HOME VERSION 4.3 FEATURE STORY 2008 WRX STI

2008 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI – DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

by Ric Hawthorne, Editor

The editor and fellow journalist on the road in the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Photo by: Greg Jarem

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. INVITED JOURNALISTS TO ATTEND A DRIVING EVENT IN CALIFORNIA TO HELP INTRODUCE THE 2008 WRX STI. WE HAD ONE DAY WITH THE CARS, BUT SUBARU MADE SURE WE SPENT QUALITY TIME WITH THEM.

ON THE ROAD

We were based in the town of Carmel Valley, California, southwest of Monterey, with the Laguna Seca road course lying approximately seven miles to the north. Every route north, east, or south of the town earns the “fun-to-drive” description. Look up the roads online and you’ll see their potentials. Be sure to move in for a close view.

Our day started with a drive from Carmel Valley to the Paraiso Vineyards near Soledad. If you use an online map service, it probably will give you the quickest route – go north first, then east to 101, then southeast. We didn’t use that route, but traveled southwest on East Carmel Valley Road instead. In theory, that rural route is slower, although shorter in distance. What makes it so is the never-ending series of curves, and even though we weren’t scaling a mountain, the turns were marked as low as 15 miles per hour. Scenic? Most likely, but it was hard to tell because of having to concentrate so hard on the road.

I think that as we started out on that drive, we took one look at the road and said, “Perfect.” We drove in groups of two people per car, so we drove either to the vineyard or back.

The route included all kinds of pavement with cattle grates thrown in every so often. We were narrowed to a single lane a couple of times – once for construction and once just because that’s all there was to the road. We even snaked through a section of road marked by signs asking drivers to avoid newts crossing during rainy weather.

THE STI

On an awesome road with the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
Photo by: Greg Jarem

Seamlessly Cruising at 80

A common problem in a well-built car with a quiet interior is that you can be a little isolated from the reality of the vehicle’s speed. For instance, traveling at 80 miles per hour in the STI feels more like 60 mph. Then add more comfort with the design of the leather-covered seats – both in terms of materials and structure. Altogether, they help vehicle speed and frequent changes in direction to be handled in stride.

Please don’t misunderstand: The STI is no luxury cruiser with a mushy suspension. You definitely feel the road. This car’s suspension is very firm – substantially firmer than the WRX suspension. It communicates the road surface, but without harshness or noise.

I was expecting a lighter-feeling rear end, but it remained firmly planted all the time. The only light feeling that I experienced was during hard acceleration on a bumpy road, and that was from the front rather than the rear.

Smoothly Reaching Redline

Having variable valve timing for both intake and exhaust valves enhances the pull of the turbocharged engine. As you’d expect, you’re pressed against the seat and you have to keep from hanging on too tightly to the steering wheel. (You have to let it do its job!) The car flies, with plenty of traction from the 245/40 R18 93W Dunlop SP Sport 600 ultra-performance tires.

Where hard acceleration in some vehicles can cause unpleasant surprises with their brutal and vicious clawing for traction, the all-wheel-drive STI has none of that. It digs in, grabs hold of the pavement, and thrusts you forward – all without pitching the car right or left or trying to pull the steering wheel out of your hands.

Uneventful Control

The steering wheel centers readily, and it provides predictable control. There are no surprises here, either. That was great, because the route that we followed southwest of Carmel Valley had one turn after another, bordering drop-offs, walls of dirt, fallen rocks, trees, and no shoulders to speak of. (And don’t forget that we had to watch for the errant newt!)

But if we had to slow down or stop, braking response was immediate and firm. The brakes feel strong, and having ABS and Brake Assist technology enhances confidence.

The Specter of Technology

The number of driver inputs into engine mapping (SI-DRIVE), the center differential (DCCD), and stability control (VDC) might seem intimidating, but once you reason out each of them, their applications make sense. We took the easy way out for our first drive in the STI, selecting S# for SI-DRIVE and leaving both DCCD and VDC in their default automatic settings.

Using these controls to their optimum advantage will take some familiarization and testing by individual drivers. Be sure to check out the application chart for these systems included in the Online Exclusives.

Comfortably in Place

2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI interior with navigation. Photo by: Greg Jarem

At one point in our drive, I realized that the seat was both holding me in place and was comfortable. I asked the passenger what he thought, and he agreed that seats were supportive – no small task on the twisting road we were traveling. Plus, we could hold conversations at a normal conversational volume without interference from road noise.

ON THE TRACK

After returning from our road trip unscathed and having lunch, we were transported to the Laguna Seca road course for some track time. This is one of my favorite tracks as a race fan; I had driven on it only once before, almost 25 years ago.

Professional drivers instructed the group on driving the track, including driving us around it. Orange cones marked the optimum entry and apex points in all 11 turns.

Laguna Seca’s driving highlight is the Corkscrew, a blind hard left turn and precipitous descent from the highest elevation on the course. (See map at the track’s Web site, www.laguna-seca.com.) After climbing steadily from turn 5 to turn 8, you come to a crest and the turn. The road drops almost like the first peak on a roller coaster ride. To help us stay on course, we were shown a tree to line up where to turn in.

It was fortunate that our group had the road drive in the morning, prior to going to Laguna Seca. We had some knowledge of how the car felt before driving it hard on the 2.238-mile closed road course.

I must preface my impressions by saying that I’m not a race car driver. I learned a long time ago that I’m not the next Mario Andretti or Michael Schumacher and that I’m very unlikely to wring 10/10ths from a vehicle. That’s what the Subaru Motorsports teams do.

However, what we discover about a car by driving on a closed course can reinforce what we find out on the open road. An added benefit is seeing a track from a driver’s instead of a spectator’s point of view.

THE STI

SI-DRIVE and DCCD switches in the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Photo by: Greg Jarem

With SI-DRIVE set on S# and VDC turned off, we were turned loose for a couple of four-lap tours – three hot laps and one cool-down lap – in groups of five. We were spread out enough to not cause difficulties for anyone else.

The straights were long enough to let us accelerate as far as fifth gear before having to brake for a turn. You can’t help but smile. How fast did we go? My attention was elsewhere (watching the road, lining up for the cones, accelerating, braking, turning), so I never really checked. (Sometimes not knowing is a good thing, such as when describing what you’ve done to your significant other.)

These fast parts of the track confirm the impressions from the road trip earlier in the day: This car’s mechanical systems provide a solid, stable ride when driving fast. The rear end stays planted.

Braking hard for turns, I easily maintained a straight line without unwanted excitement, and steering control around them was predictable. I considered how the new STI probably would make a great rally car, given how it felt on this tarmac.

Around Laguna Seca, turn by turn:

1. After the start/finish-line straight, this bend in the road comes after cresting a blind hill. A challenge more to positioning than anything else, it’s a wide-open turn heading for the 180-degree turn 2.
2. Although it doesn’t seem like it should be, this is a long turn. You have to get most of the way around it before closing in on the apex. Earlier this year, I watched Grand-Am Series cars tackle this corner, and different drivers handle it in different ways. The trick is to come out of it heading for turn 3 without going into the gravel. Here’s where the STI handled well, taking a lot more steering input than seemed possible.
3. A right-hand turn, this one was manageable coming out of turn 2. Lap by lap, I kept getting faster down the short straight to turn 4, another right-hand turn.
4. This one was quick, allowing you to roll out and accelerate to turn 5. The straight didn’t feel long enough, though, and I would end up going into 5 too fast.
5. I would have to brake very hard here, but try not to take off too much speed. Here’s where you start uphill to turn 6 – a straight that the STI can take quickly, despite going uphill.
6. The entry cone for this turn looked like it was at the edge of the world from the straight leading up to it. That impression was just to prepare us for what was yet to come. I never got the braking right here, either, and kept going into the next straight slower than I needed to. Still, the STI engine made the car feel like it was leaping forward, and the trick here was to not crest the hill at turn 7 going too fast.
7. A kink in the road, turn 7 leads right into 8. Lining up this one is important so that you can brake in a straight line, according to the pros.
8. Then, when hitting the turn in for turn 8, all you can see is the top parts of a group of trees. Once you’ve learned which tree is the target, you can slash down the hill on pavement rather than gravel and turn into 8A – almost in one motion, it happens so fast.
9. The pros told us to keep to the middle of the road as we descended and braked into turn 9. It was difficult to determine appropriate speed, because turn 9 begged to be taken faster. The wide gravel trap and black marks on the pavement showed that wanting to go faster here is a common feeling.
10. Near the bottom of the hill, turn 10 has a banking, and hitting the gas coming off the turn is particularly satisfying. Still going downhill, acceleration is quick, and the left-hand turn 11 demands hard braking, because it’s sharper than 90 degrees.
11. I concentrated so much on making this turn work that I couldn’t find a gear shifting out of it during one of my laps. A fast exit means even quicker speeds through the straight. Getting this turn reasonably right felt good because acceleration to turn 1 was even more of a kick.

Throughout the track experience, confidence built in the capabilities of the STI. It’s such a competent high-performance automobile. I could tell it would allow a better-trained driver to have even more fun!

Later that day, one of the technicians maintaining the STI fleet said that the cars were holding up very well on the track. After a full day of journalists driving them, none of the tires or brake pads required changing. This, too, is testament to how well Subaru has designed the STI.

A PREVIEW

Even though we’ve had just a short taste of the 2008 WRX STI, it proved a delight to drive. From our day with the car in different environments, I found this to be a livable high-performance vehicle. Long trips are comfortable, and there’s nothing so exotic in the STI that it couldn’t be a daily driver.

While SI-DRIVE/DCCD/VDC will demand some time for getting acquainted, these controls will heighten the driving experience. They’ll allow a driver to eek out the most from the new STI.

The new STI is worthy of its legendary name.