Subaru WRX

There is sportiness in abundance in the exterior of the Subaru WRX, and while Subaru has tried to execute the same in the cabin of the sedan, it is the layout and absence of a few modern features which make the interior look a bit dated. Nevertheless, there is a proper sporty vibe inside the cabin, with the contrast red stitching on the seats, steering wheel, door pads and transmission lever making the cabin feel even more special.

The driver’s cockpit of the Subaru WRX looks quite plain with a three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel and a traditional instrument console consisting of analogue gauges and a TFT MID in between them. The large 11.6-inch portrait-style touchscreen infotainment system, which houses controls of the audio system, other drive controls and setting of dual-zone automatic climate control, is the star highlight of the cabin, which is flanked by sleek and vertical AC vents.

The dashboard and door panels, in addition to the AC vent surrounds, get piano-black inserts, adding some extra premium appeal to the interior. The cabin also gets a few more premium features like rear AC vents, a sunroof, a powered driver’s seat and a wireless charger.

The Subaru WRX might not be the most modern-looking sedan in its sedan, but it is a striking-looking one, with a host of elements which manage to hide its age and make it look extremely sporty. The WRX is a family sedan by all means, but the design elements instil a bit of sports-car essence in its soul.

The front profile of the Subaru WRX has a hexagonal grille in an all-black theme in the middle, which has L-shaped inserts and is accompanied by C-shaped stretched headlamps on the sides of the front fascia. The headlamps here come with C-shaped daytime running LEDs, within which there are LED projectors. The front bumper looks aggressive with an all-black theme for the LED fog lamp surrounds, which look large and add more sportiness to the front profile, along with the large black air dam in the middle. The headlamps here also come with pop-up-styled headlamp washers ahead of them.

The side profile of the Subaru WRX looks quite generic, with the sedan having angular bulges over the front and rear fenders, which also come with black claddings over them with recessed air curtains for a boost in aerodynamics at higher speeds. While the top variant gets 18-inch machined alloy wheels, the same wheels are painted in an all-black theme in the other variants.

At the back too, the Subaru WRX continues the sporty intent in its design, which is very much visible in the appearance of the black diffuser at the bottom of the rear bumper. Equipped with dual exhaust ports on either side, the rear bumper of the WRX also has a centrally-placed halogen fog lamp. The C-shaped LED tail lamps and a boot-mounted spoiler are other eye-catching highlights of the rear profile of the Subaru WRX.

The Subaru WRX is known to be a pure driver’s delight, thanks to its suspension setup consisting of Macpherson struts at the front and double wishbone at the rear, both of which are slightly on the stiffer side, to make the WRX feel dynamic around corners. While this compromises ride quality by a small margin, the WRX feels sure-footed due to this suspension setup. 

All the variants of the Subaru WRX are powered by a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, which happens to be one of the most powerful four-cylinder engines in its category. Equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive as standard, the engine produces a maximum power output of 275 PS and a peak torque output of 350 Nm. Subaru claims a top speed of 215 kmph, 0-100 kmph acceleration timing of 6.1 seconds and a fuel efficiency figure of 11.76 kmpl.

Equipped with the EyeSight suite of ADAS features, the Subaru WRX gets adaptive cruise control, lane departure prevention, lane centring control and preceding vehicle adaptive steering control, pre-collision throttle management, pre-collision braking system, autonomous emergency steering, lead vehicle safe alert, auto vehicle hold, hazard avoidance, vehicle dynamics control, active torque vectoring, auto-dimming inside rearview mirror, high beam assist, steering-responsive headlamps, reverse automatic braking, rear vehicle detection and driver monitoring system. It also gets six airbags, ABS with EBD, front and rear parking sensors, reverse camera and hill hold assist.

The Subaru WRX is one of those family-oriented cars which has a keener focus on performance and driving dynamics while offering decent features and a sporty visual appeal inside-out.