so my neighbor just bought a 2004 WRX STi with the stage 2 package. because i'm so cool, he let me take it for a drive. first thing i noticed, there's no mistaking that this is a hopped up economy car. wow this car feels small and cheap. and this comming from someone who drives a Focus as a DD. i start the car up. the exhaust sound isn't too shabby for a turbo 4. driving it i notice how short the gears are on the 6spd. again, comming from someone who drives a 6spd Focus. that surprised me since the STi has so much more power. you don't notice any turbo lag because the gears are so short. pushing the pedal to the floor, it's weird to accelerate that fast without the tires screaming. the car supposedly has 360+awhp. it doesn't feel as fast as my GT, but it may just be perception due to the awesome traction and short gearing. i didn't get to test the handling much, but it feels solid. ride quality was suprisingly good for a performance car. the brakes are great. giant brembos on the front. a few neat items are the built in shift light with adjustable rpm and the manual control of the center differential. the hood is fiberglass but shakes like crazy during normal driving. after i went back to his house, we popped the hood. damn that engine was hot! much hotter than my GT has ever been. i couldn't even hold the prop stick because it was so hot.
all in all, it's a fast car that handles great, but it doesn't "feel" like a sports car.
all in all, it's a fast car that handles great, but it doesn't "feel" like a sports car.