GO ON, LET GRANNY TAKE IT SHOPPING...

+ Click to Enlarge PURPOSE-BUILT: ...and that purpose, for the latest 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX, is pure driving fun in a family-sized, five-seater, sedan.

July 5, 2009

Remove all the snob value, badge bragging, posing potential and fancy features from the equation of buying a performance car and there's really only one sports machine left – and it's just been re-launched in South Africa.

Its got a 20-year pedigree, a turbocharged flat-four engine, all-wheel drive, great sports seats, a fair-sized rear spoiler, sells in limited numbers and has a huge reputation on rallies and tracks - yet it's not a Porsche.

The machine that defines performance purified is the new Subaru WRX sedan powered by the latest version of the turbocharged 2.5-litre DOHC boxer engine – at 195kW and 343Nm of torque, it's the most powerful WRX yet.

I've just been driving it for a week (couldn't make the official launch so Subaru SA kindly dropped one at my front gate) and it's replaced the Lexus IS250 as my all-time favourite car. And I have my teenage daughter's permission to say so… she must be right, because we all know teenagers know everything, hey?

The WRX is 26kW more powerful and has 23Nm more torque than its hatchback predecessor. Grant Bowring, Subaru SA's marketing manager, explained: "We wanted to move the WRX into a new segment of the market, an area where it would be clearly recognised as the ultimate compact sports sedan.

"As cars have grown over the last couple of generations, those machines once considered compact have clearly gone beyond that so it has made sense in terms of market positioning to fill that gap with the Impreza, a car perfect in terms of size and character to satisfy the driving enthusiast."

He's right. Small "hot hatches" have morphed into tubby mid-sizers – the VW Golf is probably the prime example though the also just-launched GTI is still a great car. BMW 3 Series are pretty much where the Fives were, sizewise, just a few years ago and a Toyota Corolla is heading for Camry bulk.

The Subaru WRX, however, is still a small sedan, though it easily seats four, and (if it weren't for that gash of an air intake atop the bonnet), could to the untutored eye get away with looking like a Mom's Taxi. Which is the whole point…

In fact, until the turbo on the 2.5-litre, vibration-free flat four cuts in, the masquerade continues until the king of all friendly local sumo wrestlers pops out of the tarmac and gives you a thunderingly friendly slap on the back and sends you and yours into hyperdrive.

KEY FIGURES

Drop the clutch with the rev counter on 3000 and the WRX simply shoots away, its all-wheel drive gripping without wheelspin or other noisy drama as the 225/45 Dunlop SP Sport 01 tyres on their 17" alloy rims - substantially wider than before - try to un-lay the tar.

The key figures are 0-100km/h 5.3sec and top speed 209km/h. Subaru lists fuel consumption as 10.4 litres/100km.

Subaru SA says the power now arrives further up the rev range, "giving the car a more athletic nature and rewarding the driver who likes to work at his job". The engine really comes on song from 2500rpm; from that point to 5000 torque delivery is above 340Nm.

The WRX's gear ratios are unchanged, though Subaru says the five-speed box has been strengthened in key areas to cope with the gains at the flywheel. Improved shift feel has also been achieved through the use of a ball-type key for first and second synchromesh hubs and a change to the key groove on third and fourth synchromesh sleeve.

BIGGER TURBO

The gains in headline numbers, the automaker says, have been achieved by fine tuning a number of areas: maximum turbo boost has been increased from 78 to 92kPa and the exhaust system's gas-flow restriction has been reduced by 30 percent to match the turbocharger performance and increase engine power.

The turbo is now the same size as that of the STI to improve acceleration at high engine speeds.

Changes to car's looks and cabin are more in the detail; two obvious and one less obvious change are highlights. The more subtle difference – and one which is only obvious when the current and new versions are side by side – is a change to the interior colour.

Interior plastics are now jet black and an electric tilt-'n-slide sunroof is now standard on the WRX. High-backed sports seats have WRX logo embossed in the backrests.

...AND THE PRICES

The instrument lighting now has a tinge of red, the driver's left-foot rest and the aluminium pedals have anti-slip rubberised dimples. The centre console is unchanged and has two cupholder, a lidded compartment and a 12V plug and an input socket for an iPod or similar item.

The updated Impreza range now comprises the 2.0R sedan five-speed manual, which is expected to be launched from R249 000, 2.0R four-speed automatic from R259 000, the WRX sedan from R349 000 and the STI at R545 000.

The WRX is sold with a three-year or 100 000km warrantyand a three-year or 63 000km maintenance plant.