Subaru Impreza WRX (2007) Review

Date: 25.09.2012

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

Subaru Impreza WRX. When the Rex became more refined but was just as fast...

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

Subaru Impreza WRX (2007) 

[Aug 2007] The new Impreza WRX is a much improved car that is a step forward in terms of refinement. Not only is the latest 'Rex' much quieter than the old model but it delivers an altogether more polished performance. In short, the WRX has grown up.

Externally Subaru has provided a sportier makeover that includes rear privacy glass and a bespoke mesh grille, while at the rear it gets an under-bumper diffuser that looks thoroughly WRC.

Five-speed manual only, the new car shares much of its 'furniture' with the Impreza RS but adds bigger front brakes, 10-spoke 17inch alloys, self-levelling Xenon headlights with pop-up washers, electroluminescent gauges and a combined alarm and imobiliser. 

The beefier structure upon which the WRX is built has substantial benefits in almost every aspect of improving comfort. It also means that Subaru could adopt a different strategy this time round for its suspension tune. 

The new Rex's suspension is more compliant and targets the 'shake, bounce and harshness' that separates good suspension from the rest.    Where the last model delivered high levels of grip, it did so in a rather agricultural way. The new car doesn't crash through bumps and shake them off - it rolls over them, absorbs the forces and keeps on going. 

Almost every aspect of the chassis has been improved delivering a lively and responsive drive. Turn-in is also improved at real world speeds. But there's still a degree of kickback through the steering at higher levels of commitment. 

It also rewards a more delicate touch than previous generation cars. You can still adopt the 'rip, slash and burn' approach to a windy piece of bitumen, but this is now a car that responds even better to more flowing lines and retained corner speed. 

The 169kW/320Nm 2.5-litre turbo offers considerably better low and mid-range torque than the superseded version. But rather than go for extra power the WRX's engine has been refined and is more liveable, usable and torquier than ever. On the road, the revised 2.5-litre engine's fatter midrange means the five-speeder, with its defined gate, is light and pleasant to use.

The styling will polarise the WRX community. So will the more refined, 'sensible' packaged feel of the new car. Subaru says the Impreza range can now compete on even terms with the mainstream hatches. For better or for worse, we'd agree.

DID YOU KNOW…

Until the STi version hits the ground the new WRX is the Impreza hero car; it arrives as a four-door hatch only. Though a sedan will be offered in due course Subaru Australia believes that even in the long term, up to 80 percent of Impreza sales Down Under will be hatches. Subaru sold 3776 WRX hatches and sedans in 1999, a record since the model's introduction in 1994.

SPECIFICATIONS

2007 Subaru Impreza WRX

WEIGHT: 1395kg

ENGINE: 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder

DRIVETRAIN: front eng, AWD

TRANSMISSION: five-speed manual

POWER/TORQUE: 169kW/320Nm

PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h - 5.8secs

PRICE: $39,990

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