Amidst the knee-jerk reactionaries were a few cooler heads willing to wait out the hype until they drove the car before rendering final judgment. What a novel idea. "I buy cars to drive them, not stare at them. I don't care if the car looks boring, just as long as it doesn't drive boring," commented one such forum regular known as Superglue WRX.
Well, Superglue, we're glad to report the new WRX isn't boring. Sure, the face has changed again and box fenders are gone, but WRXs have never been lookers. They've always been drivers, and whether you're sprinting across town or around a mountain pass, the new 2008 WRX should make you LOL. Why? Because under the controversial new sheetmetal is much the same WRX you know and love.
Recognition begins at ignition. A twist of the key brings the gauges to life, slick italicized numerals glowing red as needles sweep forward and back. It's a sequence that, until now, had been reserved for the top-spec WRX STI.
Grab first gear, charge onto the road, and an eerily familiar powertrain springs to life. Though it shares the same architecture, displacement, and output as the turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer-four it replaces, the new engine isn't a holdover from the previous WRX, but from the older brother Legacy...
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