I literally researched what new car to get myself for over a year before I bought my 2006 Subaru WRX wagon. Now, after 9 months of ownership, I can wholeheartedly say I made the right purchase.

THE SEARCH

After driving around in a 1997 Honda Civic EX sedan, I had learned first hand just how practical and reliable a Japanese car can be. In my book, Japanese absolutely lead the pack by far in terms of a reliable, highly usable, comfortable, and ergonomic car that’s even fun to drive, despite the lack of power. However, there was one aspect missing in my Honda sedan… the hatchback/wagonback that makes hauling large objects (like boxes) so easy. In addition, since my wife already has the “big family SUV”, I wanted a compact car, as I enjoy easier parking, great handling, and the general feel of not hogging the road or view.

This all meant that I needed a 5 door compact car with Japanese reliability. Honda refuses to bring the 5 door Civic to America so that choice was not available. I don’t trust any of the Euro brands, especially VW; for their crappy reliability record which I had the misfortune of experiencing before. I like handling and not tipping over so any kind of SUV, even the compact ones, were out of the picture. This left these choices: Mazda3 5 door, Toyota Matrix, Suzuki, and of course the Subaru Impreza 2.5i and the WRX wagons.

In the end, I chose the Impreza WRX wagon for the AWD and the turbo charged power. I’ll admit I’m in a bit of an early midlife crisis and wanted something sporty, the I could commute to work in, have fun on the weekends, and still transport my family easily. The Impreza was also the only non-FWD car on the list which was an allure to me, having only owned FWD cars all my life and having read about the allure of AWD and RWD “driving feel”.

SUBARU 2006 IMPREZA WRX WAGON

I don’t want to repeat all the summaries that are easily found in car magazines and Edmunds, so I’ll talk about only that which is relevant.

- 225 HP 2.5L turbo charged flat 4 cylinder engine with AVCS
- AWD drive train
- 4 door hatch/wagon back
- Electronic brake distribution system with ABS
- excellent crash safety history, record, and scores
- 3200 lbs curb weight, 26/19 mpg highway/city

THE POWER

Uncommon in the car industry, Subaru uses “boxer” engines which means the combustion cylinders are laid flat and paired opposite each other; as opposed to the “inline” and “V” configurations you see in most other cars. (BTW, Porsche uses a boxer style engine.) The Impreza comes in 3 varieties, the naturally aspirated 2.5i with 160 hp and great fuel economy; the 225hp turbo charged WRX, and the 300+hp turbo charged STi which only comes in sedan form. If you want a practical AWD car with very usable power and good gas mileage, the 2.5i is the way to go. If you want some sporty in that, you want the WRX. If you want a race car in street form, get the STi. I fell in the middle category.

The power from the turbo charged 2.5L engine has enough low end torque to make low RPM acceleration more than just usable. It’s no V8, but it has no problem moving the car from a stop, and doesn’t beg for a downshift. Boost is built up starting around 3k rpm and from 3k-4k rpm you are treated to a nice, controllable surge in power. Driving the car in the 4k range means the car is always ready to move, and quickly. Merging onto the freeway, or in my case into the 70+ mph carpool lane from a near dead stop in the non-carpool lanes of California is a no problem and highly exhilarating with the WRX.

With boost built up past 4k, power is sustained through the 6.5k red line, although it’s clear that the turbo saturates as it reaches 6k rpm. No matter, the torque from the powerplant presses the passengers into the seat and proves that this car is no slouch. The 3200 lbs curb weight makes it on the heavier side of a “compact car” but is still lighter than larger vehicles and even Euro “compact” cars like the BMW 3 series wagon.

THE HANDLING

The AWD system means gobs of traction for most street applications. In low traction conditions such as rain, the WRX is happily clawing it’s way forward when most 2WD cars are spinning their wheels. The AWD system really makes accelerating out of turns an enjoyable affair; with no hint of torque steer imbalancing the car.

The macpherson suspension is adequate but doesn’t approach the double wishbone suspension my civic had. This is a negative on the car, but it can be compensated for with aftermarket sway bars, which I did. There is quite a bit of body roll, braking dive, and acceleration squart inherent in the car. Most people don’t like that feel, but it doesn’t affect the actual performance of the vehicle significantly.

The boxer engine coupled with the AWD system make for a very symmetrical drivetrain system. Where torque steer abounds in FWD cars, the WRX has no hint of torque steer. I now understand what the beauty of the feel of a symmetrical system.

The stock 215/45/17 RE92 tires on the stock 17” rims provide a good solid footprint on the road and through turns. I’m not to thrilled about the RE92 all season tires and purchased ultra high performance summer tires. But for the typical driver, the RE92 will be a good balance of comfort, quiet, and performance.

The car comes with 4-pot front disk brakes and 2-pot rear disk brakes for great stopping power. The car is nose heavy (since it is a front engine car) and so the car dives into the braking; a bit more than a “sports car” but typical for a passenger car. The brakes do their job well and the 4/2 pot brakes provide a solid feel.

I got the 5 speed manual transmission (of course!) and the gear box is well balanced to run through. 2nd gear is a bit taller than 1st than I think it typical, but it’s not hard to get used to. The transmission responds to shifts well and the synchros make shifting easy.

THE UTILITY

The wagon’s hatchback is a joy for hauling things around. Try getting a microwave box or a TV box in a sedan. The 60/40 split back seat quickly folds down to increase the trunk hauling capacity and the open box design of the wagon provides great hauling capacity, especially for such a small car.

The wagon has roof racks and optional rails. I went to Home Depot and got a Christmas tree which was easily bungied to the roof rack (the rails even have little looks for easily hooking the bungie cords on). This proved to be a better solution than even our SUV which also has roof racks because the WRX is shorter than the SUV and that makes lifting things on and off the roof is much easier. While transporting the tree, I also had purchased shelving at the hardware store… a very large package of a shelving kit which was easily shoved into the trunk with the fold of a back seat.

THE COMFORT

The seats are inspired by racing seats so the “headrest” is fixed into the design of the seat. This means no adjustability. But the give significantly better lateral support than regular easy-chair like seats of typical sedans. Lower lumbard support is adequate. Even though I have back problems, I don’t complain of lack of support in these chairs.

I commute in my car everyday to/from work and I find the seats to be supportive and the cockpit to be very ergonomic; with all controls easy to access and quick to understand. My car is sometimes my lunchtime nap retreat. With a neck pillow, the seats are easy to fall asleep in.

The rear seat is a bit cramped, but I manage to have to baby seats in the back (which are huge!) It seems the car industry is sacrificing rear seat legroom as the WRX back seat isn’t worse off than most cars I experience on the market today, including the Mazda3 5 door, the BMW 330 sedan and the Lexus IS350 sedan.

Perhaps my best testament to the civility of the ride is when we went on a 2+ hour drive out of town with my mother in law. She was expecting a rougher ride, but was pleasantly surprised at how tame the car rode.

The interior is pure function, with just enough creature comforts like automatic climate control, adequate stereo, A/C, effective ventilation, etc. The WRX does away with purely luxury items like motorized seat adjusters (lighter weight), but keeps convenience items like power windows. The sporty theme abounds as it places the tachometer dead center of the gauge console and I love the Momo 3-spoke leather wrapped steering wheel which is thick. It’s not only sporty feeling, but it really provides a great grip when steering the car.

THE EXPERIENCE

I really like this car and I’m convinced I made the right purchase. Whereas I usually hate to commute, getting in my car for a ride is a joy. The combination of the compactness, the AWD, the power, and the sportyness; makes the WRX wagon a happy experience. Everytime I speak to other owners the answer is always the same as me: “this car is sooo fun to drive”.

Throw in the fact that the car lives up to Japanese reliability (and Consumer Reports and JD Powers agrees with this), great crash ratings, and a realized combined city/highway mph of about 23 (reasonable for the 225hp power and AWD), the Subaru WRX wagon fulfils so many needs. The WRX wagon is a winner.

UPDATE: In the 2006 WRX, both sedan and wagon have 17mm rear sway bars as stock, where the 2004-05 WRX sedan had a 20mm rear sway bar. The "twitchyness" mentioned in bettega's review is probably due to the 04-05 larger bar. I autox my car once in stock form and the wagon is factory tuned for understeer. Lift throttle and/or trail braking didn't do a whole lot of oversteer, so I'm led to believe that the 2006 model is pretty tame as far as handling is concerned.