IMPREZIVE; subaru one-ups its wrx.(Auto File)

Seems like only yesterday (actually it was July 16, 2001) we first extolled the virtues of the Subaru WRX. What could be better than a WRX, we asked rhetorically? It had power, handling and a relatively cheap sticker at less than $25,000.

Well, we found something better: the Subaru WRX STi. The STi is the next step above the WRX. You could go another step up, but you'd have to be a really good rally driver, do pendulum turns in your sleep, and be named Tommi Makinen.

The STi offers more of everything for a sticker that starts and finishes at just $31,545. There are no factory options (see "Other Major Options'' on chart, opposite page, for available dealer-installed accessories), and when you look at price per horsepower per pound, per seating for five with a trunk, per all that kind of thing, only the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution comes close.

To make an STi out of a WRX, Subaru did the following:

* Added a half liter of displacement to the WRX's intercooled, turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four, which increased hp from 227 to 300 and torque from 217 lb-ft to 300.

* Replaced the five-speed manual from the WRX with a six-speed manual.

* Added a Driver Controlled Center Differential (DCCD) that allows manual adjustment of front/rear torque bias.