Up: Great new engine, modern interior, under $30,000
Down:Â The stock wheels aren’t my favorite, more LED lighting please!
Neutral:Â Subaru has finally made an all new WRX and it’s definitely the best WRX.
When it’s the middle of winter and you haven’t done a car review in a while, you start to get the itch. You want to go outside but it’s almost certainly cold, snowy, and muddy everywhere, and that puts a damper on things. You can’t go drive the latest luxury sedan and you can’t get in something that lets you put the top down. No, there’s only one car you can drive on a day like this; a 2015 Subaru WRX. And this one is not just any WRX, this one is lady driven.
What is lady driven you might ask? Urban Dictionary defines it as:
 “A term sometimes seen in used car ads, suggesting a car has been gently driven, but may also suggest it has dents and scratches from hitting cars and other fixed objects in parking lots and garages.”
Hm…that can’t be right. That sounds like what a cheap used car salesman would say in the early 90s. You know, the type that always looks like his hair is wet? Luckily women have taken back those words and turned it into an endearing way of saying “a girl who drives an awesome car”. And this WRX is awesome.
The most subtle modifications can make a car really stand out. If you add too many, you start borderlining on racecar or Frankenstein (Frankenstein’s monster if you want to get technical). This girl, Brandi, did it just right. Her WRX is lowered about an inch with RaceComp Engineering springs, livened up with an Nameless axle back exhaust, made unique with an OEM STI lip kit and rear diffuser, and has a touch of color with a red Cusco tow hook. In the summer she rocks 18″ Advan RSII wheels and of course, what Subaru would be complete without Rally Armor mudflaps? This is a prime example of a modded car done right.
And since there are no huge performance upgrades, I can do a legitimate review! So how do I think it looks? Evo-ish at first, but it keeps growing on me every time I see one. I’m convinced WRXs and STIs look better and better each year without the giant wing, and the scoop looks even cooler built into the hood rather than looking like an add-on. My favorite part of the 2015s, however, are the two body lines above the rear wheels that flow into the taillight. It gives it that aggressive pop. Oh, and if no one told you, I bet you’d never notice the side mirrors come out of the door instead of where the window meets the hood. Crazy!
The interior is pretty cool as well. The big center tach has been replaced with two large gauges separated by a screen, the steering wheel feels good and has that flat bottom the kids are after, and everything else has a more modern placement than older generations. After reading !any reviews on this car, I was expecting all of the interior materials to be trash. They’re all lying. The WRX has plastic and soft-touch surfaces in all the same places as a similarly equipped Volkswagen GTI; which always gets praise. Overall, nice place to be!
So how does it drive? This thing grips and rips. First of all, Subaru finally ditched the ancient 2.5 liter turbo engine that they STILL use on the STI and went with a faster boosting 2.0 liter engine. It pumps out 268 horsepower, which is 37 less than an STI, but it gets better gas mileage and let’s you get on the boost more frequently. This one also had the fancy Sport Lineartronic CVT so it even felt like a race car. Shifts were fast and smooth so it didn’t really even feel like a CVT. I would really give the WRX a hard consideration until the STI gets a new engine.
Turning hard doesn’t effect the 2015 WRX either. Every Subaru still has the symmetrical AWD system but the new WRX has something like a 60% stiffer body. This shows, especially in sport plus mode. It’s also a smarter car with a few different driving modes so you can be conservative on the highway and wild on the back roads. Â In short, you can have fun commuting to work or just trying to get this thing stuck.
The verdict is that Subaru has done it again. There’s a reason they consistently make the top 10 in Consumer Report’s Best Auto Brand Rankings. They make cars people want to drive, and the 2015 Subaru WRX is no exception. It’s quick, it has 4-doors, gets good gas mileage, and, most importantly, it makes boys jealous. What more could a girl want?
*Thanks to my friend Brandi for letting me drive her car!
