Subaru’s performance skewed WRX Sedan and re-introduced Sportswagon.
I’m driving the latest all-wheel-drive Subaru WRX in both Sedan and Sportswagon form, the fifth generation of a model first known as the WRX Impreza when launched in 1994 – a performance car that became an overnight sensation.
I remember taking a good mate for a drive shortly after its launch and the next day he bought one – an inspiring car with balls and all performance, a little raw around the edges but a real driver’s car.
28 years on this latest model equally impresses for its more refined and polished performance. The WRX sedan 75mm longer and 30mm wider retains its enthusiast skewed roots with its bold and expressive body elements, the reintroduced WRX Sportswagon less aggressively styled, more subdued and designed to appeal to a different audience.
Both WRX bodies have much better torsional rigidity and feature a new turbocharged 2.4-litre boxer engine with a little more power but the same torque as the superseded 2.0-litre turbo, vastly smoother though, helped enormously by an upgraded CVT automatic transmission.
The sedan also available in six-speed manual. There’s now five Subaru WRX sedans from $44,990 and three WRX Sportwagon’s from $49,990. Top line models however run to nearly $58,000. Warranty: five-years/unlimited kilometre. Drive details in my next segment.
I’m David Berthon
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