Extra! 2011 Subaru STI, 10 Car Comparo
Episode #19 - 2011 Subaru WRX STI revealed at the 2010 New York Auto Show and, yes, the wing is back! All the details. Plus, 10 new cars compared at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Which will have the fastest lap? Ryan hits the track to find out.
iPhone App Bonus: Data on all 18 cars driven. STI-themed wallpaper. (get it!)
Show Transcript:
Welcome to your Driving Sports extra, for the fourth week of March, 2010. For special features related to this episode, check our app, now available for iPhone, iPod Touch and the Apple iPad.
This week, the 2011 STI breaks cover. And, our ten fastest laps from press day at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. How did your favorite car do?
The wing is back, baby! Today at the New York Auto Show Subaru dropped the sheets on the 2011 Subaru WRX STI. And, yes, its not just a hot hatch anymore, they added a 4-door to the lineup. A four door with a big wing.
Still powered by the same turbo-charged 2.5-liter boxer putting down 305-hp, this new model gets serious revisions to its suspension, similar to what we saw in the 2010 Special Edition. Similar, not the same.
On deck are a lower ride height, new pillow-ball bushings in front and stiffer bushings on the rear subframe. Both sway bars are supersized by a mm and spring rates are up 15.6 in the front in the front, and – get this -- 53 percent in the rear over the standard 2010 model.
Yes, that’s even 18-percent higher than the Special Edition STI!
New standard wheels are 17.6 pounds lighter than the outgoing model and are wrapped in Dunlop SP600 245/40R18 summer rubber.
We look eagerly to putting this new fighter though the gauntlet this summer.
Every year, members of the Western Auto Journalists press group make the trek to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for some hot-lap time with the latest roundup of sporty cars.
As much as I would like to oblige our YouTube fans by powersliding a Mercedes C63 through turn 2 – tip of the hat to Lewis Hamilton --, this is a press day, and there are some rules.
First, not all journalists are hoons and not all the cars are Dodge Viper caliber, so we have to be considerate of the slower cars and drivers on the track.
Unfortunately, that rules out late braking, corner passing and smoky donuts coming out of Turn 11… although Ryan did one of those, anyhow. (blink, blink)
Second, manufacturers support this annual event so long as we don’t stuff their cars. Yes, we’re looking at you, the guys from Consumer Reports that offed the E63 AMG on Turn 5 (Clip 00015 at 6:00), please tell us you at least got it on video?
In light of these rules, Ryan and I jumped behind the wheel of 18 sporty -- and not-so sporty -- cars to lay down some brisk laps and rank the best of the bunch. For this episode, we’ve whittled it down to the top 10 sorted by lap times.
Note that for cars that had a sport automatic or suspension modes I turned them on. Otherwise, I left all traction control and ABS systems enabled for the sake of this comparison.
In 10th place is the 2010 MINI Clubman S. It’s simply the best handling toaster ever.
Final time: 2 minutes and 5.128 seconds.
9th overall was a car with the worst factory gauges ever. The 2010 Camaro RS. I don’t care if they’re retro, they’re unreadable.
Final time: 2 minutes and 2.646 seconds.
8th place was the only oil burner we were driving that day. The 2010 BMW 335d. Not much top speed, but really quite competent on the course.
Final time: 2 minutes and 2.250 seconds.
7th overall was the 2010 Mazdaspeed3. This little turbo-hatch ate the corners up like a champ. Fun, tossable, and pretty inexpensive, to boot.
It crossed the line in 2 minutes and 2.143 seconds.
6th place was actually a surprise, the 2010 Subaru Legacy GT. The last generation Legacy suffered from sluggish turn-in and overly-soft suspension. The new GT is a big improvement, knocking out a time of 2 minutes and zero point 687 seconds.
Landing in 5th is a car that you may not have expected, the Dodge Challenger SRT8. Sure, it has 425 horses, it also weighs 4100 lbs.
Still, if you think all American muscle is only fast on the straights, this car proves that stereotype wrong, our first car under 2 minutes.
Final time: 1 minute and 58.625 seconds.
4th overall is the polar opposite of the Challenger, the 2010 Audi S4. The V8 has been tossed out and replaced with a 3-liter, direct-injected, supercharged V6.
That, plus some additional chassis tweaking produces a car that is much more fun to drive than the previous S4 edition.
Even with nearly 100 fewer horses, it beats the Challenger with a 1 minute and 58 second lap time.
Finally, the top three.
Third place was the 2011 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG. We figure this is the best car you can buy in its near-60 thousand price range.
Ryan felt it gave him an almost sixth sense and, with a few more laps he could have easily shaved several seconds off of his lap time.
Still, third with a 1 minute 55.668 second lap is pretty good, especially considering…
Second place. The Jaguar XFR, with 60 more horses than the C63. This is one badass Jag. But, where Ryan felt he could easily make a lot more time with the Benz,
he didn’t think the XFR was in the same class. It was a sledgehammer that boldly knocked out a 1 minute and 54.5 second lap.
Our number one fastest time of the day may come as no surprise. It’s the only car in our field of production grocery-getters that is, in fact, a track-day special.
The Dodge Viper Coupe. With 600 horsepower from the naturally-aspirated V10, it was a monster to be respected. In spite of Ryan doing what was, essentially, a pussy-footed lap, it still owned all with a 1 minute 53 second best time.
Keep in mind; the Viper is a car that even pro drivers say will bite them in the ass if given the chance.
We’re just glad that when Ryan did spin it, it wasn’t into a wall. Nobody wants to be “that guy.”
How did your favorite car fare in this lineup? Think I wasn’t aggressive enough with it on the track? Let us know in the comments below.
Unfortunately, we did have some holes in this linup. BMW didn’t bring any M-class sedans, only their X5 and X6Ms. We wanted to focus on cars, not rigs. And you’ll also note the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru STI were absent in these result.
The EVO simply because we ran out of time and, though we did drive the STI SE, our one hot lap was impeded by traffic, making the result moot.
I can say that the last time I drove a stock STI at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which was at the 2008 launch, I put down a 1:57, which would place it just behind the C63 AMG.
If you want to see the complete chart of results, including all 18 cars, even the Scion xD and Lexus IS 250C, that will be available exclusively on our app for iPhone, iPod Touch and soon for the Apple iPad. Thanks for watching!
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I think no car can beat the Evo in a winding track. That car is made to beat the best on intelligent tracks.
Evo is not a car, its a religion to many people.
what are all the cars that you tested?....if there are some intriguing ones I might be tempted to get the app
in response to RAJA: can you not tell from this years model in the video, that the sti and evo essentially have the same design team. I mean this is looking all to similar to the evo now for my liking, personally. I have a 2007, and in my opinion that was the stiffest, best looking, best performing, and easy to tune sti yet.
I think it is the best method to tell about your feelings.
Good work and thanks for sharing it.
It's really cool!