Subaru WRX RS40 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $44,490
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): N/A
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 10.4L/100km
CO2 emissions (g/km): 247g CO2/km
Also consider: Ford Focus ST ($38,290); Mazda3 MPS ($39,490); Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart ($39,990); Renault Megane RS265 Cup ($42,640); Volkswagen Golf GTI ($41,490).

There are cars these days that are almost indistinguishable from each other. The Subaru WRX isn’t one of them.

You can get into a WRX blindfolded, turn the ignition key, hear that distinctively asthmatic starter motor, the gravely boxer beat, snick it into that tight first gear and just know where you are.

Do yourself a favour though. Take off the blindfold before you drive off! And make it a good long drive because that is what the WRX is all about.

Granted, this is a car that time has, in many ways, passed by; the cabin is old-school, the equipment basic, and it only comes with a five-speed manual transmission.

But there is a replacement not far away and it’s a car that has a more individual identity. It’s why the current WRX has lost the Impreza moniker, even though it remains very closely linked visually to the donor car.

Mind you that’s the old Impreza, the one that got replaced in a mainstream sense in 2012. The new WRX, which will have its own bespoke set of clothes (previewed by a concept first seen at the New York auto show last March), arrives in Australia next March.

Which makes what you see here, the RS40 limited edition, quite significant. That’s because it is the last of a plethora of limited-editions Subaru Australia has rolled out over the years to keep sales of the current WRX ticking over.

Pull it out of its context and the RS40 is nothing to get too excited about. There are 300 of them, they’re all sedans and they all come in WR Mica blue, the colour that once was associated with the late Colin McRae’s world rally championship derring do.

The added equipment comprises Recaro seats with blue coloured Alcantara inserts, STI rear spoiler, STI front lip spoiler, STI short shift gear assembly, STI flexible tower strut brace, gold-coloured 17-inch WRX alloy wheels, RS40 decals and numbered RS40 internal badge.

All that will cost you $44,490, or an additional $4500 compared to a standard WRX, or $500 more than the Premium model.

What stay unchanged are the mechanical fundamentals; most crucially the 195kW/343Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine and permanent all-wheel drive that play such a key role in shaping the WRX's character and appeal.

Believe it or not, the challenges the WRX poses are a key part of that.

The engine is loud and coarse. It’s uninterested below 3000rpm and goes batty above 5000rpm. You have to actually pay attention to engines revs and gear selection (love that short throw!), think about what you’re doing, derive satisfaction when you get it right, and be annoyed when you get it wrong.

The ride is rim-bendingly stiff-legged and just plain uncomfortable on rugged surfaces. The steering is light and chatty, and there’s a tendency to push straight on through corners if the entry speed is too high. Lift off suddenly and the rear-end can break loose into oversteer. Damn it's fun!

It's a very different proposition to something like a Volkswagen Golf GTI, which flatters the driver because it can be driven swiftly almost on auto-pilot. The WRX is the opposite, it enjoys poking holes in your driving skills, makes each corner memorable -- if not always for the right reasons.

But when you do get it right – right revs, right gear, right steering angle, right speed, right apex and then a gripped, tractive explosion off the bend, it’s a hard experience to beat at a price that suddenly looks very good value.

That's the good part of the RS40 being of a certain age. The not so good part is how light and tinny the car feels, how average the cabin materials are and how 20th century the interior presentation is -- especially around the dash.

There's nothing as new-aged as a touch screen, let alone sat-nav (that’s standard with the WRX Premium), a reversing camera or even parking sensors -- and they would be handy considering how much of the rear view that over-sized wing takes up.

Back-seat space is limited and the boot even moreso, with the rear limited slip diff eating into storage. At least there is still room for a space saver spare tyre under the floor.

Plaudits also to Subaru for its commitment to ANCAP. The WRX, like all Subes, is a five star performer and it comes with a decent safety inventory including stability and traction control, six airbags, lap-sash seatbelts for all five passengers and low beam Xenon headlights.

Comfort equipment, which includes climate control, a power sunroof, cruise control, a leather stitched steering wheel and streaming Bluetooth with a 10 speaker audio, is less comprehensive.

But then, judging the WRX RS40 by its equipment list is hardly the point.

That comes when you're headed for the right road, in the right conditions, nestled into that body-hugging Recaro, looking out over that bonnet scoop, the RS40 delivers a sense of anticipation and edge that only comes with not knowing exactly what's in store… but knowing it's going to be memorable.

Hopefully the next WRX will deliver the same sort of emotions, even if it does it in a different, more 21st century way.

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