January 15, 2011
If you’ve got the money, Suby’s got the fun
DAMASCUS, Md. (MarketWatch) – Subaru continues to crank out some awesome performance cars, and the STI 5-door is one of them.
For 2011 the front and rear track are widened by about 1.5 inches, along with a retuned suspension with higher-rate springs, thicker stabilizer bars and new bushings. Not to mention revised front styling or what Subaru calls “a wide and low” look. (Hurry on down to wide-track town”... Does anyone remember that ad campaign?”)
At any rate, all this improves the handling of the car to make back-road carving very satisfying. Yet out on the highway and over all but the largest bumps, the test car seemed to me to be a bit softer compared to some of the high-performance Subarus that would rattle your teeth.Its well-known boxer horizontally opposed turbocharged engine that packs 305 horsepower at 6,000 rpm resided under the test car hood. There were 290 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4,000 rpm and like other turbo engines, it had a thirst for the premium grade of petrol.
The EPA rates all this at 17-23 mpg, and I got 19 while exuberantly working the slick six-speed manual shift and admiring how this puppy hangs around off and on ramps. Not to mention how quickly you are up to interstate speeds. Subaru says its test cars made a lot of laps around Germany’s famed Nürburgring to work all this out. You should hit 60 from a dead start in about five seconds.
But it is the handling that is right on the money with sticky tires, little body lean and stiffer springs front and rear. Stir in Subaru’s famed all-wheel drive and you have a simply delightful car to drive. It would be a blast to take out to your favorite track on a weekend morning.
Inside, Subaru has spruced up things a bit with softer-touch surfaces here and there, plus upgraded audio. But you still may want to look for an aftermarket system or do what I would did, and simply enjoy the neat sounds that come from the car itself.
The seats were good body grabbers in the sharp bends, while still offering more than adequate support on long trips. Ventilation and audio systems were a snap to control. The optional $1,800 navi system that sits on top of the center stack was okay.
Nits? Back-seat room was a bit limited, and then there is the matter of price. There was no price sticker with our pre-production test car, but given prices now listed on Suby’s web page, I would put the cost at about $37,795. I think that would elicit a gulp from even died-in-the-wool Suby fans, and there are millions of them.
On the other hand, you end up with a performance car that will never fail to put a smile on your face. Plus the ability, with the all-wheel drive, to help you cope with at least some mild winter weather.Bottom Line? If you got the money, honey, Suby’s got the fun.
Hubcaps
See our slide show for a glimpse of what might be the next Impreza. This car was displayed at the L.A. auto show.
Some thoughts on the Detroit auto show:
In the end, auto buffs would be hard-pressed to find a car that they were drooling to drive. But if you are keeping track of pending electric and hybrid cars your list just got a lot longer.
The Ford Vertrek /quotes/comstock/13*!f/quotes/nls/f (F 18.65, -0.03, -0.16%) would be a great way to update the Escape. It looks even better in person than in pictures. The replacement for the Chrysler 300 /quotes/comstock/11i!fiaty (FIATY 22.78, +0.48, +2.15%) looks to be a winner as well. The Honda Civic /quotes/comstock/13*!hmc/quotes/nls/hmc (HMC 40.74, +0.32, +0.79%) replacement was styled too conservatively. However, the Kia KV7 /quotes/comstock/11i!hymt.f (HYMTF 30.55, +0.30, +0.99%) concept was not, and I Ioved it.
Ferrari sales in North America rose 20% last year.
Vehicles tested in this column are on loan from the manufacturers through local distributors.
Ron Amadon writes about cars for MarketWatch from Washington.
