The WRX (or Rex as it is affectionately know) has well and truly become a cult-classic. The original formula of stuffing a powerful turbo-charged engine and drivetrain from a larger car into a smaller body was popular in the early to mid 90's and driven by the desire to be competetive on the world rally stage. Both Subaru and Mitsubishi took the drivetrains from the larger Liberty/Legacy and Galant respectively, and shoe-horned them into cars one size smaller. The resulting Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer GSR were lighter, faster, more nimble, and more importantly for the man in the street... cheaper!
Toyota eventually followed suit in 1997 and produced a WRC Corolla, however never produced a road-going version of the same car. Maybe they didn't need to. Subaru however focused almost all their marketing around rallying, and the success of the Impreza WRX and Subaru in general was evidence that they had made the correct decision.
When first released 1994, the Impreza was available with a 2.0 litre turbocharged boxer engine and all-wheel drive running gear. Now more that 10 years later, the fundamentals have not really changed. In Australia, only the MY06 Impreza WRX and STi received a change in the engine department, upping capacity to 2.5 litres. Prior to the MY06, the biggest change to the Impreza was the release of the MY01 "bugeye" model, which had a new chassis and body.
The Bugeye
The MY02 is the model I'm looking at today. The main reason for this choice is that I own one!. Hopefully I'll be able to offer a nice balanced view, but I'll state right now that I love all wheel drive. It adds a huge amount of ability to any performance car package.
The MY01 and MY02 are fairly unique in the Impreza lineup, in that Subaru decided to jump in with some sheetmetal and engine changes sooner than is usual. This was due to the rather polarising effect the styling of the car had when released. In fact, it copped quite a hiding in both the media and around the traps. I myself remember stating that I'd never buy one! The fact that the bugeyes were also heavier, and thus slightly slower than the previous classic shaped WRX only added to the negative press.
This to be fair tended to mask the fact that the bugeye WRX was greatly improved over the previous model. Torsional stiffness was up by 185% and longitudinal stiffness up by 250%, and the track on the sedan was increased by 20mm, which made for much better, more precise handling. Wheels were now 17" and there were a few extra features such as cruise control. It had much improved crash performance and NVH levels were much lower. There were also minor changes to the engine, such as a larger turbine wheel, larger repositioned intercooler and larger wastegate port. While these changes didn't improve peak power, they improved the power curve elsewhere by bumping up torque throughout the range, make for a more driveable car.
The rather negative reception of the original MY01 bugeye resulted in a few changes to the MY02. The most significant was the use of a 4.444 diff ratio to gain back some of the performance lost in the weight increase. Contrary to popular belief, this had virtually zero effect on the standing acceleration time to 100km/h because Subaru also changed the MY02 1st and 2nd gear ratios bringing them back in line with the MY01. The change in the diff therefore gave 3rd, 4th and 5th gears more punch, dropping rolling acceleration and overtaking times in these gears, chopping the 50-120km/h time by more than 1 second.
The rear diff on the MY02 was also changed to a Suretrac unit, as found on the STi, which Subaru engineers claim will deliver power to the wheel with grip even if the other wheel is not touching the ground.
So What's It Like To Drive?
What does all this mean in the real world?
The bugeye is fast. Here's where I tend to disagree with many motoring writers and others with a fixation on 0-100km/h times. The MY02 is slightly handicapped by its gearing in this regard, and requires a 2-3 change just before you hit 100km/h, thus adding up to 0.5 seconds to its time. In the real world covering distance is more important that reaching a velocity, because in a side-by-side comparison, the time to distance will be a direct indicator of who will be ahead at any point. This is where all-wheel drive shows it's hand, able to get off the line with the minimum of fuss.
No the MY02 is probably not quite as fast as the earlier, lighter WRX models, or the later more powerful ones, but anything else without all-wheel drive should be worried. As with most all-wheel drive cars, the punch off the line is fantastic, and over the first 100m it more than makes up for the weight penalty. For example the MY02 WRX will cover 100m in around 5.8 seconds, whereas the Holden 5.7 litre SV8 will take 6.2 seconds. You need an LS2 Clubsport to be able to cover 100m in 5.8 seconds, and for all of that time it's behind the MY02... gaining fast near the end. In the wet there is no contest whatsoever. The WRX leaves RWD rivals wheelspinning far behind. On public roads beyond that 100m you'll most likely start travelling at illegal and expensive speeds, and so it all becomes rather academic.
When I first drove a turbo Subaru (a Liberty RS turbo) it was a bit disappointed until I worked out the engine characterics. Down low a turbo Subaru can feel just like a little shopping trolley. But once the revs build, the acceleration comes on with a rush. To many people this is what they love about the RS turbo and WRX. The MY02 isn't as bad (or good depending on your perspective) as the Liberty RS, however you can get caught in the wrong gear, and you need to remember that at least 3000rpm is needed for decent acceleration. To achieve the best standing acceleration times as published in magazines, you need to build fairly high rpm (at least 4500rpm or more) and to be fairly brutal with the clutch. If you take a leisurely approach to getting moving, then if that V8 beside you tries to get in front, you probably won't catch him.
Where you will catch him is when the road starts to bend. The WRX handles well, being stiffly sprung with low profile tyres, but is not outstanding. What is outstanding is that you can get on the power almost anywhere, so the punch out of corners, and hence overall point-to-point speed, is so good. It's also relatively small and therefore nimble. The stock WRX tends towards understeer when pushed, however my car has an anti-lift kit fitted, along with a good alignment and Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tyres, which have gone a long way toward curing understeer at sane speeds. The anti-lift kit, despite common belief, actually increases fore and aft pitching slightly by reducing the "anti-lift" characteristics of the suspension. This effectively softer suspension gives greater front end grip. It also gives slightly more caster and camber. All this reduces understeer and increases corner speed. In fact the turn in can be sharp enough to cause the rear to step out in some cases, and getting on the power too soon if grip levels are low can result in power oversteer. This is obviously predominant if tyres are worn or roads are slippery, and caution needs to be excercised. The extra grip of the all-wheel drive system means that you're probably going to be travelling much faster when things let go!
Despite its rally heritage, the WRX is more geared to tarmac than dirt. Smooth dirt roads can be despatched quite comfortably, however once the road gets a bit rough or corrugated, the firm suspension and low profile tyres conspire to rob you of grip, and the WRX will skip and crash across rough patches while the ABS buzzes beneath your brake pedal. Braking distances increase and cornering grip drops away, although that phenomenal grip under acceleration is still available if you're brave or foolhardy enough to use it. Oversteer rears its head again under these circumstances.
In the practicality stakes the Impreza loses out a bit. There's no hiding the fact that it's a small car. Our other car, a 99 Holden Vectra, weighs about the same, has similar crashworthiness, but feels bigger in every respect. More interior space, and a much bigger boot. While the Impreza does at least have four doors, it's only a family car for a small family.
Cruising interstate in the WRX is reasonably economical for a car of this performance level. We generally obtain around 8 litres per 100km cruising on the highway, although the gearing in 5th means that at 110km/h the engine is spinning at 3300rpm. Not ideal for economy or NVH levels, but does mean that changing down a gear to overtake or climb a hill is uneccessary in all but the most extreme situations.
Overall though, the WRX is easy to live with once you learn its foibles, and is a ball of fun to punt along winding stretches of tarmac. In wet weather the performance is almost the same as dry, and many is the frustrated V8 owner who's had to put up with a WRX "playing with him" in the rain. It won't cost you a fortune in fuel unless you're very liberal with its performance, and 17" tyres these days are very common. Resale is quite good (which is bad if you're buying), and currently you can pick up an MY02 from a dealer for between $25k and $30k. Private sales are generally cheaper, but caveat emptor! (buyer beware). While Subaru's are generaly fairly solid and reliable, a vehicle inspection is always worthwhile as the WRX tends to be harder driven then most.
My final judgement is to give the MY02 WRX
4/5 STARS - * * * *
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