Tuesday, November 27, 2007

WRX STI... Is it dead?

Photo Courtesy of Revmods.com

Well it has happened again. there has been another shock to the tuner car arena. Mitsubishi has come out with a new STI killer and Subaru has changed their design once again to something that seems much different then what people were expecting. The new STI has a very hatchback look to it and I'm not sure if I like it. The 2008 STI is only available in this hatchback form.... for now. It does have a kind of sharp look and a 304 horse boxer engine. This hasn't changed much since the 2007 version which is kind of depressing. The new Evos are now pushing 295 hp instead of the old 286, but the real treasure is the twin clutch system. This allows for much faster, if not almost instant shifting. This decreases the 0-60 time down to 4.5 seconds. The new STI is around the old time of 4.7-4.8 0-60 as far as I know. I have not seen any published specifications as of yet but I will update as I get them!

As far as looks, I think it looks ok, but for sport purposes, Subaru should invest in creating a sedan version. This would make a much more balanced market. Overall I think they did alright for a car, but to compete with Mitsubishi I think that Subaru should increase some power or transmission to keep up pace.


Photo Courtesy of Techeblog.com






2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to admit I am more concerned about the safety of the car than the speed. I mean speed is great. Speed is fun and of course the car's sense of style is great. What kind of car to you want now and do you think your taste will change in like five years?

JD said...

Well safety of these cars is always a concern. The safety features are up to standard and of course they need to pass a safety inspection before being put on the road. To me, its the blend of speed and practicality. They are AWD which gives you comfort in the snow, while also keeping your car glued to the road in tight corners during good weather. The engines are engineered to give you power while also being reliable. Airbags come standard. haha. For me its more about a well rounded car that will get me from here to there in comfort, style, and convenience.