these seats better than those in my WRX. They feel more comfy and durable. The dash is a treat. It looks like they used some sort of electro-illuminated red gauges. The "Climate Control" is marginally better than the heater/AC controls on the WRX. The steering wheel, a Momo is nicer than the Momo in the WRX. But no radio? Come on, that should be standard. I don't buy the weight-saving argument here. Still the inside is an improvement over the "standard" WRX.
Okay, let's put this in gear and see what she's got. Holy Sh-t, this pulls A LOT HARDER than the WRX. A lot harder. This thing gets going in a hurry. The half-liter of displacement makes a huge difference. It feels like the WRX on nitro!! I am now addicted to the passing power this thing has. And don't tell anyone, but it's very stable at 100 MPH. The acceleration almost cannot be believed. Is that me cackling maniacally? Yep, addicted to the power of this thing. I can't imagine a new Corvette being much faster than this. Way faster than the WRX. And the brakes are amazing; positively amazing. This car stops more quickly than anything I've ever driven. But...
The ride is very jittery and the steering is darty. The car really seemed to follow imperfections in the road. Ride quality was dramatically down compared to the WRX. Where the WRX feels firm, controlled and a little plush, the STI feels very nervous and busy. I'm surprised, as I've read that the STI is much smoother-riding than the Mitsubishi Evo. If that's true, I shudder what to think the Evo feels like. Sadly, the ride was poor enough to make me stop dreaming of trading the WRX in on this machine. The great handling of the WRX, coupled with its mature ride compliance caused me to buy the car two years ago. And I guess I am keeping it. Now given that this was a used car with 25K miles or so on it, perhaps the car needed an alignment or a balance and rotation of the tires. I could easily believe that while the ride was busy, some sorting out of this particular car may have moderated this.
So, in the end, I continue to respect the tremendous power of this car, but I am put off by its ride. However, if you want an amazingly fast car that will handle like a Porsche and defeat the winter, this might be the car for you. If I ever drive a new one on the lot, this review could change. For now, I'll stick with the '02 WRX.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 32000
Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: STI with no options
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