2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STi consumer reviews

I bought this car with zero miles on it. Great visibility from the drivers seat. I know people complain about the sound system, but please turn the sound down and listen to the beautiful engine. You're buying the car for performance and it delivers. Great in the snow, although you must get snow tires. It'll slide out a bit the first few days of winter, but thats because you get used to taking turns over 30mph. When its nice the summer tires stick like you're part of the road. It's not quiet on the highway, but a 4 hour drive wont leave you stiff. The whole ride is enjoyable, 0-60 or passing people on the highway. Everyone else is standing still. It's safe because you can get out of the way when something wild happens. Deer jumps out in front of you and you will be surprised the brakes work just as well as the rest of the car. I gave it a four for exterior because as someone else mentioned in a review "it's painted with watercolors". The paint could be better since little rocks do hop up on the highway and you can see it after the first few months. A little touchup paint does help. Sounds dumb, but get some mud flaps. Sure they look awesome, but it really does reduce the amount of debris that appears on the side of the car (especially salt during winter). 40k miles and no issues. I drive it hard everyday... the way it was built to be driven. Buy something cheaper and your going to have issues after that kind of punishment. Buy it. You will absolutely love it.

I have found the car to have exceptional handling for Vermont roads, especially dirt roads, ice, and snow. The car manages the worst driving conditions very well and I can?t say enough good about the handling. Not only does it stick to the roads well, it?s also a comfortable drive, which is not common among pony cars and lower end sports cars. The interior is a bit cheap given the price, but the car has AWD and some folks may consider that an acceptable tradeoff. In my car, there is a lot of just bad quality of assembly in the interior. Things that don?t speak to the quality of the parts, but rather show poor workmanship. Missing screws, bolts only partially tightened, parts alignment way off, things like that. Nothing serious, but when I lift the carpet or remove an interior panel in my Subaru I?m shocked by the hidden sloppiness I see compared to other cars I?ve owned (I occasionally do minor interior work on my cars). The sound system is disappointing. I purchased a factory subwoofer to help, but there is no gain control for it. It is too powerful and booms even at low volumes. I love lots of bass in my music, but it?s too much for me (never thought I?d say that). The car has lots of power, enough to sorta keep up with some 8-cylinder pony cars. I am very impressed with the power that the factory eked out of the little motor. I?m also pleasantly surprised with the gas mileage. I expected an AWD sports sedan to get far worse gas mileage than it does. Compared to other sports sedans I've owned, the gas mileage is significantly better in the WRX overall. The WRX has given me significant reliability issues. Enough to make me wonder if Quality Control was simply absent the day it rolled off the factory floor. I have never owned a less reliable car, and this comes from someone who had to endure an awful car during the `80s. At first the issues were small things like factory parts missing from both front doors, excessive body noise when cornering, and a rear view mirror that just won?t stop wobbling. But as time passed, the problems became bigger. Mystery parts found lying on the garage floor in the morning, a failed clutch, a failed brake lining that resulted in destroyed a rotor, etc. I have often wondered if the 2011 Tohoku earthquake were in part responsible for the build quality of my WRX. Impreza production was interrupted that year, but there?s really no excuse for allowing such a poorly built car off the factory floor.

This car is honestly amazing, I test drove it before i bought it for my son and i thought about getting one myself. Its comfortable and fast, its for people who like speed but looking good while doing it. It really is an amazing car and i love it.

I had an 05 STI with lots of mods, a thinly disquised race car with a an attitude. It was a fun weekend driver, incredable handling, great power and reliable. However, the car was setup for performance and traded off creature comforts...like ride. The 2011 is a different car, leaning more towards the BMW side of the sport/luxury equation. While it isn't an M3/335, it does very nicely with the blend of very good acceleration, handling and ride....but the styling is still a little different than the mainstream and it is $10s of thousands less and has better resale and repair/service costs. The car itself has gained a little weight, improved the stock suspension/handling and improved the interior design and content. The seats are wonderful, easy to shift, and did I comment about the great acceleration. Yes this is really a car for the "sport" oriented driver. While it will certainly work as a daily driver and grocery hauler, it comes into its own on a curvy back road or any straight away. The S-drive helps out by giving a moderate performance level in S1, easy to drive around town, but powerful if you rev it up. The S# setting gives the type of response that enthusiasts are looking for....gobs of torque, improved throttle response and some exhaust sounds....music to my ears! Subarus are reliable and repair costs modest in todays world of $100 hr/dealer rates. The cars are durable. just not as robust as the europeans when comes to sheet metal, trim parts and interior materials...they're just more Japanese like...adaquate and reliable. The STIs require more frequent maintenace than your run of the mill import, but its the good kind...oil changes, tire rotation, brake and transmission fluid changes are more frequent since its a high performance car. If there's one single caution it is check the insurance rates on the car before buying. If you have a good record then expect to pay slightly higher than normal rates, but if your 25 yrs old and a few tickets then be prepared for a sticker shock. The Base model is just fine because the Premium only adds a sunroof and BBS wheels, all of the rest of the features can be added to the Base if you want them. To me, spending $2k for a factory NAV when I can drop in any of the excellent aftermkt units for $150 makes no sense. Yes you can upgrade the stereo but the factory speakers are the weak link. If you want a high quality music upgrade the system/speakers with aftermkt units ....sound better and less $$$. Nice thing about STIs is that there is a huge performance and styling aftermkt, so you can personalize or extend the performance to pretty much any level you want. I love this car for what it is...unadulterated fun, in your face styling, and a grin to drive. Oh and did I mention it has great acceleration?

This is the first "small" high performance vehicle that I have owned. Other cars have been Corvettes, SRT8"s, and Audi's. The fun to drive factor has been much better than any of those other vehicles -- I am not stating they are bad, but this car is just simply much more fun! It is comfortable and very "quick" compared to the others. It has also responded well to small after market add-ons: Cold air kit, Invidia 3" exhaust from turbo back, computer chip upgrade. It also gets much better gas mileage than those other cars I have owned. I use it as a daily driver every day in LA traffic -- IT WORKS GREAT AND AGAIN, IT IS FUN TO DRIVE. I only have 8K miles on the car but have had no maintenance or reliability issues whatsoever. I do oil changes etc with Subaru - service has been great. Also, Subaru is reasonable as to what they charge. Also they are happy to answer any and all questions. They seem to very knowledgeable as it relates not only to their products but other company products as well. If Subaru would make any change that I would like, I would like to see 350 or more horse power and with the same power/torque curve.

Recently purchased an STI. Looked at both the WRX and WRX STI. In the end, I stumbled across what I beleive to be a decent deal on the STI so chose it. The bad - this is the base STI model. The sound system is substandard. For a few bucks more Subaru should put a better sound system in these cars. Gas mileage isn't very good but I guess that's to be expected. A little noisier than it cold be but again, it's a performance car so expect it. The good - ride is better than I expected. Some might say the handling has been comprimised a little compared to older model STI's but much nicer for daily driving. With snow tires on - there are very few automobiles that deliver the kind of traction and performance on slippery or snow covered roads. If you could mount a blade on the front you could plow the highway. It does deliver on the power side. No question. Comfort is pretty good. Visbility good. I only have 17,000 KM so cannot speak to reliability yet. Fit and finish seem OK.

This is my 2nd STi, I have previously owned a 2005 sedan. I have just purchased the 2011 hatchback... All I can say is WOW, the suspension has been completely redone, this car easily out-handles my 05. In the snow this car is a beast, locking the diffs and this thing cuts through a foot of snow with ease(with snow tires). The only downside is that the car has been refined more towards a luxury car than a performance car, I would rather have more turbo/engine noise and stiffer mounts and bushings, which are very easy fixes from the aftermarket. As for the reliability this car has been just like my 05, no problems reported, the only visit to the dealer so far is for a faulty fog-light housing. I am a auto technician for a local dealer and Subaru's quality has come leaps and bounds, compared to the other imports. Just have others have stated as soon as you get behind the wheel you will have a giant grin form ear to ear. The 2011 STi Si-drive is a great upgrade as well for saving fuel or having some fun. The other thing that made me buy the STi over the WRX was the 6-speed M/T, limited slip differentials, Brembo brake package, and the better suspension and reinforced frame. Well worth the extra $$ Subaru asks for. The Subaru community is also what makes a Subaru, every other WRX, STi, RS, or Impreza I pass we exchange a friendly wave. This is a great platform to build a great auto-x or road race car, I have added a few upgrades and the car has responded tremendously to these upgrades. Highly recommend you test drive one, I drove alot of cars in its class from a performance standpoint and no other car felt better, from Hyundai, Honda, Mazda, and Mitsubishi. I wont own any car but an STi in the future as long as the body styling doesn't change too drastically. Definately can see/feel the Rally heritage/technology brought to the consumer at an affordable price!

I own a 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI... it's so fun to drive, when I'm at work I can't wait to get out so I can drive it...The handling is excellent! The acceleration and speed will fordge a smile on your face that'll last all day...The interior is also top-notch; it looks so sporty and feels even sportier. That's what you want; a vehicle that you truly ENJOY and have a lot of fun with that'll put a smile on your face everytime you drive it! And the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Delivers!!

Got one with 9 miles on it for 40k. at 9k the clutch gave out the brakes made noise i never heard a car make before and lighter stoped working. the 6 speed has paper for a clutch and did not like to go in reverse at all had to play with it to go in gear. the subaru warranty dont cover any thing. C- the engine was the only thing i liked about the car.

The car at first indicates it is a far cry from 1st US Sti's which were all about WRC performance. That said it has become with more refined and performance is not great with very narrow power band. The real disappointment is that I have encountered poor reliability with engine issues. It would be hard for me to recommend this car to anyone for the amount of money one costs.