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00:02 Hi there, I am Johnny Lieberman,
00:06 two time Subaru WRX owner,
00:09 standing next to the all new 2022 Subaru WRX.
00:14 This is the sixth generation
00:18 of Subaru's rally inspired sports sedan.
00:21 And while a whole bunch has changed,
00:23 the core essence of what makes a WRX so good at being a WRX
00:28 remains, namely great performance, sports car handling,
00:31 all at a price that most enthusiasts can afford.
00:35 The new WRX looks a lot like
00:43 one of the visive concept cars that they've done,
00:45 specifically the 2017 one that we saw
00:48 at the Tokyo Motor Show.
00:50 Very good news for WRX fans,
00:52 they've retained the hood scoop.
00:54 That's right, cold air for the inner cooler
00:56 flows in right here, and it's a must have
00:59 if you're gonna make a Subaru WRX.
01:02 They've also done a really cool job on the grill.
01:05 It's specific to this car,
01:06 it's got some nice 3D elements to it,
01:09 and there are actually wings flanking the badge,
01:11 which is a throwback to Subarus of old, which is very cool.
01:14 As aggressive as the front is,
01:16 I think the wildest part of the new WRX is the side profile.
01:21 It's crazy, I mean, look at these fenders,
01:23 look at the shape, it's nuts.
01:24 Plus, look at this, these holes are actually functional.
01:27 I just got my finger caught in it,
01:28 but hot air will flow through there
01:30 and flow down the body, so that's very cool.
01:32 Out back, you've still got the quad exhaust pipes,
01:34 they've done a really nice job on the lower black trim.
01:37 They've also done a nice job on the lower black trim
01:39 on the front of the car as well.
01:41 As far as the interior goes, it looks a lot like a WRX,
01:45 although finally it has a giant nav screen,
01:47 just like you'd find on the Ascent,
01:49 or the Crosstrek, or the Legacy, whatever.
01:52 Overall, and I don't get to say this about WRXs too often,
01:55 because they're always kind of a little funny looking,
01:57 I think this one, the new one, is a very cool looking car.
02:01 It's been a long time coming, but finally,
02:05 the new WRX has moved onto Subaru's global platform,
02:08 also known as SGP.
02:10 Now, this platform happens to underpin
02:12 every single other Subaru,
02:15 except for the rear wheel drive BRZ.
02:19 What does this mean for the WRX?
02:20 Well, it's a little bit bigger,
02:21 the wheel base is almost an inch longer,
02:23 it's about two inches longer overall,
02:25 it's a little bit wider, a little bit taller.
02:27 However, there are a lot of good things about SGP,
02:31 namely, it is stronger, it is a more rigid platform,
02:34 and the center of gravity is lower.
02:36 And amazingly, Subaru is claiming
02:39 that this car only weighs three pounds more
02:41 than the 2021 WRX.
02:45 This happens to be a WRX Limited,
02:47 there are three trims available.
02:50 There's Base, Premium, and Limited,
02:53 and the same is true for the CVT transmission cars,
02:55 this one is a six-speed manual.
02:57 However, there is a fourth trim level,
02:59 sadly, it's only available
03:01 with the automatic transmission model,
03:03 it's called the GT trim, and it comes with a WRX first,
03:07 and that is adaptive dampers,
03:09 and they will probably pay huge dividends
03:12 when it comes to ride quality.
03:14 And now we come to the most important part
03:15 of any WRX conversation, and that is,
03:18 what's under the hood?
03:20 Turns out, it's a new version of Subaru's FA24 engine.
03:24 This is the same basic motor you'll find
03:26 in the Subaru Ascent or even the BRZ.
03:29 For WRX duties, it is a 2.4 liter flat
03:34 or boxer four-cylinder engine,
03:35 it has a single twin-scroll turbocharger
03:38 that helps it produce 271 horsepower
03:42 and 258 pound-feet of torque.
03:45 Now you might be saying, "Wait a second,
03:46 "doesn't the 2021 WRX make 268 horsepower
03:51 "and the same amount of torque?"
03:53 Yes, it does.
03:55 Two things I'll say about that.
03:56 One, these are preliminary numbers,
03:58 nothing has been finalized,
03:59 and I'm guessing, because this engine
04:02 is larger in displacement than the old engine,
04:04 that the horsepower numbers and probably the torque too
04:07 are gonna grow a little bit.
04:08 Also, and Subaru is saying nothing about this officially,
04:11 but there will be an STI version of this WRX,
04:14 and we know, we think we know,
04:16 that that motor's gonna be over 400 horsepower,
04:19 so there's a lot of headroom built into this engine.
04:23 This particular car is a six-speed manual,
04:25 there's also a CVT automatic transmission
04:29 that Subaru is calling
04:30 the Subaru Performance Transmission.
04:32 That one, while it has no actual gears,
04:35 it has eight virtual gears.
04:37 If you get the manual, you have a 50/50 torque split
04:40 through a center differential that uses Vsys coupling.
04:44 The CVT has a 45/55 front to rear torque split
04:49 through a planetary gear set.
04:51 Either transmission is gonna send the most torque
04:54 to the wheels that have the most grip.
04:57 That has been our first look at the all-new 2022 Subaru WRX,
05:02 and it looks pretty promising.
05:04 For more information, check out motortrend.com.
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