Scooby Dude

Reproduced with permission,
Fast Fours magazine. www.FastFours.com.au

Subaru's all star is back, with a bold new face.

Star Wars Episode 1 had nothing on the pre-lunch excitement. A nude Elle calendar hardly creates as much interest. And the pope even stopped mid-ground kiss when he heard it was coming.

Subaru's WRX series 2 has hit with all the force of Roseanne off the 10 metre platform and after numerous spy photos, email chat rooms and doctored photos, its here, its bug-eyed and it ain't going to change, no matter how much the people commend or cringe its styling.

Though the changes appear primarily cosmetic, the all new WRX sits on a all new platform. The body shape is it biggest factor and if you're like us, you'll quickly get used to the round-light styling and focus more on the pumped guards. The 'Series 7 RX-7' style rear wing is more subtle than the 2000 model, though it leaves a greater point of difference for the Sti version, which Subaru says, is unlikely to appear in Oz earlier than '01.

But the big question remains: is the new WRX better? Yes. And no. It's no faster, unfortunately. The same 160W at 13psi boost is still there, though toque is up a little to 292Nm thanks to a few tweaks: the intake manifold is smoother, the turbocharger is about 14 percent larger and the intercooler, now sitting on a slight angle to flow more air through the core, is also 11 percent larger.

Other changes include an aluminium bonnet and lower control arms (like the previous STi) which, Subaru says, reduces weight. So why isn't it quicker? Because Rex Mk2 has fattened significantly, up to 1390kg for the manual sedan. Small additions like standard cruise control, semi - automatic air-conditioning and in-dash six CD stacker add a few kilos, but with about 70kg in body reinforcement, there is a distinct need for more power. Though the WRX isn't a stranger to model evolutions each year, so we could see power hikes in the coming years, hopefully up to the Jap spec levels over 180kW.

So the WRX is marginally slower in a straight line, but it compensates for it in the corners. All that extra stiffness does help cornering, plus the rear roll centre has been raised and the track increased both helping. The bad news is, the wheel offset is different to those 18-inch chrome alloys from your '99 model just wont fit the same!

Not that there's a lack of inches on the new WRX though, with 17-inch wheels now standard along with215/45 tyres - the larger diameter tyres possibly another contributing reason outright acceleration feels a little blunted.

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