Subaru WRX Review – 2.0 ES Premium CVT

I lived with a WRX hatch for a year, a fuel guzzler for sure - but one with a six manually operated forward gears and an equally analogue handbrake lever. The saloon I'm currently driving however has only one gear as it's a CVT doing working 'shift'. As for my favourite lever, that is not operated via a very adulthood-oriented button. Oh dear. So has the new WRX grown up? Or sold out?

Aesthetics and such

For your R638,000 (a manual model will cost you less at R588,000) you get a three-box sedan with somewhat subdued Subaru styling. Subdued when compared to its predecessors but the hallmarks are still here – a gaping bonnet vent, blistered arches and mild body kit.

LED Headlights are new, gaping bonnet scoop is not

Being a more premium offering than before you’ll notice LED headlamps and daytime running lights, LED fog lamps, satin-chrome mirrors and then there’s very Japanese 18-inch gun metal alloy hoops in each corner.

There are more clues such as the red brake callipers peeking out through those alloys and a simple rear diffuser housing two banks of exhaust tips. Viewed from the rear it smacks a bit of older BMW 3 Series, whilst from the front I can report the WRX remains a head turner.

In the beast’s belly

Drop your butt into the leather pews and you’ll find extensive use of dark cowhide, augmented hither and thither with red stitching and accents. Also, great, dual zone climate control, keyless entry with Push to Start, paddle shifters for summoning fictitious gear changes and an array of satellite controls on the helm.

Premium cabin can (just) hold its own against more Teutonic rivals

Via its 7-inch touchscreen you have a wealth of multimedia options, too many to mention but standouts such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are worth a mention. It’s a great attempt by the Fuji marques to endow their flagship saloon a much-needed competitive edge in the scrap ahead. I like this cabin plenty.

But how does it go?

“Flat fours, bud”. The domain of Porsche and Subaru almost exclusively – here an integral part of Subaru’s symmetrical AWD system and what they attribute to their great balance.

It makes 197kW and 350Nm, endowing it with a 0-100kph sprint in 6.3 seconds. The manual does it in 6 flat. Max speed is rated at 240kph and fuel economy at 8.6l/100km. To which I say ‘hahahaha!’. I never managed to get it under 10l/100km and without concentrating averaged 13l/100km with every trip I took. You really need to be self-aware the whole time and this level of concentration drains you almost as quickly as it does the tank.

Even with the whiny CVT ‘box, the Subaru WRX still has the right 'stuff'

Throw conservatism to the wind however, or win the lotto, whichever comes first, and I’ll let you in on a secret. Even with the whiny CVT ‘box, the Subaru WRX still has the stuff. It absolutely has the stuff. What stuff? The stuff a driver needs to be perfectly engaged and entertained when the road gets squiggly. That’s a (not too) flat chassis, an engine that revs – even through the cotton-woolly transmission.

Subaru’s helms are always gracious with feedback and precision and it’s all here ultimately delivering a grippy, raucous experience. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable steer through Dutoitskloof Pass – one of my favourite bits of asphalt. It has certainly left me with memories beyond the fuel station forecourt.

I leave you with this…

I'm divided. See, it's worth remembering that much in the way Nissan divorced the GT-R badge from the more mundane Skyline nameplate, Subaru has split the WRX from the Impreza.

The WRX badge, and subsequently the STI moniker has always been reserved for their rally-inspired performance machinery so a CVT gearbox is an odd choice. Yes, as an ever-aging motorist myself, I do love a good automatic transmission doing the work on behalf of my left hand. But what good is a flat four burble when coupled with an elastic band rev range.

Yet, get your mind around this (and I did) and the Subaru WRX 2.0 ES Premium CVT makes a very strong case for usable power. I mean the kind of car that you can climb into and keep yourself entertained on highways, mountain passes obviously but also on the urbane stuff too. It's always willing to surrender its full reserves of torque and power to get you someplace else and quick. Also, loudly.

And while that's great, it's hard to consolidate that with a powertrain that will incinerate petrol almost as quickly as you can fill the tank. Buy it if you're not married to your disposable income.

Subaru WRX 2.0 ES Premium CVT  Specs: