Yahoo Autos 2022 Subaru WRX First Drive Review | New look, same great haste
HEALDSBURG, Calif. — Our first look at the 2022 Subaru WRX was brief and suffered from a distinct lack of driver’s seat time. That demonstration was also geared toward showing off the competency of its overhauled “Subaru Performance Transmission,” which is a tarted-up CVT by another (just as long, somehow?) name. This time, we got the car to ourselves and the only models available were Premium and Limited trims equipped with the six-speed manual – the meat and potatoes of WRX sales volume with a take rate that exceeds 75%.
Sending power to that gearbox is a new 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer-four that makes 271 horsepower and 259 pound-feet of torque. Those figures are effectively the same as the old 2.0-liter boxer-four, but the larger engine offers a much broader torque curve than the one it replaces. The base model checks in at just 3,297 pounds (not bad for AWD, even for a compact), the Premium at 3,320 and the Limited at 3,390. All of those figures are virtually identical to the outgoing WRX.
Subaru has made a big to-do about the 2022 WRX being the first to be fully differentiated from the Impreza on which it has historically been based. We're pretty sure something similar was said last time, but in practical terms, the new WRX rides on an evolution of the same global platform shared by most Subarus, including the Impreza, and shares no body panels with that car despite both being compact sedans. Even the greenhouse shape was tweaked slightly. Plus, you know, that cladding. Subaru says the honeycomb texture on the plastic smooths out turbulence near the wheel wells, improving the car’s performance aerodynamically and maybe even cutting down on some wind noise.
The six-speed is quite good. The clutch pedal feels alive in a way you don’t often find in sporty cars based on a mass-market offering, making it a snap to locate the engagement point and time shifts. If we’d change anything, we’d ask for some slightly taller gearing in first and second, as you're out of both so quickly due to the 2.4-liter’s 6,000 RPM redline. Third gear is pretty flexible, but low-speed switchbacks will catch it flat-footed.
When we weren’t busy dodging freshly fallen rocks and trees on a route that took us from Santa Rosa, Calif., to Point Arena on CA-1, it still managed to be cold, windy and in the shady parts, still slick from days of rain. We even saw the occasional burst of graupel – not quite hail and not quite sleet but definitely frozen. AWD enthusiasts would have approved. Despite the occasionally hostile temperatures (elevation-dependent), the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires gripped admirably, and the WRX offered no objections as we enthusiastically scrubbed up their sidewalls.
It’s easy to dismiss Subaru’s claims about the boxer’s low center of gravity as mere marketing bluster, but it does make a difference. Even the Impreza, with its thoroughly uninspiring engine, still handles beautiful for a fairly basic compact sedan. The WRX is that, only sharper and with way more ultimate grip. While Dan was prepared to write off the perceived lack of understeer in his ride-along as a testament to the skill of the professional behind the wheel, we saw for ourselves just how eagerly the new WRX turns in.
While its approach to putting power down may be an application of brute force at all four wheels, it’s not merely a muscled-up Impreza. It’s light on its feet for its size, it responds to steering inputs beautifully and the all-wheel drive imparts tremendous confidence.
The WRX’s new platform is stiffer both laterally and torsionally, and Subaru took advantage of the added chassis rigidity to soften up the damping a bit in order to improve ride quality. Since our testers all had the fixed steel suspension, we got to see the results of this firsthand. Our route took us over some heinously pockmarked Sonoma County roads, and while the WRX was far from supple, it wasn’t punishing. We did note some pretty significant road noise on the rougher surfaces, but nothing out of line with our expectations for the car.
