The 2022 Subaru WRX Lineup Launches In The Philippines

Motor company Subaru held a momentous event today to celebrate the launch of the all-new 2022 Subaru WRX in the Philippines. The latest iteration of the brand’s legendary icon was brought in front of members of the press, as well as longtime fans of the brand.

The lineup’s moniker originally meant “World Rally Experimental,” which was the company’s competitive entry into the series. It found immense success in the 90’s – propelling the cars to legendary status. The company was one of (if not the) first to bring All Wheel Drive to consumer vehicles back in the day. Now, all of its vehicles boast its Symmetrical AWD system save for the BRZ sports car which is traditionally RWD.

As seen in the photos, three variants were placed on display: The WRX Wagon, WRX Manual, and WRX CVT. These all carry the all-new 2.4 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder Boxer Engine producing 275 PS. 0-100 km/h times are rated at a speedy 6 seconds for the manual version and 6.1 for the CVT-equipped sedan and wagon. These cars will keep galloping until a top speed of 215 km/h, although we’re sure this is a digital rather than mechanical limitation.

The main differences between each of these are the existence of the patented Subaru EyeSight tech, which is not available with the manual. Cars equipped with this feature are known to be the safest in the world. This includes pre-collision braking, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure, and others.

Up front, across the board, are LED Headlamps with auto-leveling along with fog lamps. It has an aggressive front end as expected from a sporty model such as the WRX.

The iconic hood scoop remains to funnel air into the top-mounted intercooler, another famous engine characteristic of past WRXs/STIs.

The rear design features a triangular aesthetic (reminiscent of the new 86/BRZ) and a large diffuser. It hides the lights as well as the quad-tip exhausts within its angular characteristics. Note that the wagon has a more sensible dual-tip setup.

At the top is a small rear wing for aerodynamics. It’s an attractive design that grabs you more in person than in photos. That goes for the cladding over the wheel arches as well.

While the gauges on the inside are still analog and remind us of the previous-generation WRX, the center screen is nice and bright. It’s also a big step ahead in terms of responsiveness when compared to what Subaru had in the past. Touch points are surprisingly well-padded and plastics, while present, are hidden much better than ever before.

The seats are comfortable but you get the feeling that they’d do well to keep you in place while cornering. Red WRX stitching occupies the headrest just to remind you of this car’s heritage.

The rear seat headroom and legroom are still spacious as ever. We wouldn’t mind sitting here for a duration of a long road trip. New to this generation are rear AC vents, to which we’re eternally grateful for in the warm summer heat. They’ve thought about this when releasing the 2022 Subaru WRX in the Philippines.

Our first impressions are that it’s an interesting vehicle, to say the least. The Wagon doesn’t have much competition in the country as of now, since there are no performance wagons in the country at the price point. It’s a bit more low-key than its sedan siblings, which is great for those of us who have outgrown the “boy racer” appeal.

Subaru has confirmed that this new WRX won’t be getting an STi version. Instead, a tS (tuned by STi) model will be on the market. This hardcore version of the 2022 Subaru WRX will also be sold in the Philippines, albeit on an indent-order basis.