Subaru WRX in underpinned by the carefully engineered body structure and Subaru Global Platform, including the ring-shaped passenger safety cell that cocoons occupants and has been designed to absorb and direct the impact of a collision around the cabin, rather than through it. While the chassis structure has been engineered to include crushable zones, absorbing collision energy to effectively protect passengers.

One of the core performance features of the Subaru WRX has always been Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. Refined through decades of rally experience, this configuration delivers innate balance from the ground up while driving optimal engine power to all four wheels for enhanced traction on all types of surfaces. With simultaneous power distribution Subaru WRX boasts twice the grip capacity, compared to conventional vehicles, resulting in better balance, stability and superior handling confidence. While the EyeSight^® Driver Assist system, Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) features a range of stability and braking technologies which step in to help maintain driver and passenger safety.

Subaru’s Preventative Safety principle strives to prevent accidents by detecting potential dangers on the road in advance and acting accordingly using our suite of advanced safety technologies. A combination of front and side cameras¹, and a reversing camera, are constantly on the look out to help keep you safe on the road, to reduce blind spots and to also protect pedestrians.

^{1. Front View Monitor and Side View Monitor not available on Subaru WRX AWD manual or Sport Lineartronic® and WRX Sportswagon AWD}

Essentials Pack – Carpet Mats includes:

• Cargo Tray (including Rear Seat Back Protector)
• Cargo Step Panel Resin
• Carpet Mat Set – CVT

_{Price is Subaru Australia’s Special Fitted Recommended Price. Actual price may vary between retailers. Ask your retailer for their final price. Fitted RRP is the Recommended Retail Price. The Fitted RRP includes the price of the accessory item (excluding government stamp duty), installation (if necessary) and painting (if necessary). Government stamp duty charges will appear in the Driveaway price of the vehicle after they have been added to the vehicle.}

Styling Pack 4 includes:

• STI Front Under Spoiler (Cherry red)
• STI Side Under Spoiler (Cherry red)
• STI Rear Side Under Spoiler (Cherry red)
• STI Rear Under Spoiler (Cherry red)
• STI Roof End Spoiler

_{Price is Subaru Australia’s Special Fitted Recommended Price. Actual price may vary between retailers. Ask your retailer for their final price. Fitted RRP is the Recommended Retail Price. The Fitted RRP includes the price of the accessory item (excluding government stamp duty), installation (if necessary) and painting (if necessary). Government stamp duty charges will appear in the Driveaway price of the vehicle after they have been added to the vehicle.}

It was the original turbocharged “pocket rocket” when launched in Japan in 1992 and since then, the Subaru WRX has become a global phenomenon.

The three letters WRX, stand for World Rally Experimental, and marked a serious assault by Subaru on the World of Rallying. WRX became an instant icon, winning three consecutive manufacturer’s championships (and the first Japanese automobile company to do so), plus a host of other success including class wins in the 24-hour Nurburgring race. For a generation, rally is defined by the blue and gold colours that is Subaru.

In Australia WRX dominated the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) with ten consecutive driver’s championships and seven manufacturers’ championship crowns that only came to an end following Subaru’s undefeated withdrawal from the championship in 2005. A come back in 2016 saw WRX take another championship win proving once again that the WRX is a force to be reckoned with.

This outstanding motorsport success is a testament to, and a demonstration of, the design philosophy and product concept that successive WRX models offer.
Introduced in Australia in 1994, a key ingredient in WRX’s success was the Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive that set Subaru apart from the pack – linked to a compact four-cylinder 2.0-litre ‘EJ20’ turbocharged ‘boxer’, delivering the knock-out punch that literally set hearts racing.

Priced at $39,990, it was seen as remarkable value in those days. But it wasn’t just price that drove WRX to five successive MOTOR magazine Bang for Your Bucks titles over a 12 year-period. It was sheer, unadulterated fun, engineering ability and solidity.

As MOTOR summarized in 2009: “The time-honoured Subaru chassis balance and adjustability still shine. It’s playful on the throttle and remains an inherently fun car. There’s a bit more purchase with the roadholding, and more purpose in its dynamic abilities.”

And that lustre is reflected in consistently strong WRX sales over the past 20 years in Australia.

The second-generation Impreza WRX saw the arrival of the ‘bug eye’ design which has gone on to become an iconic model in the Australian market. Launched in 2000, the ‘bug-eye’ headlights were polarizing at first, but its capability was undiminished – it contributed to the Impreza range winning the 2000 Wheels Car of the Year award. Such was the car’s appeal that it even justified its own Impreza WRX Festival, hosted in Canberra over three years from 2000, coinciding with the rally of Canberra.

Over the next seven years, the Impreza WRX had a number of facelift designs, each named after the shapes of each version’s headlights. But the most exciting upgrade was the 2006 model arriving with the addition of a 2.5-litre horizontally opposed Boxer engine delivering an impressive 169 kilowatts of power, with even better grip with torque up 6.6 per cent to 320 Newtonmetres.

The third-generation Impreza WRX launched in 2007 and it would be the final iteration of Subaru’s rally hero to offer a hatchback body style. More sophisticated, more mature and lighter it was capable of propelling you from 0 to 100km/h in a blistering 5.2 seconds. The sedan model joined the range twelve months later which bore the creative headline ‘rarely does a family have two black sheep’.

The arrival of the fourth-generation car debuted in 2014 and removed ‘Impreza’ from its name, spinning the ‘Rex into a standalone model. The all-new 2.0-litre Direct Injection Turbocharged horizontally-opposed Boxer engine was finely tuned to deliver optimum power, torque, exhaust emissions, fuel economy and idling stability via Subaru’s Dual Active Valve Control System (DAVCS). This helped the Subaru WRX produce an astonishing 197kW of power at 5,600rpm and maximum torque of 350Nm at 2,400rpm-5,200rpm, the optimum band providing thrilling sports performance and drivability.

Multiple special editions over the decades and retained value the envy of competitors are yet more evidence of WRX-appeal.

Affectionately known as “Rex” by fans globally, WRX shows no sign of slowing. There are multiple WRX clubs nationwide and the signature WR (as in “World Rally”) blue colour carried by so many WRX rally and customer cars, has become an intrinsic part of Subaru’s legend.

And now, dawns a new era.

The Subaru WRX was born on the world’s stage, with the world at its feet, and 2022 ushers in an all-new, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive Subaru WRX range featuring the iconic Sedan, and for the first time an exhilarating, heart racing Sportswagon.

With its menacing, throaty rumble and muscular stance, the fifth generation Subaru WRX range continues to deliver on the core promise of adrenaline-pumping fun and thrills, packaged in a super-safe, robust and solidly-engineered chassis and body, that continues to set the global trend for affordable performance.

2022 starts a new generation of exhilaration.

Explore the new Subaru WRX range

Between my outdoor lifestyle and a family residing on the Gold Coast which landscape combines the best of both worlds – the ocean and the rainforest – the Subaru WRX Sportswagon perfectly aligns with the need for a versatile means of getting about, making it a great sportswagon for family outings.

On a winter weekend, there’s nothing we enjoy more than venturing westward, away from the crowds, into the winding mountain roads of the hinterland. Piled into the spacious family sportswagon, the cabin offers so much room and comfortably accommodates the kids. The spacious sportswagon boot filled with an esky, gas and chairs, all ready for a barbecue after the hike in and swim at one of the waterfalls in Gold Coast’s rainforests.

The spirited Subaru WRX turbocharged 2.4-litre Boxer engine always makes for an exhilarating drive up the twisty roads, with confidence in the grip of Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. When it’s time to unpack, the Subaru WRX Sportswagon comes loaded with conveniences. The powered tailgate with hands-free badge sensor* and remote key locking – comes especially in handy when everyone’s arms are laden with gear.

For days when the ocean is calling, the Subaru WRX Sportswagon is an equally good family sportswagon with the optional Thule roof racks, sold separately, making it light work to strap down the boards, leaving plenty of room inside for the kids to hassle what music they want to listen to by using voice command on the Apple CarPlay^™*. On the days we only have a couple of boards we can even go 100% internal with the sportswagon space combined with the 20/40/20 rear seats allowing 2 boards and 4x family and gear to arrive at the beach still in comfort.

When it comes to family, safety is top of mind and the Subaru WRX Sportswagon has those key Subaru safety features like EyeSight^® Driver Assist system* and the Driver Monitoring System*, front passenger seat cushion SRS* airbag and 5-star safety rating what’s not to love about the exhilarating drive of a family Subaru WRX Sportswagon with peace of mind that your kids are growing up in safe hands on the road.

Courtney Atkinson

Subaru Ambassador

Paid Partnership

My days of Olympic Games racing are long behind me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for outdoor adventures in between family life. Whether I’m driving up the mountains to the running trails or embarking on a family road trip up the coast, the core reason I keep returning to the Subaru WRX Sportswagon is its summer drivability coupled with convenience. Subaru’s combination of Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, together with the snappy turbocharged Boxer engine, packs a punch.

But what about the technology? Just because the Subaru WRX Sportswagon is a sports car, convenience is still paramount. Sometimes, the technology in the background plays such a significant role in making the trip easy that you forget it’s there, like the use of the Adaptive Cruise Control while driving down the M1 from the Gold Coast to Brisbane.

Or consider the smallest of details when you’re stuck with groceries in hand. That’s when I seem to remember that there’s a hands-free badge sensor for the powered tailgate*.

Sitting in the driver’s seat of my Subaru WRX Sportswagon right now, I’m looking at three things I get most excited about in the current 2023 model.

Firstly, there’s face detection to automatically adjust the seat position*. Between my wife and I, doing the school runs, there’s nothing worse than jumping in the car with your knees jammed up under the steering wheel and needing to manually adjust and readjust to find that same driving position. With this feature, I only need to set it up once. Somehow, the technology in the car recognises your face, and will save your seat position, and automatically puts you back in that same driving position. You can also set up the dual memory function for 8-way power seat adjustment between two chosen positions. Set button 1 or 2 – a more manual way, with a separate button on the driver-side door. Either way, say goodbye to the old days of fiddling around with seat adjustments.

I always love it when someone new jumps in the car for the first time. Normally, the comment is, “Damn, look at the size of the screen!” The Subaru WRX Sportswagon boasts a 11.6″ LCD touchscreen that has more features than I need to know about. But what feature gets used every trip? The Apple CarPlay^® or Android Auto^™* if you’re that way inclined. So, whether I’m using the inbuilt satellite navigation* or Apple CarPlay’s Maps, I’m all set to get to my destination. I’m not really a podcast kind of guy for entertainment, but when I’m driving, my Spotify podcast list is in full swing, and it’s all controllable from the steering wheel or the touchscreen with Apple CarPlay^™. It’s also great for family trips to keep the kids entertained through the 10 Harman Kardon^®* speakers, subwoofer, and amplifier.

Now, I know you’re going to laugh here, as the Queensland winter isn’t really that cold, but at 5 in the morning, it’s still dark, and the front seat heaters* are a real treat for my hamstrings as I head off to the trails to run. I really miss those heaters when I’m in a rental car while traveling – it’s a luxury I’ve definitely gotten used to over the years driving Subarus.

You see, just because you choose the Subaru WRX Sportswagon for the drive doesn’t mean you can’t have all the bells and whistles too.

Courtney Atkinson

Subaru Ambassador

Paid Partnership

There’s a special spot at the base of the Gold Coast Hinterland, en route to the rainforest at Binna Burra, that offers a breathtaking view of Hinze Dam – the water source for the Gold Coast. It’s a place that truly comes to life at the break of dawn. I often find myself driving past this spot in my Subaru WRX Sportswagon as I make my way to explore my favourite Gold Coast trails, particularly the scenic waterfall circuits in the hinterland. The reason I’m so particular about this location is that it never fails to put a smile on my face. It’s a perfect fusion of pursuing something I’m passionate about and arriving there in a vehicle that is a blast to drive.

You see, the Subaru WRX Sportswagon, with its turbocharged performance and Boxer engine, offers the ideal combination for an exhilarating experience on winding mountain roads. Yet, it exudes confidence, thanks to Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. I may call it confidence, while Subaru may refer to it as safe and reliable. Regardless, it’s just as suited for family outings as it is for transporting my mountain bike to the trails.

Here’s a fun fact: With the rear seats folded flat – a breeze thanks to a pair of handy release buttons in the boot – I can effortlessly secure my 29-inch mountain bike inside the car, both wheels intact. This is something I can’t achieve even with a larger ute, where the front wheel invariably hangs over the tray.

As someone whose job mirrors that of a free surfer of outdoor endurance, my days often involve different activities in various locations. I navigate gravel and unsealed roads. I’ve camped out of the car, slept multiple times in the Sportswagon, and relied on my trusty Subaru WRX Sportswagon for a heap of adventures. But it’s the feeling behind the wheel of the new Subaru Performance Transmission, with 8-speed manual mode that is the real winner. I’ve grown accustomed to the luxurious bells and whistles, and now, I can’t imagine a car without the powered tailgate* and hands-free locking when my keys are already stored securely in my backpack. The Apple CarPlay^®* on the massive 11.6″ LCD touchscreen to find the podcast I’m listening to on the way to the trails. And before all that as I settle into the driver’s seat, I now take for granted the automatic seat position adjustment, courtesy of face recognition technology* – just in case my wife has taken the Subaru WRX Sportswagon quickly to the shops changing seat positions.

Ultimately, this is a family-friendly sportswagon that seamlessly transitions from school pickups for my wife, to spontaneous adventures deep within the forest for me. It’s more than just a car, it’s a companion.

Courtney Atkinson

Subaru Ambassador

Paid Partnership