  Test Drive: 2014 Subaru WRX STI Tsurugi. Click image to enlarge |
All of this mechanical gibberish is well and good, but the STI is one of those cars where you feel the engineering in every turn and maneuver, not just in glossy marketing brochures, not just in rain and snow, and not just because there is next to no sound insulation. You will likely hear the electronically controlled centre differential clunking away and balancing torque transfer in any of the auto modes (based on vehicle acceleration, deceleration, steering angle, cornering force and wheel slippage as detected by steering angle, throttle position, rpm, lateral g, yaw, brake, ABS and wheel-speed sensors – no really, it can do all that without a calculator). However, it would take more fine-tuned ears than mine to note the front helical LSD and rear Torsen LSD locking the respective axles to ensure that the inside wheels in a corner don’t spin out of control and equal torque is distributed to both sides.
What I could detect was an amazing balance and traction when rounding my favourite onramps, the STI always capable of staying neutral and offering more acceleration on tap than I was willing to pour – I was already at highway speeds exiting the corner, so the way I see it, that’ll do. In turn, at the limit, the body is so wonderfully balanced that a touch of throttle lift tucks the nose in, and unwinding the steering just a touch opens up enough stability to exit hot. Word on the track is that the STI understeers heavily at the limits, but those limits were well beyond even my tolerance for hooning on public roads – at any speeds within reason, the STI simply grips and goes. Perhaps a snow test is in order to lower those limits….
  Test Drive: 2014 Subaru WRX STI Tsurugi. Click image to enlarge |
It doesn’t take any sort of fine-tuned senses to ‘appreciate’ the distinctly performance-oriented suspension settings. The ride is hard and flat in the corners, but despite the single-minded devotion to cornering stability, I did not find the ride objectionable on moderately rough surfaces (as some have noted – so I may simply have a taste and tolerance for hard rides), although some construction zones may have compressed a few discs in my spine.
But where the chassis and drivetrain is brilliant, Subaru’s own BRZ has shown that the STI has room to improve in steering feel and transmission operation. Steering is a bit loose on centre, but then almost overcompensates by being super quick once it hooks up, and at a constant steering angle, the steering again lightens up. The clutch is neither too heavy nor too light, but the pedal travel was a bit long before engaging, and the throws were a bit on the rubbery side even if they were admirably short. All these things the $27,295 BRZ does better, if memory serves.
So there you have it. Subaru has two models in their that offer stupendous performance of varying degrees suited to various tastes. The BRZ is the traditional RWD driver’s machine, light on power (and weight), but rewarding and engaging in almost every action of every drive.
