The new Sti goes back to its roots for better or for worse

Well I am going to do more focusing on things with wheels.

The first car I would like to talk about is the new Subaru WRX Sti. Recently Subaru deviated heavily from their original 4 door all wheel drive on and off road shredder and made it a hatchback.

I was originally appalled by the new body style but the more and more I saw it the more and more I liked it. It offered a 305 hp turbocharged flat four. Check MSN.coms specs for some details

Photo Credit goes to Joey Lee of the Chronicles

Ken Block and Crawford Performance also showed the cars potential with his radical gymkahana videos.

But now Subaru has a new Sti out that looks like the old ones and my friend brought up an interesting question. Is this a good thing? Granted they still offer the 5 door hatchback and both still have 305 hp at the flywheel. It also still selectable differential settings, traction control, and the other bells and whistles traditionally found in these models.

Photo from Subaru america

Car and driver stated that the new platform had little to no improvement over the previous model and the cheaper wrx was actually faster from 0 to 60 mph.

My problem is that Subaru is giving in. The original Sti started as a raw, shouty, angry, track car for the street. Bit by bit it has been whipped into submission and the newest model seems to indicated that you can never be the badass you once were once you live in comfort and have nothing to prove. In my opinion if you want a new awd pocket rocket get an evo or save your money and buy a real Sti (but not herpes).