Subaru WRX 2022 Review

Spearing along an alpine pass at high speed, white knuckles gripping the steering wheel and left foot bracing hard against the firewall, the all-new 2022 Subaru WRX delivers on its promise of a satisfying drive experience.

There’s so much anticipation and even a bit of trepidation surrounding the latest WRX, and after drilling it across road, track and dirt it’s fair to say it won’t disappoint rusted-on fans.

The WRX (which stands for World Rally Xperimental) now runs with a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol boxer engine, which spins eagerly to a 6100rpm soft rev limiter and blasts out of corners with impressive resolve, its trademark all-wheel drive system generating ample grip.

But these experiences are not unique to the WRX anymore.

They used to be, back in the early 1990s. And while we’d love to say the all-new fifth-generation Subaru WRX is a triumph of innovation, blending its rich rally-bred, mud-slinging, turbo-boosting heritage to deliver a game-changing product, it’s just not.

It plays the performance car game and plays it well, but it’s matured into a more well-rounded and more versatile model that’s lost some of its raw edge.

Sure, it delivers the goods in the eye candy department with a bold new look and, yes, it’s fast, engaging and fun to drive. But it’s not the quantum leap forward we were hoping for.

In fact, there are several elements that feel decidedly last-generation, which we’ll get into later. First, the numbers and the details…

The new 2022 Subaru WRX is priced from $44,990 plus on-road costs for the manual sedan – up from $40,990 in the previous generation.

You can add $4000 for a CVT automatic, which has eight ‘stepped’ gear ratios, taking the price to $48,990 plus ORCs.

It should be noted that rivals such as the Hyundai i30 N sedan (from $49,000) don’t charge extra for their dual-clutch automatic transmission.

WRX manual models also miss out on key safety features, but more on that in the next section.

Subaru has also added a WRX Sportswagon body style to the range, which is only offered with the auto and therefore adds $1000 over the auto sedan, starting at $49,990 plus ORCs.

There are four trim levels – base WRX, RS (from $50,490, sedan only), GT (from $55,490, wagon only) and tS (from $56,990).

All models are fitted with a decent amount of kit, including a striking new vertically-aligned 11.6-inch touch-screen, dual-zone automatic climate control, impressively supportive sports seats, automatic LED headlights and tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and keyless entry/engine start.

Mid-spec RS sedan and GT Sportswagon models add a powered sunroof, upgraded seat upholstery with power adjustment and heating, a Harman Kardon stereo, powered sunroof and more.

Range-topping tS models – now more expensive than the previous-generation Subaru WRX STI, which was priced from $52,640 plus ORCs earlier in 2022 – are only offered with the automatic transmission but add configurable drive modes to tailor the steering and power levels, along with adjustable suspension settings via adaptive dampers.

For all the nitty-gritty on WRX equipment levels and model grades, check out our pricing and specification story.

There are nine exterior colours available, including the iconic WR Pearl Blue, along with several new shades such as Solar Orange Pearl, Ignition Red, Sapphire Blue Pearl and Ceramic White. Greys and blacks round out the rest of the paint choices.

Equipment levels on the new WRX are good rather than great and there’s a number of features conspicuous by their absence that should really be offered on a small car at this price, such as ventilated seats, a digital driver’s display and how about some USB-C ports or a wireless phone charger?

Even some of the switchgear feels a bit dated and the end result is a car that feels more like a 2016 model, not a cutting-edge, brand-spanking new 2022 vehicle.

There’s no 19-inch alloy wheel option either, with every model fitted with 18-inch rims. Now we’re talking 2012… But the inclusion of a CD player is kind of cool.

Aftersales support is on par with most rivals, starting with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty, backed by five years of capped-price servicing.

Service intervals are pegged at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first, with automatic WRXs costing an average of $473 per service, or $2365 across five years.

The manual is a bit more expensive to service (fried clutches for lunch, y’all!), costing $486 per annum when the $2433 total cost over five years is averaged out.

Subaru cars are usually highly regarded in safety terms, but the 2022 Subaru WRX is unlikely to gain a range-wide five-star ANCAP rating because manual models miss out on several key features.

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) is missing in action on manual versions of the new WRX, which is a significant omission, as is the lack of adaptive cruise control, a lane centring function, an intelligent speed limiter and speed sign recognition.

While these features are standard on all CVT automatic-equipped WRX models, it seems odd that such a high-profile car based on a new platform architecture lucks out on vital semi-autonomous driving aids.

Then again, a sub-par ANCAP safety rating didn’t stop the Ford Mustang from being a huge success.

The same issue affects manual models of the new Subaru BRZ coupe, and perhaps that’s why the WRX Sportswagon, which is pitched at family buyers, is available only with the automatic transmission and all the safety benefits it brings.

Subaru Australia says the majority of WRX buyers – around 60 per cent – will choose the automatic transmission.

It’s also quick to point out that all models are equipped with a blind spot monitor, a lane change warning alert and rear cross traffic alert, along with eight airbags.

The beating heart and soul of the ‘Rex’ has always been a horizontally-opposed (aka boxer) four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, and that doesn’t change with the new 2022 Subaru WRX.

The turbocharger is still fed by a top-mount intercooler that taps into a fresh source of oxygen via the WRX’s trademark bonnet scoop.

Together with its permanent all-wheel drive system, the turbo-boxer engine gives the WRX an appealing point of difference to rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Hyundai i30 N and most other hot fours that favour inline engine configurations.

But now the WRX’s engine is bigger, up from 2.0 litres to 2.4, thanks to the adoption of the FA24 powerplant. Outputs are 202kW at 5600rpm and 350Nm from 2000-5200rpm.

That compares to the outgoing model’s 197kW at 5600rpm and 350Nm at 2400-5200rpm. So you get an extra 5kW and the same peak torque across a slighter broader spread.

Sounds like a raw deal, especially when Japanese-market WRX models get a 202kW/375Nm version of the engine. Where’s the torque boost for Aussies, hmm?

Subaru says there are 56 changes to the engine, which is now lighter overall, has a new twin-scroll turbo and a larger top-mount intercooler informed by the now-deceased WRX STI’s bigger ’cooler.

The previous Subaru WRX’s FA20 engine has perfectly square 86x86mm cylinder bore and stroke measurements. The new FA24 is essentially an evolution of that engine, featuring the same 86mm stroke, where the extra 389 cubic centimetres are liberated by boring out the cylinders to 94mm.

With almost an extra 0.4-litres of displacement you’d expect big power gains, especially with changes to the blower and the cooler. However, this could explained by turbo boost pressure maxing out at 12 PSI now, down from the circa-22 PSI of its FA20 predecessor. So if the boost was dialled up... we'd have an STI replacement, right?

Still, figures like 202kW and 350Nm are not to be sniffed at, and while there’s no launch control system, the new WRX pulls hard from standstill. Based on our testing, the claimed 6.0-second 0-100km/h sprint for the six-speed manual is almost spot on.

The TY75 six-speed manual carries over from the previous WRX, and while shifts feel decisive and secure for the most part, it doesn’t have the gate entry crispness of a Honda Civic Type R or a Nissan 370Z.

A viscous-coupled mechanical limited-slip centre diff nominally apportions torque 50:50 front to rear for manual models.

While the manual is fast and resolute off the line, the automatic-equipped WRX is more lethargic from a standing start and makes us wonder about the 6.1sec 0-100km/h claim.

The car-maker says its new ‘Subaru Performance Transmission’ automatic is a huge improvement over its predecessor, and it certainly feels faster during manual override shifts using the steering wheel paddle shifters.

Subaru reckons the new auto delivers 30 per cent faster upshifts and 50 per cent faster downshifts, and while it does feel responsive when you’re ferreting out corners at warp speed, it doesn’t offer the same car-to-driver connection as the manual – or even a conventional auto for that matter.

Auto WRXs also have a slightly different default torque split to manual versions, with 45:55 front/rear, but it doesn’t really manifest in any meaningful way, and there’s no sense of an oversteering tendency.

The WRX accepts only premium petrol, 95 octane or above, with manual models slurping down fuel at a rate of 9.9L/100km (claimed) and autos at more economical 8.5L/100km.

We managed 11.5L/100km with the manual and 11.2L/100km with the auto, blending hard and fast driving with big chunks of freeway cruising.

There’s a certain aura that swirls around the 2022 Subaru WRX. A fusion of nostalgia, wonder and respect infuses the vehicle and I won’t lie – it does feel pretty special stepping into the heavily bolstered driver’s seat, the big bonnet scoop an ever-present reminder of its raison d’etre.

Part of me absolutely loved my two days behind the wheel of the WRX during the national media launch, on road, track and gravel – but that’s the fanboy part of me that witnessed the original car blaze a trail back in 1992, when I was just 11 years old…

Leave emotion out of the equation, however, and the latest WRX doesn’t seal the deal in the way I was hoping.

The new platform and body shell deliver a stiffer vehicle, with torsional rigidity increased by 28 per cent compared to the previous WRX sedan.

Together with a suspension tune that keeps the car’s body remarkably flat through corners – exemplified during a few hot laps on the racetrack – the WRX sedan delivers good initial turn-in diving into corners, the neutral front-end delivering plenty of bite, or ‘grip and rip’ as my 74-year-old neighbour would say.

Even when it breaks traction, which happened a few times on the track with a bit of goading, the WRX is easy to control and communicates relatively clearly how the wheels are interacting with the road surface.

It can also generate impressive mid-corner speed and the brakes deliver reliable and strong stopping power on the road.

Indeed, the handling dynamics are very good for the most part and the car is very satisfying to drive hard, but it doesn’t deliver anything new or exciting.

If you own the previous Rex, this would definitely be a ‘try before you buy’ proposition.

Don’t get me wrong; the new WRX manual sedan is rapid point-to-point on the road, it’s capable and determined on the racetrack and really comes alive on dirt roads, scrapping its way along deserted forestry tracks with more pluck than a featherless duck.

But the competition has moved the game on.

It doesn’t feel as powerful as many of its rivals, namely the Hyundai i30 N sedan, there’s no dual-clutch automatic transmission and Subaru has completely extinguished the car’s exhaust note.

The latest WRX is virtually silent inside and out; you can barely tell this iconic rally-raider has a boxer engine under its aggressive bonnet, which begs the question – why bother with the boxer at all? You can get more power and efficiency out of an inline four.

Perhaps it explains why the WRX STI got axed? It’s likely it was just too hard to make the boxer engine work reliably at the levels Subaru’s engineering team wanted, and now resources have been relocated to the electric car arena.

While the Subaru WRX sedan is a genuine driver’s car, auto models are less so and the WRX Sportswagon feels like a completely different beast. That’s because, well, it is.

Not only is the WRX wagon narrower and has less rubber biting the road, but it’s got different dampers and spring rates, all of which reduce its dynamic capability compared to the sedan.

The WRX Sportwagon’s front-end doesn’t have the confidence of the sedan, which is due to the softer suspension (Subaru says this is because it’s aimed at family buyers, not wannabe racers) as well as the tyres.

Yokohama BluEarth GT AE51s (225/45R18) are fitted to the wagon, while more aggressive and wider Dunlop SP Sportmaxx GT rubber (245/40R18) is used for the sedan.

Top-spec WRX Sportswagon tS models get adaptive dampers which deliver more front-end confidence when set to Sport+ mode, but even then it’s still not a match for the basic suspension set-up in the sedan.

Australia is one of the only markets in which the WRX Sportswagon – otherwise known as the Levorg overseas – swaps out a less-powerful 1.8-litre turbo-petrol engine for the same beefcake 2.4-litre turbo-boxer as the sedan.

Maybe more should have been done to better match the engine with the chassis?

There’s no question the Sportswagon isn’t as sharp as the WRX sedan, but it’s a better all-rounder, the softer suspension delivering improved ride comfort. But it should be said the sedan is also a more comfortable cruiser than before.

Indeed, the WRX has matured significantly and is now a mild-mannered vehicle whose raw and visceral attitude has been dialled back to appeal to a wider range of customers.

There’s more room in the Subaru WRX now, with good passenger space up front and reasonable room for two adults in the back seat, if a little light on for legroom.

Boot space is pretty good for a small car at 411 litres, while the wagon offers up 492 litres, expanding to 909 litres with the rear seat folded.

The fifth-generation 2022 Subaru WRX is a formidable performance car, but has lost some of its grittiness and there’s no denying its aggro attitude has been diluted.

This could be cause for celebration or dejection depending on your viewpoint, but ultimately the policy shift from wild to mild will probably result in record-breaking sales.

You only have to look at the model range to see that two of the eight WRX variants are offered with a manual transmission, which shows where the car is going and what the majority of customers are looking for.

Mission accomplished, then? For Subaru’s accountants, yes. For the purists, no way Jose.

If you’ve always dreamed of owning a WRX or have a strong emotional connection with the road-going rally car, you should probably increase the overall score from 73 to 80 and beyond, because it’s unlikely to disappoint.

But the small-car performance game has moved on, evidenced by vehicles from Hyundai N and Toyota GR.

Despite the improvements, the WRX’s shift to a more mature vehicle seems somewhat redundant, given you can buy a regular Subaru Impreza if performance isn’t high on your agenda.

After our first drive it feels as though the rally-bred icon has lost its giant-killing status – but only just. We’ll know for sure when we begin running tantalising comparisons with its rivals.

How much does the 2022 Subaru WRX RS cost?
Price: $50,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 202kW/350Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 9.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 225g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested