WRX review : Thumbing its nose at BMW & Audi

I bought my Subaru Impreza WRX last May. I had my eye on the 2.5RS, but it didnt have the power for me. The first time I saw the ad for this car my jaw dropped and I ran to my computer ti find out more. They had me sold with 227 HP and 217 ft*lbs of torque. What follows is my review to the 2002 WRX Impreza. I have undoubtedly left things out, so feel free to comment if you are curious about anything.

At first I was a bit worried about buying the first year of a new model, especially turbocharged and AWD. I would normally rather let the bugs get worked out and pick it up in a year or two. But I, like most people, know and respect Subaru as a leading manufacturer of AWD vehicles, its the only drive system they offer on any of their vehicles. And I also learned, through research, that the WRX is a street legal version of the World Rally Champion Subaru Impreza. This Subaru made rally car has been racing in and winning races for years. In addition versions of the WRX have been sold in Australia and other countries, and the STi, a 276 HP version has been sold in Japan for many years. This is set my mind at ease.

Why are we always the last to get the good stuff, you ask? Most likely because our emissions laws are more strict than other parts of the world, (I think this is a good thing) and its harder to tune a car to get as much power as the WRX has and still stay within emissions limits. Subaru did it, in fact I believe this car qualifies as a LEV (Low Emissions Vehicle).

Heres my impression of this car after about 6 months and over 20,000 miles:

Exterior

BODY

The styling of the WRX has been heavily criticized. This might be because it is one of the very few shortcomings this wonderful machine has, especially compared to others in its price range. I bought the wagon, not only because it was $500 cheaper, offered more cargo space, and may be less prone to be pulled over, but also because it just plain looks nicer.

The sedan has bulgy fenders and a squarish trunk, which don't really go along with the overall 'buggish' look of the WRX. The spoiler on the RS is much nicer looking. Another bonus on the wagon is that you get the spoiler for free, on the sedan it is a factory option. The Wagons spoiler fits the overall look it is sleek, and unobtrusive.

Every time I go home my mom tells me how 'cute' my car is, and I really can't argue with her. I'm not sure that I like the word cute being used to describe my car, but I really didn't buy it for the looks.

COLOR

The WRX exterior comes in six colors: black ,rally blue, white, and silver, with a 'special edition' available in yellow ( I believe this SE is only available in sedan, thats ok wagon = too much yellow)

I got mine in blue, and for the first several weeks, I really couldn't get over how bright this paint really is. I felt like I was driving a big neon lightbulb. After time I have grown used to it. I really like the color of my car. It looks great in a well lit parking lot at night.

Wheels
The WRX comes standard with pretty nice looking 16" wheels. You can opt for the 17" BBS wheels if you want to part with almost 2000 of your hard earned dollars. I didn't think it was worth it. After all this is all about bang for the buck. The added performance of 17" wheels is just not worth 2G's

Window frames
Opening the door to the WRX, the first thing I noticed was that the door ends at the bottom of the window frame, and the top of the window frame is integrated into the roof of the vehicle. This is something I have had bad experiences with before (with an OLD Toyota Celica) But I think all Subarus are made this way. These types of window frames tend to leak, and are noisy, additionally they don't tend to hold their alignment as well as frames which are fully integrated into the door.

Interior

I really liked the inside of this car the first time I got in it and i still do. It has been criticized as cheap and cramped, but again most critics are comparing it with cars twice its price.

Cockpit

The cockpit of the WRX is another area critics have attacked. It in NOT to be compared to a luxury performance car. It's design is basic and somewhat utilitarian, while still comfortable and a bit 'race inspired.' Personally, I love it. Everything works as it should, but the 'cheap' feel that critics have talked about is definitely there.

I wouldn't complain if they offered climate control instead of the standard fan and temperature controls, but I didn't buy the car for the climate control.

Seats

The first thing you will notice when you sit in the WRX is that you are pretty high up. I had a Nissan Maxima, and even going from that it felt like I was sitting tall. I think this car has more ground clearance. Anyway the seats are fully adjustable. Manually the drivers seat can be adjusted for the standard forward and seat back angle, in addition there is another lever which controls the height and angle of the seat bottom, this additional feature is only available on the drivers side. With the high seats and various adjustments you can get a REALLY good view of the road in front of you. The seat headrests (both front and rear)tend to get in the way when checking behind you. The seats are relatively comfortable, I have recently noticed the lack of lumbar support, this would be a nice addition.
The seats look nice, they are black with blue 'mesh' covering the middle part. The mesh tends to get things (like woodchips of other small splintery things) stuck in it and it generally a pain to keep clean.

Ouch, my shins
I like to adjust my seat so that when I have fully depressed the pedals (particularly clutch) my knees are slightly bent, to ensure full engagement of the clutch. When I get my seat just in the right place, my shins tended to hit the lower part of the steering column. I eventually got used to 'bowing' my legs around the column, and its no longer inconvenient or annoying.

Pedals
Subaru put really nice drilled aluminum pedals on the WRX, and they are pretty close together, as in race cars. I thinks its great. The feel of the drivers seat is fabulous, and the pedal add to it.

MOMO
My girlfriend made fun of the MOMO steering wheel when I first drove the WRX home. Its a great addition to the interior. It, like the pedals, adds to that 'race car' feel. It also looks nice.

Shifter
If you bought this car in automatic, shame on you. The standard shifter/transmission not only looks nicer (it always will) and feels better, it shifts wonderfully. Just enough 'snick' to let you know you are doing something and smoother than any car I've driven yet. There was a short throw shifter available as a factory option, but I think it might void the warranty. It's not necessary anyhow, since the WRX flips through the 5 speeds quickly and precisely.

No Sunroof???
Thats right Subaru left out the sunroof to add more stiffness to the chassis. So say goodbye to those sunny days with the top open, you're in a driving machine now.

Comfort
The interior is fine for me, but I'm only 5'6 or so, and the back seat is fairly cramped (nothing compared to an Integra or Eclipse). Overall the cockpit is comfortable.

Knobs and Switches
I found all of the controls easy to operate, except for the skip track knob on the 6 disc CD changer. You twist the knob, or more like flick it to skip ahead or back through tracks on a CD. Kind of a weird thing to get used to, but it gets the job done. All of the drivers controls are easy to locate and operate.

SAFETY
The WRX (and all Impreza models) comes with dual front and side airbags. ABS and steel safety cage with front and rear crumple zones(of course). Past models of the Impreza have scored well in many crash tests (4 stars). The backseat is equipped with a shoulder belt for all three passengers. I thought this was a nice option. And theres also some kind of attachment for child seats. In addition to these fairly standard safety options you get the added stability of AWD, which I have found to be more fun than safe.

PERFORMANCE
Heres the fun stuff:


Engine
As you might know the WRX comes equipped with a 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder, 16 valve DOHC, horizontally opposed (Boxer) turbocharged, intercoooled engine.
The engine provides 227 HP and 217 ft*lbs of torque, and the WRX can reach 60 mph in a neck snapping 5.4 seconds. The engine is indeed smoother than most 4 cylinders at low RPM, and on the highway it does not rev too high, around 2500 RPM @ 60 and close to 3000 RPM @75.

When I first started driving the WRX I wasn't too impressed with its take-off. Unless you rev up the engine and drop the clutch you won't win any stop light lane merge races. And I found it hard to make a left turn onto a busy road without 'beating' on the car a little.

When you do rev it up and drop the clutch, don't expect too much screaching, the WRX's all wheel drive won't let the tires spin for more than a few seconds, and you WILL notice just how amazing this car is.

Turbo lag is noticeable, but from what I've read, not that bad. I found that on the highway if I want to pass I will often use 4th gear, something I rarely needed to do with my old V6. And, as stated earlier, the WRX doesnt lunge off the line unless you make it. Once you get to about 2500 RPM though, watch out, because when the turbo does catch up, you won't believe how fast you will be right on the bumper of the guy in front of you. It takes a little adjusting to drive this car normally.

Handling

The WRX handles good, almost too good. I have read reviews that say if you mess up with this car you are in big trouble. The theory behind this is that the WRX is SO surefooted that you will have to be going really fast or doing something really stupid to lose control.

At first hard turn I took in the WRX I was impressed that it kept almost perfectly level, side to side.

During the first week I owned this car I kind of cut off a truck (he was going WAY too fast around a blind corner) and was forced to floor the car in first around a 90 degree left turn to avoid being crushed. The car took off, the back end let go just enough to let me know I was driving crazy, but I never felt out of control. Since then I have experimented (on empty roads) and the car really is hard to get out of control. The only time I got it to lose it was when taking a left turn at a stop sign on SOLID ice.

Every day driving
The WRX wagon in particular is great for every day driving and road trips. The seats begin to get a bit uncomfortable after about two hours, but thats usually a goo time for a stretch anyway. It is relatively easy to drive and doesnt get bad mileage (Subaru says 20/27 for the manual, which is a pretty decent estimate) The one problem is that it needs 91 or higher octane, so be ready to part with up to 20 more cents per gallon (for 93, unless you want to mix up your own 91, since most stations only offer 87, 89 and 93) The cargo space is ample and with the seats folded down theres not much you will not be able to fit in this car.