Once I got comfortable with the car, I raised the pace and took some corners faster. Indeed, the initial turn-in is sharp and aggressive, very different from a typical passenger car.
The nose bites in firmly, and there’s a solid grip feeling, but as I steer further, the body rolls noticeably. Here, I thought I’d like to see a stiffer stabilizer bar. Then, for a brief moment, the tires squealed and understeer appeared.
The tires are ADVAN Sport V105. These aren’t fragile tires that would scream at this level of cornering, so perhaps the tire pressures weren’t ideal.
The body leans heavily outward and compresses, but from there it stabilizes and carries through the corner smoothly. Under moderate G-forces, it seems to keep the tires firmly planted.
The four-wheel-drive system’s DCCD (Driver Controlled Center Differential) was set to AUTO, but whether through torque distribution control or ESP intervention, the car’s behavior changes somewhat from the start to the end of a corner, which takes some getting used to.
Later, I learned from the owner that the car is equipped with the following STI parts, which might affect its behavior:
This might make the car seem difficult to handle, but it’s more like a car for advanced drivers. You need to understand the car’s characteristics, behavior, and engine torque delivery well to drive it properly. Its performance is undoubtedly high, and you have to communicate with the car’s intentions and respond accordingly. That’s the impression I got.
If you drive this car without paying attention to weight transfer, with delayed steering inputs, and suddenly turn the wheel at the corner, it would definitely feel scary. The fundamental driving technique required is to steer gently from early on and then turn more sharply as the corner tightens.
Because it has a horizontally opposed engine, it’s often compared to Porsches (especially the 718), and some might consider both. But I think they are quite different in character.
Strictly speaking, the 718 feels more solid, rigid, and planted, never losing contact with the road and responding faithfully to the driver’s inputs, whereas the WRX feels lighter and more nimble. It corners lightly and delivers turbo boost and acceleration that feel like a push, entertaining the driver.
After all, its roots lie in rally racing. It might be odd to compare it to the STI from over 20 years ago since the model name itself has changed, but I imagine it would be a lot of fun to drive this car on snowy roads to the ski resort like before.
The turbo response and handling tuning carry that spirit, making it one of the few modern cars that still have a bit of the “mischievousness” lost in recent models.
Thank you very much to the owner who kindly lent me this precious car.
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