2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI

- First Year the STI was offered in the U.S.
- One of 7,405 Produced in 2004
- World Rally Blue Paint
- Turbocharged 2.5L H4
- Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive
- Tastefully Modified: COBB 2 Tune, Catback Exhaust, Down Pipe, Turbo Timer, and Cold Air Intake
- JDM Market STI Wheels
- Intercooler Sprayer
- Driver Controlled Differential
- Timing Belt, Head Gasket, and Clutch recently replaced
- Montana Car

(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI on a website other than our Garage Kept Motors site, it's possible that you've only seen some of our many photographs of the car due to third-party website limitations. To be sure you access all the more than 165 photographs, as well as a short start-up and walk-around video, and a link to its accident and damage-free Carfax history, please go to our main website: Garage Kept Motors.)

“You want speed? Okay, then know that some enthusiast publications have recorded 0-60mph times of 4.5 seconds or better for the WRX STi.” – Forbes, March 2004

So, what's it like to pilot the Impreza WRX?

Forbes went on: “Shinny behind the wheel of the Subaru, fire up the motor and you'll hear a very mild exhaust noise, but plant the gearbox in first, punch the throttle and suddenly the car is sideways, all four wheels spinning, while the ridiculously huge hood scoop dominating the view out the windscreen (much like Mad Max's blower) is busily sucking in cold air to the massive intercooler that sits astride the motor. Your mind reels back to Mad Max staring out the window of his mean machine, all hot glare and vengeance in his eyes. You get a little glint in your heart, shift into second (the car only now straightening out and eating blacktop) while the little Subaru keeps relentlessly accelerating. Soon the little WRX STi (an exceedingly close cousin to the WRX car that competes in World Rally Championship racing series) and its amazing, 300hp motor are slamming you up towards 100mph. And boy do you feel like the baddest dude on the road.”

Offered here is a very well-preserved and respectfully treated 2004 Subaru STi WRX in World Rally blue over blue-and-black. The 2004 model was the first year the STi was offered in the U.S. The car's odometer shows 123,690 accident-and-damage-free miles, or just over 6,500 miles per-year on average, less than half what the industry considers normal annual mileage. Fortunately for its next owner, the car has received only tasteful modifications (listed nearby, with a full list of standard equipment shown at the end of this description) so it operates even more spiritedly than the manufacturer intended (as described in the review above).

The Subie's exterior Rally Blue paint is in excellent condition overall, with even gloss across all painted surfaces, including the functional hood scoop, flared fenders, front air dam, large rear-deck spoiler, and lower-body ground-effects trim pieces. (To best assess the quality of the paint and trim finishes, be sure to view the close-up photographs of the car in the accompanying gallery.) Subaru is known for properly aligned body panels, and this car reflects the factory tolerances. All original “Subaru,” “STi,” and “WRX” badging is properly in place. Headlights, rally-style fog lights, and taillights are all functional, and their lenses are clear and un-cracked. Similarly, cabin glass is virtually perfect. Japanese-domestic-market 17-inch, 5-split-spoke, rally wheels in excellent condition are mounted with Nokian® 225/45 directional high-performance tires. Red-painted disc-brake calipers in all four positions can be seen through the wheels. The car's trunk is perfectly clean and undamaged.

Inside, a black theme is interrupted with the perforated blue-fabric center cloth inserts on all seating surfaces (including the very well-bolstered front buckets). Cabin floors are covered with matching blue-and-black carpeting which has been well-protected with carpet mats. The black dash is simple and straightforward befitting a World Rallycross-inspired car. The “all business” STi-branded steering wheel is standard from the factory. Full instrumentation includes the 160-mph speedometer and 7,000-rpm-redline tachometer. A turbo-boost gauge and HKS® turbo-timer digital gauge have been added. The center stack includes the factory audio system and climate-control system. The short shifter for the 6-speed manual transmission is center-console-mounted with an STi-branded trim plate.

Under the hood, the dual-overhead-cam, 2.0-liter, turbocharged, boxer-style flat-4-cylinder engine (delivering a rated 300 horsepower to the pavement via symmetrical all-wheel drive) is centerstage in a well-maintained and very clean engine compartment. It could not have looked much better on the day the car left the factory. The air-to-air intercooler, fed with air via the hood scoop, sits atop the legendary powerplant. Viewed from below, the chassis shows no damage including no flattened exhaust components due to overly aggressive driving styles or track use. Expected surface rust is present on untreated metal, but no body-panel rust is indicated. Factory suspension components and disc brakes are properly mounted.

The car's data and identification tags remain as mounted at the factory. Service records for the timing-belt, clutch, and head-gasket replacement are included. The sale includes original literature.

The overall excellent condition of this Subaru Impreza WRX is faithfully presented in the more than 175 high-definition photographs, together with a short walk-around-and-startup video mentioned earlier, available at the GarageKeptMotors site. That said, there is no substitute for an in-person, up-close inspection. We encourage such inspections by interested parties at our Grand Rapids, Michigan showroom. We ask only that an appointment be made by phone or email in advance. Our showroom is not open to the public. We are happy to answer questions by way of phone or email.

There has indeed been an abundance of praise heaped on the Subaru Impreza WRX by the car-enthusiast magazines and legions of WRC fans. But sometimes the most-straightforward accolades put it best. Motor Trend gets that honor concluding their extensive 2004 road test review: “A new and improved WRX, now available in Maximum Strength.

Standard-equipment list

Mechanical & Powertrain:
2.5L DOHC SMPI 16-valve VVT intercooled high-boost turbo 4-cyl boxer engine
Manually operated intercooler water spray cooler
Electronic throttle control (ETC)
6-speed manual transmission w/OD
Driver control center differential (DCCD)
All-wheel drive
Sport-tuned performance suspension w/inverted strut-type suspension
Front/rear stabilizer bars
P225/45ZR17 directional summer tires
Quick ratio pwr assisted rack & pinion steering
Electronic brake-force distribution (EBD)
Brembo HD 4-wheel disc brakes
15.9 gallon fuel tank
STi performance exhaust system-inc: large single outlet sport tailpipe w/STi logo

Safety:
Driver & front passenger depowered airbags (SRS)
3-point front seatbelts w/pretensioners & force limiters
3-point rear seatbelts
Front/rear outboard height-adjustable seatbelt anchors
Rear child safety seat anchors
Internal child safety trunk release
Front/rear 5-mph impact-absorbing bumpers
Child safety rear door locks
LATCH system
Side-impact door beams

Interior:
Performance design reclining bucket seats w/fixed head restraints & STi logo on front seatbacks
Blue Ecsaine upholstery w/black knit bolsters
Integrated rear seat headrests for all seating positions
Center console w/storage area
Rear seat armrest w/trunk pass-through delete
Cup holders-inc: retractable front/center console
Aluminum pedal covers
Safety brake pedal system
Subaru World Rally Team design leather-wrapped steering wheel
Tilt steering column
STi-type instrument cluster w/revolution indicator, tachometer, engine coolant, temp gauge, low-fuel light, dual mode digital trip odometer
Ambient temp gauge
Leather-wrapped shifter/parking brake
Pwr windows w/driver-side one-touch down feature
Cruise control
Pre-wiring for security system
Semi-auto HVAC system w/air conditioning & air filtration system
Rear window defroster w/timer
Audio system prewire
Illuminated locking glove box
Dark gray metallic trim-inc: audio bezel, audio face plate, center/side bi-level vents
Front door pockets
Driver & front passenger covered visor vanity mirrors
Dome light w/off delay feature
Trunk light

Exterior:
STi body-color aerodynamic side ground effects
Larger trunk spoiler
Front body-color STi-type bumper w/corner spoilers
Rear body-color bumper
Larger hood scoop
Automatic-off multi-reflector 4-beam HID headlights w/smoke tinted lenses
Fog light insert covers
Body-color foldable pwr mirrors
Variable intermittent windshield wipers
Driver's side windshield wiper fin
Body-color door handles