The 2022 Subaru WRX is coming soon

[kyriian]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

0-60 in 5.7 seconds. Subaru is maybe the only automaker who's new models are slower than they were decades ago.

Yet a massive cloud of rabid vapers would happily keep buying em #becausesubarurumble #vapersneedacartoo

[RM7]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

So true. The 2012 WRX I had prior to my M235 was routinely tested to do 4.9-5.1 0-60.

I fully expect Subaru to make an emergency switch to paint the plastic fender guards body color and redo the front and rear bumper covers for next year to have more paint and less unpainted plastic. They've realized they made a mistake and luckily it's fairly easy to address.

Power wise, it ain't progress at all. At worst, these cars are slower than the ones they replaced. At best, there's no change.

5K clutch drops to try and crack the transmission, using the engine as an AWD flywheel...that was how Subarus "achieved" their "quick 0-60 times". The 5-60 showed the real story. Maybe they are doing it with better low end torque now (the park that was lacking)...maybe.

[OM3RTA]

Does no one pronounce it as Works?

[RM7]

Originally Posted by OM3RTA

Does no one pronounce it as Works?

No. I had one and never heard anyone refer to it like that.

World Rally Cross?

[Bush Pilot]

In 06, I sold my tired 88 325iS and bought a new WRX. What a disappointment. Whereas the 325iS would easily perform a balanced 4 wheel slide when going around a corner the WRX would push. The 325iS brakes lasted 185k mil before needing rotors and the WRX needed new rotors after 15k mi. and never stayed straight. Think hard before going from a BMW to a WRX. Looking back, I should have tried the EVO. But who know what demons that car brought to the table.

The WRX's engine was good but the car just didn't have the soul of the 325iS.

[No Boost]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

0-60 in 5.7 seconds. Subaru is maybe the only automaker who's new models are slower than they were decades ago.

And the 5-60, aka real world acceleration, is probably at least a half second slower. Shit, my '04 was faster. How pathetic.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Bush Pilot

In 06, I sold my tired 88 325iS and bought a new WRX. What a disappointment. Whereas the 325iS would easily perform a balanced 4 wheel slide when going around a corner the WRX would push. The 325iS brakes lasted 185k mil before needing rotors and the WRX needed new rotors after 15k mi. and never stayed straight. Think hard before going from a BMW to a WRX. Looking back, I should have tried the EVO. But who know what demons that car brought to the table.

The WRX's engine was good but the car just didn't have the soul of the 325iS.

Well, for the handling thing, with the engine in front of the front axle, what were you thinking?

The WRX engine is part of the long-term problem, because they choose to go with the flat-4 layout in front of the front axle, they have to route at least 1/2 of the exhaust gasses around the entire engine, to the turbo. You compare this with virtually any modern setup, like twin scroll tapping right off an I-4 or I-6 manifold, how honda puts the manifold in the block now to keep gasses hot, hot-V setups, or one of many different ways that manufacturers have made turbo-lag non-existent, subaru can't use any of those, they best they can do is twin-scroll, but the engine config that lets them having the engine that low and share the trans oil with the diff is also the big issue with the car and why it can never really get better past a certain point. Handling is definitely one of those issues. You can keep tuning to try and tune out the inherent understeer that an engine that far forward creates, but the polar moment is always an issue.

Never had that problem with the WRX brakes...did yours have the 4-pots? Maybe that was a bad year for them? I do know that the brakes that I had were pretty poor at slowing the car from 140mph...but it's not out of the ordinary for cars like this to not have much bigger/better brakes. The pricepoint would have had to been higher to get some bigger and better brakes on there IMO.

The WRX I had was fun, because it was a wagon, but I should have upgraded suspension/chassis/brakes before I toughed the powertrain. The engine was ok, but like a lot of aspects of the car, inherently limited. Doug is right about the car, you get it for performance in inclimate weather areas, that's where it tends to shine.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by No Boost

And the 5-60, aka real world acceleration, is probably at least a half second slower. Shit, my '04 was faster. How pathetic.

I wonder why they chose gearing such that it hits 60 in third. With such a low redline, I thought they would have spaced the gears out a little wider. Short gears don't benefit acceleration in turbocharged engines in the first few gears.

My 09 WRX with 6500 RPM redline hit either 65 or 72 mph in 2nd if I recall correctly. From my understanding, the USDM STI hits 60 in 3rd due to the gearing being optimized for the 2.0L EJ which revs to over 7000 RPM (7800 I think?), but to deliberately design the ratios for a brand new car this way is strange. Unless they just carried over the ratios from the previous gen WRX, which would be...odd. But not at all surprising at this point.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last generation of WRX. Subaru doesn't really care that much about it anymore, so I don't see why we should either. I'm more interested in the GR86/BRZ at this point. Never thought I'd say this, but there are more exciting Hyundais currently available than the new WRX.

[Bush Pilot]

Agree. And I don't know what sort of brakes were on it other than I knew it wasn't the Brembos on the STI.

I always felt like I was still in an econobox in the WRX...because I was, but one with 250 hp. I wouldn't buy another one.

[heavyD^2]

I had a 2013 STI and it was a fine car for getting around 12 months of the year but no matter how much you adjusted DCCD I could never get it to handle like my old EVO and the EJ257 is really weak engine relative to today's 4 cylinder turbocharged engines. You had to wind that thing out or get smoked at green lights by Toyota Camrys. Also the thing rattled like a tin can. It's the first car I have ever owned that I had to remove nearly every single interior piece to try and fix rattles. I think I'm far past owning a car like this again as it's more of a starter's car for a young adult.

[No Boost]

Originally Posted by ntg44

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last generation of WRX. Subaru doesn't really care that much about it anymore, so I don't see why we should either. I'm more interested in the GR86/BRZ at this point. Never thought I'd say this, but there are more exciting Hyundais currently available than the new WRX.

Yep, the BRZ and N line Hyundais exude a much bigger enthusiast vibe....Except for those wannabe rally drivers that want AWD.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by No Boost

Yep, the BRZ and N line Hyundais exude a much bigger enthusiast vibe....Except for those wannabe rally drivers that want AWD.

Just look at the Honda Type R time around a track vs. the STI...

[No Boost]

Originally Posted by RM7

Just look at the Honda Type R time around a track vs. the STI...

I'm sure it's a bloodbath.

[Randy22]

Not bad design, but it would be better if they do hatchback again

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Randy22

Not bad design, but it would be better if they do hatchback again

Ok, but if we weren't on a BMW site with the giant nostril M3 and M4, then it'd be a bad design...

[x622]

I wish I had my old Hawkeye still. Apparently it would of still been a better car than these "modern" subies.

Japanese cars are truly dead.

[stein_325i]

[Fast.F10]

Body style is boring imo. Got no rise after looking at pics or videos.

[nicholasn]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

I wouldn't say they are on fire like they were most of last decade when they were breaking year over year records. There are on the back side of their peak as sales were starting to slide just before the pandemic. They are still very popular in certain states and I have no doubt that this new WRX will sell very well as while this car no longer represents what enthusiast want in a sporty sedan it does represent what a lot of today's CUV/SUV buyers want which is rugged outdoorsy looks. I will go on record and say I just don't like the black plastic cladding on a car as it looks cheap but will reserve judgement for when I see in person. My opinion really doesn't matter as I would always bypass WRX straight to STI if I was going this direction but there's a lot of Subaru people that will probably love this look and good for them I guess.

Imo, Subaru is not in a great long-term position. I see them everywhere here in NC, and its bestselling models are driven mostly by old people who want boring safe cars. AWD isn't the selling point that it once was either because competitors are pushing AWD on more and more of their cars (for example, all 2022 Mazda SUVs will only be available with AWD). WRXs and BRZs are the only Subarus I see regularly that are driven by younger people. I'm not sure what Subaru's plan is, but I don't think a lot of their buyers will be buying cars for much longer, and they don't offer anything interesting for younger BRZ and WRX buyers to transition into.

[AlexFL]

Originally Posted by nicholasn

Imo, Subaru is not in a great long-term position. I see them everywhere here in NC, and its bestselling models are driven mostly by old people who want boring safe cars. AWD isn't the selling point that it once was either because competitors are pushing AWD on more and more of their cars (for example, all 2022 Mazda SUVs will only be available with AWD). WRXs and BRZs are the only Subarus I see regularly that are driven by younger people. I'm not sure what Subaru's plan is, but I don't think a lot of their buyers will be buying cars for much longer, and they don't offer anything interesting for younger BRZ and WRX buyers to transition into.

Subaru Legacy is a great midsize sedan. I would take it over Camry and Accord. I really don’t know why it’s not more popular.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by nicholasn

Imo, Subaru is not in a great long-term position. I see them everywhere here in NC, and its bestselling models are driven mostly by old people who want boring safe cars. AWD isn't the selling point that it once was either because competitors are pushing AWD on more and more of their cars (for example, all 2022 Mazda SUVs will only be available with AWD). WRXs and BRZs are the only Subarus I see regularly that are driven by younger people. I'm not sure what Subaru's plan is, but I don't think a lot of their buyers will be buying cars for much longer, and they don't offer anything interesting for younger BRZ and WRX buyers to transition into.

They sell like crack cocaine to old people, they are in a great position. If they are developing EV technology, they will be set. A lot of automakers are doing a lot of work behind the scenes with EV models and about to release scores of stuff, but the one thing that Subaru knows is how to sell boring cars and people will always get old and need a "safe" car. If they stay in that market, they'll do well. The good side is for some of us that are young enough, we will be able to get around on our own after we are unable to drive a car.

I know with other manufacturers, they are entering transition zones where they do have some pretty hot EV vehicles planned, but the current models are becoming hold-overs until those newer production lines are ramped up. Subaru obviously doesn't care enough to release something like a CTS-V Blackwing, so yeah...

[kyriian]

Originally Posted by nicholasn

Imo, Subaru is not in a great long-term position. I see them everywhere here in NC, and its bestselling models are driven mostly by old people who want boring safe cars. AWD isn't the selling point that it once was either because competitors are pushing AWD on more and more of their cars (for example, all 2022 Mazda SUVs will only be available with AWD). WRXs and BRZs are the only Subarus I see regularly that are driven by younger people. I'm not sure what Subaru's plan is, but I don't think a lot of their buyers will be buying cars for much longer, and they don't offer anything interesting for younger BRZ and WRX buyers to transition into.

The old folks are easily more likely to be buying the same brand over and over again, just ask Toyota/Lexus, they manage to be successful by being boring and dead reliable.

Boring people are the majority of new car buyers, not enthusiasts.