 Test Drive: 2014 Subaru WRX STI Tsurugi. Click image to enlarge |
The seat is a high-backed bucket with sporty bolsters and the STI logo stitched into the integrated headrest. The leather is decent and there is no question that they add a touch of class, but for performance use, give me the Recaros in the Boss Mustang anyday, with extremely high bolsters and alcantara inserts that grip you in place like a velcro supermagnet. Then again, seats that aggressive might have been at odds with Subaru’s goal of adding a touch of class to this model for its swan song. The next generation of WRX and STI are not far off.
 Test Drive: 2014 Subaru WRX STI Tsurugi. Click image to enlarge |
Mechanically, the STI is something of an engineering masterpiece, even at the end of its life cycle. The horizontally opposed four-cylinder measures 2.5L in displacement, and with intercooled turbocharging produces 305 hp at 6,000 rpm and 290 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. It weighs 1,535 kg (3,384 lb). Subaru estimates the sprint to 100 km/h can be dispatched in 4.9 seconds. This estimate is good for any trim, from the $38,195 base four-door to the $42,595 Sport-Tech hatch. Then again, the base WRX, with ‘only’ 265 hp is estimated at 5.4 seconds. That is some cheap speed, and it doesn’t take a drag racer to hook it up either – just point and shoot and the all-wheel drive will put the power down and launch you plenty quick for anything but a drag strip.
There is power everywhere, and the six-speed manual has just enough ratios to offer the right power for any situation. If I had one complaint, it’s that redline always seemed to arrive just a tad too soon – another nuance that might take a track day to adjust to, or perhaps I just wanted to hear more of that turbo-four boxer screaming at full throttle. At low rpms, it’s just loud and irritating.
For a car this light, brakes don’t have to work too hard, and these were up to the task, ventilated rotors measuring 326 x 30 mm with four-piston calipers in front and 316 x 20 mm with dual-piston calipers in the back – these brakes were cited as one of the main improvements from the WRX to the STI in Car & Driver’s 2011 Lightning Lap.
  Test Drive: 2014 Subaru WRX STI Tsurugi. Click image to enlarge |
Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel-drive system is one of the most stable and predictable systems out there, and in the STI it is taken to the next level in terms of performance and control. Dubbed Multi-Mode DCCD (Driver Controlled Centre Differential), the AWD system is manually adjustable through a switch on the centre console, allowing up to a permanent 41:59 front/rear torque distribution. The switch allows you to adjust to three automatic settings, the default setting a neutral balance for everyday driving, Auto+ favouring the front wheels (for a more safety-oriented ride in snowy or slick conditions) and Auto– the rears (for more dynamic RWD-like handling characteristics) or you can manually select from six levels of fixed torque split between the standard 50:50 and that maximum 41:59 rear bias. If nothing else, it’s fun to switch the button between all the various lighting schemes in the colourful gauge cluster.
  Test Drive: 2014 Subaru WRX STI Tsurugi. Click image to enlarge |
Also adjustable by a larger knob ahead of the MDDC controls is the overall power delivery characteristics, which Subaru dubs SI-Drive. Normal efficiency mode is I (intelligent), though that saw little use in my week in the STI. There is almost nothing about this car that makes me drive intelligently, its noise and raw power and undiluted suspension demanding you drive at minimum 8/10ths, which is already something like 12/10ths illegal, or perhaps even more, like, 120 percent… The STI’s natural state is S# (Sport sharp), in which throttle response is significantly sharpened and immediate. However, upon restart, you’ll find that the bell-curve people have dialed it back to just plain S (Sport), a middle-ground compromise between efficiency and aggression that is fine for daily driving that is not corners, onramps or green lights at the front of the line.
