I had a chance to take a new 2015 STi out for an extensive drive. The owner of STM, Emery, just bought one and threw me the keys to it when I was there a couple of days ago to get my summer tires installed. Here is what I thought and is just my opinion.
Compared to the 2013 model, I was not that impressed and here is why.
The Bad:
The reason is the overall feel of the car. Just seemed to me that it felt like any other ordinary car with a turbo. There was literally no rumble from the engine and engine revs did not give me an STi feel, the gauges (speedometer and tachometer) were like any other car, and the interior even though was updated did not work well for me. I also felt like I was sitting too high in the car. The short throw shifter was weird. I did not enjoy shifting this car especially taking off in first gear. My car has a short throw from the factory and is much different. Subaru still did not fix the turbo lag in lower RPM range, which was the primary reason why I modded my car two months after buying it. The side driver and passenger windows were strange (the glass is separated with a bar toward the front of the window). Fenders did not seem as flared to me as I had my car parked side-by-side. So even though the car is slightly wider, without the flared look of the body over the tires, the extra width did not do it for me. The new 2015 is also taller.
The Good:
They tightened the suspension, so cornering was better. Less body roll when turning, but the ride was not as smooth as my car. Integrated boost gauge was nice, but too far from driver. The center computer between the tachometer and speedometer was also a nice touch and provided more information. The power was OK for stock. From the front of the car, I did like how the grille was designed and the look of the headlights. The exhaust tips actually extended beyond the bumper and thought that gave the car a much nicer stock appearance. I liked the rear diffuser. The stock sound system was much better.
What would make this car better?
Give the engine some sound - some rumble as that's what is expected from a performance car, figure out the turbo lag issue (all models have this problem), don't redesign features people already like, flare out the wheel wells slightly more with harder lines and when driving the car, a feeling that doesn't give the impression your riding higher, which to me is not a good thing. Figure out how to provide a tighter suspension without sacrificing ride quality. Mitsubishi seems to have that figured out.
So the end result is STM really tried to promote Subaru during the last year, but after this last purchase, they are returning the car and buying a new Mitsubishi Evolution. Too bad.
Compared to the 2013 model, I was not that impressed and here is why.
The Bad:
The reason is the overall feel of the car. Just seemed to me that it felt like any other ordinary car with a turbo. There was literally no rumble from the engine and engine revs did not give me an STi feel, the gauges (speedometer and tachometer) were like any other car, and the interior even though was updated did not work well for me. I also felt like I was sitting too high in the car. The short throw shifter was weird. I did not enjoy shifting this car especially taking off in first gear. My car has a short throw from the factory and is much different. Subaru still did not fix the turbo lag in lower RPM range, which was the primary reason why I modded my car two months after buying it. The side driver and passenger windows were strange (the glass is separated with a bar toward the front of the window). Fenders did not seem as flared to me as I had my car parked side-by-side. So even though the car is slightly wider, without the flared look of the body over the tires, the extra width did not do it for me. The new 2015 is also taller.
The Good:
They tightened the suspension, so cornering was better. Less body roll when turning, but the ride was not as smooth as my car. Integrated boost gauge was nice, but too far from driver. The center computer between the tachometer and speedometer was also a nice touch and provided more information. The power was OK for stock. From the front of the car, I did like how the grille was designed and the look of the headlights. The exhaust tips actually extended beyond the bumper and thought that gave the car a much nicer stock appearance. I liked the rear diffuser. The stock sound system was much better.
What would make this car better?
Give the engine some sound - some rumble as that's what is expected from a performance car, figure out the turbo lag issue (all models have this problem), don't redesign features people already like, flare out the wheel wells slightly more with harder lines and when driving the car, a feeling that doesn't give the impression your riding higher, which to me is not a good thing. Figure out how to provide a tighter suspension without sacrificing ride quality. Mitsubishi seems to have that figured out.
So the end result is STM really tried to promote Subaru during the last year, but after this last purchase, they are returning the car and buying a new Mitsubishi Evolution. Too bad.
