2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi review from North America

Two minor complaints:

* Stock radio is bull - need to replace it sometime soon. It's really staticy.

* Lots of rattles in and around the dash and shifter.

Great car! Once you hit 3500rpm it has a ton of pickup, but is just an average car below that. AWD is awesome - especially in the STI you can take corners at 2X the speed limit and feel perfectly safe. There's 0 body roll on fast cornering. The car grips very well, but WARNING - DO NOT go on really curvy roads if your tires have a lot of dirt on them or if it's wet out! I drifted and almost wiped out a few times doing just that.

I love the 6 spd transmission in this car. It just feels extremely solid, and shifting is extremely precise. There's no jerking between gears - everything is extremely smooth and the clutch is very stiff and precise.

There's not much room in the rear for passenger legroom, so don't expect to pack a bunch of people in comfortably despite the fact that it's a 4-dr sedan. Trunk space, however, is great for this size car.

The HID headlights are cool, as are the aluminum pedals and many STI logos all over the car. The driver's seat is comfortable - very supportive and good bolsters. However, the center armrest is too low, so you may have to buy an armrest extender from Subaru. I also like the autodimming rear-view mirror.

Unlike the EVO, the STI has its intercooler directly underneath the hood scoop, while the EVO's is right behind the front grille. Big deal, right? Well if you get in a 10-20mph collision, you've just done $2K+ worth of damage to your EVO as opposed to a few hundred for your STI. Insurance companies probably know about that, and they might adjust their rates accordingly. Even so, if you're at fault and want to cover everything yourself without getting insurance involved, you're screwed in one case but fine in the other. Also, Subaru vs. Mitsubishi? Come on, the reliability winner is obvious.

Lots of brake dust will get on your rims from just normal driving. Be prepared to clean them every week or two.

I'm having some yellow Subaru rally graphics (on my bright blue exterior) put on my car this wk, and it'll look really kickass after that :-)

When my current (stock) tires wear out, I'll replace them with all terrain tires. The stock ones are for all-out racing and have essentially no tread. You don't want to take those offroad or in snow/ice.

Go drive one! Mash the gas, wait until 3500rpm, then pull out your pen to sign the contract to buy the car. I guarantee you that's what'll happen :-) Any questions/comments can be sent to me at:

James144_2003@yahoo.com

Thanks,

James.