New “hot” sedan: Subaru declassified the next generation WRX
Sales of the “four-door” of the Japanese brand will start in the US market early next year.
For the Subaru brand, the American market remains one of the priority markets: sales figures have been constantly growing here since 2008, but the statistics with a “plus” sign were spoiled by the “covid” 2020. During the specified period, dealers sold 611,938 cars, which is 12.6% less than a year earlier). This year, the results are growing again: in the first eight months of 2021, customers bought 420,748 copies (11.8% more than in January-August last year).
In the photo: Subaru WRX new generation
Niche “charged” WRX/STI sedans are available in the US. The sporty “four-door” of the current generation has been produced since 2014, at the same time the model changed the name Impreza WRX to simply WRX. Restyling sedan survived in 2017. Sales in the crisis 2020 did not decrease as much as the brand as a whole: dealers sold 21,178 units, which is only 3% less than in 2019. At the same time, this year the result has grown significantly: from January to August, the car sold 18,771 copies (40.1% more).
This year, a teaser campaign for a new generation sedan has been actively launched. The next WRX was supposed to debut in August at the New York Auto Show, but the event was canceled due to another outbreak of the coronavirus. So the premiere took place just now: the Japanese company has finally completely declassified a car intended for the American market.
The sporty four-door Subaru moved to the SGP (Subaru Global Platform) modular platform during the generation change. The length of the novelty is 4669 mm (74 mm more than its predecessor), and the distance between the axles is 2672 mm (22 mm). Visually, the sedan is not much different from the Subaru Levorg presented in the States: from the station wagon, he got the front end with LED head optics, the same grille and bumper with air intakes integrated into it. The “four-door” received “aggressive”-looking plastic lining on the wheel arches and lighter aluminum front fenders. The choice of wheels with a diameter of either 17 or 18 inches.
The interior of the new Subaru WRX sedan also has a lot of borrowings from Levorg. In the list of differences – analog devices, and not a large screen with digital scales (like the “five-door”). The touchscreen diagonal of the infotainment system is 11.6 inches. The same screen allows you to control most of the functions in the car (including climate control), but there are still physical buttons on the sides of it.
During the generation change, the Subaru WRX was given a different “stuffing”, which is already familiar to Americans from such models as the Legacy, Outback and Ascent. Under the hood of the novelty is a 275-horsepower boxer turbo engine FA24 with a volume of 2.4 liters (torque – 350 Nm). Recall that the predecessor was equipped with a 2.0-liter engine with a return of 268 hp. (350 Nm). The base version is offered with a six-speed “mechanics”, and a revised CVT is available as an option, which can now change gear ratios faster based on driving conditions. The new generation WRX can still only have all-wheel drive.
The lineup of the new Subaru WRX sedan has a top-end GT version. It differs due to the presence of electronically controlled shock absorbers, sports seats for the driver and front passenger – Recaro buckets with electric drive, as well as a system of various driving modes (Comfort, Normal and Sport): they affect the settings of the engine, gearbox, steering wheel and suspension of the car.
Sales of the next generation Subaru WRX will start in the US in early 2022. Pricing information has not yet been released by the company. Now the minimum price of the current sports sedan in this market is $ 27,495, which is equivalent to about 2 million conventional units at the current rate.