SUBARU WRX
POSTERS WERE HANDED OUT AT RALLIES AND MOTORSHOWS FINDING THEIR WAY ONTO THOUSANDS OF TEEN BEDROOM WALLS
During its first 20 years in the Australian market, Subaru was characterised by small, basic 4WD utes and wagons plus passenger models with less appeal to performance motorists than a Corolla. Then came the Impreza WRX.
Subaru’s World Rally car – the ‘X’ standing for ‘experimental’ – arrived here in February 1994 with 155kW and just 1245kg to propel. For those who wanted to move house at 180km/h there was also a hatchback version.
Subaru back in the 1980s had won pretty much every local rally title with its 4WD RX Turbo sedan, but nobody wanted an RX as a road car. The WRX was a vastly more saleable prospect, with posters handed out at rallies and motor shows finding their way onto thousands of teen bedroom walls and all of those kids aspiring to one day be ‘Rex’ owners.
Launch price was $39,990 but a year later that had steepled past $45,000 and some buyer resistance was being encountered. Potential owners were unimpressed by the soaring price when WRX trim was barely basic and list of standard features skimpy.
Saggy cloth seats and a $35 stereo had no place in a car costing more than $40,000 but there was air-conditioning and ABS plus power windows, a leather-bound steering wheel and leather-topped gear-lever.
The most significant aid to WRX drivability was the addition from late 1996 of a four-speed automatic transmission option. Instantly, the people whose only objection to Rex ownership was the need for frequent gear changing had no further excuse.
Virtually nothing happened in a WRX until engine revs reached 2500rpm, but thereafter it became a blur of turbo whine and up changes. For those wanting a less frenetic experience, the automatic allowed just a flick of the lever to keep the motor ‘on boost’.
Winding, bumpy bitumen and unsealed rural roads were the Rex’s element. Combining a short wheelbase with understeerbiased handling ensures that the car can be punted along at decent pace without taxing the capabilities of most drivers.
Fuel consumption depends to an understandable degree on how and where the car is being driven. Puttered around the suburbs is likely to return better than 10L/100km but letting Rexie off the leash drops than figure by 30-40 percent.
Brakes are adequate for a car with the WRX’s performance potential but can suffer noticeably during long and fast mountain descents or on the racetrack. Upgrades are available if your car will be frequently used under competitive conditions.
WRXs once attracted would-be rallyists, getaway drivers and general ratbags. Owners of cars that survived those early years tend to be more mature with a responsible approach to maintenance.
Spending $20,000 should secure something excellent in the 1994-96 age range, while $5000-10,000 extra brings a Club Spec or very low-kilometre 1997-98 model within reach. Less than 25 percent of Australian-delivered WRXs were Hatches yet they generally cost less than sedans.
Despite their age, these WRXs still need theft protection and it’s best to replace any system fitted by a previous owner. It is not unknown for recently purchased cars, with the immobiliser deployed, to still go ‘missing’.