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BEST WHEELS An Oakville Beaver Automotive Feature · To advertise in this section call 905-845-3824 or Fax 905-337-5568 \ \ I I )M S I ) .\V . ( )( I ( >1M :i { ir». _J( H )J{ · I\ · (. I Impreza WRX STi separates men from the boys By Rob Beintema SPECIAL T O TH E BEAVER The 2004 WRX STi. Subaru describes it as the streetlegal version of the rally car that the world has lusted after. Gearheads stop and stare at it. Hats-on-backwards boy racers in their low-rider Hondas try to maintain their cool and not crane their necks too far as it drives by. Reviewers have lauded it as "awesome," as "a race car you can drive to the grocery store" and as a sports car with the most go-for-your-dough in an automotive world full o f high-speed pretenders. My wife, however, calls it "The Beast." "It's stiff, bouncy and noisy. It pulls from side-to-side in road ruts," she added. "And what's with the huge air scoop and spoiler? It looks like the car's been stretched up from above." I try to explain that. "Honey, this is not just some Toyota-like scoop, stick er and spoiler kit. the intercooler intake and rear wing are functional and based on rally-bred racing experience th a t . . »* F or 2004, S u b aru has exceeded expectations by taking the W RX concept one step fu rth e r and adding the all-new W RX STi high-perform ance sedan to its Im preza lineup. arates the men from the boys. So what the heck is an STi anyway, you might ask? Well, it is the natural racing evolu tion o f Subaru's powertrain philoso phy. Subaru has always separated itself from the competition by sticking to a recipe with two basic ingredients dedicated, full-time alj-wheel drive and the horizontal layout o f a boxer engine. This was the right formula for all weather, all road condition drivability. * It was also, as it turned out, the per fect. sure-footed, low-centre-of-gravity formula for a great rally car. Subaru formed a high-performance subsidiary Subaru Tecnica International (STi) - in 1989 to keep the company competitive in the World Rally Championships (WRC). The W RC is huge on the world rac ing stage but it is overshadowed in North A m erica by CART and NASCAR, in the same way that foot ball takes precedence over soccer here, but not in the rest of the world. Our kids, however, know WRC very well from popular racing video games. Automotive reviewers also know all about WRC racing. And for years, journalists here have been bugging Subaru to bring their rally-bred turbo-powered WRX mod els to North America. Press conferences would go some thing like this: `Today, we are proud to launch the all-new Legacy .." "That's great. Say, when are we get ting the WRX?" "It has more power, more ameni ties..." "T hat's great. Now, about that WRX?" You get the picture. But to Subaru it seemed that only the press was clamor ing for WRX products. The lack of rally-based fan support and some ini tial technical problems meeting North American emission control standards created uncertainty and hesitation. Our patience was finally rewarded with 2002 WRX sedan and hatchback m odels that boasted 2.0 L turbo charged engines making 227 hp. the performance features, the All-Wheel Drive and enough race-inspired her itage and technology to make any ded icated driver delirious. But now, for 2004, Subaru has exceeded expectations by taking the WRX concept one step further and adding the all-new WRX STi high-performance sedan to its Impreza lineup. The new performance flagship o f the Subaru line, the Impreza WRX STi is the most powerful Subaru ever offered in North America. "The outstanding success o f the Impreza WRX encouraged us to bring the Impreza WRX STi to Canada." said Norio Osakabe, chairman, presi dent and CEO of Subaru Canada, Inc. "Achh, it's a guy car." she said, waving it off into the same designation as Corvettes and Camaros, the way women wave off other manly obses sions like poker or playing armchair quarterback, like baseball cards and barbecues. "If that thing had any more testos terone, it would probably grow hair," she summed up. She's probably right. It is a pretty macho car, even on the puppy dogcute platform and body o f Subaru's small car Impreza. And even with the pink STi badging that I hear has given some boy-racers pause before pur chase. (For the record, the badging colour is based on a cherry blossom shade with no feminine connotations in Japan) And. sticking with the sexist thread of the story so far, I gUess you could say that the STi really is a car that sep "Drawing on motorsports technology gained directly from Subaru success in World Rally Championship competi tion, the Impreza WRX STi was creat ed specifically for the serious driving enthusiast." The turbocharged and inter-cooled 2.5-litre DOHC pow erplant, fitted exclusively for the North American market, is the largest displacement engine ever installed in any of Subaru's STi-badged vehicles which, until now, were only available in selected world markets. The horizontally-opposed Subaru Boxer 4-cylinder engine is based on a specially reinforced "sem i-closed deck" engine block with rigid cast alu minum alloy pistons, forged high-car bon steel connecting rods and sodiumfilled exhaust valves. This advanced powerplant incorpo rates Subaru AVCS (A ctive Valve Control System) variable valve timing technology to optimize the engine's volumetric efficiency throughout the rev band. A large capacity intercooler includes a manually operated water spray feature to provide additional cooling in warm weather. Hit the but ton on the dash and a few seconds of water spray provides cooler, denser air to the engine and a touch more power. The engine makes 300 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 300 Ib-ft o f torque at 4,000 rpm. Acceleration is quick and immediate with no trace of turbo lag. W hen you want it, it's there, taking the STi from 0-60 mph in just 4.8 seconds. The engine is matched exclusively to a close-ratio 6-speed manual trans mission. No automatic is available. This is a driver's car. I'd prefer a short er shifter but the action is quick and light. Gearing is short to make the most of the power. Yet there is enough engine torque so that you can just use second and fourth gear if you're only lollygagging around town. (S ee '04 Im preza page C3) SUBARU DRIV EN BY W H A T ' S I N S I D E .... N E W O t U E N IV J U N L i: 1 . 8 ^ PURCHASE FINANCING for 60 Months on all remaining 2003 Subarus 2003 Special Offer! F R E E In - v e h ic le D V D P la y e r w ith d u a l m o n it o r s <£ H e a d P h o n e s 2003 o u t b a c k Anniversary Editio> 1 A · % PURCHASE FINANCING lor 60 Months ^ D O L l d d V c= | I R A Q I I OAKVILLE'S ONLY AUTHORIZED SUBARU DEALER · Every vehicle reconditioned against highest standards · 30 Day exchange privilege · 6 month minimum warranty · No pressure sales experience · Exceptional service T h e f a m jly b u 8 in e s s th a t s e r v jc e b u j l t . M on d a y - T hu rsda y 8 a.m . F rid a y 9 a .m . to 6 p .m . S a tu rd a y 9 a .m . to 5 p .m . 905 845 2800 513 Speers Road, Oakville ' www.buddssubaru.com ` 2.8% purchase financing on 2004 Outback RA and 2004 Forester 2.5X for 24 months. '1.8% purchase finanang on all 2003 Legacy and select models for 60 months. "2004 Outback RA Model 401-HA. M.S.R.P. S31.995 at $328.00 per month. $3,995 down payment or equivalent trade-in. for a 48 month term 2004 Subaru Forester 2.5 X, Model 4J1-0W. M.S.R.P. {27.995 at $298 00 per month $3,995 down payment or equivalent trade-in. tor a 48 month term. 2003 Legacy Model 3B1-RA M.S.R.P. $27,295 at $278.00 per month. $3,995 down payment or equivalent trade-in. for a 48 month term On all leases freight. PDI. license, insurance. PPSA. registration and admin, charges, taxes and first payment are extra and applies to all leases. (Outback model shown mileage allowance of 80.000 km) Variable excess kilometers charge of $0.08 km applicable FLINX excess mileage charge or $0.10 cents per km. Quantities may vary by dealer. Models m ad may not be exactly as shown. $0 security deposit on all leases. Financing example $10,000 0 1.8% per annum equals $424.52 per month for 24 months. Cost of borrowing $188 48 for an obligation of $10,188 48. Other finance rates available, see dealer for details See dealer for details of other available Primus or FLINX financing and full disclosure leasing options. Other applicable OAC and dealer may sell for less. All Subaru's come with a 5 year warrant j 3 year CAA Emergency Roadside Assistance. tt2003 Forester rating of *G0Q0' based on (6/03) 30 mph side-impact. (7/02) 40 mph frontal off-set and (7/02) 5 mph bumper crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).