Subaru WRX 2.5 (M) 2007 vs WRX 2.5 (M) 5 door 2008 Review

Let us remind you of the key differences between the old and new model WRX. First, the bonnet mounted air-scoop - a signature move from Subaru.

It has been shrunk, and moved forward about 15cm in order to work with the new, square-ish intercooler that you might know of from the Legacy, which by the way, the new Rex in it's entirety (crudely speaking) has been engineered after.

In addition to the dropping of several, more expensive aluminium parts, the terrible pig snout has gone, in favour of an even more sedate looking grille that looks more like an inverted frown. Smooth, round and fluid suggests Subaru has lost it's way in an attempt to incorporate heritage and future in the current one.

Excuses?

But things aren't all that bad though, because Subaru has a valid reason for making the new one into a hatch. Think World Rally Championships. Save for the Mitsubishi Evo, all competitors utilize the aerodynamically superior hatch, which is essentially an aerofoil in itself, already works well in terms of downforce.

World Rally Champion Petter Solberg, driver for the Subaru WRC Team, has managed to convince the fellas over at Fuji Heavy Industries that a hatch was indeed necessary should they want to buck up to win the next World Rally Title.

You'll also be surprised to know that the new model weighs almost the same (approx 1425kg) as the old one despite being 43.2mm shorter, 43.2mm wider, 12.7mm taller. It sits on a wheelbase that's nearly 101.6mm longer.

In addition to having more legroom and truckloads of storage, we somewhat took a liking to the new car's driving position. The driver is seated lower, by more than 25mm. This automatically translated into a much better driving position than that of the old WRX

The same treatment goes for the 2,457cc EJ255, equipped with familiar, 5 speed manual. Power figures remain the same (230 PS at 5,200rpm) but a peak torque of 320 Nm happens lower down the rev range at 2,800rpm.

Worthy of mention are the new double wishbones in the back, a slacker steering ratio of 15:1, and a brake caliper/rotor setup found on the BL5, US-spec and spec-B Legacy.
Acceleration

Off the line, the old timer has it almost immediately. The outright, brutal factor of the GD's engine can only be described as more urgent, and as far as the local colloquial language goes, "more fierce!" Hope into the new WRX immediately afterwards, and you start to wonder whether the car's peak power characteristics went on a holiday, or just got old.

The difference in timing between both cars for 0-100km/h tests weren't so vast though - the GD did it in 6.4 seconds and the new one in just 7 - an average of 5 tries each on a hot day with a full tank of gas, and with the air-conditioning turned off.

By the time things moved into third gear, and legal limits effectively breached, this is what things looked like -


The old WRX definitely had the advantage off the mark, mostly because it isn't equipped with traction control to cut the power should you accidentally feed the clutch in too quickly and botch the whole affair, but that effectively opened up a sizeable gap between both cars that continued to widen from first through third.

Driving Impressions (by Andy Hum)

It's not everyday that you get to drive a nice, brand new WRX along a stretch of emergency runway whilst looking out the window and watching F16 fighter jets take off. On top of that, the feeling you get after is not going to help you very much. Not when the speed limit of a very long, straight and wide road is only 70 km/h, which doesn't make much sense.

Why allow us to travel only up to that speed when it was designed for much bigger craft to cover it much quicker, like in excess of 200 km/h? Is it safer for us? No, and in fact, there is a higher chance that one might fall asleep at the wheel and end up in the drain.

All this boils down to the problem of designing something great, but with a lot of unusable excess, thanks to a lack of common sense. Thankfully, that isn't the case with Subaru's WRX.

The differences in driving feel between the new and old one are vast.

First off, power delivery in the new Impreza WRX does not feel as smooth as the old one. You do, however, get a little bit more low-end torque from this latest iteration, making it a little more user-friendly for urban driving.
The gearbox in the new car is vague and even a little squishy, unlike the GD-F, where throws were sharper, and would never leave you wondering if the cogs had properly swapped at all, with first and second being a small maybe.

Even the clutch is lighter than in the older model, and so is the steering. And the throttle.

It is as if Subaru had accidentally mixed in marshmallows with the original WRX gene. The upside of all this is that the car becomes more livable with, and more settled down. The downside, however, is that those who are keen on some good 'ol bang for buck will find better value for money in the earlier version.

Think of them as Coke and Coke Light. Both are supposed to be similar, but with the latter being the healthier choice - less teeth-dissolving and friendlier to your stomach-wall's lining; basically, the not so hard-core version of the two.

In the previous version, driving the car evokes confidence. While it does understeer quite a bit, its splendid all-wheel drive will sort you out of the nastiest of slides. Now, the new WRX has improved on that. Thanks to more weight at its rear it does slither out a little bit more, and effectively reducing the problem.

But importantly, controlling your steering inputs together with the throttle is actually easier in the new car. Because you don't have to anticipate a strong power burst like in the saloon WRX, as well as a more linear and responsive delivery, every turn is a tad calmer than its elder brother.

Steer it around and one would find that it still lacks in feedback, but both remain relatively responsive. What still disappoints, though, is its lightness at higher speeds. You can effortlessly deal with the opposing force as easily as how we deal with the opposition party. Only difference is that you probably would prefer some stronger resistance when traveling on a highway.

Ed. Through extremely tight right-left-right-left handers, and especially in quick slaloms, the hydraulics on the new model's steering load up in a flash, making it very dangerous should you be caught off guard by the extra effort needed for countersteering work.

"So how?"

That said, we must admit that we were still simply charmed by the older model. It isn't so gentle like the hatchback and it does a better job at tingling your spine and wreaking havoc with your senses.

And that is exactly what these cars are supposed to do - not fluff-coat your bum.

By the way, Subaru does have a few more units of the 2007 WRX 2.5 GD lying around, and they're currently retailing for $80,388 - a full 10 grand less than the new model, so you know what to do™