CARS OF THE WORLD

Subaru WRX 2022 New Generation.

Subaru WRX 2022 New Generation. The WRX is no longer Impreza, and even the change of generations is now independent of each other.

A new Subaru WRX sedan, which is unified not with Impreza, but with a larger Japanese Subaru Levorg station wagon, is presented in the USA: the front part of the body with diode headlights and their design is the same.

The car moved to a modular platform SGP (Subaru Global Platform), became larger and got a new engine.

The new platform allowed for a 28% increase in body torsional rigidity, and in the mounting points of the suspensions stiffness increased by 75%.

In addition, the center of gravity is lower. The wheelbase has increased from 2650 to 2672 mm, and total length from 4595 mm to 4669 mm.

Width (1826 mm) and height (1468 mm) did not change so much. But WRX now has aluminum front fenders (they are 2.3 kg lighter than steel ones) and massive plastic pads on wheel arches.

A new 2.4 liter turbocharged engine FA24 with electronic control of exhaust pressure relief valve (vestgate) replaced the 2-liter turbo engine.

Such engines are already installed on American Legacy, Outback and Ascent models.

In the new WRX sedan it produces 275 hp and 350 Nm (instead of 268 hp and 350 Nm in the previous model), and the maximum torque is available already at 2000 rpm vs. 2400 rpm with the two-liter engine.

The base model still has a six-speed manual gearbox. The alternative is the former V-belt variator, but it is seriously modified, and even the name Lineartronic was replaced by Subaru Performance Transmission.

The variator has an expanded power range, it now changes the transmission ratio more quickly depending on driving conditions, and the eight «fixed» gears are also revised (paddle paddles are provided for shifting).

The transmission policy has not changed. Cars with «manual» have a permanent four-wheel drive with a symmetric tapered inter-axle differential, blocked by a viscocoupler.

Sedans with a variator are equipped with VTD AWD (Variable Torque Distribution): the cylindrical center differential distributes the torque between front and rear wheels in the ratio 45:55, and instead of the viscocoupler, a friction package with electronic control is responsible for blocking.

The electronic systems Si-Drive (changes the response to the accelerator pedal) and Active Torque Vectoring (changes the traction vector with the brakes) are retained.

The chassis architecture is the same (McPherson in front, double wishbones in back), but the SGP platform has a different suspension geometry with increased wheel travel.

The rear anti-roll bar is no longer attached to the subframe, but directly to the body.

The electric power steering is now installed on the rack, not on a shaft: such a design allowed to make the mechanism more accurate and to reduce the response time. There is a choice of 17 or 18-inch wheels.

At the top of the range is the top version of the Subaru WRX GT, the main features of which are electronically controlled shock absorbers (previously they were not offered at all) and a system for selecting driving modes (Comfort, Normal, Sport), which differ in the configuration of the engine, variator, suspension and steering wheel.

The interior of the new Subaru WRX sedan is the same as the Levorg, but with classic analog instrument scales instead of a large display.

Starlink media system with a vertical 11.6-inch display is included in the basic package: control of «music», navigation, climate control and secondary settings of the car is performed from the screen, but on the sides of his physical «hot» keys and knobs are preserved.

The GT version has front Recaro chairs with an electric drive.

The WRX also has the most modern version of the EyeSight complex with a stereo camera, which includes adaptive cruise control, automatic braking and lane-keeping systems.

In the U.S. market, the next-generation Subaru WRX will appear in early 2022.

Information about cars for other markets is expected later, because even the Japanese version is not presented yet, although cars will be produced there.