Attn.: BlueSTi

I've been lucky enough to own three WRX's the third being an '05 STi. I have to say the turbo lag on the '02 sedan and '04 wagon were major problems for me. I enjoyed the ride quality and they made vast improvements in interior quality from '02 to '04. But I just couldn't handle the turbo lag any more. I was looking at the Infiniti G35 coupe,

350Z or even Civic Si but then I drove the STi. What a vastly different car. It's what I thought the WRX would be from the start but isn't. The ride is not as harsh as I thought it would be and I only worry about it when other people are in the car. The turbo is RIGHT NOW in the STi. The gearing is perfect for immediate forward movement. When I'm driving in a normal manner I can shift from 2nd to 4th to 6th without the car even thinking of lagging or being a slug. Something I could only dream about in my other two WRX's. The new interior is a vast improvement and the stereo is much better than my previous two cars as well. I did buy Blizzaks and some winter wheels for the snow (I live in Chicago). I have very few gripes about it and they're mostly for Subaru in general. I would like a satellite navigation option. I would also like XM radio standard. I would like the side marker lights that the rest of the world gets but for some reason we in the US do not. I would like the turbo gauge to be integrated into the gauge cluster (as it is it blocks the outside temp gauge). And most of all, I would like for the wing to be an option. I hate it! I'm not 15 and it makes the car look a little ridiculous. I've thought about swapping trunk (boot) lids with someone who would appreciate it but I don't want to devalue my own car. I will ad a Pioneer navigation system as well as the side marker lights. I'll also move the turbo gauge to the A pillar. Those are the only plans I have other than driving and enjoying. It needs nothing else. I drove the new legacy in my shopping and considered it. But we have a new '04 Acura TL that is amazing inside and out. And considering you cannot get navigation, XM radio, Bluetooth connectivity, voice recognition... etc and they cost about the same, I couldn't justify the price for the all wheel drive of Subaru. I know the STi has none of that but it's pure fun to drive, which is what it's about. I'm going to have this car for a while. I love it!

The STi is an extremely stiff ride. I mean, don't get *me* wrong, something like a Stingray or maybe a Viper rides way stiffer, but on occasion I'll be driving my STi down the (terrible) roads around here and wonder whether I should be getting a mouth guard for my own protection.

I like to joke with people that the STi would chip a man's teeth just driving over a quarter on the road.

At this point, I would have to say that my hardcore STi-lover-at-heart wins over any petty concerns about personal comfort any day, and the STi is my dream car, period. I no longer wish for "something more." I was a WRX driver prior to trading it in for an STi, and the difference is palpable, and mind-breakingly accelerated.

No other car holds sway over me the way the STi did, and probably no other car in the future will, unless Subaru screws me and introduces a one-up STi-2 in the future.

You forgot to mention the gas mileage. Wish I could find it now, but there's a few-years-old Corvette that gets better gas mileage *and* does a better quarter mile than the STi. I'm afraid to do mileage calculations on my own STi, but then again, the hardcore car lover in me wins out, and petty concerns like my wallet become meaningless.

Stubbornness has a lot to do with why I bought my STi to begin with, and stubbornness will keep me in my STi for a very, very long time.

Oh sure, a tiny sliver of doubt creeps into my mind now and then.. a little voice will squeak, "You're going to be broke and have neck problems in five years!" but I quickly stamp it out with a spirited drive around some local twisty roads.

Translation: Don't buy the STi unless you, too, are willing to grit your teeth everytime you hit a crack in the road, fork out large dollars for the high-octane gas, and want to rattle your passengers' brains and squish them against their doors every corner you fly around!

Nearly every STi owner I know ends up trading it in after a year for something "less". I never will. I used to say I'd own my WRX until the day it finally gave up the ghost and died forever, but even when I bought the WRX and heard rumours that the STi was coming to America I knew the STi was the top of my personal vehicle ladder.

It's not a car for the faint-hearted, or the family man. Your children will never be able to sleep in it. Your wife will never be comfortable driving it. Your wallet will hate you, and your financial advisor will think you're crazy. People will stare at the huge spoiler and massive hoodscoop and think you're just a poser riceboy driving a riced-out WRX. Nobody but a tiny, tiny minority will actually recognize it. American muscle cars will show you nothing but disdain. Your extended family will worry you're going to kill yourself in it. Soon. Your dog will refuse to climb into it after a few runs.

But if you're one of the lucky few personalities that can put up with the hardship, you'll sit at work, watching the clock, begging for lunchtime or the end of the day so you can get a few more minutes of flight-time in it. Thinking about driving it--even after months or years or ownership--will quicken your pulse and dilate your pupils. You'll be able to confidently look at 99.99% of every car on the road, think, "I'm faster than they are," and because you already know it's true, you'll never have to feel the need to prove that some dumbass in a 'Stang

5.0-liter with the "MU" filled in on the back bumper is actually a slow-ass n00b without a clue. The acceleration, the cornering, the incredible experience, will give you wet dreams at night, and fire up your motivation to work just so you don't miss a car payment.

If you're one of the lucky few who have a wife or girlfriend with the right personality, you can get laid anytime you want just by taking her out for a drive in a car that comes within a fraction of a second of a Lamborghini Mercielago on the track, and kicks its lame ass all over the snow, gravel, or any other adverse weather conditions you'd care to name. Yes, really. Just don't try road-head, you'll lose your Johnson driving over a manhole, and then you won't be a whole-man.

It'll be your secret pride, your hidden joy, your sleeper-in-ricer's clothing. And when you drive down the street and happen, on those rare occasions, to meet another STi driver travelling in the opposite direction, a little nod, a raised finger, and you both connect on a level normal people just can't understand. You think a Ferrari driver would be thrilled to meet someone else driving around in *his* penis-extension? No, but you both secretly, mentally exchange the understanding, the transcendent meta-feeling, that no other car comes close to your prized possession.

You can replace the tires with softer rubber, without the badass super-hard sidewalls of the factory Potenza RE070s. Reducing the quality of the suspension would be a bad move, though.

That's the Euro-spec STi. The North American difference between the WRX and the STi is about 73HP, 1/2 a liter extra engine, Brembo brakes and superior suspension and handling.

The difference is vast here, doesn't sound like it's much over there. Too bad!

In a hot engine, the figures are around 5-10HP difference. I can feel it here.

Depends on whether you live in the prairies or not, ha ha. When you're going in a big, long straight line and can see for tens of kilometers in front of you (so it's hard to hit wildlife) the spoiler is very nice to have and feels stable at high speeds. At low, legal speeds, the spoiler is completely useless.

This one is a keeper.

I may not be able to swing an STI just yet, in fact I am still pussyfooting around looking at WRXs, but if I was a Man of means I will be in one tomorrow before lunch. Subaru should pay you.

I agree. I will not do anything to the suspension. But, the tires did make a huge difference on ride and noise. BlueSTi "Scary-Fast"