08 sti drive and chat
 

well, gave the 08 sti a test yesterday, i must admitt that i was quite impressed with the overall car.
i really does look better in the flesh, i one i drove was wr blus with 18" anthracite wheels.
the interior is alot better than ever before apart from the s**T ice, not as roomy inside as it looks but its ok, also the boot is quite a bit smaller.
the overall feel of driving the car was very good the sport sharp mode really doe make a big difference, there is still a little lag before the blower kicks in but i am sure with a couple of tweeks the car will be a different monster.

after the drive i had a good chat with the dealer, apparenty due to the succes of the car and the week yen, there will be an increase of£1500 in price from tommorrow putting it up to just over 26.5k, not sure how true this is but he was pretty convincing.
when talking about upgrade, he informed me that the ppp would be available this summer putting the car upto around 400bhp, again i am not too sure but he told me that he had been talking to the cheifs at subaru and was again pretty convincing.

so, i still have the same dilema, evo9, modded hawkeye or an 08sti.

would be interesting if anyone else has heard any of the above facts.

carlos..

I believe any price increase is more about the economy and state of the great british pound against the Yen, and if we see 400bhp in a ppp kit I would be a little surprised. I emailed prodrive before buying mine and they said the upgrades for the wrx and sti 08 would be inline with previous years which I would assume would give us around 330-340 perhaps? Not that I would be disappointed with 400! Glad it ticked a few boxes for you.

You've got a difficult choice to make there, but what a good one.

indeed i have,
going to look at a evo9 hopefully tommorrow.
would really like the 08sti but dont really want to buy new, purchased my exige new last august and looks like i will lose 8/9k if i sell the car now, so maybe a evo for a year the pick a new sti up for a few grand cheaper next year.
would like to find out more on the ppp though, could be a descision maker.

carlos..

Yup - price increase

WRX STi | Subaru (UK) Ltd official website - Home of the Forester, Impreza, Justy, Legacy, Outback and Tribeca

Congratulations to all who've already bought one!

carlos.

I thought there was more room in the 08STi than my 06STi nad prevoius 02STi. Much prefer the driving postion of the 08

Also handling is better on 18" just needs as with ALL UK scoobs, requires PPP & Prodrive lowering springs also uprated anti rollbar IMHO. may also require a lot more uprated bushing as they are fairly soft.

Show me a subaru with STD ICE that's any good !!! :rolleyes:

Nice position to be in ;)

All salesmen are convincing, yes that's what Subaru chief's are saying, but WILL it happen and if so at what cost???

It will need upgraded Induction- far too small, remap and probably a Turbo ;)so looking £3+K with exhaust £4+K mark. Exhaust may/maynot cope (Prodrive may not wish to keep existing exhaust due to the law and modifing exhausts) Injectors should cope, hopefully.

IMHO IIRC

Tony

I was surprised at the massive price increase too. I have a road test lined up for tomorrow but got to sit in one last weekend. The outside looks good except for the cheap white STi transfers over black Brembos, but how drab is the interior now. It's all black/ dark grey. No blue trim or carpets anymore. Black headlining. Seats feel even less supporting than ever. What has happened to Impreza seats. My classic had proper buckets that really held you in. Reach adjustment on steering wheel is better but the end result is not much different. It seems like the wheel just moves even further away. What happened to the keyless start we was supposed to get?
Why no fog lamps when the RX has them?
Why no sat nav when the RX has it?
Why 17" wheels like an RX when a Focus or an Astra even gets 18" alloys nowdays.
As for the PPP, history tells us to expect perhaps 15% more power to give say 345 PS. 33% more power to give 400 PS is fairly unlikely but very desirable. The best bet is if something can be done with the SI-drive map switching to keep the declared CO2 under 250g otherwise another £900+ extra tax goes on the new price from next year if it gets built in.

Hopefully I'll be more impressed after the test drive tomorrow.

All the above are available as options, Subaru are obviously attempting to keep the base price as low as possible. Plus lot of people dont want the above, i sure dont.

Price Increase
 

When the STi was announced at £24,995 it was about 235YEN to the pound.

It is now just over 200YEN, down about 15%.

Not happy about 7% increase, but not surprised when I checked hostorical prices.

OANDA, The Currency Site: Foreign Exchange Services and Trading

Plus I suspect that the new STI went at a competitive price due to the poor reaction to the new shape.

:)

Couldn't agree more :D

Well the test drive was frankly a disappointment. The STi I drove had about a yard of travel on the brake pedal before anything happened. Steering is a bit lighter and perhaps lacking feel a bit. The gear change is high up, vague and baulked. Subaru have gone on about all the improvements made to the 6-speed box to improve the feel; can't say it's worked. Fortunately the pedals still have the same convienient spacing. The engine was reluctant to pull, even in Sport# mode. The dealer said they put regular 95 unleaded in it. Why? It felt like a strangled 1.8. The Intelligent mode needs to offer a major fuel saving, say on long journeys, because no one in their right mind would use it otherwise. The clutch had a slight judder and there seemed to be some degree of slack in the transmission. Ride was good and I didn't experience much body roll, although I didn't feel like pushing it because of the brakes and seats that are by far the worst in an STi or WRX yet. Both the base and back are nearly flat; bucket seats they are not. I was looking forward to getting back to a hatchback but the boot is pitifully small, particularly in height. You can't stand up anything more than a box of Corn Flakes if you want to keep the cover closed. Word on the PPP is that 340 BHP can be expected to start with, perhaps more later.
Maybe this was a bad early example but I was glad to get back into my 03 STi with >100,000 miles and drive something with a response and some connection to the road. I would have thought the same was true of anyone else that enjoys their current STi. Maybe we are not the target customer anymore?

Shame you didn't get out of it what you hoped, but I guess they have changed their target with the new model, agree with you on most points to be honest but they tick the boxes for me (although I would like more steering feel). Done about 1000 miles in mine now and I think the brakes are amazing, very little travel but stop more and more the harder you press the pedel, plenty of feel so I presume the one you tested must have a bit of a problem. Seats are perfect for my lardy backside but completely agree they are not buckets seats, the recaro's will fit that bill.

And I agree the boot is small but the saving grace for me is the fact the seats fold flat, still not generic hatch space/capacity but better than a saloon like the Evo which was my main alternative choice.

But after 1000 miles it is starting to open up a little and I really really enjoyed a spirited a road run yesterday, running in nicely, but I only run it on super unleaded, cheapskate dealer! Never had a earlier STI so can't compare to that performance but I can imagine the power delivery now is a little more 'refined' for want of a better word, less punchy?

Not sure what you can go for (Evo?) if the same extreme level you have in your current STI is what you need, most mftr's think progress = widening the appeal to the masses and softening the car's responses.

lucky_strike

I'm truly glad you're happy with the new STi. I guess you saved yourself £1500 on the current price as well.
The first of the Type UK STi's (2002) I ever tried wasn't that good. Things got better later on. I must have got a bad one in the test drive.
I have driven quite a few Evo's, and they are good. Unfortunately they cost too much to run and are too impractical, although better now. The X with it's SST has received mixed reviews but equipment levels are much improved. Factor in the extras and the £5k price gap to the STi starts to fade.
Enjoy ur MY08 STi m8.

Really does sound like you have tried a lemon..

I remember when the 'fugly' or 'bugeye' came out...& I remember the divided camps, classic or new shape. Then they revamped it & a compromise was found, although it was never as good as the P1.

the new subaru in it's standard form is not a good looking car imo. I can't comment on drivability etc....

It actually did look better than it drives. The STi has much wider arches than the RX, WRX etc and the scoop is still large, but blended in. Wheels fit the arches better than previous models, if still a bit small. In the flesh I thought the STi did look the part. No real complaints from me there. When I got in things got worse. Defo scope for improvement.

you must have got a bad one,

carlos..

Agreed^^. In sport sharp the acceleration is rapid. mine has done 800mls and seems to be loosening up all the time. really liking 08 ownership at the moment, and as lucky strike says it ticked all the right boxes for me. As for looks, still find myself looking back after locking it up:D . Beauty is in the eye of the beholder:thumb: .

Lee

Here here! After 1100 miles I'm starting to use Sport# and I'm really chuffed with the difference it makes to the performance. I am sure that it has got more oomph than my previous (05) Sti:)

DG

700 miles showing and as had been said its really loosening up now. Doesnt appear to hesitate as the revs climb... just smoooth power.

I felt mine really loose from day one - i've had to be really careful to avoid the revs creaping up! :)

Sitting on about 340 miles now.

Will probably get an oil and filter change at 1000 miles.

i really like the 08. Love it in white, think it looks good in the flesh. I loved the way it handled, felt lovelly and supple on the road meaning i could push it harder and be more confident that i wasnt going to bounce of the road. Definitely a step up from my newage, even with all the normal whiteline upgrades. It feels less heavy, think its either the extra torque from the 2.5 litre compared to my 2.0 but think it must also have soemthing to do with being more aerodynamic. Oh and i know the brakes are basically the same brembos as mine, but they are so so so much better, even with standard pads. Much better feel.

I have only three problems with it....

1) it feels really disconnected from the road, might as well be driving it with a playstation controller.

2) Even though i walk away from it thinking it looks nice, i see mine and i think it looks better.

3) And ive allready had a scooby, next time would like something different.

Quite a ommon problem, seems like over assisted and not enough feedback trough the Wheel. There was a difference between the UK and JDM version i tried (although it wasn't back to back) I put it down to possibly the higher geared Quicker on the JDM ;)

IMHO

Tony

Something to do with fly-by wire throttle too? Serious playstaion stuff, getting back into my 04sti felt like the power steering pump had gone, nevermind the BMW. That felt as if i didnt have a power steering pump nor any tyres on it.

Will say it its defence, if your not used to a tradional feeling sports car with regard to weighting on the steering and grew up learning to drive on Gran Tourismo 3 on the PS2, you'll love it and probably be able to drive it far faster then anyone who hadnt......

Personally it just wasnt for me, since ive been had the BMW and been test driving dedicated perfomance machines as a replacement for the STi (like the exige S and Noble M12) id prefer to drive a car that has lots of steering feel and make me truly involved, even if the ultimate cornering speed and a-b pace is less. Sometimes you dont have to drive the quickest to have the most fun and enjoyment.

just my two-pence.

Ultimate machine though, have to admit, so so so much faster on the road than my 04 sti with all the whiteline bits. Can easily see how it can keep with a Lambo Gallardo Superleggera on the road. Hides its weight and mass in terms of acceleration, cornering and braking so much better then my 04 sti. I think that you'd only ever have to tune it to more power to make it faster on the road if youre the sort of person who likes straight line drag races, talking about it in the pub or if your name is L. Hamilton.

Seriously good car, would love to rag a higher revving lower torque jap version :norty:

But was better at High speed than fast speeds so could be more throttle related ;)
I know the Fly by wire trottle was also causing some ECU Programming on the 08 ;)

The JDM 6speed box with higher max RPM :cool:
With The lower RPM torquey 2.5ltr UK engine, I felt the 6 speed box was wasted on it, OK on track maybe ;) It would have benefited with a longer gearing 5 speed box for every day use IMHO

Tony

The JDM 08 2.0 STi engine has:-

More torque
More power
Wider rev range
Lower emissions

At the moment, the 2.5 unit we get in the UK is a poor offering by comparison.