As opposed to Hyundai, the peeps at Subaru have a sporting legacy. Remember the State Express 555-branded Impreza? How about Colin McRae’s exuberant driving style? The Japanese automaker withdrew from the World Rally Championship in 2008, but its rallying heritage lives on.
The WRX embodies those years of success, yet Subaru has messed up the 2022 model in more than one way. Starting with the obvious, the cheap-looking plastic takes away from an otherwise interesting sedan. Also worthy of note, the 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer leaves much to be desired.
Strapped to a four-wheel dynamometer, the 2022 model produces 246 horsepower, which is pretty much a match to the prior generation with the 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer. Worse still, the 2.4-liter engine makes 20 less pound-feet (27 Nm) at the wheels. It definitely is disappointing, alright!
The bad news doesn’t end here, though. Subaru is much obliged to sell you a manual transmission, like the one in the pictured car. But if you want the highest trim available, your only choice is the Subaru Performance Transmission. Despite its rather pompous name, it’s nothing more than a continuously variable setup with an eight-speed manual shifting mode.
Given these letdowns, does the Japanese automaker need a reality check?
Sam CarLegion is much obliged to give Subaru a taste of its own folly with a series of drag races between the WRX and a Hyundai Elantra N. The South Korean challenger is a manual as well, and its engine is an inline design with a displacement of 2.0 liters. The gearbox limits the powertrain’s output to 276 ponies, whereas the optional N dual-clutch transmission has a special mode that improves output to 286 horsepower for 20 seconds at a time.
Lighter than the WRX, the Elantra N is a front-wheel-drive affair that suffers from wheel hop due to its torque rating: 289 pound-feet (392 Nm) compared to the all-wheel-drive Subaru’s 258 pound-feet (350 Nm).
On that note, does it come as a surprise the 2022 model year Hyundai Elantra N wins one out of two digs and two out of two roll races?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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