Subaru WRX - Opinions (2010, auto, manual transmission, sedan)

[bjornb17]

I am considering a 2010 Subaru WRX (not STI). Anybody own and WRX and have an opinion about them?

[las vegas drunk]

I like it, as long as you get the sedan with the manual transmission. The auto (I hate auto's anyway) are severely detuned by around 40 horsepower. I find the wagon hideous, but I love the four sedan such as this. I am dreaiming LOL, but that is my opinion.

[macroy]

I have the 09 STi (and yes LVD, the wagon ;-)). Coming from an E46 M3, I'll say that its not as refined as the M, but its no less fun. And given that it was almost 20K cheaper - I don't baby it as much... which also make it more fun.

But - smaller than I though it would be. I got the 5 door simply because I want the utility (my criteria was a grocery getter that hauls a$$). But the trunk (back seats up) is smaller than I like it to be (have to take the driver out of the golf bag).

The interior.... Love the alcantara seats... but the plastic... just god awful... and for a car that's a shade over 35K, you have to tell yourself constantly that the money is underneath the hood.

But overall - this is my first subaru, and I'm pretty sure it won't be my last. Its basically no frills automobile that puts its emphasis on where it counts (engine/chassis). Too early to tell about reliability (~ 6K miles so far).

I will say though - I've had more people come up and talk about the car in the last 6 months than I ever did with the M3 (3 years). There also seems to be an endless amount of resources out there too on how to do different things to the car. I've made a hood scoop grill, got rid of a creaking noise in the trunk cover, and will be adding the auto dimming mirror next.

[TheViking85]

They're good cars, the only real weak spot in them, historically has been the transmission (only on the WRX, the STi is pretty solid), I'm not sure whether they've revised this on the 2010 model, but I don't think so.

Other than that they're pretty solid, they can take a beating and the technology is mostly so old that all the bad stuff has been weeded out.

I'd recommend changing the oil (synthetic, for the love of god) every 5000 miles on this one though, at it is a bit of a performer. If you plan on driving it really hard (a lot of track use etc) you might want to up the change ratio a bit, or change it more often around track day times.

Other than that, and the fore-mentioned appalling plastic quality (and design) of the interior, it's a good little car. Personally I'd get a low mileage, pampered 2006-2007 instead, because of the looks, but that's just me.

[gf2020]

Great cars, very little back seat room, however. If you need more space, the Legacy GT uses essentially the same drivetrain.

[jc76]

My brother and I were debating this last night. He was at the Chicago auto show and he loves the new Subaru's. Me? I prefer the styling from about 1999-2007. The new styling, to me anyway, looks like a fancy Kia. I miss the rugged moulding they used to use. He claims the new ones are even more versatile but if I owned one I would be afraid to scratch all that plastic chrome. As far as an all around good car, yeah Subaru has a cult following and I think they are a bit over looked by the everyday car shopper. Good cars.

[M3 Mitch]

I like Subaru in general, I have heard of STi transmission failures, but wonder if this is due to over-enthusiastic and abusive driving rather than faults in the gearbox.

Let me muddy the water a bit by pointing out you can get a good used STi for the price of a "plain" new WRX. Plenty of them have been riced out, and beat, but if you look around you can find an adult-owned example.

You don't say what region you are in - if you live somewhere there is little snow, the AWD is not exactly going to waste but it does not represent the advantage to you that it would in snow (or mud) country.

[TheViking85]

I'd like to clarify that it' the wrx boxes that can be weak, the sti boxes a solid up to 450 or so hp.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

I like it, as long as you get the sedan with the manual transmission. The auto (I hate auto's anyway) are severely detuned by around 40 horsepower. I find the wagon hideous, but I love the four sedan such as this. I am dreaiming LOL, but that is my opinion.

The autos were not specifically detuned as that is how it originally came in 08. The enthusiasts didn't think it hard enough or fast enough so Subaru quickly came up with the 09 WRX model with suspension changes and a bigger turbo to satisfy the enthusiast crowd. Yet they kept the 08 WRX in the lineup as the Impreza GT with the auto and 224hp so satisfy those that want a little extra kick over the base Impreza.

There is no wagon WRX or Impreza anymore for that matter.

I have run around 10000 laps on race tracks at speed in the 2008 models up so I'm pretty familiar with them and their characteristics.

I think the 2010 WRX is great value and at speed I don't find the difference between that and the STI to be much. I'd rather have the WRX and mod it myself if need be.

Transmissions seem to be rugged enough for the ham fisters out there. The only problem I have ever had is 3rd gear on the STI at speed. For some reason it can be difficult to downshift into. The gate feels very vague or will not accept the shift and it's the only car I have ever missed shifts on.

Never had any problem with the manual 08 and up WRX boxes though.

[wheelsup]

Buying a used Subaru is like marrying a hooker, it's probably been ridden hard.