Subaru gives hot WRX pair model year update

SUBARU has given its WRX and STI performance pair a 2018 model year update, boosting the all-wheel-drive sedan with additional equipment, revised exterior styling and a new top-spec variant dubbed the STI spec.R.

Price of entry for the updated range remains steady at $39,240 plus on-roads for the WRX six-speed manual, with some variants increasing in price from $500 and $1700. The range now tops out at $57,690 for the STI spec.R.

The price rise comes with an increase in specification, with Subaru now including Jurid performance brake pads, red painted brake callipers, new 18-inch wheels, heated door mirrors, LED foglights, and revised suspension included as standard across the range.

Non-Premium variants add adaptive LED headlights and daytime running lights, a 5.9-inch infotainment system, dusk-sensing headlights, rain-sensing wipers and roof carrier brackets, while the WRX Premium and STI Premium also gain electric lumbar support.

Automatic WRX variants are now equipped with Subaru’s EyeSight driver assistance technology, as well as an electronic park brake and auto hold.

The STI range adds yellow six-pot front and two-pot rear Brembo brakes with cross-drilled brake rotors, 19-inch wheels, a new front bumper and grille, red seatbelts and revised suspension.

Added to the STI Premium and STI spec.R is a front-facing camera, while the new top-spec sedan also gains Recaro seats with power adjustment, seat heaters and seatback pockets.

Changes to the exterior include subtly restyled LED headlights, new front bumper and foglight bezel design, and the 18- and 19-inch hoops for the WRX and STI, respectively.

Inside the changes are minimal, with the door switch panel, instrument panel centre, gear shift surround panel and steering centre bezel all finished in black moulding for the WRX and high gloss black in the STI.

No changes have been made to the turbocharged boxer engines underpinning the WRX and STI, with the 2.0-litre unit in the WRX still pumping out 197kW/350Nm mated to either a six-speed manual gearbox or continuously-variable transmission.

The 2.5-litre donk in the STI steps power up to 221kW/407Nm, teamed exclusively to a six-speed manual.

“These comprehensive changes right across the range underline that fun, value, performance and safety can go hand-in-hand,” said Subaru Australia managing director Colin Christie.

In the first half of 2016 Subaru has sold 1179 examples of the WRX, representing a 10.1 per cent fall over the 1311 sales it recorded in the same period last year.

It is expected that a new version of the WRX, based on the Impreza that launched in December last year, will arrive sometime in 2019 or 2020.

2017 Subaru WRX pricing

WRX	$39,240
WRX (a)	$42,240
WRX Premium	$45,640
WRX Premium (a)	$48,840
WRX STI	$50,890
WRX STI Premium	$55,640
WRX STI spec.R	$57,690

*Excludes on-road costs