Subaru's WRX is the street-going version of Subaru's successful World Rally Cup race cars. It is a modern example of what is still called a "stock" car, though the race cars on today's NASCAR Cup circuit have almost nothing in common with the "stock" (i.e., factory production) cars they're made to sort of resemble.
The WRX, on the other hand, is the car on which the race cars are based — which is why it's so much fun to drive on the street.
What It Is
The WRX is a compact-size, high-performance sedan that comes standard with most of the essential equipment you'd need to go racing. including the high-performance turbocharged "Boxer" engine, six-speed manual transmission and Subaru's race-winning, torque-vectoring AWD system, specially calibrated to maximize handling tenacity via modulation of power delivery in both the straights and the curves.
Base price is $29,605.
Premium and Limited trims ($32,105 and $36,495, respectively) add amenities such as dual-zone climate control, heated seats and a larger (and dual-screen) 11.6-inch LCD touchscreen.
The top-of-the-line GT adds an adaptive suspension, Recaro sport buckets and additional (more aggressive) drive mode settings for the standard Subaru Performance (CVT automatic) transmission that's optional in other trims.
It stickers for $42,395.
What's New
The WRX gets its first major makeover since the 2012 model year.
What's Good
Race car kinship — and experience.
Standard manual transmission and AWD.
Optional CVT automatic shifts 30%-50% faster, says Subaru.
What's Not So Good
Sedan-only body style limits everyday practicality due to small (12.5-cubic foot) trunk.
Highest-performance GT trim comes only with the CVT automatic.
WRX STi isn't available ... for now.
Under The Hood
The new WRX has a larger — 2.4-liter — boxer (i.e., horizontally opposed cylinders) engine in lieu of the previous 2.0-liter boxer engine.
Boxer engines are lower (and lighter) than upright engines, and their weight is spread out more evenly on either side of the vehicle's centerline, as opposed to being in line with it and taller. This improves handling and balance, which is why Porsche also uses the layout.
But it's not necessary to buy a Porsche to get it.
The new 2.4-liter engine is only negligibly more powerful at 271 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque versus the outgoing 2.0's 268 horsepower and the same 258 foot-pounds of torque. And the fuel economy it delivers is about the same: 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway versus 20 mpg city and 27 mpg highway previously (with the standard six-speed manual transmission).
It's also not any quicker.
Both the new car and the old car take about 5.3 seconds to get to 60.
But the new engine may be better, being bigger.
Little engines that are heavily boosted are under a great deal of pressure — specifically, their internals, such as bearing surfaces. When these are smaller, it is harder on them. Especially in a high-performance car, a larger — physically stronger — engine will probably last longer than a smaller one subjected to repeated stress.
An optional automatic is also part of the newness. It is still a continuously variable (CVT) automatic, as before, but Subaru says it "shifts" much more quickly. (CVT automatics do not shift because they aren't geared. Instead, they transition through variable ranges, with electronics mimicking up and downshifts.)
It is standard equipment in the also-new GT trim, which comes with adaptive dampers, Recaro sport buckets and a higher-performance wheel/tire package.
On The Road
The bigger engine requires even less revving to get the car going. It pulls with more authority with less apparent effort, so even though the new model isn't appreciably quicker than the outgoing model, it is stronger feeling in the stop-and-go.
The sound is as good as before.
The ride — still firm — isn't as hard as it was before.
This is no doubt due to the new underlying "global" (rather than Impreza) platform. The revised suspension has more travel, which probably accounts for the increased give, without increasing roll. Subaru says the rear sway bar's mounting arrangement (directly to the unibody rather than the subframe) plus a lowered center of gravity and a wider track (by 1.2 inches) are responsible for that. All of this improves what was already very good — in the sense that the WRX has always been a performance car that's also an easy-to-live-with everyday car.
At The Curb
The appearance of the new WRX is hard to distinguish from that of the old one — and this is probably good for the same reason that it's a good idea Coke never changed the shape of its bottle. Once you have something people like, leave it alone — else they might not like it.
But there are differences; you just have to look for them. They include contrast-color chip guards around the lip of each fender well, a larger (and lower) grill, rear fender bulges and more of a scoop on the hood than the previous duct. The interior has been massaged as well, with the most obvious being the 11.6-inch center touchscreen that's standard in the Premium and up trims.
The Rest
While you can't get the adaptive dampers — or the Recaro seats from the factory — without also getting (and paying top dollar) for the CVT-equipped GT, you can get a factory-installed short-throw shifter for $427 extra, as well as a factory-installed STI performance exhaust system for $1,200 extra, with any WRX.
The Bottom Line
If you ever wanted to feel what it's like to drive a "stock" car ...
Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
View the Subaru WRX this week.
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