7-day Test
MY06 Subaru Impreza WRX Hatch (manual)
RRP: $41,440
Price as tested: $41,440
Distance covered: 505km
Tester: Mike Sinclair
Date tested: March 2006
The WRX is getting on. Despite the fact Subaru grafted on a new nose for 2006 and added some equipment, there's no escaping the fact.
It's most evident in the packaging. There's little space for backseat passengers -- less, in fact, than some of the current crop of littlies, and the dash treatment is very '90s. Which is where after all, this top-seller for Subaru hails from...
It's getting on too in terms of growing up. The raw, muscular, edgy WRX of old is gone, submerged under a coating of civility. Road noise aside -- a bugbear especially on the WRX 'wagon' we tested -- the WRX could pass for a 'normal' hatch, albeit a muscular one.
The latest car is softer than the Rexs of the past in terms of power delivery and handling. And for most owners this is perhaps not a bad thing. Don't think it's slow -- it's not. It's no longer the sharpest tool in shed, however...
The MY06 WRX (and STI) sports a bigger 2.5-litre DOHC boxer four. The new engine replaced the 2.0-litre turbo mill and is bigger in both bore and stroke (99.5 x 79mm versus 92 x 75). And while the turbocharged and intercooler got a marginal horsepower boost (1kw to 169) along with its capacity hike, the real story is the extra torque and drivability.
Coupled with changed gearbox internals (for better durability) and a significantly shorter final drive ratio, the extra low rev torque (36 per cent more torque at 1600rpm and 20 per cent more at 2000rpm) means the Rex is almost never caught short in terms of go. The five-speeder's ratios are well-spaced and the engine behaves more like a well-fettled six than a highly-strung blown four. Like it's written above -- very grown up.
Its lower gearing sees it fair stonk away from middling open road speeds but at 2850rpm at 100km/h we found ourselves always looking for a sixth cog on the open road. You pay for this 'optimised' gearing at the pumps too -- our two tanks were consumed at 14.5lt/100km or worse.
Around town progress is fuss-free. The suspension is firm -- sporting, not hard -- and only the tyre roar interrupts progress. There's an excellent stereo that can drown out most of the rubber noise -- alas this also means there's little left of the unique Subaru boxer warble from under the bonnet or out of the signature big-bore tailpipe. Shame.
Great standard seats, though narrow, give all-day comfort (well, in three-hour stints anyway) and are perhaps the most supportive pews available outside of exotica today. Wheel and gearshift are satisfyingly chunky and hint at the sporting prowess of the WRX.
It's this sporting prowess that has built the reputation of the WRX -- for better or for worse. That said, the latest car seems to have looked to take a step beyond the boy racer past of the Impreza. This has some drawbacks and it is when you get into the hills, however, where things start to go a little awry.
Newcomers will still marvel at the MY06 WRX's level of grip and great midrange. They'll enjoy the safe, fast, point-to-point progress and useable performance. That said, old stagers will lament the new car's softer turn-in and throttle-off manners.
Subaru has toned down the responsiveness of the latest WRX. The new car needs a more pronounced slow-in fast-out approach to deliver its best. This is a more 'understeery' chassis than previous iterations of all-wheel drive Subies -- when pushed on, it pushes on.
What hasn't been watered down is the brakes. Confidence inspiring, strong with plenty of feel and consistency -- good stuff!
Spend a week behind the wheel of the WRX and it's not hard to see why it has attracted so many committed owners. Though not the firebrand of the past, for 90 per cent of owners, 90 per cent of the time, the latest WRX is a better package.
For us '10 per centers'? Well, there's always the STI...