2022 Subaru WRX Official Announcement *Merged*

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by rallly 4

You guys are making zero sense. Ready?
2015 the Focus RS came out and beat the sti and Wrx to an oblivion. The Ford was and is the better car out of the box.
2016 the civic type R comes out and once again the Subaru can't keep up. Even the S209 version.
2016 VW releases a mid year refresh to the golf R and the MK7.5 is now also faster than the Sti
2018 MY Subaru decides to change around the sti , new differential or whatever garbage they did. It's now a 5.5 0-60 car and the Wrx is faster. I raced a friend with a 18 sti that was stock in my stock 16 sti and I obliterated him by 2-3 car lengths.
The type R has been bashing the sti for years ago in all performance data, besides snow or ice, which isn't used in car comparison tests. My point is this car has had more competition in the time since the evo has left than it did when it first came out in 2004, and they still can't get up to speed with other manufacturers. Yaris GR is a faster and better car as well from what the Europeans and brits are saying.
So what's subarus excuse? They release a teaser, with what looks like a total POS with a 6k redline, cheap plastic fender moldings because they didn't give it true fender flares like they've done for 30 years, and ugly orange paint. Orange looks good on shelbys, M3's, corvettes***8230;not subarus or tuner cars.
So, this time I think Subaru has made a mistake , and it won't be like last time where they get bought up anyways

And lets take WRX/STI sales numbers and compare to all of those combined. Subaru has a car that is preferred as a DD over the rest of those. To which, just about all the comments from owners of those other cars seem to make those cars only better in the "feel" department as their modern engine "track" numbers are only marginally better than Subaru's ancient technology. Now, Subaru can certainly screw up with the new one and I have my fingers crossed that they don't; but, the STI will truly be an ALL new vehicle with SGP and the rumored 2.4. I do think people have the wrong expectations based on info from sources we know are highly unreliable(but sometimes accurate). It is going to be a better car. I have zero doubt about that. Just how much better is my question.


edit: My 2004 STi didn't have any more fender than a standard Impreza. Nor did my 2009 WRX. So, what's this 30 years bit?

edit #2: I wish I would be able to remember this post a few years from now; cause, I can see you using bad sales numbers that are actually because of the semi conductor issue and not demand to say "See, this one didn't sell as well.".

Originally Posted by Pre

They should just make it a SUV for you then? It's supposed to be a compact rally inspired sedan, not a family truckster.

Key word. Inspired. My friends that rode in my '04 IMMEDIATELY commented on the extra space in the back when I got my '08. Now, I don't have car loads of people like in the past nor use the car to a level that the size would matter soo much; so, I'm in the camp of having a fun car AND comfortable ride. And remember that both my current DDs are from the "small" Subaru era.

Originally Posted by heavyD

At this point I wouldn't be shocked to see hill start assist and hill decent control added as new features for this new and rugged WRX.

Already has Incline Start Assist.

Would be interesting to see if they would implement hill decent on non-X-Mode cars.

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[Pre]

Originally Posted by JustyWRC

Key word. Inspired. My friends that rode in my '04 IMMEDIATELY commented on the extra space in the back when I got my '08. Now, I don't have car loads of people like in the past nor use the car to a level that the size would matter soo much; so, I'm in the camp of having a fun car AND comfortable ride. And remember that both my current DDs are from the "small" Subaru era.

It's not rally inspired anymore and hasn't been for many many years. When they show clips it's of yesteryear. What it is supposed to be, not inspired, is a compact affordable performance vehicle. With more people wanting it to be a family truckster, it will get bigger, both longer and wider, and more weight. All of which ruins what it is supposed to be. lt's turning into a Legacy GT and no WRX will be offered. And more body cladding as well. Damn shame.

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by Pre

It's not rally inspired anymore and hasn't been for many many years. When they show clips it's of yesteryear. What it is supposed to be, not inspired, is a compact affordable performance vehicle. With more people wanting it to be a family truckster, it will get bigger, both longer and wider, and more weight. All of which ruins what it is supposed to be. lt's turning into a Legacy GT and no WRX will be offered. And more body cladding as well. Damn shame.

I agree. I liked the room it got; but, wouldn't want it to continue to grow as it has. I'm fine as it sits; but, at some point(now. lol), it should stop.

[mcarb002]

I'm feeling now that the overall shape and style of those Russian photoshop concepts are pretty spot on, minus the obvious plastic cladding fender flares we saw in the video.

Especially the back. From the video stills it gave an impression that it was a "snub-nose" back end if you will...the trunk and such.
Kind of like the Benz A class sedans.

[IMG][/IMG]



while other concepts made it look like a longer/more defined trunk

[mcarb002]

repost

[kayen]

Originally Posted by samagon

I'm all about the plastic over the wheel arches. two main points of favor:

1. for weight loss. the plastic can weigh less than metal, and the metal that is hidden under the plastic can be molded into shapes that are unappealing, but add strength with less metal.

2. for modding. take a look at the Wrangler community, tons of aftermarket options to replace the stock fender flares, extrapolate that to WRX, there will be plenty of aftermarket options for painted flares, as well as different flares to add uniqueness to your ride. in addition, if you want to changes wheels/tires that might interfere with the fenders, no more need to roll and ruin the metal panels, just replace the flares with something wider, or taller, or whatever.

this isn't a bad thing, just a different thing.

Difference between Subaru's plastic cladding and a Jeep Wrangler, is a Wrangler's is bolted/screwed on. A Subaru's is just a piece of trim snapped in place and even potentially uses adhesive to hold in place. Which means it is just Metal on the other side of that little piece of thin plastic, which means you are going to have to cut that metal out to give more real room for wider flares to actually be usable space. Otherwise you will have the look and rub like crazy.

This is terrible and would not buy as is. Don't care if it could give a GT350 a run on a track, as it will probably be spanked by the current CTR lol.

Ok maybe an overreaction, but nobody is asking for this from the current WRX/STI community.

[kayen]

Originally Posted by mcarb002

I'm feeling now that the overall shape and style of those Russian photoshop concepts are pretty spot on, minus the obvious plastic cladding fender flares we saw in the video.

Especially the back. From the video stills it gave an impression that it was a "snub-nose" back end if you will...the trunk and such.
Kind of like the Benz A class sedans.

[IMG][/IMG]



while other concepts made it look like a longer/more defined trunk

Either way this car is going to look terrible with those fenders: unpainted or painted it just sticks out in a bad way.

[JP Chestnut]

Originally Posted by JustyWRC

And lets take WRX/STI sales numbers and compare to all of those combined...

Originally Posted by JP Chestnut

Who needs good enthusiast cars when you can beat off to "X months of sales growth"? Not this guy

or a lot of people on here.

All we need is a sporty WRC blue sweater and some sweet sweet sales reports. It's what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

There's always one.

The Civic Type R is commanding $5,000+ over MSRP in its last year of production. Sales aren't a metric that enthusiasts should care about. Salesmen? Sure. Enthusiasts? No.

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by JP Chestnut

There's always one.

The Civic Type R is commanding $5,000+ over MSRP in its last year of production. Sales aren't a metric that enthusiasts should care about. Salesmen? Sure. Enthusiasts? No.

Supply and demand. Duh. Come on man. That's an easy one. But, they weren't/aren't flying off lots. Which means people don't want to spend that much. SO, is it really "Commanding" that price? The WRX/STI sales INCREASED several times over the last couple years. It's up 38% YTD as of last month. After ALL these years and with the news of a newer, better one coming. Come back with a better counter....

[cbk57]

Originally Posted by kayen

Either way this car is going to look terrible with those fenders: unpainted or painted it just sticks out in a bad way.

The bottom rendering, was always how I thought the new car was going to look, I studied carefully the camo cars that were testing and they clearly had something going on around the fender arches. I would prefer they be painted as in the rendering to plastic. We will see in a couple weeks. I do get amused by all the people that are just give me a Levorg, or give me a turbo forester. Sure probably a place for those, but the WRXs core is a coupe or sedan to me. My ideal WRX is a light weight sedan with all wheel drive and a manual transmission. Light and all wheel drive don:t go completely together but the WRX is fairly light by modern standards and less bloated than many cars are these days.

As far as a high performance wagon or SUV, everyone makes one of those these days, I don:t want one.

[JP Chestnut]

Originally Posted by JustyWRC

Supply and demand. Duh. Come on man. That's an easy one. But, they weren't/aren't flying off lots. The WRX/STI sales INCREASED several times over the last couple years. After ALL these years and with the news of a newer, better one coming. Come back with a better counter....

Your salesman is showing.

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/subaru...s-figures-usa/

Subaru WRX – US – By Year
Year sold
2016 30,943
2017 31,358
2018 28,730
2019 21,838
2020 21,178
2021 14,272

Looks like a massive increase to me.

Here's another one if you feel like disputing the numbers
2020 21.178
2019 21.838
2018 28.730
2017 31.358
2016 33.279
2015 33.734

https://carsalesbase.com/us-subaru-wrx-sti/

You're ill equipped to argue with me. I think explaining how Subaru's nav works to old people is more your speed.

[kayen]

Originally Posted by cbk57

The bottom rendering, was always how I thought the new car was going to look, I studied carefully the camo cars that were testing and they clearly had something going on around the fender arches. I would prefer they be painted as in the rendering to plastic. We will see in a couple weeks. I do get amused by all the people that are just give me a Levorg, or give me a turbo forester. Sure probably a place for those, but the WRXs core is a coupe or sedan to me. My ideal WRX is a light weight sedan with all wheel drive and a manual transmission. Light and all wheel drive don:t go completely together but the WRX is fairly light by modern standards and less bloated than many cars are these days.

As far as a high performance wagon or SUV, everyone makes one of those these days, I don:t want one.

So are you saying you like the CUV/SUV treatment?

The WRX is not fairly light anymore and it is way bloated over a GD WRX/STI, let alone when there was a coupe WRX/STI version from the 90's and earliest of the 2000's.

Light weight and not bloated can be done today. Perfect example, look at the GR Yaris.

[4S-TURBO]

An ICE powered WRX version of this would be warranted in Subaru's lineup IMO.

I remember when the Legacy XT came out and we were arguing about Subaru's decision to give the Legacy an Outback trim name rather than the traditional GT monicker. If any vehicle should have black cladding and flares it's the Legacy XT.

I feel all the black was added to break up the car's overall size and length. It's going to be roughly the same footprint as the Mach E up there. And from the camo pics, the WRX does have a trunk rather than a Honda slope. It needs something to put the double decker bench on.

[Kostamojen]

Originally Posted by quentinberg007

I’m talking specifically about the cladding which we do know is on the car. That is absolutely the fault of “being outdoorsy” now being a stylistic choice.

We DON'T know if this is all models, just specific trims, or even if this is just a prototype they are showing.

It wouldn't be the first time Subaru has had black plastic on some trim levels and painted plastic on others.

Normally Subaru shows a "Prototype" that is like 95% of th3 final product 6mos or so before they do the official announcement but we shall see.

[cbk57]

Originally Posted by kayen

So are you saying you like the CUV/SUV treatment?

The WRX is not fairly light anymore and it is way bloated over a GD WRX/STI, let alone when there was a coupe WRX/STI version from the 90's and earliest of the 2000's.

Light weight and not bloated can be done today. Perfect example, look at the GR Yaris.

Absolutely not if I wanted a Cross Trek I would own one. I mostly detest every sport utility or cross over on the market. I only like Land Rover, the new Bronco products and the Toyota Forruner.

Yes the WRX is fairly light, look up the weight of a Camero, Mustang, Challenger, BMW M3 and so on. yes it is heavier than prior models but that is not a fair or reasonable comparison. Relative to offerings today it is not so heavy.

A GR Yaris for the US market at the moment is irrelevant as it is not sold here. Can it be done yes, can you sell a Caterham kit car in the U.S. at 1800 pounds? yes but not a fair comparison.

A 3200 pound sport sedan is relatively light as the current market goes, would I prefer a 1989 M3? yes, not realistic for me though. Also just not practice for me as I want an all wheel drive performance sedan at this point in my life.

My current car is a 2013 WRX. If Subaru did not get this right, my future car will be a 2013 WRX sedan.

[dwf137]

Originally Posted by cbk57

As far as a high performance wagon or SUV, everyone makes one of those these days, I don:t want one.

In an affordable package? Please do share.

Levorg with typical us wrx treatments (including manual) would be in a class of it's own here in the US. Gotta spend big bucks if you want a wagon or cuv that can outrun a civic.

[4S-TURBO]

Originally Posted by Kostamojen

We DON'T know if this is all models, just specific trims, or even if this is just a prototype they are showing.

It wouldn't be the first time Subaru has had black plastic on some trim levels and painted plastic on others.

Normally Subaru shows a "Prototype" that is like 95% of th3 final product 6mos or so before they do the official announcement but we shall see.

How much do you expect the WRX to change after they released the teaser video? The Levorg didn't change at all. I understand what you're saying with trims and what not, but Subaru offering different exterior styling treatments to differentiate trims has not been a thing with the current generation. 7 years of basically 17 inch or 18 inch wheels lip spoiler or no lip spoiler that's it. I guess Subaru can get in the game of doing such things, but we are told over and over that they are small and cannot possibly deviate from maximum efficiency on the Japan production lines.

[afisher9]

Originally Posted by fredzy

I think you've got it. The current gen WRX vs. STI have very little visual differentiation today, I think to the detriment of the STI. I had a feeling there was going to be some extra effort to differentiate them, I just figured they would give the STI the Civic Type R treatment, really go overboard with it (not something I approve of.) Never would have guessed they would go this way with the WRX.

So I would expect the STI to NOT be given this ruggedness treatment, but also maybe not look too wild for a self-respecting adult to drive to work. They may try to position the WRX in a way that pushes us more traditional WRX enthusiasts to the STI where we belong while drawing in the folks out there that value "sporty" but are shopping a CX-5, Rav 4 or Forester right now. Probably move a lot more HTCVTs, maybe convert some normies into STI buyers.

If there's anything Subaru has learned since Crocodile Dundee, it's that Outbackification never hurts sales.

I agree with this 100%. At least what I'm kind of hoping what is going on. But unfortunately, if it is the case, we still don't know for sure what is going on with the STI until next year.

[kayen]

Originally Posted by 4S-TURBO

The new Levorg would be a perfect replacement for any SG Forester XT owner. Of course it would need to be offered with a manual transmission too. No way would I ever sell my Manual SG Forester XT Sports in WRB for one, it would just be added to the garage.

[mcarb002]

Originally Posted by 4S-TURBO

honestly, I'm fine with that front. If the STI was like that plus added flare or whatever. That's a stylishly aggressive look to me. But then again, that's just me.

[4S-TURBO]

Perhaps we will get a Levorg ute after all. This WRX definitely opens that door.

[12wrx1]

A lot will hate it at first BUT will eventually grow on us like every other model over the years. Sales will ultimately be the deciding factor. I hated the VA sedan until recently. But sales indicated way more people liked them than my GR,so***128580;

[Masterauto]

WRX introduction NY next week
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/t...63c9ace2d3bbf6

[Snow Drift]

Originally Posted by Masterauto

WRX introduction NY next week
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/t...63c9ace2d3bbf6

Next month. August 19th, 2021 at the NYIAS.

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by JP Chestnut

Your salesman is showing.

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/subaru...s-figures-usa/

Subaru WRX – US – By Year
Year sold
2016 30,943
2017 31,358
2018 28,730
2019 21,838
2020 21,178
2021 14,272

Looks like a massive increase to me.

Here's another one if you feel like disputing the numbers
2020 21.178
2019 21.838
2018 28.730
2017 31.358
2016 33.279
2015 33.734

https://carsalesbase.com/us-subaru-wrx-sti/

You're ill equipped to argue with me. I think explaining how Subaru's nav works to old people is more your speed.

I'll concede that I wasn't thorough in my statement. Now, go back and break down the first part of last years sales before the northern dealerships all shut down for the pandemic. Sales would have clearly covered that 700 unit difference. And I never said anything about "massive" increase. Though 38% YTD is pretty massive for a 7 year old model. And the statement was versus those other cars. Why didn't you use those, more relevant, numbers?