Auto News 5

It's an old idea and, on the face of it, a good one: put a reliable, powerful American engine with its slightly retrograde specification (but astonishingly low price) in a European chassis, add a stylish body, and create a bargain exotic. In the early 1930s, the formula was tried by Noel Macklin, one of the British founders of the expensive Invicta marque. In the post-1929 financial turmoil, he needed less expensive mechanicals for the cars produced on his estate. He used complete Hudson chassis and drivetrains for those cheaper cars, enlisting the name and reputation of respected engineer Reid Railton, designer of some of Sir Malcolm Campbell's Bluebirds and John Cobb's land-speed-record cars, for his sub-Invicta project.

It's easy to write off systems like Subaru's SI-Drive as gimmicks that are more about marketing than real-world utility, but the STI benefits from the SI-Drive system. Driving around in the Intelligent setting makes the car a little smoother and slightly more economical. Bumping up to S# setting gives the car much better throttle response that makes rev-matched downshifts extremely easy and is perfectly situated for track use or very spirited driving.