PlayStation generation, rejoice! The Subaru WRX is back, in an all new form. Making its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the new performance hero (we can’t call it a production rally car anymore, can we?) promises the return of sports car performance combined with four-door sedan practicality.
It looks rather decent, though significantly toned down from the breath-taking WRX concept shown earlier in the year. It’s a significant improvement over the cooking Impreza, that’s for sure, but we wonder if we’d all be more enthusiastic about the appearance had Subaru not skyrocketed our expectations with the blue concept. Perhaps this is one of those “less is more” situations.
Up front, it gets Subaru’s new family look, with a prominent hexagonal grille with swoopy ‘hawkeye’ headlights to emphasise its low and wide stance. Looks very similar to the larger Legacy-previewing Levorg concept show in Japan, doesn’t it? Like its interiors, Subaru seems to be taking the one-size-fits-all approach to its new models.
Compared to the outgoing, somewhat forgotten WRX, the new one has the base of its A-pillar moved forwards by 200 mm for a sleeker silhouette, while the C-pillar now flows more smoothly into the boot to achieve a less upright appearance. Round the back are smaller, more dynamic taillamps above four exhaust pipes nestled within a large black diffuser.
Now comes the really interesting part – performance. Under the well-defined hood is a brand new 2.0 litre horizontally-opposed direct-injection turbo (DIT) Boxer engine giving out a healthy 268 hp at 5,600 rpm and 350 Nm of torque from 2,000 to 5,200 rpm. That’s a small gain over the existing 2.5 litre turbo’s 265 hp and 330 Nm.
Subaru’s signature Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system is present, of course, splitting the power to the lightweight 17-inch wheels through a six-speed manual transmission or an optional Sport Lineartronic CVT. The latter has a fixed eight-speed mode, and its shift response has been improved specifically for the WRX.
Chassis tweaks (stiffer body and tuned suspension), together with Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) and Active Torque Vectoring systems work together to offer what Subaru describes as “even more predictable, yet engaging handling.” The electric power steering has been adjusted to give a more direct steering feel too.
Inside is where the WRX loses its plot a little. Here, you get the same boring dashboard design Subaru uses in the Impreza, XV, Forester and even the Levorg concept (and thus the next Legacy too). Someone should remind Subaru that you should only stick to a design if it’s actually any good in the first place.
Anyway, the cabin materials are said to be an improvement over the old model, and the new flat-bottomed wheel, supportive seats and red highlights cement the WRX’s sporting intentions. The multi-function display now includes the all-important boost pressure gauge, while interior space has been improved, thanks to a 25 mm-longer wheelbase.
So what do you all think, is the new Subaru WRX worth getting excited about?
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Toyota WRX
Vios TRD can smoke this junk anytime!!
yaya..smoke as in the car burn to dust..read my words
Smell my smoke !
Your vios can smoke a WRX because it doesn’t want to bother with you.Your vios do smoke all the super-car when there were idle.When there intend to smoke you,you will choke to death.
OMG…nice from the front…but the rear – damn ugly, not matching the WRX styling…puihh..
what the farq! why is a dinosaur’s name mentioned here? toyota has no business in this article. pls.
“Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru, is currently in a partial partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation, which owns 16.5% of FHI.”
so tell me which part that Toyota doesn’t associate with Subaru?
cant wait for the sti model
Since revealing the GR-chassis WRX, Subaru seems lost their touch on exterior styling. It’s a little bit more Toyota-ish. I really missed the frameless door window though.
I don’t mind the Toyota-ish look. Still looks good to me.
Toyoita-isHilux face like Sam Loo, u really don’t mind?
yeah, only with Vios-Altis pricing then..
this is subaru. no association with toyota.
oh, in that case the BRZ has ni association with GT86 la?
I guess the removal of frameless door is because they want to improve the NVH value in their cars. Their recent cars seems to be leaning more towards the upmarket than before. Probably trying to appeal to more buyers.
ok no framless door….still make it nicer la…
Nice!!
Noooooo!
This is such a letdown after the mouth watering blue concept was unveiled previously.
Haiz~
Don’t worry. There is still the STI version to wait for.
Where’s the big spoiler??!!
read properly, this is WRX not STI come with sporty wing..
To me its not toyota-ish…more like evo10-ish.lol. overall still look nice thou.
New boxer turbo engine. Hopefully this engine will be the global engine for WRX car, which is different from current engine lineup for Impreza WRX and WRX STi (EJ20 is the 2L twin-scroll boxer engine that is only for JDM market whereas international market has the 2.5L EJ25 single scroll turbo boxer engine).
Subaru is still keen on continuing their performance variant of the Impreza. Good job because recently Mitsubishi seems to be straying away from what they used to do during the 90s. Lancer Evolution X looked like it is dying slowly with it’s highly criticized TC-SST transmission and heavier weight compared to Evolution IX. The old days of performance Mitsubishi cars and engines are over. Galant VR-4 gone, Eclipse gone, the high revving NA MIVEC Mirage turned into an eco car, FTO gone and GTO/3000GT also gone.
Looks like Subaru has spent so much money developing CVTs..that they even had to put it in a WRX..
Yes…have to agree. Mitsubishi no longer makes car that show enough appeal. Do miss a lot on VR4, FTO, GTO and even Evo5 like (Very powerful). They were legend.
meant to support ken. Wrong reply place.
They dropped impreza name so i guess its a standalone model…?
The Ps gen have grew up , and so did this wrx , wewant the speed , the flash , and also comfort for our other passengers too, wewant a sweet exhaust burble without deafening our ears all d time ,
Its good to see subaru is getting its mojo back , tho it seemed like a missed oppurtunity , mebe the sti version wud sort that out
okay..all-new Subaru Inspira
Side profile looks rather boring… like a really big slab of flat pressed metal. Doesn’t help that there’s so much space between the wheel arches. Maybe one horizontal character line would have been nice to slim it down a little bit.
I’m sure it’ll look better in metal. Save your eye-indulging habits for its arrival, then go to the nearest showroom for a good look. Just make sure you don’t come out already booking a unit ;)
As a Impreza WrX Sti diehard fans,
I got two solution-
1st:Wait for the STi(…maybe nomore by subaru marketing desicion, =_=)
2nd:Buy the manual one, And Mod it according to your taste.
Well, It wasn’t that yeong-sui, but…
Meh,where’s the SUBARU emblem?
Looks good to me, reminds me of 2002-2009 Legacy..
Anonther boring design by Japanese….
The WRX loses her virginity of Rally look of the STi…
Q: is the new Subaru WRX worth getting excited about?
A: no.
AUD40k on road in australia, RM120k
no doubt at it’s price range, you can’t get anything quicker than that. 0-100 5 sec flat on current rex anyway, and with all the goodies this time subaru has chucked in, bang for the buck
interior and rear just copy paste XV.. sigh..
Those who bla bla bla here which of you guy own a WRX STI before?
can’t wait to see malaysia price… lol
so red. many drift. such boring. such power. wow. so skill. so rally. wow.
LOOK LIKE 1ST GENERATION STAR SUBARU
lovely design from the exterior but interior still meh
Boring? Ugly? This is a performance car.. What do you expect? Get a Civic lah.. Pure motorheads careless about just looks! From the video it is clear how this car behave. It was not designed just to please your eyes.. It was designed for pure driving experience.. & for hard.. Very hard driving style. Thumbs up WRX..
great. i bet this will come with the new generation chain-driven boxer engine :D
I hope motor image will bring this manual version of this car to Malaysia since they not bringing the previous WRX