CD Article: 2008 Subaru WRX

[CD_Editor]

Today's Test Drive:

Where the old WRX was a little rough around the edges, this new one "is far slicker in how it operates," says Contributing Editor, Chris Chase. However, he found the shifter "ropy" and the standard stereo "sounds like crap". Second Opinion by Andrew McCredie.
   
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Read the article | View the photos | All The Test Drives

[rrocket]

$36K is still alot of cheddar............Especially considering the US prices..

[Zombie]

I wonder how much the STI will be?

[rrocket]

^$50K

[initial_D]

I am very disappointed with this two paragraphs.

A little disappointing was the feel of the manual shifter in my test car, which was ropy and unsatisfying to use. It feels like Subaru was trying to emulate a BMW shifter: the long lever and longish throws feel about right, but the Subie shifter lacks the precise, positive action of the Bimmer 'boxes. The clutch, however, is buttery smooth and easy to modulate for smooth launches.

Like acceleration, braking is strong and the brakes are also easy to modulate, but the pedal is soft, which takes away from the sporty feel that a car like the WRX should have. Subaru should have talked to the engineers who put together the Pontiac Solstice GXP I drove the week previous to the WRX. Drive the Subaru long enough and you'll get used to the soft brakes, but my main problem with the mushy pedal was that it makes heel-and-toe downshifts difficult.

[pickles]

Even with the duty on a US STI it should still come in cheaper than the cost of a base WRX price here in Canada.  Ah the fun of importing.

[sailor723]

I noticed that this is the 3rd or 4th review/article on an 08 Sub vs 0 Toyota and 1 each for Mazda,Nissan,Honda and Mitsu ......

 Are they making so much money at current pricing that they can afford to have a zillion cars in the press fleet? 

Seriously though....did they release their 08's much earlier than the others?

[2latecrew]

What is it with Subaru and their steeros?

And Subaru must figure most WRX buyers either aren't after a sweet stereo or would prefer to kit the sound system out themselves, because the stock system sounds like crap, quite frankly.

My 02 Impreza RS stock stereo was crap too. Even my wife who usually is happy to listen to a clock radio at home thought it was awful. Worse thing was that the door panels were so shallow that even finding aftermarket speakers to fit was hard. Only people who had imprezas with decent steros spent mucho $ to build custom enclosures etc. I'm not saying you need an audiophile sytem as base but putting $50 stereos in a 35K car is just wrong especially given the target market. Either put a better stereo in or go back to the old ways of having them dealer installed only so that the car comes with blanks and speaker cutouts and then let the dealer try to make $ on the stero or let the customer install his own aftermarket.

If there was enough room the back for 2 child seats a WRX hatch sounds like it would be refined enough to suit my family.......at the US price that is.

[Rupert]

I am with the writer on looks and think the previous one had more individuality IMO. I like Subaru products on the whole but they are a bit pricey for me. I wonder if German influence has had an effect on the looks of this vehicle. One wonders where the future of the sporty/racy vehicle in general is headed; or high powered expensive sports cars for that matter. It is obvious from recent events on the highway, that more efforts will be made to curb the kind of activity that these machines embody. Not that a well performing good handling package is not desirable; it is, but the measures that are being taken now to enforce speed limits and curb irresponsible behaviour, may serve to further emphasize the redundency of some of these attributes on the public highway. All will be caught in the net. Personally I think that owning a high performing vehicle must be a frustrating experience. Neck breaking/high speed performance...for what? The speed limit is 60MPH and the fines now are becoming meaningfull. Can speed limiters be far behind. At that point high performance capabilities will become even more pointless in personal transportation. Maybe we are viewing the twilight of the gods.

[chrischasescars]

I am very disappointed with this two paragraphs.

A little disappointing was...

So was I...

[Snowman]

I am very disappointed with this two paragraphs.

A little disappointing was...

So was I...

I don’t understand the issues regarding the MT5 in the WRX. I’m on my second one and have driven countless manual cars I do not find it to be a challenge. I have not driven the 2008 WRX yet but the 2002 and 2006 braking systems worked effectively with the 2006 being only marginally better. I struggle to get heel-toe downshifting to work with the peddle spacing and space.

[chrischasescars]

I am very disappointed with this two paragraphs.

A little disappointing was...

So was I...

I don’t understand the issues regarding the MT5 in the WRX. I’m on my second one and have driven countless manual cars I do not find it to be a challenge. I have not driven the 2008 WRX yet but the 2002 and 2006 braking systems worked effectively with the 2006 being only marginally better. I struggle to get heel-toe downshifting to work with the peddle spacing and space.

It's not that it's hard to drive or even hard to drive smoothly. It's just not all that much fun. A Mazda3 is better, and so is the Solstice I referenced in the article, in terms of being able to heel-and-toe and in overall brake pedal feel. The WRX's shifter and brakes work fine; I just didn't enjoy shifting in the WRX as much as I have in other cars. Certainly, that matters more to some than to others, but I thought it was worth mentioning. It's what I'm here to do, after all.