When it comes to rally cars, there are two manufacturers that always stand out – Mitsubishi and Subaru. Subaru has positioned the WRX for people who are looking for “one-car-fits-all” rather than purchasing trackisque cars such as the STI.
Our test car was a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX Preimum with navigation. The WRX is very similar to the STI, infact carries the same wide body kit. We thought the wide-body gave this hatch a meaner look along with the gun-metal 17×8 wheels wrapped in Dunlop SP01s. While a STI is a true rally car with firm suspension, WRX keeps a more everyday friendly suspension. We thought the ride was excellent and during our long stretches on the freeway we never felt back pain.
Step inside the cabin and the sport seats with WRX logo greet you. The entire cabin carries the red theme including the gauges which infact are very practical. The seats are very well made with high backs and side bolsters providing extra comfort and stability. Since majority of WRX buyers are guys under 40, Subaru designers know who they are dealing with and hence the interior is not quiet. We had to turn the stereo up a notch while driving on the highway due to the excessive road noise.
The optional navigation system is nothing to brag about and we did have an issue with it blocking out every destination input apart from emergency locations while driving. We think Subaru can improve the navigation system by learning from Acura or even Lexus. Overall we thought the audio/navigation system were very decent. Audio system provides extra sound control that one can personalize depending upon the music taste. Pairing our phone with the Bluetooth phone system was piece of cake. Steering wheel controls and other dash controls were very well placed.
2011 WRX is powered by a 265-horsepower power plant mated to an AWD 5-Speed manual transmission. In the world of 6-speed manuals, we thought driving a 5-speed was a refresher and according to some reports has faster 0-60 times compared to STI. The all-wheel drive WRX is not cheap at the pump either with 19 mpg city and 25mpg highway. We constantly hit 24.5 mpg during our testing and thought it was decent provided how much fun this car is.
So what did we think about our stay with the WRX? We think the 2011 WRX is still one of the best performance buys in the market. For around $25K, you get a car that can haul groceries, provide good mpg to work and will put a few cars to shame during your weekend track days!
