They’re the same picture.
In the past several years, there’s been a few facelifts & revivals that have been controversial. Some have grown on me, and some have not. I’ll admit, the G80 M3 grilles aren’t as terrible as I may have first professed. On the other hand, I still think the G87 M2 & Nissan Z are hideous. Not everybody can be a Supra MkV.
Not everyone can be this pretty.
I think no facelift was more controversial than that of the VB WRX, shortly before Subaru announced it was killing off the beloved STI. Everyone said it looked like a Subaru Crosstrek, but I thought that was generous. I think it looks more like a lowered Jeep Renegade.
The 2023 Subaru WRX…gotcha!
Subaru shifting focus
Killing off the STI was a controversial move, and to many, felt like a betrayal to the performance roots of the company. But, I think it would be naïve to say that nobody saw this coming. Subaru was founded as, and still is, a quirky car brand for young people who care about practicality and the environment. As late 90’s marketers said, Subaru’s target market is lesbians & outdoorsy folk who want a vehicle that can get them places without being a truck. Nothing wrong with that. Quickly the brand became a huge driver for corporate sustainability and eco-friendliness, and still is to this day. But I think we’ve all seen their advertisements over the years, and knew that their performance models, however engrained in their roots, never truly aligned with the values Subaru had adopted. After all, one of the first searches that autofills when you type in “WRX” on Google is “WRX catless downpipe”. For a company that prides itself in sustainability and making the earth a cleaner and healthier place, I’m sure this isn’t something they were stoked about.
What changed with the new WRX?
Now obviously we still have the same traditional turbocharged flat 4 that we’re used to in the WRX, but the overall physique and poise of the car is different from before. Leaning into practicality, it has plastic fenders that are cheaper and easier to replace if damage occurs while overlanding. The rear end looks highly reminiscent of a 10 & 11th gen Honda Civic. The body is quite squarish and lacks the same contours and front-end finesse some of the earlier generations had. It isn’t that it’s soulless, because it does look like a Subaru…it just doesn’t look like a WRX anymore.
In Conclusion
Personally, I would think twice before giving up your EJ or FA20 in favor of the new FA24. Granted it may toss a rod through the hole your catless downpipe ripped in the ozone layer with enough boost; but at least it will look like a WRX.
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