Are All 5-Speeds the Same??

About two weeks ago I got a very belated christmas present in the mail. It's a beautiful hardcover book called "You & Your Subaru Impreza Turbo" and it's all about the Impreza from initial concept to the brand-new WRX STi. In the chapter discussing the brand new, funky-headlighted WRX STi, the book states that the new STi's 6-speed is "Subaru's first new manual transmission in 20 years..."

So is this basically saying that for the past 20 years, Subaru has been using the same 5-speed tranny in all of its cars? does the 2.5 RS of North American infamy actually share a transmission with the WRX's enjoyed by those on the Isle of Man??

In the back of the book there is a chapter on recommended upgrades to the Impreza and under the heading "Transmission" the book reads "The Impreza's gearchange is sometimes criticized as being rather slow and imprecise, perhaps not surprising given that the transmission basically dates back 30 years." Keep in mind that this is a WRX's 5-speed gearbox they're talking about here. A few paragraphs down the author claims "The gearbox itself is a pretty tough unit that can handle up to 300bhp quite easily..."

Granted Impreza's overseas have shortened shift linkages, heavier-duty clutches, etc.. Is the gearbox itself actually the same????

Assuming that the North American Impreza's have been sharing 5-speeds with European WRX's all along, it would be quite safe to say that an Impreza or Legacy gearbox is a fine candidate to replace the SVX's 4EAT.

However, seeing as how the new STi's 6-speed is the first completely new manual transmission to come from FHI in nearly 20 years, I'd say that it is a far better replacement. I'm curious how much one will cost once the STi goes on sale on North America..


-Adam

ps. if anyone would like to see this text for themselves, just ask and I'll try to scan the pages in question..