My 2017 Subaru WRX STI Sport

[usmanminhas5]

AOA Fellow Pakwheelers,

I hope all of you are doing great!

I'm Usman from Islamabad currently residing in Ontario, Canada. I've been following threads of fellow members sharing their awesome rides and felt like doing the same for my 2017 Subaru WRX STI.

Prior to owning the STI, I had a 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe 6MT. The Infiniti, being a front Mid-Ship platform, was a very well balanced and fun car (specially around corners ) but the STI being more powerful, turbo-charged and AWD is a different ball-game altogether.

I've been a fan of Subarus in general and STI in particular since I was a kid but growing up in Pakistan we didn't have many of these around ( the only one i remember was a light blue WR1 from Lahore- an absolute beauty!). When I was able to finally afford one (by the grace of Almighty), I bought my brand new STI Sport in July 2017 and hands down it was one of the best decisions that I made in the past couple of years!!

In case some of you are wondering about the age-long question "Why STI and not an Evo?". I don't have anything against the Evo platform and I love every Evo model up till Evo IX. Buying a Subaru was a personal preference.

Below are some details about my ride along with some pictures. Let me know if you guys have any questions about the car or if you want me to write a detailed review about performance (different driving modes: I vs. S vs. S# Mode), features, pros and cons etc.

Your feedback is highly appreciated!

Year : 2017
Body Color : Crystal Black Silica
Body Shape : Sedan 4 Door
Suspension : STI performance-tuned
Engine : 2.5L DOHC, SUBARU BOXER
Power: 305 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 290 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
Performance: 0-100 km/h 4.9 sec
Transmission : 6-speed close-ratio Manual Transmission
Brakes: Brembo high-performance brake system, STI branded
Wheels:
-Summer Setup: Black 18" x 8.5" Lightweight Enkei Rims wrapped in 245/40 R18 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx RT
-Winter Setup: Gun Metallic 18" x 8.5" OEM Rims wrapped in 245/40 R18 Bridgestone Blizzak WS80
Interior : Onyx Black Alcantara with red leather inserts
Accents/trim: Carbon fibre
Variant : Sport (Sunroof, Large high-profile rear spoiler, 6.2 inch infotainment system etc.)
Upgrades: Rear STI branded Carbon Fibre license plate frame. Performance upgrades planned after warranty ends.

[hash4u]

W.Salam
Beautiful car indeed
Does warranty cover all expenses(other then consumable products)?
What parts replaced if any? 3 year warranty or less?

[usmanminhas5]

Hi Hash4u,
Thanks!
Yes, warranty covers all expenses other than consumables such as engine oil and brake pads etc.
It has 27k on the odo and I haven’t replaced anything other than regular oil/filter changes every 10k and brembo service at 20k. Differential fluids were checked and all other fluids were also topped at 20k.

Warranty is 5 years for drivetrain and 3 years for electronics. I’ll probably get extended warranty on electronics as well since I once experienced some flaky behaviour by the Blind Spot Detection sensors since I bought this (maybe my occasional driving habits are to be blamed for that 🤷🏻‍♂️)

[mehran]

Awesome ride! Good to know it has a manual gearbox. Most owners opt for the auto in cars even Subarus. Enjoy your ride & keep sharing!

[usmanminhas5]

Thanks, Mehran!
You’re absolutely right, manuals are a rare commodity in this part of the world because people here generally prefer automatics.
I’ve always owned manuals, whether it was my first ek hatch or the g35. Subaru doesn’t offer an automatic transmission variant for the STI(they do it for WRX though) and I have no complains for Subaru motors regarding this
However, I must confess that driving an auto after driving this in stop-and-go traffic all day does feel like a walk in the park lol

[umarabdullah]

Inb4 piston ringlands? Jk, nice to see one in a color besides the rally blue.

[usmanminhas5]

lol it hasn't shown any signs of ringland failure (or any other mechanical issues) so far (knock on the wood ).
It's my daily driver and that includes winter driving (through feet of snow and temperatures as low as -20) and I do push it hard every now and then

That being said, I do maintain it meticulously. Using only Shell V-Power gas, I make sure to never push it until it has nicely warmed up. This is in addition to the engine oil top-ups roughly every 30-45 days. Subaru recommends checking engine oil level every 2nd fuel fill-up. Top-up is done by the dealership free of charge. The dealership is close to where I work, I get to meet other Subaru enthusiasts there and get a complementary car wash so I don't mind going there once every now and then

As for the color, since all STI's are made in Japan, a limited quantity is imported into Canada. This was the 2nd last one left for sale in Ontario so I only had a choice between white and black. I'm very happy that I chose black over white- difficult to maintain (specially in the brutal winter) but seeing it shine after a nice wash and wax session makes it all worth it!

[umarabdullah]

Oh I know the troubles and struggles with the warming up and the brutal winters, I have a car without heated seats which to the folk on here, sounds like a first world problem but I know better(I considered shelling out 350$ for front seats from a better trim with heated seats but later ditched the idea). Infact I probably live near you since Ontario the province isn't very large. I also don't have snow tires atm, but I realize I can't go without them for long and I also realize since it's my first car and I just have to be irresponsible with rust proofing and treatment, I'll lose it to rust in two years. That's the standard procedure for brown people who've just started to get settled here . Then I'll have an old rusty Caravan or a Sienna and I'll permanently abandon sedans

[k-four-nine]

That's one creepy car!

No, not your Subaru. Your WRX is a fine piece of machine. I'm talking about the old, rusty 70's American gas guzzler parked in the corner:

Looks like something straight out of a Hollywood horror movie. Damn!

I was once tailgated by a similar rusty car on an empty road in the middle of the night, in California suburbs. The guy wouldn't pass my car, blink his light or honk or do anything. He just kept tailing my car! My sister was also with me and she was half scared to death! She was so scared; she actually started reciting Ayt-Al-Kursi when suddenly the car took a sharp turn and disappeared in the darkness.

She still believes the driver was indeed a serial killer and Allah saved our lives that day!

Whereas I think he was just a poor drunk driver trying to get home after a 'busy' night at the bar!

[Sorry about the story! Seeing that car reminded me of that memorable incident!]

Great car, BTW. Drive safe!

[usmanminhas5]

lol my first two Hondas here did not have heated seats so I know very well what you mean. On top of that my first Honda's driver side window used to get stuck sometimes in open position

Snow tires are a must if you do winter driving but all-seasons should also suffice. I drove my G35 on all-seasons for the two winters I had it for. But then again, I used to commute via subway back then and only drove my car on the weekends.

Summer tires on the STI literally become skates below 5-6 degrees C. I delayed getting winter tires last year and it was a nightmare to drive once it started to snow. I nearly rammed into another vehicle that stopped in front of me at a traffic light after which I decided to park it until I got the appointment to get winter tires (all shops were overbooked and nobody was willing to take me right away).

I got a good deal from my dealership on OEM alloys and Blizzaks which I'm very happy with. Winter tires combined with DCCD in Auto+ mode make it an absolute breeze to drive it in snow. I live in GTA and we've seen some waves of heavy snow last year and also a couple of weeks back.

The photos below are from last year's winters just to share the Canadian Winter Experience with my fellow Pakwheelers

[usmanminhas5]

Thanks!
Yeah this car never moved during the 1.5 years that I stayed in that building.
Lol thanks for sharing your story, I've had similar encounters many times driving on backroads.

[Drake]

that is one mean looking beast! MashAllah. Just a suggestion, do something about the color of brake calipers, go for red or lime yellow or some other color that stands out...

[usmanminhas5]

Thanks, Drake!
That's on my to-do list.
To be honest, the fluorescent yellow-green calipers on the 2018 models look pretty nice in real life.

[mehran]

The Subie is parked outside? That's just plain cruelty towards cars

[usmanminhas5]

Guilty as charged!

On a serious note, this is back when my apartment lease expired and I had to change towns so I did not renew it. Rental market in GTA is crazy so while I was waiting to find my new place, I had to stay here temporarily for a couple of months with a friend.

It's all good now and I have an underground spot

I recently found that there's another Subie fan in the building as well

This silver one is an RS7 that someone in my building has. What a car!

Hope you guys are enjoying the pics

[mehran]

Good to know that you've settled down and your car has a parking mate. Keep sharing please!

[nasraj]

Nice car mashaAllah, I am looking for one in blue colour. I like the year 2003-2005 shape in blue. All the best and enjoy the ride bro.

[usmanminhas5]

Thanks, nasraj.
2003-5 is nice! I wish you all the best for your search.
Do share pictures once you get your hands on one

[Bilalicious]

Why is there a need to top up oil frequently?

[usmanminhas5]

Hi There,

It reduces a little bit of oil every 3-4K Kms. Sometimes it doesn't reduce any oil for 6-7K kms. It basically depends on my driving pattern. I had been driving it in a more "civilized" manner for the past few months since my parents were over .

However, now that they're back in Pakistan and we've entered boost friendly weather, my current boost gauge history shows a peak boost of 18 PSI

I change oil every 10K so in order to be on the safe side and keep the oil levels up to the mark, I get it checked and topped (if required) more frequently than I probably should.

As per Subaru, this is expected behaviour. Most of my friends who own certain Audi and BMW models experience similar engine oil consumption. For example, my friend's BMW 535i in the picture below needed 1 quart of engine oil roughly every 6-9K Kms.