SONOMA, Calif. — Though Subaru is looking toward an electric future, the 2022 WRX is a clear indication of the brand’s commitment to its enthusiast customer base.
Touted as a more refined reiteration of the iconic rally car, the fifth-generation WRX is the first version of the sporty compact sedan built on Subaru’s Global Platform, which improves vehicle dynamics and reduces noise, vibration and harshness — significantly enhancing the overall rigidity of the WRX and its ride and handling on the road.
The car gets a new sport-tuned suspension, electric power-assisted steering, an electronic controlled power-assisted brake system and multi-mode vehicle dynamics control with track mode.
Michael Redic, car line planning manager at Subaru of America, said the automaker relied heavily on customer feedback to improve the WRX while working to ensure the brand stayed true to the vehicle’s heritage.
“The customers love the performance of the car and then we’re just asking for it to be delivered in a way that was more comfortable for daily driving, but also more capable, especially with the suspension,” Redic told Automotive News.
“We know WRX customers want something that’s powerful and it is one of the most powerful cars in its segment, compared to the direct competitors like GTI and SI.”
The WRX is the top-selling nameplate in the compact sporty-car segment, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. Through the first nine months of 2021, Subaru sold 21,220 WRXs, a 37 percent increase over the same period in pandemic-stricken 2020.
Exterior enhancements on the 2022 model, which give the sedan a more aggressive stance on the road, include new LED headlights, wheel arc cladding, aluminum front fenders and a wider, more aerodynamic body.
Powered by a new 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer engine, power increased slightly to 271 hp and 258 pound-feet of torque, compared with 268 hp and 258 pound-feet in the outgoing model. The new automatic transmission in the 2022 WRX, dubbed the Subaru Performance Transmission, has up to a 30 percent quicker upshift and up to a 50 percent quicker downshift than the automatic in the outgoing WRX.
In addition to the carryover Base, Premium and Limited trims, Subaru now offers a new higher-performance WRX GTI, which features electronically controlled dampers that allow the driver to tailor the performance to Comfort, Normal or Sport settings.
The new WRX also is one of a dwindling number of new car models offered with a manual transmission, which accounted for about 85 percent of all sales of the outgoing WRX, according to Subaru.
Interior space has been increased by more than 4 cubic feet. New interior technology features include a tablet-style 11.6-inch Starlink Multimedia Plus system that has direct touch controls for multimedia, HVAC and vehicle settings.
The new WRX arrives in the spring, starting with models equipped with the manual transmission. Models with the new automatic transmission will follow about one month later. Pricing will be announced early in 2022.
The WRX’s U.S. launch comes on the heels of the Los Angeles Auto Show debut of the all-electric Solterra crossover, which Subaru is positioning as the future of the brand.
Still, Redic insists that the company will remain committed to the core performance attributes of the WRX and the car’s loyal fan base for as long as it can as the industry shifts toward the wider adoption of electric vehicles.
“It would be ignorant to not realize that that’s going to have some impact on our future products,” said Redic. “Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Stellantis — everybody is going to be impacted to some degree, but in the meantime, we’re going to deliver a new pocket rocket to the market.”