2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI First Drive

Don't overthink this update to the 2011 Subaru WRX STI. It's simple, basic and necessary. It's a subtle change, and now that we've driven it, a welcome one.

But don't mistake subtle for frivolous.

As we discovered charging up the 12,095-foot Independence Pass, just outside Aspen, Colorado, the suspension tweaks Subaru made to the new STI manifest themselves most apparently in the action of the steering wheel. What was once a collection of small inputs is now a single, steady and deliberate pointing of the wheel. Constant-radius turns once filled with corrections to keep the car on line are now a single input carried through corner exit. And that kind of improvement can't be called frivolous.

The tuning is subtle, but in the right conditions it changes the STI dramatically. Kind of like the fact that you can now have an STI sedan as well as a five-door hatchback.

Subtle Tweaks
From a powertrain perspective, nothing about the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI has really changed. The same turbocharged and intercooled 2.5-liter flat-4 cranks out 305 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 290 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm.

Power flows through the same six-speed manual transmission and the same front, center and rear limited-slip differentials. Subaru's Driver Controlled Center Differential is still present, while SI-drive lets you change throttle mapping. Even the tires are the same: 245/40R18 Dunlop SP Sport 600s at all four corners. There's also no change to the brakes, including the 13-inch front discs with four-piston fixed calipers.

Instead, the Subaru engineers have put all their effort into refining the WRX STI's chassis. This means new spring and damping rates, a ride height that's 5mm lower and stiffer antiroll bars, not to mention structural braces and improved rigidity not present in the standard WRX.

Front and rear spring rates are increased 16 percent and 53 percent, respectively. The antiroll bars are the same as those used for the 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition: 21mm front and 19mm rear, each 1mm larger than in the 2010 WRX STI. Meanwhile the 2011 WRX STI's rear subframe bushings have been stiffened to reduce deflection-induced camber changes in the wheel alignment. The lower control arms of the front suspension also utilize a rubber-isolated heim joint to improve toe control under high cornering loads.

The STI's rear tires are more involved in the practice of turning the car than they were before.

Also important to note is that the only suspension parts the 2011 WRX STI shares with the standard WRX are the rear suspension subframe, rear control arms and the muffler. In other words, the STI is essentially a different car than the WRX once you get beneath the fenders.

Not-So-Subtle Tweaks
For 2011 the Subaru Impreza WRX STI will be available as a sedan. That means the giant wing which made the STI an icon in the first place will once again reside on a trunk lid. This change yields a 5 percent decrease in aerodynamic drag and an improved top speed of 158 mph.

Both the hatchback and sedan bodies have been subjected to a modest restyling, which Subaru says is meant to emphasize a "wide and low" look. Plus, well, it actually does look wide and low thanks to bumper lines that carry into the wide front fenders and new, cleanly integrated foglights.

New Enkei wheels for the STI are 4.4 pounds per corner lighter than the wheels that were standard for the 2010 STI. Forged BBS wheels are available as part of the Limited package for the STI sedan and are standard on the hatchback STI.

Where It Matters
Subaru fans who are intimately familiar with the STI's at-the-limit handling behavior will notice these changes. But don't think that these are transformational improvements. Is the car more stable, easier to drive and more controlled? Certainly. Is it an all-new experience? Not at all.

In fact, even back-to-back drives in a 2010 STI and 2011 STI on a track during our introduction to the new car were met with shrugs of indifference among those who don't claim STI discipleship. The 2011 STI's rear tires are more involved in the practice of turning the car than they were before and there's a sense of lightened burden on the front end than in earlier STIs, but you're going to need a sensitive backside to discern these differences.

For all its newness, the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI is essentially the same thumping STI we've been driving since 2008, and even the new sedan version is really no different. Subaru claims, however, that the 2011 car is now capable of 0.92g on the skid pad, an improvement from 0.90g registered by the 2010 version. We'll see if our testing shows the same thing.

Fortunately, the STI's ride quality hasn't been compromised in the suspension makeover. Despite undeniably stiffer spring rates and retuned dampers, the STI simply feels slightly busy on the road, just like it did before.

2011 Subaru Impreza WRX
If you can do without the STI hardware, you'll find that the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX shares the STI's wide-body styling (minus the massive free-standing wing). A side effect is a substantially wider track for the WRX, 1.3 inches in the front and 1.5 inches in the rear.

New 17-inch wheels with 8.0-inch rims carry 235/45R17 Dunlop SP01 tires, and the combination is still 0.4 pounds lighter per corner than the 17-inch wheels with 7.0-inch rims plus 225/45R17 tires that were used for the 2010 WRX. Overall, the 2011 WRX weighs 34 pounds more than before.

Although the wider track and wider tires should produce more cornering grip, the 2011 WRX should handle much the same, since it employs the same springs, dampers and antiroll bars as the 2010 model. Indeed, we discovered that it's not a threat to the STI, as we managed to bottom the suspension twice while following a Camry up a mountain pass at 30 mph. Nevertheless, this WRX is still far more car than it was when this generation of Impreza was introduced in 2008. There's ample acceleration and handling capability here to satisfy the enthusiast.

The WRX's 2.5-liter flat-4 remains unchanged, producing 265 hp and 244 lb-ft of torque. A five-speed manual is the only available transmission.

Both the WRX and STI receive an updated audio system with Bluetooth music streaming and full iPod integration capabilities. Both also include standard vehicle dynamics control.

The Big Question
At a base price of $34,720 (including destination), the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan costs $970 less than last year's STI five-door hatchback. If you're set on the hatchback sedan, it will cost $36,720; this is about a grand more than last year's five-door and it also includes forged BBS wheels, which were previously a $2,000 option.

The 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX starts at $26,220, including destination. That's a $530 bump over the 2010 sedan and virtually identical to the price of the 2010 five-door.

Both cars will be available in late August or early September. So call the 2011 Subaru WRX and STI what you will — gratuitous, boy-racery, fun, capable, even a good value, perhaps. Just don't call them frivolous.

Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.