New WRX STi snubs boy racers
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...iePuff&IsPgd=0
Subaru’s next-generation hero car is faster than before, but the car maker says softer styling is designed to shed the boy-racer image that would harm sales. RICHARD BLACKBURN reports.
Subaru has further distanced itself from its boy racer heritage by bringing out a more subdued and sophisticated version of its hero car, the STi.
The new STi has 15kW more power (221kW) than its predecessor but has softer suspension and a more subtle body kit.
The emphasis has shifted from hardcore performance car to prestige hot-hatch, with Subaru targeting potential Euro-hatch buyers alongside its traditional STi base.
And there will be a price tag to match. The new STi will be priced from between $60,000 and $70,000, with two variants in the model range. The current STi is $56,990.
Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior defends the price hike, saying that typical STi buyers were spending $10,000 to $20,000 on aftermarket modifications.
He says the new car gives STi buyers significantly more differentiation from the WRX than its predecessor. Only three panels – the front bonnet, roof and rear door – are common with the regular WRX. The front wheel-arches now bulge out, making the car 55mm wider
The flared arches extend into the front door of the flagship Impreza, while the track is also wider, by 45mm at the rear and 40mm at the front.
Gone is the wild rear wing, replaced by a less conspicuous roof lip spoiler and less overt styling cues. The trademark large bonnet scoop is now more neatly integrated into the front bonnet.
The front and rear bumpers are unique to the STi. The front bumper has vents designed to dissipate the hot engine air from under the bonnet, while the rear bumper has quad exhaust pipes.
Inside, the STi features different dash inserts, a matt finish on the dash, a different headlining and carpet, and different instrumentation, with the speedo dials surrounded by STi’s trademark cherry red.
But the biggest changes are on the centre console.
Subaru has included its controversial SI-drive system, which changes the car’s throttle characteristics from sedate to sporty at the twist of a knob.
Dismissed by some as a marketing gimmick, the system allows the driver to select from three settings: a fuel-saving setting for highway cruising, a sportier setting for spirited driving, and a sharp setting for competition and track work.
The centre console also has a new version of Subaru’s active centre differential, which changes the handling characteristics of the car by tightening or loosening the car’s two limited-slip differentials.
The new version allows the driver to select settings manually as with the old STi, but it also has three preset modes: a normal mode and two modes that are biased towards either oversteer or understeer.
Despite knocking the hard edges off the STi, Subaru claims the car will be quicker than the previous model.
While the old model reached 100km/h in a claimed 5.4 seconds, Subaru says the new one is likely to stop the clock at around five seconds flat.
Senior says the engineers have got the mix right with the Impreza.
And he says that world rally championship driver Petter Solberg was one of the catalysts for the change.
Solberg apparently told the manufacturer the STi’s suspension was too firm.
“Petter was at a dealer conference and told everyone that the ride on his rally car was better than the STi’s. That got people thinking,” says Senior.
The change in direction for Subaru distances it from its traditional rival, the Mitsubishi Evolution X, which has stayed faithful to its motorsport heritage, with a new automated manual double-clutch system as its centrepiece.
Subaru is investigating a similar system but says it is not a priority and argues that its six-speed manual gives better driver control going into and coming out of corners.
Senior isn’t concerned that Subaru may lose customers to the harder-edged Mitsubishi.
“If we just target Evo, we are limiting ourselves to about 50 sales a month and we want to do more than that,” says Senior.
Subaru is aiming to sell about 70 STi-badged Imprezas a month and expects the incremental sales to come from prestige European hatches such as the Volkswagen R32 and Audi S3.
“We are giving people a more rounded overall package, based on performance, specification, pricing and technology,” says Senior.
Senior claims the new engine is more driveable than the one it replaces, with its 407Nm of torque more accessible throughout the rev range.
He says the new direction is recognition that the WRX needs to adapt to survive.
At its peak during the dotcom era, the Impreza WRX was doing 400 sales a month. Prior to the launch of the new model last September, it was doing about 90 per month, propped up by special editions.
Senior says the brand was being held back by the boy racer image of the previous model.
“A second-hand, lime-green WRX with 20-inch wheels, doof doof music blaring, and fluffy dice hanging from the rear vision mirror is not a great ad for the brand,” says Senior.
He says where the previous WRX had struggled to sell in more affluent suburbs because of its boy racer image, the new car was doing much better.
“We are also selling to more females” says Senior, admitting there has been a backlash from the WRX faithful on blog sites. He argues that the majority of those critics are not new-car buyers.
“The people who bought those first WRXs new have matured themselves a little and want a little bit more refinement,” says Senior.
Originally Posted by glider
