I got my first chance to drive the new 08 Impreza WRX when I visited Rallitek recently. In fact, I was there to check the fitment of AVO parts to that new Impreza. After verifying that the AVO TMIC, BOV, and turbochargers upgrades would fit, I took it out for a bit of a spin. This was a unique opportunity, as I have driven the Japanese Impreza S-GT as well.
The main difference between the two different models is the engine. In Japan, it comes with a 2.0-liter flat four instead of the 2.5-liter flat four. The turbochargers are also different, with the Japanese car utilizing a twinscroll turbocharger instead of the standard turbocharger on the US market car. This helps to make up for the fact it has less displacement than the 2.5-liter car.
Back to back driving (well, separated by a few weeks) told me the full story. Neither car is really better or worse in terms of power, as they are about as quick. There might be a few tenths of a second faster speed from one or the other, but both are quite sweet. The 2.5-liter does a better job of making torque, the 2.0-liter makes a bit better power at high rpms.
The major difference was in suspension, however. The US market car is much softer than the Japanese market car, and felt a bit more numb. I could narrow this down to the dampers and springs, as the stabilizer bars are the same size between markets. I also have a suspicion that the American car has less castor than the Japanese car, as turn-in was simply not quite as nice as the Japanese car. It will take some close measuring to verify this, however.
That said, it still has quite the sports car feel to it. With the AVO short shifter already in place, throws were quick and precise, with the lever easy to reach. With the power the car puts out in stock form you will be doing a lot of shifting as well, it really gets up to speed fast! I give this car two thumbs up - with a decent set of springs or other suspension tweaks, it will be a fantastic drive. We are getting some performance lowering springs out for it right now, with upgraded stabilizer bars as well. And soon after that we will have performance coilovers available as well!
