![]() This was very much a point-and-shoot chassis: come into a corner clean and smooth, then once you’re a little past the apex, dump the throttle and let the AWD pull you out with an addictive 244 lb. Having all-wheel drive probably also had something to do with the tires not making much of a peep. Chris had recently put some decent Dunlop high-performance all-seasons on it and while they were a little pillowy, they didn’t make too much noise and gripped well. While my perception of the nose’s position was a little obscured, once I got through some hairpins and powered out of some nicely cambered, wavy little stretches, I quickly learned how to turn it in. Perhaps it was the sport suspension, and added weight and rigidity of the all-wheel drive system, but the car felt nicely planted. The steering felt quicker than I expected as well. The steering was light with a decent amount of feedback, the car rotated easy, and while the large hood scoop messed with my perception of the vehicle’s dimensions, the cool factor of driving a car with a scoop quickly silenced any gripes. I however was taking it easy heading back up to the top of Latigo, and quickly learned a lot en route.įrom the get-go, I was surprised how light and composed the 3,300-pound behemoth felt. Chris cut a solid line through the tight turns and knew exactly when and how hard to come on throttle, how late he could brake, etc. I started off taking it easy to get a feel for the clutch and brake pedal, and feel how it came on boost. He drove for the first 45 minutes so I could get a feel for how it felt being driven very confidently, then when we got to the other end of Piuma from Malibu Canyon Road, it was my turn. ![]() I wanted to know how its entire 3,300ish pounds felt on the tighter hairpins and decreasing radius downhill turns that my Mazda2 eats for breakfast. We decided a good, well-rounded test would mean piloting the longish AWD chassis on some tighter stretches of tarmac, such as Piuma Road and take it easy on Tuna Canyon Road. He quickly obliged and two weeks ago, we set out for the Santa Monica Mountains via the Pacific Coast Highway. ![]() The setup was simple: I texted my buddy that I’m trying to write more about cars, and that I’d love to play with his 60,000 mile WRX and buy him a tank of gas afterwards. I mentioned I’d never driven a WRX, but two weeks ago, I finally got the chance to pilot my friend Chris’ blue 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX, and man did it open up a whole new world. Turbos of course are great, but if I had the money I’d want to go ITBs and internals that can see a 9500 RPM redline. My dream projects are usually track-prepped NA/NB Miatas, Lotus Elises, CRXs, etc. I had never driven one, and I tend to favor high-strung naturally-aspirated hatchbacks, angry rotaries, small RWD coupes, etc. The reason for me being unsure is simply due to always favoring cars that are smaller and quick on their feet due to their low weight and inherent maneuverability. It’s a very accomplished chassis: in addition to its massive success in motorsports there is a huge aftermarket filled with potential for high horsepower, ground-pounding beasts that can rip through and power out of corners unlike many other platforms out there. ![]() I had always been a little unsure about the Subaru Impreza WRX/STI platform.
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