I honestly wanted the new GR Corolla and ordered one from Northtown despite it being $3k above MSRP and the 1.5 year waiting time. As I'm leaving Toyota, I realize Northtown also has a Subaru dealership. Decided to check out the WRX since it was my second choice. Took one for a test drive and was very impressed. The '22 WRX looked grown-up. It had matured and it hit all my major checkboxes (e.g. 270HP, manual, AWD, heated seats, technology upgrades) but it was the cost. The WRX in my specs was $10k below the GR. Saw the WRX on a Tuesday, they had one on the lot in my specs and I drove it home Sat.
I think that most people will choose the Toyota for the reliability and the driving experience. I’ve only driven the WRX, not the GR, but from every comparison video between these two, the GR is a completely different driving experience. The WRX is a 1970s floaty Cadillac in comparison to the nimble, and agile GR. But you got what you wanted is what’s important.
Im in the same boat as you, I put a deposit on a GR last year and am told it will be at least another 1 year wait. I might consider the 2023 WRX this year once the car market goes down.
@@rteitel1974 It’s pretty good, I have a ‘22 Premium with 6M. Mileage with highway driving I get nearly 27mpg so the complaints from testers on mileage isn’t bad. It is stiffer than I remember my ‘11 hatchback and definitely feel the bumps quite a bit. Great in the Minnesota winter with appropriate winter tires! I love it.
Glad C/D is posting some good content. Also I much prefer the calmer delivery to some RU-vid reviewers who seem to think they have everything turned up to eleven all the time.
This. It seems like hyperactive wannabe-teenagers are what passes as car reviews. And they actually do measurements in addition to subjective review. I mean just goofing around does not make a car review to me. Also having actual opinions, unlike like Straight Pipes guys, is valuable.
@@mcdick take a look at Savagegeese. He has great reviews that go over technical details. Honestly he has better reviews than Car and Driver because he is more objective and will call out car companies that fall short of expectations within the different price points.
Been following Mr. Lago from MT to Edmunds and now to C/D. His insights into a vehicle's driving dynamics is one of the reasons he's one of the best. Great video by the way!
@@romeropostali520 if you don't know the difference between Carlos and Jason? You're not an enthusiast. Nothing against either one, as they are equally loved in the industry. That and Jonny Lieberman, Randy Pobst, etc.. You get my drift.
Got a black wrx coming in soon. Just ordered one today.I love the look of the new ones especially the black on black. Looks mean as hell. The cladding adds good protection and longevity to the cars body. Especially where i live in deep snow and country roads, no longer have to worry about rust. Rust always starts on wheel wells and bottoms of doors.
Glad to see Carlos doing what he does best - reviewing cars and providing a perspective that's refreshingly mature yet still caters to car enthusiasts.
Carlos is the man! I'm a big fan of WRX's, so it's a real shame Subaru decided to skip this generation for the STI. The GR Corolla and Civic Type R are going to eat up all those potential sales that would have gone to an STI.
Yup, but I guess Subaru was also tired of constant blown motors, and warranty repairs they dealt with on a regular basis! Subaru built those cars unreliable overall, and it probably made profits in the long run very minimal with as few as they sold overall compared to their family cars!
@@germanengineering204 anyone who says subarus aren't reliable just doesn't know how to maintain a vehicle. They work great for me. And I drive the crap out of my cars. But I also take care of them
@@ianholmquist8492 I owned a 2013 from brand new, and had major issues before 50k miles covered under warranty thank god! No clutch dumps or abuse, and maintained properly according to the manual! Guess what I had tranny issues along with clutch problems would of been really expensive out of pocket! So I highly disagree had friends with issues as well, and they are well known for blowing up motors it's facts! They were sued and Subaru lost and added a 3 year extended powertrain warranty for all owners of these highly problematic cars! I speak from first hand experience not hearsay!
Carlos, I noticed that you moved to C&D from Edmonds. You are one of my favorite reviewers, so naturally I had to subscribe to C&D. Thanks for all your contirbutions to Edmonds ( I certainly enjoyed them). I now have a subscription to C&D because of you. Keep up the good work.
Reviewers always seem to forget that the car runs at around 10psi compared to the previous model. The aftermarket has already confirmed that it can handle alot more boost.
personally i like the charcoal grey because it hides the fenders very well. i ended up getting the wr blue pearl due to the iconic color scheme and sti exhaust option included. Gold wheels coming soon...
@@Kiss__Kiss So rare for someone to leave a friendly comment on RU-vid. Just would like to say you are an absolute gem. Thanks for the positivity & hope you have & or get all you want in this life :) 2015 STI looks and sounds better than GR Corolla no matter long term reliability ;) Guess I better keep it and rebuild stronger one day if need be. It’s at 133,000kms and runs and drives like brand new still at least. My winter car thankfully these days so only gets mileage over winter. Subaru Gang 4 life
I do hope the GR Corolla gets a decently long life. Even if I can't get one right away. Boxer or not, it's the spiritual successor to the 2014 Subie hatch, and with the STI dead, to the STI itself!
@@markdafunky1 it wouldn't need everything an STI traditionally would add over a Rex. Just a nice power bump would be cool. At 400hp, maybe include whatever optional better brakes are available on the standard WRX. And a front LSD if at all possible
Former WRX here. Great review. Capable but clumsy is such a perfect way to describe the WRX. It is a quick little whip and fun as can be. Unfortunataly for that $37k you are in BMW 230I price range, which is what I switched to. Throw on the all the performance options and the 230i will be around 42k, if you do the same for a wrx then you pay extra for a CVT. Subaru really has not done much in the way of advancing this car in the last 15 years unfortunately. If you are shopping around $40k there are much better cars out there. BMW looks better, is faster, drives better, handles better, better interior. Subaru either needs to drop the price or bring a better A game. For 37$ this is trash.
Good job subaru boys will say you made a bad decision but they getting 20 MPG making no power unless E85. 220 whp, weak transmission, high insurance, don't have the budget to keep up with others so peaked in 2005 far as enthusiast go
@@germanengineering204 yeah, GTI, Elantra N, Veloster N, lightly used Civic type, lightly used STI, S3, CLA35, there are way better cars in this range, Subaru really messed up this WRX. WRX needs to be over 300hp to be justified and forgive the crappy interior, feel and looks. Simply a fail. Carolla GR is right around the corner and will become what the WRX should have been.
Why a lot of negative comments from its design? For me, it looks really really cool. It’s plastic yes, but it gives you that vibe the more you hate the more you love.
Yup - the GR Corolla is the STI Hatch that Subaru refused to build. I'm hoping the markups are not too crazy. Ever since the EVO went away, Subaru has shit the bed.
I think the issue here is that while Toyota has the money to build the GR, Subaru does not have the finances to build the performance vehicle that people want.
Now that just about every car is turbocharged, the novelty the original WRX once had in the late 90's has vanished. It's now just another vanilla turbocharged sedan with a hood scoop and standard AWD. Subaru needed to turn up the 'Subaru-ness' to combat this. Instead they sanitized it and it's ugly styling makes it stand out for all the wrong reasons (some people will love the styling but I think most agree its a jumbled mess to look at).
Idk why but I feel like Subaru did this knowing they would get hate. The new BRZ looked fine and had no plastic all around it. Someone at Subaru had to know this would happen.
I've had 6 Subaru's, 3 of which were WRX's... I love the Boxer motors, but I am bummed that they didn't up the HP to 300... I visited the Toyota dealership and put down a deposit on the GR Corolla hatch- 300HP, AWD 6 SPD....We shall see!
@@awdobsession717 You are correct that there is no price announced, but dealerships are being alocated a certin number of GR's. They accepted a $500 non refundable deposit to allow me the first alocated GR no matter what the color... I'm in CA
Where/how did you put a deposit on the GR Corolla? $500 deposit? In Philly, even to get an Si ... dealers are asking non-refundable $5k deposit. The GR isn't even officially released for sales. ??
@@RobHTech The local (to me) Toyota dealership. $500 non-refundable and on the Purchase Agreement, under"Agreed Upon Price", the dealer wrote "N/A"... Risky, I know... I am sure they will gouge me.
this car for people who prefer beer over wine, i love the fact that you must grab it by the scruff of its neck instead of gently caressing it around the corners. VB FTW
If it's the last gas, turbo, manual, AWD, then I'm glad I just got a new 2023. I had a 2002 for nearly 22 years and loved it. I plan to hold on to the 2023 for as long as I can. Personally, I love how it looks, especially the back of the car. I agree on the weight....it does feel substantially heavier than my 02. I'm not sure about the 6 speed either. In 6th gear on the highway, I'm at about 2500 RPM at 65-70 mph (which seems kind of high). With the 5 speed in the 02, it was around 2200 RPM. The 2023 has more power across the spectrum, while the 02 really kicked in at about 3500. In the 2023 is doesn't really feel the same. And with the 6 speed, I feel like I'm shifting a lot more. I like the tech but I'm worried about how long that center screen is going last. Kind prefer simplicity with knobs, dials and buttons over electronic displays. Also not sure why they are putting $1600 summer tires on the car. I'm going to need to buy all season tires next fall. But I really enjoy the new car, but still miss the old one.
Alot lot of people have already started having the fenders sanded and color matched and honestly, it looks better with the black plastic. I know it’s not for everyone though. I think this was a fair review though. Although not sure with the obsession with its economy car roots. If anything, it’s further from economy car roots than any other car in its segment now since it’s not based off the Impreza now.
EV doesn't mean anything until the US does a massive upgrade of the US powergrid to handle the increased load of everyone plugging it. Cali has already requested people cut back on charging their ev vehicles at times due to strain that it was putting on their electrical system. What do you think will happen if everyone in the nation who drives plugs in? I had an electrical engineer flat out tell me that he just laughs when people say we should all buy ev vehicles. He said it would flat out collapse the US electrical grid and those who push these vehicles are putting the cart in front of the horse.
The EV trend in general is pushed by fools. The motors' and batteries' manufacture is almost never considered, in terms of environmental impact or geopolitics. Then there's of course your point about the power grid. It's all just freaking marketing. Automakers want to seem ahead of the curve to make sales, and legislators want to look like they care (and enable their constituents to look like they care) and get votes. The sales and the votes both come, by and large, from fools and laypeople who know little if anything of the actual pros and cons.
Let's get this out of the way. The true reason why there is no new gen STI was not for ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicles), reducing GHG (Greenhouse Gases), and C.A.F.E. (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) Regulations. No matter what the government says, it was a PR move. It was because of where the price a fully loaded CVT-only WRX GT tops out at to indicate where the price of the now-defunct former new gen WRX STI would have started out at and independent Subaru dealerships in the U.S. having the intentions on marking up the new STI's pricing out the STI buyers from the alleged new car because there are no cars to sell on dealerships lots anywhere nationally and even internationally because their poor little dealerships can't survive in business without screwing the consumer over with extreme markups. Since there is no longer going to be a final generation STI on Subaru's Global Architecture Platform, if Subaru wants to truly soften the blow on the WRX, they'd still make the FA24, but put it in the WRX GT, give the WRX GT the manual with adaptive dampers, Recaro Seats, and all of the stuff it comes with and more that the STI would technically have, but because there is no more STI/STI Division, call the STI's SI-Drive "GT-Drive" and just emulate everything an STI is suppose to come with and just change it to GT and give the GT the big wing spoiler to honor/commemorate the STI.
Thought this video will just be another one of those car reviews, then you made the analogy of it being purposed built like an A10 and while the mass majority wouldn't get the reference, some like me appreciates it. Brrrrrt
Awesome review! Just got my 2022 WRX Premium and I LOVE IT!!! I do notice from 1 to 2 gear is a bit jerky even when I let off the clutch super slowly. I usually shift between 2500-3000 RPM. Any suggestions for a smoother transition??
Omg I thought I was going insane and forgot how to drive manual. From 2-6 it’s smooth sailing but 1-2 it’s just so hard to get a perfect shift! I just picked up the 2023 2 weeks ago and still having issues from 1-2. Ever get any good tips or figure out?
For a guy in his 50’s who not only committed the sin of ordering the GT trim but is also immediately replacing the stock performance tires with very practical “all seasons”, I think this car will be plenty and perfect.
@@marcusfieldfield4069 Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus. I love them way better than the ones that came with the car. I’m never going to drive the car to their capabilities either, so why not have a little grip in the snow? They’re a little quieter and I like the ride better.
@@marcusfieldfield4069 an aside…I live in Colorado and most of my driving is in the mountains. Taking off from a dead stop on a slippery incline in these is noticeably more confident, even for the Subaru that’s always confident. lol. Good luck!
Yeah it’s ugly… but is it REALLY more ugly than older WRXs? Really? Be honest. I’ve always had a healthy respect for this car but have never loved it. It’s not fun enough to justify it’s poor gas mileage. It’s not fast enough to justify the exterior styling or the stigma of driving one. And it’s not useful enough to justify the cheap interior and exorbitant price. I’d say I’d rather have a GTi but they’re now even more ridiculously priced. And I’d say I’d rather have an Si but Honda ruined that car when they went turbo. If you can only have one car? The GR Corolla would be my pick.
Hahaha. The markupGR. It's DOA. Sorry bud. My 22wrx makes 300whp. With just an exhaust. I'll WALK that over priced 3cyl if you ever actually get one under 50k. Lololol. Sorry bud
@@jordan3305 lol yes, nice try. Show me don't understand the market, without telling be you don't understand the market. "My dealer said I'm first and will get it at msrp" lololol
It's interesting that they would utilize a cvt for the wrx but a 6-speed auto for the brz. It would make more sense to use the 6-speed auto in the wrx as well. I'm sure they would sell more wrx's if they used a 6-speed auto.
That's because subaru's AWD is integrated into their transmissions. Every transmission in every subaru except the BRZ (because it's RWD) is developed in-house. Subaru doesn't have the budget to produce an entirely new transmission to use in just 1 car. Especially when it would probably get even worse MPG than the WRX already gets. Subaru can't just bolt on any transmission they want like most manufacturers can.
So the 2nd gen BRZ/GR86 is just as quick in a straight line as its big brother the WRX, yet some people will still complain that the twins "needs a turbo" even though those people probably wouldn't complain about the straight line speed of the WRX, just because a car is naturally aspirated doesn't mean it's slow, and just because a car is turbocharged doesn't mean it's fast.
No. The Press numbers are done with a 1 sec roll out and flatfoot shifting at redline. In real world driving the WRX will definitely be faster. And usually not the people that drive WRXs calling the Twins slow, it's the people that drive Muscle cars and high end German Sports cars.
I don't know why the reviewers always call the WRX a sport compact car when every single place that lists cars, calls it a midsize car. It even has the same or better space inside the cabin than a lot of other midsize cars.
What Subaru did with this car was genius and people aren’t seeing passed surface level. Subaru WRX has always been built with the intention of rally performance. With unpainted plastic cladding on the fenders and lower trim pieces this keep from costly paint repair to the everyday driver that wants to hit those back roads. As for the stock tune they have made the car more reliable by keeping a conservative tune with stronger internals so people aren’t blowing up their engines under warranty claims. For the tuner cult groups it’s going to open up a huge segment of aftermarket parts which will allow Subaru to make more money on accessories such as painted flaired fenders you can simply snap on. As for the conservative tune, this now will allow tuners to easily get more power out of this platform and also allow Subaru to decline warranty claims if an aftermarket tune was present at the time of any failure. I personally think once the aftermarket hits strong with options people will be more drawn to this platform and the ease of modification. Yes its going to cost you more money to make it look prettier and faster when most people are expecting an upgrade from previous gen however it leaves more of a blank canvas for a fun build with a solid foundation. It is also still the most affordable turbo charged AWD car in the maker at this price point.
Until the Corolla GR comes out in Oct..which might cost around the same price as a WRX. The new WRX costs the same as the STI before. I understand inflation, but this is a problem.
I’m trying to get on the list for the new GR Corolla as its going to be a beast. I bought a 2022 WRX for my wife a few days ago and we were only $34k OTD and I pretty positive the GR Corolla will start at $40k and almost guaranteed to have a mark up. I’m hoping to find one for MSRP and pick that up too.
@@SuzukiKid400 the Corolla GR is expected to MSRP roughly starting @ $31k-35k. It shouldn’t be any higher than that because it will start to cannibalize the Supra which starts at $43k. The WRX starts at roughly $30k and goes up to $45K. So even if the Corolla GR starts at $40k that’s still under the top optioned WRX.
...probably the same as the VA cars. Some parts are direct carry overs. I think the biggest hang-up is the factory tune; as proven in the VA cars. Even on 93, the factory tune is inconsistent in the VA cars, so a tune should probably be the first thing in this VB car followed by the typical bolt-ons ppl do.
I picked up my 23 WRX Sport Tech (Limited I think? I don't know, top of the line manual gearbox), and it's a fun car. The styling is perfectly fine to someone that doesn't have a history of owning WRX/STi cars. As someone that's new to this platform ... I like it. It'll grow on you too. As per the engine being "bigger, but the same power" ... come on. You KNOW it's wildly detuned fun the factory. It's all about EPA regulations now (hence the STi going the way of the Dodo) so you can absolutely expect serious power to find quite easily.
I just bought a 2023 WRX. I looked at quite a few other cars but, apart from the Corolla GR, none of them check as many of my boxes... AWD, manual transmission, decent power, etc. The only box it doesn't check is hatchback. The Corolla GR checks all my boxes but I couldn't find one to test drive and the Toyota dealers in the Boston area were asking $10k above MSRP for a car you wouldn't actually get for months. The new (and perhaps last) WRX suits me fine.
When my wife bought her 2016 hyper blue STI, it was the 2nd year of that gen. She was kinda worried about 'the next gen' coming out in 2017, or 2018. We now know she shouldn't have worried one bit...
I need to see this in the ‘metal’ before I talk too much on its design. But what I can say is that rear bumper needs a redesign. And those performance figures, ouch. Minimum should of been 220 kw and torque 400 nm +. The competition has moved on and WRX has not. Underdone and I feel a little underwhelmed. This coming from a previous WRX owner, 4 brought from new. Not the halo car of pass generations.
This is more a lateral move than an actual progression. Styling aside, it’s still a WRX; 6MT, AWD and a turbocharged flat-4. The CVT is a disappointment but I understand why SOA didn’t want to develop a DCAT for a low-volume vehicle. (I’ve owned previous-gen WRXs and have sold Subarus for 6 years)
How is this a lateral move? It's a better WRX in every aspect. Bigger, same weight, flat torque curve with more area under the curve, better chassis rigidity, awesome interior, better seats, lower centre of gravity, less stressed motor, can now run on 87 octane, better infotainment, maintains the manual trans, AWD, manual hand brake, hood scoop, boxer sound, now has better ground clearance...wow I could go on and on. It's in no way "lateral".
@@SuzukiKid400 you make good points, but the styling _alone_ makes it hard to imagine trading up my VA for it. That black plastic cladding, I just... It's gross. I do hope I get over that or Subaru updates the car to be less ugly. I'd like to see the FA engine finally carry the torch for the EJ for once, and if that happens and the car looks okay, maybe I'll buy one. I know I'm not alone there.
@@Senza_1 true, that's one of the reasons I'm a fan of it. The FA24DIT uses lower boost than the VA WRX for around the same power, this alone bodes well for reliability, plus just a higher starting point for tuning. It's more air, after all. Ironic, in that traditionally you _add_ boost since it's easier than adding displacement, lol. I'm sure it's a fine engine, I'd love to drive one one day. (Was thoroughly unmoved by the FA20 in a 2018 WRX). Till then I'll enjoy my EJ257 STI which is LUCKY to have displacement on its side, with that old single-scroll turbo and pathetic CR.
I test drove the new wrx about 6 weeks ago. I'm your height. It was completely fine for someone our height. Even with the moon roof it was comfortable. Go sit in one
people may bitch but the fact we get a MANUAL trans turbo car in 2022 from a pretty small manufacture is really awesome people trying to compare subaru to like VW and Toyota but they have no where near the money those companies do to throw money at selling a car that makes up like 5% of sales subaru could easily not sell the wrx anymore and be just fine
In terms of a fun manual transmission daily driver family sedan to commute to work with, the Subaru WRX lags behind the Hyundai Elantra N-Line/Kia Forte GT, Honda Civic Si, and Volkswagon Jetta GLi in comfort.
I wouldn't say it's lagging behind the Kia and GLI. I would buy a WRX over those 2, especially where I live (Canada). The Si is sweet, just wish it had another 40 hp. The N is definitely ahead of the WRX but could also be viewed as a little rough for daily driving with a stiff ride and a loud exhaust (which could get tiring after a while). Regardless, they all offer a stick so in my book they're all great options!! Save the manuals!!!
We're lucky these are all still in production, and some of them newly so! I just wish we could say the same about a manual transmission car that's affordable and good on the highway (low road/wind noise mostly)
As an owner of a 2020 WRX, Subaru could have done better. They turned it into a sort of Outback/WRX hybrid. I could do without plastic flares over the wheels & excessive bumper. Carbon fiber would have been awesome. The wider stance is good. The small increase in power is ok but could have been better. The WRX deserves a better send off.
If this is the last pure-bred WRX, it's a bit disappointing at current spec. I expect Subaru to find ways to up the ante even without an STI in the next 2-3 years. VA owners, this confirms there is no logical reason to trade in for a new one if your car is in good working order.
Exactly. 3 more hp than previous gen wrx. Slower 0-60 than previous gen. About 10mpg worse than previous gen. And it costs 5 to 10k more..How is that an improvement? I paid 38.8k last year for a brand new sti. For those 1,800 extra dollars I got a real sports car. Not whatever crap this 22 wrx is supposed to be.
VA STI owner.. just bought CPO in September with 2500 miles. Soon found out no next gen STI and felt like I'd bought a collector car. Wasn't my intention and I know that is an exaggeration, but still. Time capsule at least
Overall subaru failed to deliver. Ppl saying it can do more when modified but not everyone buys a car to modify. The new engine that is a definite upgrade failed to deliver on what it is capable of. Subaru is being anything but innovative. The elantra n smokes this car which is sad. All around a let down. I have a 19wrx and its getting traded for a mustang gt or Nissan z. Done with subaru.
Such a shame no STi. How's much money would it take to develop one? I mean the platform and engine are already developed. Put some proper fenders on, the heavy 6 speed box, LSDs, Brembos, Bilsteins, nearly done. Also wtf no manual on the top trim, dumb
thanks for for the vid - I appreciate it. I have a 2018 base in WRB with just the STI catback and Kicker upgrade, (the "loud package") and it is a fun car. Ergo is great, I love the cloth seats, transmission is kinda clunky made worse by throttle hang, handling is a little too stiff and two quick to understeer but not bad, steering is a bit to slow, brakes are decent but just adequate. Styling is not beautiful but functional and classic. I was hoping for an evolutionary next gen, fixing some of the prior gen car's issues - but that just doesn't seem to be the case here. Maybe a quick refresh for 2024 will make it more viable.
@@baymaxfpv the fa20 is way worse than the ej257 as well. I had a 17 wrx and it was pretty horrible. It hated cold starts, hated to rev, had tons of dead spots and burned over a quart of oil every 3k miles from brand new. Traded for a 21 sti and it's a superior car in every way
@@ianholmquist8492 I only test drove the VA WRX but it was highly unremarkable. A Corolla with more power. Compared to my friend's '13 WRX and my own '20 STI, it's night and day. Is it just the EJ25x? Maybe. However: the FA20D in my old FR-S was wonderful, other than the torque dip (fixed with a tune, but it should've have needed to be). I got hope the FA24D is a decent successor to the EJ25x where the 20D was not
As a huge WRX Impreza fan of the mid 2000's models, it's so heartbreaking to see how they completely killed the WRX line dead with the restyling and cheapness of the new cars. It's a shell of it's former self and lost all sense of cool-ness with the 2014 model.
The looks are starting to grow on me and we will soon see many plastidipped bumpers, sideskirts, and fenders. I'm curious to see what an electric STi would be about. I feel like these cars are always tuner cars that most everyone modifies to improve performance.
