I'm on Subaru's side of this one and don't think they needed a big change over this past decade. Sure it's probably due now, but it was financially smart to keep the same base and tweak it vs. developing brand new and going through the headaches (RS headgasket anyone?) just to appease the critics. I like the EJ and its power. I'll be sad when it is replaced and more than likely much harder/expensive to work on.
They continue to compare the STi to cars like the new Civic and RS, the Civic is a FWD that looks like a 12 year old just watched the Fast & Furious series before designing it (not knocking its performance, that seems solid) and the RS which Ford has said is tapped out (aka engine and drivetrain components are at their limits). It's funny too how they knock the STi for keeping the same power while the RS has 350 and yet look at what it has translated to...barely faster times across the board on a car that employs much newer tech. Accessport flash and a rear swaybar upgrade puts the STi even or ahead of a car that has all of the new tech and more power, all while still being a Ford Focus that was designed for FWD and they retro-ed AWD. This coming from someone who is a "Ford guy". I grew up with Fords and currently own 3 (1 being traded for my 15 STi). They make great stuff but all of the people who have proclaimed the RS to be so much better are getting a little too excited about something that is newer and innovative in some ways vs. simply taking the two cars for what they are. I looked hard at the RS, but at the end of the day it just didn't make sense vs. the STi. It has less passenger room, marginally better cargo room (loses some space due to AWD vs standard FWD Focus), it sounds atrocious compared to the STi (personal preference I know), has a bone jarring ride even in normal settings, costs more used, at first glance on the road it looks like a Focus ST (reason for the Nitrous Blue and Grey colors I think).
Sorry for the tangent/rant...I'm happy to see the slight power bump and think they have good plans in store for the future (just hopefully not too good since I just bought a 15 haha).
Since it arrived in the US, the Subaru WRX STI has hovered around 300 horsepower. That was world-class in the early 2000s, but the 2018 model's 2.5-liter turbocharged boxer-four 305 horsepower output is no longer something to write home about. This week, The Truth About Cars reported that the hottest Impreza might get another slight bump. A NHTSA document lists the 2019 model at all of 310 horsepower, the same output as the limited-run WRX STI Type RA.Continue reading Subaru WRX STI might finally get power bump for 2019
