Performance and exclusivity, for over 50 years this has been the European manufacturers territory, car makers from the USA joined the show in the meantime but people tend to neglect the part of the japanese productions that provide cars with unique character and great performances !
Of course Subaru doesn't ring your bell the same way "Audi" or "Jaguar" does but...when it comes to the price/performance ratio the japanese manufacturer suddenly has close to no challenger.
Subaru Impreza WRX STI A-Line Test Drive
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Subaru Impreza WRX STI A-Line Test Drive
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Nowadays almost every manufacturer proposes "sporty versions" of its vehicles and put an "S", "R" or "GT" badge at the back of their cars, a pretty simple concept, but in reality most of these cars don't meet the expectations of drivers looking for sensations ! Simply because of the difference between a "Performance car" and a "Sports car".
So how can you make your car feel like a real sportscar ? Subaru answers by bringing its "Impreza" on the roads and terrains of the World Rally Championship, with the success that we all know.
Benefiting from this experience at the highest level, Subaru started to transfer it into its 4 wheels homologated monster for the joy of thousands of men and women throughout the world.
The Subaru Impreza WRX doesn't need to be introduced but this time, we got our hands on a special "Tuned by STI" version: the Impreza WRX STI A-Line.
Subaru has got a lot of Impreza fans but how many are really willing to make a step further and to buy this incredible machine ?
Of course, to some people, the idea of taking their family for a week-end trip in a car that has enough power to outperform most of what is on the road, can sound pretty nice but is it only what matters the most...put me on the skeptical side on that one.
Don't get me wrong I am far from considering hybrid vehicles or Kei-cars with their almighty 660cc engines ! My critics are not about the performance of the WRX STI but on the design.
The look of the original Subaru Impreza WRX STI, with its "jetplane" style attracts 50% of the people and, obviously, not the rest.
This is why, if (forgetting the price gap and focusing on drivability, style and handling) you put an Audi RS4 and a Subaru WRX STI side by side and ask the people to choose, most will go for the Audi.
It is not just mechanics, there comes a time, more precisely an "age" where, the most spoilers you add, the less people will like it.
For this matter I believe that the stock WRX STI version targets young drivers looking for "sex appeal" and "sensations", something that will catch the other's attention.
Now what if you like the Impreza WRX but you wish it was more "discrete" ? = the A-Line !!
Subaru finally listened to a part of their potential clients and decided to sell a "real" STI with a softer look and by dropping those 2 rear spoiler. If these changes may indeed please more clients with a better looking car, the aerodynamic of the car is anyway a little bit affected by this change. Of course Subaru, which master completely this art has work very hard to minimizes as much as possible this problem by adding another spoiler under the front bumper and a more compact one on the rear of the care in order to give a good balance to the car. Of course in extreme driving or in the hands of professional drivers, like our guest
Masaki Nihsihara, this A-Line will be indeed less efficient and stable... But that the hell, only a very few of us will be able to see any difference.
Technically there are some slight differences compared to the original version such as a "smoother" steering response and gearbox (6 speeds), softer suspensions to increase comfort inside, the brakes are a bit less strong too. You have to keep in mind that this is not the "hardcore" WRX STI version, so cruising feels better but once you step on the gas pedal the performances will be there.
Talking about raw performances we had the great honour to welcome Mister Masaki Nishihara, professional race driver and holder of many victories in Gymkhana, to test the car on track and give us his feedback !
After some seriously quick driving in the A-Line his words were simple, the car is really good! despite some minors flaws explained earlier on. If you want to have the A-Line look with the performances of the Brutal STI, a little jump at your Subaru network and some STI parts would do the job, and this is recommended by our special guest of the day!
To end this article I would say that the Subaru Impreza WRX STI A-Line is certainly the best deal on the market when looking at the price/performance/style ratio, and it's a car that has years of WRC races technology in its genes. Fuel consumption is quite high and space for rear passengers is limited but...an Impreza WRX STI, wether it is A-Line or not, is an automotive enthusiast car, designed to give its owner an excellent driving experience !
This test was made at the NATS track(Nippon Automobile College) and we would like to thank Nishihara-san for his help.
Masaki Nihsihara
Posted on 18/12/06 By G-A.G
