My Take on the New 2022 WRX

Not always, once you match suspension closer, it is VERY hard to match the Honda Civic R sophisticated suspension design with common stamped steel cheapo hot hatch's designs.The Hyundai Veloster N would gain some with a high end Genisis suspension setup that is more like the Honda R's. So suspension disadvantage is still on the Veloster N. Match tires, and other things, it is not always the case.

Plus I think a properly setup track AWD car will beat a FWD car as it wil be better balanced and have the advantage of putting 40% to 50% power to the rear and let the front tire being able to steer and have better overall traction for the the 140 lb weight hit. We saw this here. There are many kinds of corners where AWD just dances out of where FWD even with an eLSD is hindered.



We're (at least I was) talking about stock cars, right out of the factory.

Neither Golf R, nor STI handles better than the Type-R. When you mod them, it's no longer apples to apples comparison.
 
How many of you are actually driving these cars at 10/10ths on the street? Or even 9 or 8/10ths
 
It doesn’t sound like you’re very familiar with the 15-21 WRX. And you also haven’t read Subaru’s own press release about the new WRX. The current 2.0 WRX doesn’t have a turbo lag problem, because it has a twin-scroll turbo (as will the 2022 WRX). Boost is nearly instantaneous, especially when you’re at highway speed already.

But Subaru didn’t rest on its laurels - the new engine has a new electronic wastegate and air bypass valves to quicken response even more.

Read up here:

It doesn't have a lag issue, per se, it has terrible linearity and throttle response issues and rev-hang out of this world issues.
 
We're (at least I was) talking about stock cars, right out of the factory.

Neither Golf R, nor STI handles better than the Type-R. When you mod them, it's no longer apples to apples comparison.
Yes, I know most were, but most I know don't leave stuff stock. Plus, so many people seem not to ALSO put the Honda Civic R into one to two notch category above the others in it's suspension refinement. It is not even in the same league as the others as far a suspension geometry. The Golf R is a plush daily with stamp steel suspension. My Kona handles better then the Golf R in race mode, at least up till this year ???? My Kona has the same basic suspension as the Golf R minus it's active damping. Hyundai's Multi-Link was designed by Audi/BMW designers.
 
Yes, I know most were, but most I know don't leave stuff stock. Plus, so many people seem not to ALSO put the Honda Civic R into one to two notch category above the others in it's suspension refinement. It is not even in the same league as the others as far a suspension geometry. The Golf R is a plush daily with stamp steel suspension. My Kona handles better then the Golf R in race mode, at least up till this year ???? My Kona has the same basic suspension as the Golf R minus it's active damping. Hyundai's Multi-Link was designed by Audi/BMW designers.
Part of what people ignore is the 35 series tires on the Type R. They are terrible on the street. I don't know how many rims my friend bent before he traded his Type R just on potholes in Atlanta, I believe it was. Blowing out tires, etc. It's great for track, horrid on street, with that thin sidewall. That is a big part of its performance, though.
 
It doesn't have a lag issue, per se, it has terrible linearity and throttle response issues and rev-hang out of this world issues.
The current 2.0L WRX has rev hang (that is able to be tuned out with a Cobb Accessport).

Car & Driver's review said it's been tuned out of the 2022 WRX.

We'll see.
 
My Wife's BASE Outback has the two screen stack, the Premium model has a single screen. She detests the lack of knobs for HVAC.
Surely a cost savings, and likely limited supply of the large screens. If this bothers you on a performance car, its therapy time.
Dang millennials and their touch screens ! :)

Subaru's ridiculously over-sized hellish touch screen:
View attachment 71598
Why do you and your wife constantly buy cars that you hate?
 
I don’t think its wise to compare the handling stock, because anyone serious about flying through corners will upgrade the suspension, wheels and tires very early on. You can get it to where you want it to be on all the platforms.

What is hard to change is the styling, and if you buy the basic model, the center stack. So you have to like what they built.

I cant get behind the styling of the Type R or this new WRX. If i had to replace my alltrack i dunno what i would get. The 2022 Audi RS3 would be perfect but that would be a bit of a sting in the payment department.
 
I don’t think its wise to compare the handling stock, because anyone serious about flying through corners will upgrade the suspension, wheels and tires very early on. You can get it to where you want it to be on all the platforms.

What is hard to change is the styling, and if you buy the basic model, the center stack. So you have to like what they built.

I cant get behind the styling of the Type R or this new WRX. If i had to replace my alltrack i dunno what i would get. The 2022 Audi RS3 would be perfect but that would be a bit of a sting in the payment department.
Only a very small percentage of buyers of this kind of car will modify suspension.
 
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Only a very small percentage of buyers of this kind of car will modify suspension.
You sure? It’s a low dollar mod that countless people on the golf and golf sport wagon forums do. Endless options, debate about what would be best for a given scenario.

the first most likely thing is a tune, then its onto wheels tires suspension for any enthusiast car.

Are you telling me everybody leaves their suspension alone in the WRX world?
 
You sure? It’s a low dollar mod that countless people on the golf and golf sport wagon forums do. Endless options, debate about what would be best for a given scenario.

the first most likely thing is a tune, then its onto wheels tires suspension for any enthusiast car.

Are you telling me everybody leaves their suspension alone in the WRX world?
Re-read my post.

The WRX doesn't really need aftermarket suspension mods unless you're autocrossing or doing frequent track days.

I'm sure there are some guys doing it (very few, as I said), but the WRX already pulls close to 1G on the skidpad.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but 3/10 of 271 is still less than 3/10 of 400, isn't it?
I meant more the cornering aspect. Everyone is squabbling over which cars handle better and are faster at Nurburgring, when they are probably just commuting to the office. If you are driving any of them fast enough for it to matter, you’re probably driving to fast anyways.

I can break the speed limit in my 1995 4Runner with a 22RE at 6500’ of elevation.
 
I meant more the cornering aspect. Everyone is squabbling over which cars handle better and are faster at Nurburgring, when they are probably just commuting to the office. If you are driving any of them fast enough for it to matter, you’re probably driving to fast anyways.

I can break the speed limit in my 1995 4Runner with a 22RE at 6500’ of elevation.
Most vehicles will pull 0.80 on the skidpad. Ive pulled at most about that on the street in my z06. I guess this means on the street my rav4=my z06?
 
You sure? It’s a low dollar mod that countless people on the golf and golf sport wagon forums do. Endless options, debate about what would be best for a given scenario.

the first most likely thing is a tune, then its onto wheels tires suspension for any enthusiast car.

Are you telling me everybody leaves their suspension alone in the WRX world?

I would hazard a guess that there are many more people NOT on the forums who do not mod their cars the way we enthusiasts do.
 
The current 2.0L WRX has rev hang (that is able to be tuned out with a Cobb Accessport).

Car & Driver's review said it's been tuned out of the 2022 WRX.
I have a 2021, and it seems better than the couple '15s and '16s I've driven, although admittedly those test drives were brief.

It'll be fun to test drive one of the new ones!
 
How many of you are actually driving these cars at 10/10ths on the street? Or even 9 or 8/10ths
Right on, brother. I'm running over most everone with my little Ecosport and its no handler thats for sure.
Tho only people I see going fast are modded turbo diesel Fords and Dodges that blast off at lights now and then.

I've rarely - if ever - in the past few years had to move to the center lane for someone who wanted to go faster than me.

Except this poor 20 y.o. kid who crashed his Dodge Neon on the highway near me this past Friday night.

crashed neon.jpg
 
WRX's are pretty neat to watch at autocross, the low speeds and high levels of acceleration really show what AWD can do for you. Rwd is pretty good too, and then fwd is always struggling on corner exits even with a real LSD, never mind the electronic attempts . Sure some of the fwd hot hatches will kill in on the nurburgring, but that's a high speed stability and HP track, and really has nothing to do with fun driving on the street as you can't push hard in corners at triple digit speeds on the street very often, or you'll end up like the guy in the Neon above, no matter what you're driving. For hooning around city streets after a snowstorm, in the rain, on a windy gravel back road, or for autocross, the WRX is good cheap AWD fun though.
 
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WRX's are pretty neat to watch at autocross, the low speeds and high levels of acceleration really show what AWD can do for you. Rwd is pretty good too, and then fwd is always struggling on corner exits even with a real LSD, never mind the electronic attempts . Sure some of the fwd hot hatches will kill in on the nurburgring, but that's a high speed stability and HP track, and really has nothing to do with fun driving on the street as you can't push hard in corners at triple digit speeds on the street very often, or you'll end up like the guy in the Neon above, no matter what you're driving. For hooning around city streets after a snowstorm, in the rain, on a windy gravel back road, or for autocross, the WRX is good cheap AWD fun though.
Yeah, on the hilly, sometimes dirty Tennessee backroads I like to play on, my 2016 WRX was brilliant.

And I could use all the power it had without worrying I was going to break it loose.

I love switchbacks, and there are an abundance of them in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. AWD is king when you’re trying to claw your way up a steep, dirty, off-camber switchback.

When my wife had her 2018 Civic Hatchback 1.5T 6MT, we drove it all over West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, among others, and, while it’s a fun car that is a few hundred lbs lighter than a 15-21 WRX, it had trouble with traction when I was trying to power out of the corners.
 
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