Details on the Subaru WRX STI

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Not long ago, hatchback automobiles were about as welcome in the United States as zits on a teenager's nose.Never mind that they are way more functional than equivalent notchback sedans. They were reviled just the same.But times and tastes change, and now hatches are proliferating in batches, except that they now come with aliases like sport wagon and crossover. More surprisingly, they are now showing up in high-performance versions like the Volkswagen GTI and R32, the Mazdaspeed 3, the Audi A3 and the subject here, the 2008 Subaru WRX STI.The STI, which is based on the compact Subaru Impreza, is the hottest car in the Subaru lineup. Until this model, it was available only as a four-door notchback sedan. For 2008, however, it has shifted gears and now comes only as a four-door hatchback.Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, but there's no question that the new STI has all the hunky styling cues that enthusiasts associate with muscle and speed: fat, low-profile tires, bulging fenders, a functional hood scoop to feed air into the engine, and a prominent rear spoiler.The STI uses the same 2.5-liter boxer engine that is ubiquitous throughout the Subaru lineup, but with powerful enhancements. A boxer, or horizontally-opposed, engine has its cylinders lying flat, feet-to-feet, on both sides of the crankshaft, instead of standing up or leaning as in conventional in-line or V engines.Subaru uses boxer engines in all of its vehicles. The only other manufacturer that makes extensive use of them is Germany's Porsche, in such icons as the 911, Boxster and Cayman. That gives some idea of the boxer engine's potential.The Japanese manufacturer takes its 2.5-liter engine, gives it new cylinder heads and a turbocharger with an intercooler to boost the horsepower to 305 and the torque to 290 pound-feet. Torque is a measure of low-rpm twisting power.Combined with Subaru's all-wheel drive and a six-speed manual gearbox-the only transmission available-the potent power plant can propel the 3,395-pound STI to 60 miles an hour in five seconds, with a top speed of about 150, according to the manufacturer's tests.But you have to really stand on it to get that rush. Although there's no turbo lag as such, the STI's power doesn't surge until you get the engine's revolutions up above about 4,000. Then it pins you back in the seat.That characteristic, however, makes the STI less pleasurable to drive in urban and suburban traffic. The engine doesn't feel so powerful at low revs, to you find yourself shifting into a lower gear than you think you need.Combine that with a stiff shifter and a slightly grabby clutch, and you find yourself wishing for an automatic transmission. However, the fun returns as soon as you punch the pedal and get aggressive, although you run out of revs very quickly in first gear.The STI has an engine control system, called SI, which allows the driver to select any of three modes that change throttle response from sharp to sharper. In truth, it's difficult to detect much difference among them, especially when you're moving at full howl. There also are automatic and manual settings for the all-wheel drive system to allocate power between the front and rear wheels.Handling isn't quite as crisp as on some other performance cars like the VW R32 and the Mitsubishi Evolution. But the STI is more oriented toward European-style rallying than driving on a paved track.For all of its suspension stiffness, the STI has a decent, controlled ride and is a comfortable highway cruiser with only modest road, mechanical and wind noise.Inside, the STI has large and supportive front seats with suede-like inserts that grip the driver. Finding a comfortable driving position is easy, thanks to a multitude of seat adjustments and a tilt-and telescoping steering wheel.The instruments, in Halloween orange on black, are lighted day and night, and the leather-wrapped steering wheel has redundant audio controls.In back, there's plenty of room for two six-footers. The seatbacks do not recline, but are raked at a comfortable angle. There's a seatbelt for a third person, but the seat is uncomfortable and the feet must straddle a hump.The cargo area has 19 cubic feet of room under the hatch, and the rear seatbacks flip down for additional space.As always, high performance comes with tradeoffs. Fuel economy is just 17/23 miles per gallon on the EPA's city/highway cycle, and you're likely to get a lot less if you drive the STI the way it was intended.Moreover, the STI has a near-luxury price tag. It starts at $35,640. That includes Brembo high-performance antilock brakes, brake assist and brake-force distribution, vehicle dynamics control, side air bags and side-curtain air bags, tire-pressure monitoring, automatic climate control, remote locking, six-disc CD changer, high-intensity headlights and cruise control.The test car, with options that included satellite radio, BBS forged-alloy wheels and a navigation system, brought the suggested delivered price to $39,440.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)