2002 Subaru Impreza Wagon 5dr Wagon Wrx Sport Reviews
From the February 2001 event of Car and Driver.
Since 1995, Subaru'south been playing a frustrating and annoying game with u.s. we'll call "tantalize." The game went like this: Every couple of years or and then, Subaru would driblet off a hot-rodded, turbocharged version of the Impreza known every bit the WRX.
We'd bulldoze it, sometimes examination it, and for sure gush all over the automobile begging, " When tin nosotros have it?" Subaru'due south answer was short and simple: "You can't. Stop drooling." WRXs were sold in Europe and Japan for $xxx,000 to $40,000, depending on the yr and model, but Subaru said the added cost of certifying the cars to meet U.Due south. standards would make the car also expensive for us. End of story.
Or and then nosotros thought until late final year when we drove a new WRX that'southward based on the new second-generation Impreza. This latest version-- praise the Lord!-- will be U.S.-bound about the time y'all read this.
Why the sudden change of heart? Subaru says that thanks to the positive press from scribes like the states and the success of the Impreza 2.5RS (an Impreza with all the WRX styling cues but without the turbo motor) made the visitor realize there was plenty interest in the car to warrant the cost of certifying it.
Although nosotros are getting the WRX, this new automobile is not the double-throwdown monster the last WRX we tested was (C/D, March 1999). That car, a limited-edition $41,600 model called the 22B STi, rocketed so fiercely to 60 mph -- 4.7 seconds -- that nosotros concluded Subaru's claimed 280 horsepower was virtually twenty hp shy of actual output.
Co-ordinate to Subaru, the new car should reach sixty mph well-nigh 1.4 seconds later, cheers to a smaller, lower-horsepower engine and taller gearing. The latter is a welcome change because on the highway, the 22B was near as relaxed as Sam Kinison.
We tin't, however, say we're thrilled that the U.S.-bound WRX has less power—227 horsepower at 6000 rpm—but Subaru says the new WRX's engine meets the U.Due south. LEV standard, a feat the older engine couldn't even dream of matching. Subaru also hints it will slowly dole out more power with time to come higher-performance versions.
For now we'll have to take what we tin get, which is quite good. The DOHC ii.0-liter apartment-four achieves its LEV standard thanks to three catalytic converters that clean the exhaust. Ane of the cats is positioned between the exhaust collector and the turbo itself, which helps reduce the time earlier a cold cat warms upwards and becomes effective. There's also a ready of butterfly valves in the intake manifold that have the top third of the butterfly disc removed. Thus, when the valves are closed, simply the top third of the intake passage is open, which causes the air to tumble as it enters the combustion bedchamber, enhancing combustion at low rpm.
The single Mitsubishi-supplied turbo adds xiv.ii psi to the intake-manifold pressure, virtually doubling that of the atmosphere. That's a lot of boost, and it takes some fourth dimension to build. Below 3000 rpm, the engine is weak-kneed, and turbo lag is noticeable. We wouldn't call the lag offensive, but it'southward more pronounced than in a Volvo or Saab, the two turbo stalwarts in today's market place.
Unlike Volvos and Saabs, which use forepart-drive layouts that are to the lowest degree able to manage extra turbo oomph, the WRX comes only with a seamless full-time iv-wheel-drive system. On manual-transmission models, the torque split between the ii axles is 50/50, and a mucilaginous limited-sideslip unit on the center differential can redistribute torque if one axle slips. On cars with automated transmissions, the torque separate is 45/55, and an electronically controlled clutch pack acts on a planetary center diff to redistribute engine torque.
We didn't get a chance to sample an automatic motorcar, but the five-speed model we drove snicked through the gears with Honda-similar crispness. When the turbo came up to full boil at about 3300 rpm, the drivetrain transferred the power to forrad motility—and plenty of information technology—with no drama. Our calibrated butts agreed with Subaru'south estimated half dozen.1-second 0-to-60 sprint, which should make the WRX quicker than the four-wheel-drive sedans offered past Audi and BMW.
The WRX'southward chassis felt tight, responsive, and solid. Subaru says that a host of structural improvements netted a whopping 148 percent improvement in torsional body rigidity over the last Impreza, which now looks like a scrap of a wet noodle.
Nosotros didn't get plenty seat time to make a firm judgment on the WRX's handling, but our initial impression was ane of surprising balance. On a dust-covered asphalt autocross grade, we felt petty of the traditional understeering plow. Rather, we could easily dial in a bit of oversteer to go the car to rotate. If, in fact, our early impressions hold, the WRX'southward willingness to rotate would put it amongst a cherished few road cars with active rear ends.
The brakes left a similarly warm, fuzzy feeling. Upwardly front, twin-piston sliding calipers grab 11.4-inch vented rotors, and the rear uses x.iii-inch-diameter solid rotors and single-piston calipers. Anti-lock brakes are standard, and there'due south little fade.
Ii trunk styles are available in WRX guise: a four-door sedan and a five-door railroad vehicle. Both bodies take the same mechanical stuff, but the sedan comes with more aggressive-looking blistered fenders.
Subaru wouldn't talk pricing at the early introduction, only we think a base Impreza WRX, with standard side airbags, wonderfully comfy and supportive front seats, an in-dash CD changer, and the usual power stuff we're all used to, will toll about $26,000.
If we're right, the WRX will exist about $6000 more than the 2.5RS still volition still be less expensive than the slower BMW 325ix and Audi A4 one.8T Quattro.
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Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15139574/2002-subaru-impreza-wrx-road-test-review/
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