The other day.A blog reader let me drive his Subaru WRX STI.I wrote an article about it, and now my husband has written about his thoughts on it. Please take a look if you would like to read it.

Memories of the first Subaru Impreza

It has been many years since I have driven an STI. When I was young, I used to drive my friend's Impreza. As I recall, that wasWasn't it the 2 door WRX typeR STI Version of the first Impreza?I think.

When I first started my career, I used to leave work early on Friday nights to go to a ski resort in Gifu with my friends, driving on highways and snowy roads every week. The Impreza STI was the fastest machine to the ski slopes.

A photo of those days. I used to go skiing with this car.

I still remember how impressed I was when I first got on board.Low geared gear ratio and 280ps turbo engine for strong accelerationIt showed me how agile the car is, even when cruising in 5th gear, and how it accelerates so quickly that I almost hit the car in front of me when passing at high speeds, and how overwhelmingly stable it is, making me think that I could turn any highway curve at 180 km/h with plenty of time to spare.

I still vividly remember how impressed I was with how fast and comfortable the car was.

During the process, a friend of mine added an external lowered suspension, strengthened clutch, and a vulgar sounding muffler, which upset the balance and made it a very difficult car to handle with a terrible ride, but until then, it was a car with memories that I really liked.

Subaru WRX STI Test Drive

What you see before you now is the latest STI, the Subaru WRX STI nearly 20 years after that one.

The traditional EJ20 engine is an engine that uses port injection instead of direct injection, which is rare nowadays.The horizontally opposed four-cylinder squeezes out 308ps and 43kgf/m.Moreover, the maximum output is 6400 rpm, and the maximum torque is generated at 4400 rpm, which is a high-revving type that is hard to find among modern turbo engines.

The interior of the car, with its treat of Recaro seats, is very comfortable.It wraps around the body gently and makes it easy to get into the correct driving position.

The driver shifts into first gear. The stroke is rather long, and it is not the type of car that goes into first gear with a jerky feel. It feels more like a normal manual car than a high performance sports car.

The clutch is not that heavy and surprisingly easyIt is. However, the point of connection is a little narrower and seems a little forward, but I soon got used to it and was able to start driving without any particular discomfort.

The first impression upon starting out is that it is "light".The word "light" can mean many things, but in this case, I did not feel the stiffness of the body or the sense of ground contact that is typical of a high-performance sports car, and the car seemed to move forward with the ease and comfort of a normal car.

Although my memory is hazy.Compared to the original STI, it has become a much friendlier car.I try to turn slowly around a curve, thinking that I am going to be able to make a good turn. When I steer the car at a light, flowing speed, it changes the direction of the nose quite quickly.

."Oh yeah, something like this is an STI.I was getting used to the feeling of the engine and the feeling of shifting gears, thinking, "I'm going to be able to do this.

The engine isLow-speed torque is thinner and relatively quieter.It is. Compared to the 718 Cayman, which has the same 2-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder, it feels very mature overall.

When the engine is cranked a little more, a good amount of power comes out of the mid-range of RPMs. Torque is thick and strong, and the vehicle accelerates at once.Even when the rpm increases, there is no sense of a drop in power as is often the case with turbocharged engines.It is indeed a high-revving engine.

It has 308 hp, so it is not as fast as violent acceleration, but it is fast in its own way.

When accelerating, there is a momentary loss of ground contact, but the car seems to immediately regain control, and after that it grips the road surface firmly and accelerates. The driver steps on the brake before a corner.The brakes have a slightly longer stroke and do not require that much tread force.It is not ineffective, but it is somewhat difficult to adjust the speed, partly because I am not used to it.

There is honestly a difference in the stiffness and controllability of the brakes here compared to 718 and others.

Shifting down is easy to match the RPMs simply by lightly agitating the accelerator and connecting the clutch. Some cars can be shocking if the rpms are not strictly matched, but in the case of this car, there seems to be no need to be so nervous.