Subaru WRX 2016 Review

Subaru WRX Premium
Road Test

Subaru is expert at the continual updating of its model range. It's not always substantial, but the small Japanese brand always seems to be tinkering away at its line-up, ensuring there are new features and technologies to promote. For 2016 the WRX Premium gets a bunch of new safety technologies. Maybe they don't grab headlines like screwing more power and torque form the Boxer engine would, but they are certainly worthy.

The civilizing of Subaru's wild child WRX continues apace with a whole bunch of new safety aids added to the upper-spec Premium model for 2016.

Subaru calls this package Vision Assist and it accounts for most of the $900 added to the cost of both the manual and the Sport Lineartronic CVT version we are testing here.

So our test car now retails for $46,890 (plus on-road costs). Deduct $2000 if you reckon you can live with a third pedal and mandatory manual shifting.

Included are such 21st century automotive buzzwords (and technologies) as Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Change Assist, High Beam Assist, Side View Monitoring, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

The 2016 WRX Premium also adds an electrochromatic rear-view mirror and a new 7.0-inch infotainment touch-screen with voice recognition, a pinch/zoom facility and compatibility with the Pandora personal radio app.

All the safety aids certainly worked fine in the week we had the Premium. As far as I know I didn't hit any cars, or anything else for that matter. So that means both human and digital software were doing their job.

Meanwhile, the new touch-screen proved a little bit fiddly on initial acquaintance and it took some time to figure out the information on offer. But it added an upmarket ambience the WRX needed, because – let's face it – Subaru drags the chain when it comes to the finer points of interior trims, quality and modernity.

So that's it for the changes to the 2016 version of the latest Impreza sedan-based WRX, which has been around in Australia since early 2014.

Which means we are dealing with a very familiar product here: 197kW/350Nm 2.0-litre Boxer four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, permanent all-wheel drive with torque vectoring and the three-mode SI-drive system that varies drivetrain performance from pedestrian to invigorating.

As a result, driving the latest WRX as Subaru intends feels no different to its immediate predecessors.

The gravelly beat of the new generation FA direct-injection engine is happily familiar, the lag at tip-in throttle also – unfortunately – recognisably WRX.

Get past that and this is a potent engine with strong mid-range grunt that sharpens significantly when in the most aggressive S# (Sport Sharp) mode. The CVT provides little engine braking assistance, so flappy paddles help out with a quick, slick gearchanges.

With a 6.3sec 0-100km/h acceleration claim (6.0 for the manual), the WRX Premium is still among the quickest affordable hot fours doing the rounds. The fact it's got so much presence and character just adds to that.

The WRX doesn't hit its official fuel consumption figure, but a 9.6L/100km result after a week of varied driving doesn't compare too badly to the 8.6L claim. Maybe idle-stop and other new-gen fuel saving tech will be part of the next update?

The expectation versus reality thing gets a further workout when you chuck the WRX Premium at a set of corners. It understeers on the way in, lift-off oversteers on the way out and generally gives off a sense of struggling to keep up with a rapid-fire set of inputs.

It is old school and definitely not to everyone's tastes. It's edgy and flawed, demanding your full attention to gain the rewards the chassis can deliver.

The electric-assist steering is super-quick yet also prone to kickback and tram-tracking. Some of this could be the fault of the 18-inch Dunlop Super Maxx tyres, which are noisy in all conditions and don't inspire confidence in wet weather.

For a car that is tough riding at low speed and still firm as the pace increases, the WRX Premium does roll more than expected. That's where the well-bolstered front sports seats come into their own. An honourable mention to the funky (and reach and rake adjustable) flat-bottomed steering wheel as well.

Meanwhile, in more prosaic terms, the WRX does offer reasonable interior passenger and storage space, while the 460-litre boot includes a split-fold facility to grow space further.

Key carry-over standard equipment includes dual front, front-side and curtain airbags, an electric sunroof, climate control, leather trim, smart key and push start, eight-way powered driver's seat, satellite navigation and Harman Kardon audio. Very comfy.

Yep, the WRX isn't the stripped down crazy it once was. But adding civility hasn't killed off its fundamental character either. It's still lurking underneath that veneer waiting to be tapped.

2016 Subaru WRX Premium pricing and specifications:
Price: $46,890 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 197kW/350Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 8.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 199g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)

Also consider:
>> Ford Focus ST (from $38,990 plus ORCs)
>> Renault Megane RS 265 (from $43,990 plus ORCs)
>> Volkswagen Golf GTI (from $40,990 plus ORCs)