Subaru WRX | Sport in all seasons

Here's a surprise! The country's best-selling sports car attracts almost no attention and strangely has as many cylinders as doors. The WRX doesn't look like much, consumes too much and doesn't accelerate fast enough to make your belly water. On the other hand, it loves winter and kicks up the snow in its path. Lots of snow.

Last year, the WRX topped the list of best-selling sports cars in the country. It was then ahead of the Mustang (Ford) and the GTi (Volkswagen) in order. Let's put it bluntly, the second generation of this Subaru, which appeared in 2022, has started its career correctly. The significant reserve of customers – inherited from the STi, its glorious predecessor – boosted registrations and compensated for the obvious lack of charisma of this recent version.

The arrival next year of the tS version (see our boxes) is timely to keep the range in the spotlight. Barely more flashy than the other WRXs, this new variant reinforces Subaru's presence in the segment. The tS will display a slightly more dynamic exterior presentation, but far from the somewhat rogue style that the WRX sported in its debut. Those days are over!

The WRX has everything it needs to freak out everything around it at stoplights, with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine producing 270 horsepower that it inherited.

Obviously, a large supercharged engine installed on board a compact rhymes with thrills. 0 to 100 km/h is achieved in just over six seconds. However, despite the frank acceleration, the full acceleration and a correctly staged gearbox, but a bit catchy, the inertia of this mechanism, certainly pugnacious, prevents the WRX from claiming a truly volcanic character. In fact, the power range is rather restricted. Below 3000 rpm, the WRX is nothing extraordinary. And above 6000 rpm neither. It is therefore necessary to keep the engine speed within the “good window” to get the most out of it.

On the consumption side, the engineers were unable to limit the damage. The WRX consumes 11.5 L/100 km of premium gasoline (an obligation), keeping things light. By opting for the continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), the WRX is less gluttonous, certainly, but less characterful.

We will console ourselves by enjoying the noble chant, obtained thanks to clever work carried out on the exhaust, which emanates from this mechanism. To the point that in town, we like to drive with the windows ajar so as not to miss any of the vocalizations that rise as soon as we tickle the accelerator.

On the road, the WRX, which benefits from four-wheel drive and a lower center of gravity, seems glued to the ground. It is perfectly balanced and has very well-balanced steering. Subaru offers the WRX at a fairly competitive price for the category. As for the braking, which is particularly biting, it is very effective. The suspensions, hardened in order to prevent any body movement likely to harm driving precision, gain in firmness without their reinforced calibration causing them to become uncomfortable. A good point that passengers won't necessarily share… Rest assured, you won't hear them complain. The cabin is not the most soundproofed there is.

Driving above all

Strapped into his seat with reinforced side reinforcements, the pedals well placed under his feet, the steering wheel well in hand and the rev counter discreetly streaked in red under his eyes, the driver has enough to convince himself that he is not driving a car. like the others.

The car that is the WRX would, despite everything, have deserved an improved interior. The “sacrosanct” infotainment system, for example, turns out to be slow and unnecessarily complex. And the general presentation lacks cheerfulness too. The interior coverings are made of black plastic, ultra-rigid in places, and no fantasy comes to light up the somewhat sad atmosphere which reigns on board this car although intended to celebrate a form of automotive vitality. Even in sports gear, the second WRX remains an introverted car.