Last week, Subaru pulled the curtain on the new WRX: a car that is further away from the Impreza than its predecessor. Lovers of fast Japanese stuff also come home from a cold fair in our country, because the Impreza WRX and the WRX STI derived from it have been discontinued here since 2010. Subaru did supply the three-letter potent version of these generations of Impreza here.
Second generation (2000)
The Subaru Impreza WRX only made its appearance in our country from the second generation of the model. There was also a WRX of the first generation Impreza, but we didn’t get it. The most powerful Impreza available on our market at the time was the 218 hp GT Turbo, in fact the equivalent of the WRX. From 2000, the three letters, which stand for ‘World Rally eXperimental’, only came into play. That is not exactly hollow marketing talk: the WRX as a sporty version of the Impreza was equipped with four-wheel drive, a sportier chassis and blown four-cylinder boxer engines.
The second generation of the Impreza received two facelifts. The first model can be recognized by its round headlights, with two huge fog lamps below that are almost the same size as the headlights themselves. Furthermore, the WRX has an air scoop on the hood and a modest rear spoiler. Under the rear bumper is a dual exhaust. In terms of power, the WRX did not improve compared to the GT Turbo: the four-cylinder boxer still produced 218 hp. The acceleration to 100 km/h is done in 6.2 seconds and the top speed is 230 km/h. New in our country it cost €31,295. The Impreza Plus WRX, or the station wagon, had to yield €33,795. The superlative was the 265 hp strong WRX STI: it cost no less than €44,995.
First facelift (2003)
With the first facelift of the second-generation Impreza, the large fog lamps disappeared and the round headlights gave way to wider, angrier-looking ones. The rear lights also changed slightly, but the difference was minimal. The interior remained the same. With 225 horsepower, the WRX got marginally more power, but that didn’t significantly change the performance. However, the WRX became cheaper: the sedan suddenly cost €30,495, while the station wagon was in the order books for €31,995. A difference of €800 and €1,800 respectively, which made the price difference between the sedan and the station a lot smaller.
Second facelift (2005)
With the second facelift, which followed remarkably shortly after the first facelift, Subaru again went to work quite rigorously on the front. So much so that it almost seems as if you are dealing with a completely new car. The grille has been overhauled, with two bars on either side of the logo dividing the grille into three pieces. The shape of the headlights also changed considerably. At the back, it seemed as if Subaru had run out of creativity. The layout of the rear lights changed slightly, but that’s about it. In the interior, new counters, a sportier steering wheel and a refreshed center console provided the necessary innovation.
Furthermore, the second facelift under the hood brought a change: the blown 2.0 four-cylinder boxer engine was given half a liter of displacement, good for 2.5 liters. The power rose again fairly marginally: to 230 hp. The sprint to 100 km/h is thus completed in 5.9 seconds, the station takes 6.1 seconds. The top speed of the second facelift is still 230 km/h. The second facelift was not cheaper, by the way: The sedan was in the price list for €33,785, the Plus for €34,785.
Third generation (2007-2008)
When the third generation of the Impreza was introduced, the shock was great: the model was no longer available in our country as a sedan or station wagon, but only as a hatchback. In other markets, the Impreza sedan was launched a year later. The WRX was delivered here very briefly: from November 2007 to January 2008. With 230 hp from a blown 2.5 four-cylinder boxer, it had a well-known recipe from an engine point of view. With 6.5 seconds, it does take a bit longer to sprint to 100 km/h. The top speed is also lower at 209 km/h, while the new price was a lot higher at €35,995.
After the disappearance of the WRX, the 300 hp WRX STI remained on the market until 2010. When it was introduced in 2008, this fierce top version already cost €57,995, €22,000 more than the WRX. Yet that is still a relative pittance when you look at the car market today. The curtain fell for the WRX STI in 2010. With that, the curtain fell in our country for the iconic letter combination. The latest WRX is not coming to our country either. Considering what a normal Subaru should already cost here due to the high BPM, that is not a very strange decision. Perhaps the gray import offers solace…