SUBARU WRX STI R

$63,800 DRIVE-AWAY 16.5 POINTS

VALUE

The flagship STI Spec R, in addition to the new model’s 19-inch wheels and six-piston Brembo front brakes, gains a massive rear wing and heated Recaro front seats with power adjustment for the driver. Servicing costs are insanely high ($2295 over three years) and it requires a check-up every six months. Warranty is three years/unlimited km.

DESIGN

There’s a new mesh insert in the front bumper, new design wheels and bigger front brakes (with yellow calipers). The Recaro seats have red patches that match the red stitching elsewhere. It’s roomy in the rear seat and the boot is sizeable.

ENGINE

The 2.5-litre turbo four (221kW/407Nm) has more grunt than the Golf R but it has more weight to shift (1532kg versus 1450kg) and is matched to a six-speed manual only. There’s a noticeable delay in power delivery — then hell breaks loose at about 3500rpm. It uses 98 premium and drinks considerably more than the Golf (a claimed 10.4L/100km against 7.2L).

SAFETY

Seven airbags, 360-degree camera and (earned under earlier criteria) a five-star safety rating. Today the lack of automatic emergency braking would drop it to four stars. Subaru has added tech where it can: LED headlights swivel with the steering, high-beams dip automatically (rather than mask individual cars) and blind zone warning and rear cross traffic alert are standard.

DRIVING

The WRX STI feels like a muscle car compared to other turbo fours. At car park speeds you can feel the heavy duty all-wheel drive hardware clunking and grinding. It’s much happier once on the open road where it shines with profound grip. It doesn’t like brisk acceleration from rest. Subaru claims a 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds; the best we clocked was 5.7 seconds.