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From the only performance-car company brave enough to make pink its official colour comes what's being billed as the "ultimate hot hatch"- the latest Subaru Tecnica International (STI) version of the Impreza WRX.
STI, a company far better at making sizzling supercars than spelling, has been churning out
super-fast versions of the Impreza since 1994. Mention of the STI acronym conjures up visions of blindingly fast acceleration and backwards cap-wearing.
Subaru will be hoping for less of the latter with the new model, which has partially shed its boy-racer image, and now offers greater comfort and refinement than previous generations of the WRX STI.
But that's not to say the STI has donned a tweed cap. While the power delivery is smoother and the open-road ride better than you might believe possible from this kind of car, there's still a sense of urgency, excitement and even danger about the STI's performance and handling. In that respect, the STI has parted company with its traditional rival, the Mitsubishi Evo.
So often two peas in a socially irresponsible pod, the pair now present differently. The latest Evo X sedan is still astonishingly fast, high-tech and amazingly competent, but not in the least bit scary. The Impreza WRX STI hatch provides similar performance and handling capabilities, but does so with more sound andfury. It's a per-sonality thing.
The new STI serves 15kW more than the previous model and officially breaks the 206kW "power cap" long agreed on (but away from on-paper figures, usually ignored) by Japanese carmakers. It makes 221kW and 407Nm from its 2.5-litre turbo engine and drives through a Subaru-developed six-speed short-throw manual gearbox.
The cabin takes its main architecture from the regular Impreza, but glance at the instrument panel and you can see this is a somewhat special car.
The meter module incorporates the DCCD torque indicator and shift-up indicator. The former tells you how much drive is going front-to-rear (it's manually adjustable up to 47/63 per cent), and the latter lights up to tell you when to change cogs.
The power is delivered in a very progressive manner, but it's no coincidence that the top of the rev counter - the bit in your line of sight - reads between 5000 and 6000rpm, for that's where you need to drive the car to get maximum bang for your buck.
The big 18-inch wheels tramline on some surfaces and the car will understeer if you rush into smooth corners too fast, but adopt a "chuck it in" attitude and the STI is staggeringly fast, reassuringly sticky and simply outrageous on a winding road.
The multi-mode Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) provides three different settings. In normal mode it controls anti-lock braking, traction control and stability control.
In traction mode the VDC is retarded to allow for sportier driving without interference from the safety software. Or the drive can simply turn the active safety system off, leaving only the anti-lock operational.
Curiously, the WRX STI also has the SI Drive system from the larger Legacy, with Intelligent (ie "economy"), Sport and Sport Sharp settings for the engine management. An economy mode on one of the thirstiest and most anti-social Japanese hatches around? Please.
Red LED lights are used for interior door step lights, and they are also provided for the console tray. The centre console is embellished with the STI logo, which illuminates when the car's headlights are on.
The STI isn't as leery looking as past models, but it does address the main criticism of the regular Impreza hatchback - anonymous styling.
There's a massive pink "STI" badge on the back in case you're not sure, but it would be hard to mistake this for a cooking Impreza.
Only the bonnet, roof, hatch opening and front door panels are carried over from other Imprezas.
The main visual change is the wider wheel arches, with aggressive flares moulded into the side panels.
That kind of addenda banishes the slightly "perched" look of the standard WRX and gives the STI full-phat visual flavour.
For STI enthusiasts/collectors the price might be incidental, but that's pretty appealing too. The entry model is $59,990, while the dressed-up Spec R - with BBS alloys (but in the same 18-inch size) and Recaro font seats - is $64,990.
