Considering getting in line for the STi but have never owned a Subaru. After taking a WRX for a short test drive I must say the interior felt pretty cheap. I realize your paying for engine and drivetrain but......

Anyways how have your interiors (switches, dials, armrest, stalks) held up? Other than coloring and steering wheel the
STi will have same interior, no?

How about the overall car? Do you feel it's holding up well? Do you have lots of squeeks and rattles? Does paint look as good as new? How do you compare to past cars? Overall grade?

I didn't go on a long test drive but it did feel quick once I got the revs up. The STi should feel damn fast with a 30% increase in hp and torque. The styling looks better in person than in the mags but it's still kind of plain/odd. The performance/price equation is whats drawing me. Any comments?

 

Funny, I've always thought the interior was just fine. Plain, but purposeful. I've had no problem whatsoever with the quality of the interior items over time, everything has remained like new and there are no squeaks or rattles.

The paint is actually OK. I remember reading that it was susceptible to chips, and I did pick up a few small chips in the first couple of months (on the front of the hood only). Easy to touch up, and, since then (over a year now) the paint has held up fine. I'm pretty careful not to follow other cars closely, and I regularly wash and wax the car. I would have gladly paid a few hundred more for killer paint quality, but it's not that bad. Some day I'll have the hood professionally re-done and then have one of those clear protector sheets applied.

I think the quality overall is quite good. Reliability has been absolutely perfect for me.

Thanks,

Allan

 

I don't understand complaints about the interiors either. It's far better than the domestics, and about equal to every *** car in it's class. Myself, if I wanted a nice interior I'd buy an S4.

 

I recently traded a GTI Turbo for the WRX. Pretty much every surface in the VW interior looked and felt better than the equivalent in the Subaru. But guess what - ever since new, darn near everything in that super-high-tactile-quality interior either squeaked, creaked, snapped, popped, or cracked going down the road. It varied a lot with temperature and humidity but it was not impressive. It was a car that was hard to enjoy without the stereo on. My experience seems to be echoed by many on VWVortex.

By contrast, all the not-terribly-expensive-feeling stuff in the Sube is like a rock, and the car doesn't make any noise at all, even in single digit temps.

I also have an S4, and that car is like a tomb inside. I don't know how Audi gets it right and VW doesn't (The GTI was German, not Brazilian).