Few brands have stuck to their guns like Subaru.
The brand introduced the Subaru WRX locally in 1994 and has maintained the same performance car recipe since then.
A turbocharged, horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine, manual transmission and all-wheel-drive hardware have been central to the WRX’s appeal for three decades.
The brand marked 50 years in Australia in 2023, and celebrated by wheeling a handful of models out of its museum.
We took a couple for a spin to see if the Subaru WRX has retained its appeal.
The first-generation WRX was a smash hit thanks to success in the World Rally Championship that put it on the cover of video games such as Colin McRae Rally.
By 2000, the WRX had a more powerful engine, oversized spoiler and high-performance four-pot brakes.
The 160kW sports sedan feels frisky more than two decades later.
This pristine example with less than 1000 kilometres on the odometer feels brand new – there’s no slack to the steering, brakes or suspension.
It’s an extraordinary opportunity to sample a brand-new car from the turn of the millennium.
Thin windscreen pillars offer a panoramic view of the road ahead, unobstructed by the thicker frame of safer, heavier cars in the modern era.
The throbbing, rumbling exhaust of a classic Subaru is present and correct, accompanied by an occasional cough from an under-utilised engine that has driven less than three kilometres per month.
There were no such hiccups from a high-performance STI model from the same year.
Powered by a 206kW version of the same 2.0-litre motor, the last of the original-shape WRX STI models still feels rapid today.
Capable of ripping to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds, the early WRX STI was one of the most potent performance cars of its era.
Urgent in a straight line, the STI’s forward momentum is helped by the all-paw traction that made it a giant killer.
Powerful brakes offer a taste of the stopping power found in late-model machines, though comparatively narrow tyres and soft suspension result in a car that shifts its weight around and breaks traction much earlier than newer machines.
The same is true of the 2005 Subaru WRX STI WRP10, a limited-edition model built by Subaru Australia to fill the gap between the standard ‘rex and high-performance STI.
Theft was such a common occurrence that Subaru fitted immobilisers that required owners to memorise a code to start the car – a bit like unlocking a smartphone today.
Factory-fitted upgrades include lower suspension, a sports exhaust, additional body bracing and forged alloy wheels.
The latter wear relatively low-performance Pirelli Dragon Sport tyres on Subaru’s rolling museum exhibit, lowering its threshold of grip enough to slide from corner to corner, accompanied by an unmistakeable boxer soundtrack.
That throbbing soundtrack is missing from the latest WRX, which has a much more refined character – and a different exhaust design.
Subaru responded to criticism that the WRX was too raw by making the latest model easier to live with. It has a much more polished interior, with premium materials and a huge central touchscreen that would be at home in a new Tesla.
It even has the option of a fun-sapping CVT automatic transmission no car enthusiasts should consider.
Our first impressions of the WRX at its launch last year were clouded by the underwhelming auto, a carefully managed drive program and the presence of a controversial narrow-bodied sports wagon variant that doesn’t deserve to wear the WRX badge.
The sedan subsequently lost our head-to-head shootout to the faster, rawer Hyundai i30 N sedan. And there will not be an STI model for years to come.
But a third chance to test the WRX on a closed private road reveals that the car’s core appeal remains intact – you just have to dig deeper to find it.
Yes, it’s too quiet.
And Subaru’s penny-pinching approach to brake hardware and engine development means the 202kW sedan doesn’t stop or go with the ferocity of modern rivals such as the Honda Civic Type R or VW Golf R.
But there is still an element of rally-bred ratbag to the manual WRX.
The latest model still delights in being taken by the scruff of the neck and tossed into a series of corners, where it exhibited the same fundamental handling traits as models sold 30 years ago.
Though some enthusiasts will argue that the performance game has moved on since then, Subaru fans should be pleased the brand stuck to its guns.