{"id":28542,"date":"2022-01-06T17:04:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T21:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28542"},"modified":"2022-01-06T17:04:30","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T21:04:30","slug":"payne-subaru-wrx-gets-fancy-new-duds-still-wants-to-play-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/01\/payne-subaru-wrx-gets-fancy-new-duds-still-wants-to-play-hard","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Subaru WRX gets fancy new duds, still wants to play hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Santa Rosa, California\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 An old stagecoach trail running through Mendocino County called Mountain View Road is hell. Its blind, narrow, asphalt path is pocked with patches and neglect. It snakes below a canopy of redwood trees, the perpetually damp surface iced with pine needles making the road surface even more challenging.<\/p>\n

My 2022 Subaru WRX tester was in heaven.<\/p>\n

Rally bred, the WRX (short for World Rally Cross) cut across the challenging terrain like Barry Sanders through a defensive\u00a0line. Stiffly damped, its suspension absorbed road irregularities. Barreling into a tight series of S turns, I\u00a0flicked the stick into second, then blasted out of the corner \u2014 the all-wheel-drive system propelled by 271 ponies.<\/p>\n

A road that would be a nightmare in the average family SUV turns into a grin-inducing playground at the wheel of the WRX.<\/p>\n

The swift Subie is the latest\u00a0remade entry in my favorite automotive segment: pocket rockets. These talented hellions will happily do daily chores all week, then gleefully devour country roads on the weekend. It\u2019s a segment apparently sheltered from the SUV revolution \u2014 so passionate is its fanbase (guilty as charged), so capable are the players.<\/p>\n

Each athlete brings a unique skill set to the arena, with the Subaru flaunting manual-shifting, all-wheel-drive DNA born of some of the toughest rally-racing terrain in the world. Mountain View Road?\u00a0Ha, have you seen Motu Road Gorge in New Zealand?<\/em>\u00a0Like the Volkswagen Golf GTI, WRX is a segment icon.<\/p>\n

And like the GTI, the \u2019Ru got a total makeover for the new model year.<\/p>\n

The remake is timely given the all-out assault by its competitive set on the market. Notably, WRX has been challenged by the Mazda3 Turbo as the only segment competitor offering AWD \u2014 a boon to those of us living in snow country.<\/p>\n

The Mazda has set segment benchmarks for looks and interior panache. Its gorgeous tablet-topped dash and hatchback utility make it a formidable rival.<\/p>\n

Subie answers with its most daring exterior style ever, its\u00a0boomerang headlights bracketing the familiar hexagonal grille while also emphasizing the compact car\u2019s wider stance compared with the standard Impreza compact car. Indeed, while WRX shares the Global Platform that undergirds Impreza, the WRX has divorced itself (even dropping the Impreza family name!) from its underpowered sibling and adopting its own unique body panels. The blistered rear fenders and huge\u00a0quad-pipe-engorged rear diffuser instantly send a message as you come upon a WRX: do you know who you are tangling with?<\/p>\n

More controversial are blocky\u00a0black fender claddings that echo other, more-off-road oriented Subaru Wilderness models. The cladding is unusual. But given WRX\u2019s rally focus and liberal use of black makeup, the styling works remarkably well.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Inside, the \u2019Ru brings a trendy new\u00a011.6-inch center screen copied from its Outback and Legacy siblings. The touchscreen (complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity) is easier to use than the Mazda\u2019s sometimes quirky\u00a0remote rotary controller, but it isn\u2019t as driver-focused as the 3\u2019s high-mounted tablet.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Style marks go to the automatic-shifting Mazda, but the Subaru is intensely performance driven,\u00a0starting with a tight\u00a0six-speed shifter.<\/p>\n

Plunging through the redwoods, I never missed a shift. The throws are short, the pedals conveniently placed for heel-and-toe downshifts, even for my size 15s. The arrangement is better than the Golf GTI\u2019s stick, if not on par with the Honda Civic Si\u2019s terrific shifter \u2014 one of the best I\u2019ve experienced this side of a Porsche.<\/p>\n

Unlike the GTI and SI, however, WRX is curiously emotion-less. There is no rev match on downshift, no growl, not even a SPORT drive mode selector (though the top model GT trim will get six driving modes with its automatic tranny). Odd choice that.<\/p>\n

With a quieter cabin that the last gen, the WRX engine feels curiously removed from otherwise pulse-pounding performance. Take the AWD system, for example.<\/p>\n

While the Si and GTI bring superb front-wheel-drive, limited-slip differentials that help rotate them through the twisties, the \u2019Ru goes all out with a rear-wheel-biased, longitudinally mounted\u00a0low-center-of-gravity Boxer engine that feeds all that power to all four wheels all the time. You know, like an Audi.<\/p>\n

Adding nearly another half-liter to last gen\u2019s 2.0-liter engine, the Subie pulls hard. Past quibbles about turbo-lag are forgotten. As I overcooked it into a mountain switchback, the rear end came around nicely as I applied throttle.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

So proud is Subaru of its AWD drive grip that it provides sticky summer tires \u2014\u00a0standard<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 for WRX.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a sucker for hatchbacks, and the Golf\u2019s hatch utility gives it a leg up over WRX and Si. Subarus are traditionally strong on the standard feature front, but the manual WRX oddly overlooks adaptive cruise control (reserving it for the automatic,\u00a0even though manuals make up 85% of WRX\u2019s sales volume). ACC \u2014 especially for the young (average age 37) WRX buyer \u2014 is becoming an essential feature. Both GTI and Si offer it on their manuals.<\/p>\n

Not overlooked is seating comfort. Over four hours of aggressive driving, my big\u00a06\u20195\u201d frame never felt uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

The WRX\u2019s new thrones have been extensively reworked, and my Premium trim\u2019s (the meat of WRX sales) cloth seats were as comfortable as if they had been leather while keeping me in place though the curves.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Rear legroom is admirable, too. The \u2019Ru has put its extra inch of wheelbase to good use, and could fit my giraffe legs easily behind myself in the backseat. But for the tight Mazda, roomy rear seating for four has become a segment staple \u2014 though your passengers may squirm when you point at the S\u00a0curves ahead.<\/p>\n

So iconic is the WRX that Subaru no longer feels the need to enter it in a high-profile race series. It exited the World Rally Championship (recording a record 46 wins) over a decade ago, and American Rallycross expired during the pandemic. The WRX is not alone in the Subaru performance lineup,\u00a0sandwiched between the BRZ and the winged STI.<\/p>\n

As engaging as the rear-wheel-dive BRZ is, however, WRX \u2014 for about the same price \u2014 shows off its value with winter-friendly AWD, comfy seating for four, deep trunk space\u00a0and big-screen ergonomics.<\/p>\n

If you were hoping for a WRX for Christmas, however, you were disappointed. Production was delayed until January.<\/p>\n

2022 Subaru WRX<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive\u00a0five-passenger\u00a0pocket rocket<\/p>\n

Price: Est. $29,000\u00a0(est. $32,000 Premium trim, Solar\u00a0Orange Pearl paint as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: 2.4-liter turbo-4 cylinder Boxer engine<\/p>\n

Power:\u202f271\u00a0horsepower,\u00a0258\u00a0pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission:\u00a06-speed manual, continuously variable transmission (CVT)<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.4 seconds (Car and Driver est., manual);\u00a0top speed,\u00a0145 mph<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a03,320\u202fpounds\u202f(premium as tested)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA, 19 mpg city\/25 highway\/21 combined (auto);\u00a019 mpg city\/26 highway\/22\u00a0combined (manual)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs:\u00a0Upgraded looks; AWD OMG<\/p>\n

Lows:\u00a0Emotionless engine note; no adaptive cruise control with manual<\/p>\n

Overall:\u00a03\u202fstars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Santa Rosa, California\u00a0\u2014 An old stagecoach trail running through Mendocino County called Mountain View Road is hell. Its blind, narrow, asphalt path is pocked with patches and neglect. It snakes below a canopy of redwood trees, the perpetually damp surface iced with pine needles making the road surface even more challenging. My 2022 Subaru WRX […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28543,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28542\/revisions\/28543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}