Purists Won’t Like This 2022 Subaru WRX Option

Subaru is steaming ahead with a number of exciting performance car offerings, including the next-generation BRZ, and there are even rumblings of an AWD hot hatch being developed with Toyota. News now comes of the 2022 Subaru WRX from the Japanese website Best Car. According to the publication, the fifth-generation WRX sedan will be bigger but will crucially carry over the controversial CVT transmission that has alienated a lot of the WRX’s fans. It’s not all bad news, however, as a six-speed manual transmission will be available in certain markets outside of Japan. The new car will also pack a turbocharged engine with a higher capacity than the outgoing car, which is never a bad thing.

The new car will be slightly bigger than the outgoing model with a length of 183 inches, a width of 72.8 inches, a height of 57 inches, and a wheelbase of 105 inches. That represents an increase in length and width of 2 inches, a decrease in height of one inch, and a lengthened wheelbase of 0.8 inches. Under the hood, the new car will feature an Outback-sourced 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. In that application, it produces 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft, but reports suggest the WRX will produce 287 hp and 304 lb-ft of torque. The new Subaru Global Platform modular architecture will underpin the vehicle, and it will likely be paired with a set of adaptive dampers specifically tuned for the WRX.

On the inside, Subaru is blessing the new WRX with an 11.6-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and we expect to see a driver-focused interior with body-hugging bucket seats and other sporty touches. Best Car also claims that the WRX STI will be showing its fresh face in 2022 with the same 2.4-liter turbocharged engine now producing a Golf R-destroying 394 hp and 361 lb-ft. The WRX will be revealed before the end of 2021, with the WRX STI making its debut in Japan sometime in 2022.