No big surprises at the North American debut of the 2008 Subaru WRX STI. The announced specs of the 2.5-liter version are no different than the Japanese 2.0-liter shown in Tokyo. It still has 305 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque, although the horsepower peaks at 6,000 rpm while max torque is delivered at just 4,000 rpm. Like the Japanese version, Subaru claims the WRX STI will go from zero to 60 in just 4.9 seconds...
Not bad for a sedan that will go on sale in the U.S. with a sticker price of $34,995. And by the way, it looks pretty good in person. We'll see how it feels on the road soon enough. -- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line
estreka says:
01:37 PM, 11/15/07
That's still a sizeable bump in price. The previous ones went for, what? $31K?
rsholland says:
01:48 PM, 11/15/07
No. It was somewhere between $34K and $35K, IIFC.
blueguydotcom says:
01:54 PM, 11/15/07
That's a good deal more than I expected. Yikes, 35k for a Subaru!
rsholland says:
02:01 PM, 11/15/07
Nothing new. The STI has always been pricey.
SubyTrojan says:
02:32 PM, 11/15/07
Previous sticker was not $31k, estreka. Try $33,495.
I don't know why some still call the hatchback a sedan. :shrug:
opfreak says:
02:42 PM, 11/15/07
very nice car.
I think the sticker 'shock' for some comes from the fact that a stock 5 door imperza is about 17,500. So the sti is double. But then again its nearly double the power, 170hp vs 304hp
But I just ran numbers on a bunch of cars. finically would make more sense to get something under 20k
blueguydotcom says:
03:35 PM, 11/15/07
opt, that's pretty much always true - used and under 15k is probably the best idea financially.
The Sti seems like a performance bargain and perhaps eventually you can get a dealer to knock a couple grand off that crazy high price tag. Right now though, 35k for a Subaru seems extreme.
daytona_500 says:
09:08 PM, 11/15/07
Ok so I have a question, is there going to be sedan WRX STi or is this it? I'm not a Subaru fan so I dont follow up on these things that much.
$35K does seem high, but I'd rather pay $35K and get this over an R32.
blueguydotcom says:
10:11 PM, 11/15/07
daytona, no sedan.
rsholland says:
06:57 AM, 11/16/07
I'm far more concerned about the full-boogie STI w/NAV, which stickers around $38K. That's too much to swallow, no matter how great the car is.
There are lot of very sporty $38K car around—that are much more upscale inside, where the STI screams "Impreza!"
SubyTrojan says:
10:34 AM, 11/16/07
If I had $39k, I wouldn't mind spending it on a fully-loaded STI. :o)
ateixeira says:
12:09 PM, 11/16/07
So price went up $1500 but it has more power, a double wishbone rear suspension (replacing cheapie struts), and side curtain air bags.
I didn't think they would increase prices, though. I think they intentionally left a big gap between the WRX and the STI so that a model can squeeze in between those two.
rascal99 says:
06:33 AM, 11/19/07
Just went to a home town auto show this weekend to check out several cars, the imprezza being one. I can't say I was real impressed with the car. I didn't get a chance to drive it of course; but, the car just appeared to be a bit low budget. If the STI is $35K I sure hope they kick it up a few notches.The Mazdaspeed 3 on the other hand seemed to be quite impressive for the money.