Starting with the look of the car: the huge wings, giant air scoops, and overall cartoonish demeanor have been eschewed in favour of a more subtle, sophisticated, almost European look. What’s more, the hatchback, so loved by the wannabe rally-king set, has been dropped as well. You’ll now get your WRX as a sedan only, just as it was when the model first came to North America back in 2004.
Furthermore, a continuously variable transmission has been fitted to the car, and perhaps most telling of all, the suspension system has been calibrated for optimal performance on pavement.
What we have here is something of a new philosophy for Subaru’s high protein sedan. Further, the WRX and the Impreza-the model upon which it is based-now have very little in common style-wise. According to Subaru’s representatives, only the roof and the rear
Long story short, this new WRX is indeed a more sophisticated performance car. Where previous versions of the WRX kind of resembled what would happen if somebody were let loose with an aftermarket performance catalog specifically tailored to the car, this version of the WRX looks like everything was thought through and integrated in a wholly organic fashion.
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A new six-speed manual transmission conducts power to all four wheels as standard equipment. As we mentioned before, also new to the WRX is an optional continuously variable transmission (CVT). And while this might well sound like a strange offering for a performance car, the reality is it works quite well. In most cases, given the way the transmission is calibrated, you won’t even notice it’s a continuously variable unit. By the way, when you look at the Subaru’s sticker, if you see “Sport Lineartronic”, you’re looking at the CVT.
Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h is quoted at 5.5 seconds with the six-speed manual
Ask for a change of direction and you’ll note near instantaneous helm response. The steering is very quick, but it’s also nicely linear. You get exactly what you ask for. Happily, to go along with the improved power and additional grip, Subaru improved the braking system too. For more arresting ability, a larger set of brake rotors and more robust clamping power from the calipers were prescribed to provide fade-free operation-delivered with precise modulation.
In
About the only complaint we can lodge against the new WRX is the amount of road noise filtering into the passenger compartment. Overall though, the 2015 Subaru WRX is easily numbered among the cars we love.
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