Sure it can be considered by some as a rough ride, but consider what you’re getting: a high performance, all wheel drive, independent suspension rally car that is a blast to drive. My daily drive includes a short stretch of curved dirt road - downshift to 2nd prior to the final right turn and nail the throttle for an easily controlled AWD power slide. It makes a any trip just that much more fun!
Yes, it’s a 2 year old video. Yes, it’s worth mentioning. Your first 3 Pros have nothing to do with why people drive an Sti. Your Cons are a little out of touch, as well. Your key fob can be programmed to open all doors with the touch feature. The drive modes change throttle mapping… that’s the feature. Why ask for suspension dampening? It wasn’t billed as such. It does make for a great aftermarket tune adjustment knob though. As for the interior, I am 100% with you on the piano black and plastics. I would LOVE to see more alcantara or carbon fiber. Hate the piano black in my 21 Sti. Also hate my wheels. Easy, albeit expensive, fix. Closing the boot… I only touch the bottom of the license plate frame. Works well enough for me. Good video overall. I watched, enjoyed, and gave my honest feedback.
Great video thanks. I have the same model (Australian) in WR Blue - same year. I agree with most of what you have said. The other thing is, and this is my number one, the car is an ICON and you bought an icon. A direct descendent of the cars that took Possum Bourne and Colin Macrae to WR glory. Fueling up with 98 Ron is probably the biggest drawback but I don't care at all. Mostly I ride my bicycle here and there and bring out the car when necessary. Every time is a feast for the senses. The eyes, the ears. I never turn the radio on because I just want to hear the rumble of the engine. Quieten down kids! Amazing power and torque. There are faster cars but when the road turns nasty on rainy, windy nights i am very glad to be in control of an STi one of the safest cars on the road. THE DCCD and Vehicle Dynamic Control is the secret sauce. Ride quality is fine for the driver but harsh on the passengers. Usual passenger complains of stiff suspension. Kids love the car despite the back seat having no air and no usb. One thing I don't like and this is the only one is no rear wiper. WTF? No car is a unicorn.
The SI drive in intelligent mode not only changes the throttle response but changes the boost curve. With boost coming in late and slower. Not a fan of driving in intelligent mode. Also wish it would restart the car in the modes you turned off the key in. diff and SI controls.
That’s a shame, it’s such a great feature. Not only when parking to ensure you don’t curb the wheels, but also to make sure when parallel parking you’re evenly in between the lines both at the front and back of the car. Not sure why this wouldn’t be on the US model, you’re missing out unfortunately!
I have a US 2019 STI Limited in the same color. I really enjoy my car, but wish l had some of the features on your car. Front camera/side cameras are not available, no auto wiper (rains a lot here in Seattle), no auto high beams, no headlight washer. On the triple meter settings, I wish it had an oil temp gauge, I took my car in for service and had a loaner 2019 Forester. Nothing special, just your typical mid grade Forester Premium model. When I toggled through the center display, it had an oil temp gauge! Not available on the STI. Likes - I have Alcantara-covered Ricardo seats with matching door panel inserts and center console lid.
I’m amazed at all of these features that you miss out on buying the car in the US. Really interesting that the 2019 Forester has more in the way of customisation for the triple meter, you’d think given the STi is a performance car Oil Temp would be a given!
I daily my stock limited 2017 sti I’ve had to have my clutch master cylinder and slave replaced and my power steering is leaking but that’s such a small leak I just top it up every 2 to 3 weeks other than that it’s good to drive I only do about 6 thousand miles a year but I still like it
Thats odd you can’t change the keyless setting. I have an 18 USDM, and my keyless opens all doors Also USDM interior on seats and door panels are always alcantara (just not the steering wheel)
In my 17 limited STI i was able to change my door lock setting in the settings menu. Also even though my 17 limited rims are only 18 inch they look nice are forged and are easy to clean. I dont like the green brakes and wouldn’t want those rims cause they would be harder to keep clean. I didn’t trade in for the current model partly cause the limited rims are the same as the one on yours just with the face polished. I dont like the smaller grill on the current model which also eliminated the nice looking driving light like the ones on my 17 limited STI. Ill wait and see what the next couple years STI looks like.
Thanks for commenting Robert, you’re right about the 19” wheels - they’re extremely tedious to clean. The 18” wheels from the slightly older model has less spokes and looks a look easier to take care of.
You can unlock all door at the same time when entering the car without having to use the fob . All the lock setting can be customized using the toggle on the left hand side of the steering wheel . How do I know this ? I have the same car in ice silver . Love this car
In between regular service intervals the 2019 STi hasn’t burnt through any oil at all. The 2007 WRX burns through less than half a litre. Both of these cars are well looked after and maintained which I guess has a positive impact on oil consumption.
I went with the 2020 wrx because of a lot Of reasons. When I test drove them both I ended up having more fun in the wrx than I was with the sti. But if I was going to the track more than once a year the sti is way better for that. But as someone who works from home and just goes on leisure drives, My tuned wrx has been so damn fun. My only complaint is I wish it had an sti transmission, don’t care for the dccd but I also wouldn’t mind having an lsd in the back as well. I plan on swapping those over but not until I’ve broken my transmission.
@@imoffendedthatyouareoffended when the 2023 sti is revealed I will decide on path I go with my 2018 wrx. It's already pretty modded. If the sti is still affordable and has the numbers it should then maybe a new sti. Idk. I keep going back and forth. I would like to do the drive train swap and build the motor but the sti might have it with a warranty.
They must have change the keyless entry in 2020 because I have a setting that allows me to unlock all 4 Doors when I walk up to the door and grab the handle to unlock it
Omni Garage I have a base model. But they made keyless entry standard. I assumed maybe they added that feature in 2020 while making keyless entry standard.
Oh that's right - keyless was made standard on all 2020 models. No idea why this feature was unavailable for NZ vehicles. Seems crazy since it's just a simple menu screen setting.
Nice video. I wished you would have talked more about what it’s like to “ drive “ the Sti daily. Looking at buying one now and curious about ride quality and other driving issues. Maybe that’s a while other video. Thanks for sharing. Love the car!
Thanks for dropping a comment, be sure to subscribe as we’ll talk about this more in some upcoming videos. In short - the ride quality is amazing, I’m driving 95kms per day (mainly open road) and thoroughly enjoy this in its stock form. If there’s anything specific you want us to cover in a video, be sure to let us know.
I’ve seen that mentioned, however I think this must be only on the US cars as I’ve been through every menu setting, including the dash screen with no luck. Thanks for dropping a comment!
@@OmniGarage If you want global unlocking changed, it can be done through 'Subaru Select Monitor' which all service departments use for diagnostics. I've had 2 cars done by my local subaru specialist (not a dealer), who purchased this tool on his own.
Wow! I see lots of differences between European Sti’s and American Sti’s Most notably the Wrx logo on the truck lid American cars only have Sti logo Interior and Camara options too
It’s interesting the variances between the two models. Would love to see a comprehensive list from Subaru as there’s probably more than I’m aware of having only seen/driven the NZ version.
@@OmniGarage why don't you ask your local Subaru dealer & see what settings they can adjust via the OBD port. I took mine in for a service at Subaru & asked the technician to change the sensitivity of the auto headlights which now turns on at dusk. I was told many settings are adjustable that we cannot access by the dash or stereo. That would be a good place to start & see what can be changed.
@@OmniGarage you're most welcome. I know they could change settings such as timing of interior lights, adjust auto headlights & sensitivity, auto door lock, etc etc. So you never know.
Wonder how the new 2022 model is going to sound ? Gonna miss that boxer sound .The HP and Torque specs for the new STI are claiming 400hp and 400PS with improved fuel economy and upgraded interior , the unveil of the 2022 Wrx has been slammed as an utter WTF failure moment , and people are just hoping the leaked pics and specs out of Japan for the STI are true. The WRX just seems like its trying to be XV or crosstrek with all that plastic cladding which they already tried in 2013.
Miles and milage (and so so infotainment) are the only real downsides to dialing a WRX/STi. Trunk handle is an oversight, but easily remidied. I really need to find some teeth or (evil) eye decals for the front to help bring out the mean. I am a fan of the tiger shark nose art of WW2 fighters.
There's a setting that allows you to open all doors for touching the handle. People ride in my 19 STI all the time and it got annoying to constantly hit unlock on the remote.
Thanks for dropping a comment Edwin. I understand there’s a setting on the US model however the same screen doesn’t appear on my NZ new vehicle - it’s a real shame!
21 STI Pros are driver’s visibility, AWD and Brakes. Cons are weak HP, bad Recaro seats, audio, MPG, no rear vents, no auto door lock, overpriced based on options and features.
Thanks for dropping a comment. I didn’t initially realise how many features the model sold in the US misses out on - looks like this will be a topic in a future video.
Omni Garage Mechanically I believe they are the same unless you have the EJ20 vs the EJ257. Obviously, the steering wheels are opposite but the JDM has the WRX badging above the STI badge (the US version does not, just the STI badge). The only external camera we have is the backup cam, no side mirror or front grill cameras like yours does. However, when we shift into reverse the backup cam displays on the head unit; not the center stack (I noticed this as well when I watched a Russian video of this car as well). Your version has the camera display on the center stack. The pure JDM models have certain body elements that I am ordering parts for to replicate. However, there are dimples on the left and right side of your front bumper that the US version does not have. So... I would’ve imported a blue EJ20 final edition from Japan to keep up with JDM specs, but I like the color red too much. And, unfortunately, we are stubborn and still use miles per hour..The true and real answer is political in that my car was marketed and sold by Subaru of America (SOA). SOA pays Subaru’s bills, but for you, I think you have an actual, real Subaru.
I didn't even know there was a option for side or front cameras. Is that a sti option or can you get that for the wrx as well. I just got a 2020 wrx limited and adding that would be really cool
This was standard on the NZ new WRX STi Premium model. I believe depending on where in the world you are, this wasn’t standard or even an option (in the US for instance).
@@OmniGarage ah! That makes sense. I'm in the US so seems like we don't get it. Kind of sucks, it's like we are always behind on getting cool stuff lol I wonder if those mirrors moldings can be sold separately. If so I would totally buy some and install my own cameras. It would be perfect for the side view when parking or driving in general. Especially if I'm thinking of tinting my windows at 5%
There’s lot of conflicting information around this online. I’ve found this is the most consistent answer I find - “You reach the same boost levels in all three modes. It's basically just throttle response. Example would be pushing the gas peddle down 15% in i mode gives you 15%, switch to S mode it's going to be like 25%, s# is going to be around 45%. Regardless pushing the gas in 100% in any of the three modes is still 100% down, and you achieve the same power, which is max.”
Mate, the Intelligent mode is as economical mode as it can be in this car. When the engine heat soaks, it's barely enough to keep up in traffic in "I" mode, I have to switch to S mode. On a 18 mile highway stretch from work I can easily get 25 mpg in the intelligent mode when I don't exceed 62 mph (meaning I don't have to worry about speeding). In the suburban area, I get about 21 mpg combined, and my all time MPG counter now is approaching 20.2 mpg. I wish the S mode wasn't as close to S# mode though for sure, but you can't expect EJ257 type RA engine (all STIs 2019-2020 MY have those engines) to get more economical than that.
Thanks for dropping a comment! I’ve experienced some pretty bad heat soak sitting in traffic over the last month or so too when the temperature has been around the 30 Celsius mark. 20.2 is pretty much spot on what I’m averaging.
@@OmniGarage Heat soak on the 2020 STI is not nearly as bad as on a stock FA20DIT WRX. As long as you put the highest quality available premium gas in the tank, the STI heat soak issue won't be as noticeable. Besides, if I go nerdy now, the last generation EJ257 has the lowest compression ratio of all the previous STIs - 8.1, meaning that you NEED to give it more boost in traffic in hot weather (I noticed it reduces knock a bit, the engine doesn't rattle as much in S mode). But hey, we don't have to worry about the carbon deposit on the intake valves! Just don't floor it in high gears at low RPM to avoid the ring land failure lol...
This is some good information, I didn’t know about the compression ratio and needing to give it more boost in traffic. Thanks for that! I’ve been pretty careful not lug the engine in high gear.
I never understand these sort of videos. Why buy a car if you dont like certain things about it ? Why not buy the car you DO like instead ? I know why, and I know why you upload a video about it but dont worry, I wont be subscribing. “Hey guys, I am very important and love the attention, the car is just an excuse for self promotion”. Seriously dude, I would be embarrassed to come on here and moan about something ive bought that I didnt like.
Thanks for dropping a comment Simon. For the most part, the car is incredible but there’s always room for improvement! Nothing in this world is perfect, I’m sure someone would even find some cons with some of the best and most expensive vehicles in the world.
@@OmniGarage for me these cons arnt really much of a bother but i can see how they can be. Not every car is perfect but if you really love a car the pros outweigh the cons every time
Hey guy obviously you are American. How do I know this because I am a foreigner living there . The guy has an accent so his pronunciation is going to be a little different to what you are accustomed to hearing . Get yourself exposed and educated that there is more to the world than just the America’s .
The Subaru infotainment centers in the 15-2021 wrx & STI’s are out dated garbage compared to what you can get in cheaper cars in the same production years. The sti is beyond fucking over priced. The wrx (15-21) is a sensitive shit box. I have a 16 wrx and my 94 z28 is way better built and more rugged. The STI’s have out dated pile of shit motors but have amazing transmissions. The wrx have underpowered and sensitive motors with shit transmissions. I wish ford still made the ST’s because those cars are far superior and better built
I think all the cons listed are easy to fix with Cobb parts, etc. The car has so much after market that you can do anything with it. The SI-Drive is the mapping and the c-diff can be adjusted. What is to not like?
