Subaru WRX 2015 News

As the exhaustive COTY drive program starts, CarsGuide covers the market segments — the focus as ever is on testing real cars for real people on real roads.The field for the 2014 Carsguide Car of the Year contest is in the starting blocks.The 10 contenders cover every corner of Australia’s new-car showroom, from baby cars to SUVs and luxury cars to people-movers. There is even a performance car.The COTY favourite is the Mercedes-Benz C-Class but there are dark horses including the updated VW Polo and Toyota Corolla sedan, as well as the classy little Mazda2 that’s a late inclusion for the contest.And then there is the Ford Falcon XR8, an Aussie hero that’s the poster car for the final FG X Falcon.The two-day COTY contest puts them head-to-head with a simple mantra: real cars for real people on real roads.So we’re looking first at value, then everything from safety to comfort, quality and efficiency. It’s the same approach that most people take to their new-car purchase but with a much sharper focus.VW has dominated the COTY results in recent years with the excellent Golf and Polo, which work so well despite unanswered questions about ownership beyond the warranty.But no one knows what will happen when we get down to voting for the biggest prize in Australia motoring.  The contenders are:Ford Falcon XR8From $52,490This is as good as the Falcon gets, as Ford Australia does all it can to make the FG X special for the time it has left as a car maker at Broadmeadows. Ford fans have been calling for the return of the XR8 for years and the best news is the car picks up the 335kW supercharged V8 engine lifted directly from the discontinued FPV GT.Honda Jazz VTiFrom $14,990Honda retreated in the global financial crisis, and has also just axed the Accord Euro that’s been so popular in Australia. Honda played smart by adding a standard rear-view camera to the new Jazz but that’s just the start for a car that’s a genuine step forward.Honda Odyssey VTiFrom $38,990Few Australians buy people-movers but the new Odyssey provides a good reason to look past an SUV. A genuine family van, it is also well equipped and well built. It’s been a long-term success in Australia, despite rivals including the Toyota Tarago and the latest classy Citroen Picasso.Mazda3 NeoFrom $20,490Australia’s favourite car for 2013 got a total makeover for 2014 that includes everything from the SkyActiv powertrain to a new body and chassis. It’s a looker that backs the style with impressive quality and driving dynamics. The Mazda3 take the fight to the Toyota Corolla for sales and the VW Golf for everything else.Mazda2 NeoFrom $15,790More like a condensed Mazda3 than any previous Mazda2, the Japanese company’s new starter car is mini but definitely not tinny. The cabin quality is impressive, it goes well with SkyActiv technology, and the value is up with a price that’s down.Mercedes-Benz C200From $60,900The world’s oldest car maker performed a magic trick with the new C-Class, creating a condensed S-Class limousine that still comes in below the LCT threshold. It’s packed with technology, takes a new approach to luxury cabin design and drives incredibly well in C200 starter form.Nissan Pathfinder hybridFrom $42,990Earlier Pathfinders were a bit rough-and-ready despite their heavyweight credentials but the new model is much more car-like and a serious alternative to a Toyota Kluger or Ford Territory for Australian families. The hybrid package is the icing on the cake.Subaru WRXFrom $38,990The long-term Subaru hero is still a performance bargain. Its user-friendly constantly variable transmission is one of the biggest changes and challenges to the turbocharged pocket rocket. This time around the emphasis has switched from the engine to the chassis in the WRX, a major departure that changes the game.Toyota Corolla sedanFrom $20,740Four-door compacts are not generally as popular as hatches but that has not stopped Toyota from creating a sedan that trumps its five-door variant. It’s a little more expensive but the pay-off comes in greater refinement in a body that works for many downsizers.VW Polo 66TSI$16,290The starter car for VW in Australia following the axing of the Up is a long way better than basic motoring. It goes surprisingly well, has a solid Golf-style feel and meets most of the needs of baby-car buyers. As always, though, we wonder about life beyond the warranty.We’re looking first at value, then everything from safety to comfort, quality and efficiency. It’s the same approach most people take to their new-car purchase but with a much sharper focus.

A constellation of five stars has been bestowed on the new Toyota Corolla sedan, Subaru's new pocket-rocket WRX and Peugeot's 5008 people mover. The Australasian New Car Assessment Program ranking adds to a growing list of more than 250 five-star new-car choices.But the 5008 wears its cluster despite scoring a "marginal" pedestrian impact result. The seven-seat family wagon, released here late last year, was scored using Euro NCAP results. Last year, ANCAP's minimum pedestrian impact requirement for a five-star rank was "marginal"; it has since been increased to "good."The wagon scored an overall mark of 36.41/37 using 2013 European results, with a safety features list that includes dual front, front-side and curtain airbags (through all three rows), with anti-lock brakes, stability control among the features.The crash test report said the passenger compartment held its shape and all doors remained closed during the crash test but that "after the crash the driver's door could be opened with high manual effort".Following belatedly in the tracks of its hatchback sibling, the Corolla sedan scored 34.88 out of 37. ANCAP praises it for "good structural protection and offers a reversing camera as standard," as well as dual front, driver's knee, front-side and curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes and stability control.Whiplash protection was ranked good but pedestrian protection scored only an acceptable ranking during the tests, which showed "the passenger compartment held its shape well in the frontal offset test" and that "all doors remained closed during the crash and after the crash all doors could be opened with normal effort."Subaru kept its range's five-star status intact with its new WRX performance sedan, which trumped the Toyota with better pedestrian protection. The WRX is among only a handful of cars that rank as "good" for pedestrian protection (the 2014 minimum for a five-star result is "acceptable").Subaru has fitted the new WRX with dual front, front-side, curtain and driver's knee airbag, as well as anti-lock brakes and stability control - the sedan scored well during impact testing, retaining door function and passenger cell integrity for an overall score of 35.85 out of 37.ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh calls for yet higher levels of standard safety kit. "Unfortunately none of the models in today's release is equipped with autonomous emergency braking - an important safety feature that is now common on popular vehicles in Europe and the US," he says. 

Take a remote-control version of the new Subaru WRX STI and ... oh, about eleventy thousand paddle pop sticks tightly woven into an exploding strip. Which one is going to win that race? The stick bomb is powered by the tension released when you remove one stick from the construction, unleashing a domino fall of wooden wonderfulness.The Subaru in real life is powered by 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine, developing 225kW of power and 407Nm of torque, and getting that to the all-wheel drive system via a six-speed manual transmission. And in real life it would probably beat the stick bomb.But RC model in this video is powered just by a charged battery -- and it's neck-and-neck for what turns out to be one of the most engaging car stunts we've seen. Both face off on a circuit that involves speedy straights, (miniature) G-force inducing corners and some tricky side-by-side action.The video took about three days to create – with the team reportedly working nearly around the clock – and then film with an arsenal of static cameras and 25 GoPros, creating a ‘bullet time’ sequence in the middle of the footage. To see how it was done, have a look at Subaru's making of video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott Watch the desktop version of the Subaru WRX STI vs stickbomb video here.  

ANCAP has announced that the new Toyota Corolla sedan, Peugeot 5008 people mover and the soon-to-be launched Subaru WRX performance sedan have all earned its top five star safety rating.The recently-launched 2014 Corolla sedan matches the five star rating of its hatch counterpart, earned after its arrival in October 2012.Whilst qualifying for five stars, the Corolla sedan’s 34.88/37 overall score didn’t quite match the hatch’s 35.25, but ANCAP praised its good structural protection and range-wide standard reversing camera.The seven-seat Peugeot 5008’s rating comes 10 months after its arrival on the Australian market, and its performance across all tests earned it a 36.41 overall score.ANCAP noted the 5008’s standard reversing camera, advanced seatbelt reminders for all occupants, and head-protecting curtain airbags that cover all three rows of seating.    The upcoming Subaru WRX matched the five star rating of its Impreza basis, but the performance model’s 35.85 overall score trumped the Impreza’s 35.33 earned shortly before its arrival in February 2012.ANCAP described the WRX’s driver protection in the side impact crash test and head protection in the side pole test as good, while driver and passenger chest and leg protection in the frontal offset crash test were deemed acceptable.The independent vehicle safety advocate also praised the WRX’s attention to pedestrian protection, being one of the few current models to achieve the top ‘Good’ ranking, where only ‘Acceptable’ is required to achieve five stars overall."In recent years we've seen manufacturers achieve vastly improved results with the majority of major brands now building to 5 star standards. What we want to see now is manufacturers which strive beyond the requirements - offering even higher levels of structural and active safety to consumers," ANCAP Chairman, Lauchlan McIntosh says.“Unfortunately none of the models in today's release are equipped with autonomous emergency braking - an important safety feature that is now common on popular vehicles in Europe and the USA.”This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

These pictures show the STI tackling some of the unique challenges at Mount Panorama, from the twisties out of The Dipper to the left-right flick through The Chase. Subaru says they are pictures that celebrate the car’s motorsport heritage, moving on from its World Rally Championship days into a new era of track racing.Except... Except the STI has never been to Bathurst. Not yet, anyway. "We haven’t had a car in Australia. This is all news to me," the managing director of Subaru Australia, Nick Senior, tells Carsguide. "There definitely wasn’t a photo shoot."Which means the pictures are faked, in the nicest possible way of course. And it’s a flattering tip to Bathurst. They are new-age COMGEN files, which means they are computer generated images which combine pictures of a real STI inserted into a fake background.Mount Panorama is easy to find in the world of computer gaming, which is probably where the pictures originated. The shots are clear and full of impact, although missing the latest advertising billboards - we know for sure after racing for Team Abarth in the Bathurst 12-hour race - and any on-track officials or spectators.But the pictures have got some people thinking at Subaru, especially at the STI race team which has built a car to compete in this year’s Nurburgring 24-hour race in Germany. The racer is based closely on a road car, although it does have big wings and lightweight panels, and it would sit comfortably inside the rules for the 2015 running of the Bathurst 12-hour.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover

Subaru took the wraps off the new sixth-generation Liberty just last week, and there’s already talk of new engine options for the mid-size sedan in the near future.The US-spec Legacy shown in Chicago featured almost-carryover 2.5-litre four and 3.6-litre six-cylinder boxer engines from the existing fifth-generation model, with minor efficiency tweaks and a CVT auto available with the six for the first time.However, a report by Car and Driver suggests that a version of the 2.0-litre turbo four found in the Forester XT and new WRX will soon be added, and likely to replace the performance-focused 2.5-litre turbo GT for the Australian market.The report also suggests the 3.6-litre six is set to be replaced by a smaller-capacity, yet more powerful unit within the next couple of years. Subaru are yet to release consumption figures for the CVT-equipped 3.6, but the existing five-speed auto paired version sips a relatively thirsty 10.3L/100.Expect this figure to drop significantly with a new smaller engine, which is likely to embrace direct injection along with a CVT auto to rival the 9.3L/100km achieved by the Liberty’s Toyota Aurion and Nissan Altima V6 rivals.The new engine is not expected to be ready for the new Liberty-based Outback’s debut at the New York motor show in April, with a debut in the Tribeca SUV’s replacement being more likely.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

Twenty years after the first WRX STI Impreza appeared, Subaru has unveiled the all-new latest car, promising more refinement and agility.The STI will continue with a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder -- an uprated version of the mill in the current car, with power raised 6kW to 227kW but  a drop of 14Nm at 392Nm of torque. Both power and torque hit carryover peaks of 6000rpm and 4000rpm respectively.  The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission -- there's no sign of the five-speed auto -- and Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive system split 49:51 per cent front/rear.The STI also gets  faster steering, a retuned and stiffer suspension set-up with 16 per cent less body roll, upgraded Brembo brakes and new vehicle dynamics technology including active torque vectoringFollowing the leaked photos of the STI last week, we've already had a decent look at its more aggressive bodykit treatment -- in signature WRC hero blue set off with gold BBS wheels -- with the expected high rear wing, which will feature on a limited-edition 1000 unit launch model that also scores a short-throw shift. The WRX STI will go on sale in April in overseas markets and arriving here after mid-year. The sedan (also unveiled in Detroit in a more sober silver) will be the only body for the STI, with Subaru axing the hatch variant in the face of shrinking buyer interest.However the brand is determined to prove the STI can continue to be hot without a hatch, and last week revealed a race version armed for the Nurburgring 24-Hour -- in which it's won the SP3T class three times in seven years -- with an arsenal of track kit, including bolt-on wheel-arch flares, high-performance rear wing, bar and diffuser, and carbon-fibre splitter and ailerons at the front.Subaru US president Tom Doll also signalled Subaru's intentions for the 2014 World Rally Championship with the news that Travis Pastrana will return to the helm this year.

Subaru have revealed a new circuit-prepped version of its new WRX STI ahead of the roadgoing model’s official debut in Detroit next week. The single rendered image of the new racer in sponsors’ livery is our first official look at Subaru’s new flagship WRX model – although we’ve already seen multiple leaked images showing the WRX STI from every angle earlier this week.Compared with the production model, the racing version sports bolt-on wheelarch flares on all corners, extra bonnet vents, carbon-fibre splitter and ailerons added to the front bar, plus a race-spec rear bar, diffuser and rear wing. Race-spec forged wheels are also visible, with upgraded brakes with compote rotors for coping with the rigours of racing.The Japanese brand’s performance arm – Subaru Tecnica International – or STI have developed the car to take on the Nurburgring 24-Hour race in June, where it will aim for its third victory in the SP3T class in seven years. Along with the Nurburgring 24-Hour, STI will field entries in the Japanese Super GT Series with a BRZ-based racer in 2014, plus privateer rally entries in the WRC2 and ERC.    

We'll see the wraps come off the 2015 Subaru WRX STI on January 14 at Detroit motor show, and more importantly we'll also get to see what's under the bonnet -- and what it can do.The high-performance -- and high-winged -- version of the WRX will possibly carry on with the turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder, but with outputs raised above the current model's 221kW of power and 407Nm of torque, and still delivered with a six-speed manual transmission.However, there's also a chance it could be powered by an uprated version of the 2014 WRX's 2.0-litre turbo four -- as seen in the Levorg concept at Tokyo show with outputs of 221kW and 400Nm. That's 21kW and 50Nm more than the 2014 WRX revealed at LA show in November, and which our test drive in December proves is itself a great engine.Expect to see more aggressive styling -- including likely the customary wing -- stiffer suspension set-up and possibly some weight-saving strategies, particularly if it's using the smaller engine.What we'd like to see, but won't, is a hatch body emerge from underneath the Detroit silk. But Subaru has said the WRX will continue only as a sedan -- cue the violins.  

We're still a week out from the Los Angeles motor show, and Subaru has teased a photo of the 2015 WRX that will be unveiled there -- which was followed by renderings claiming to be leaked images.Certainly, the latter artwork pretty closely follows the cues of the Subaru one, which is our first official look at the car, and shows some of the nose details previewed on the concept at the New York motor show earlier this year.There's the signature bonnet scoop flanked by prominent creases, and a black mesh lower fascia intake and hexagonal grille with lines flowing to sharp, elongated headlights integrated into the swelling wheel arches.Subaru hasn't yet confirmed details of the all-wheel drive cars, but the WRX is expected to be powered by a 2.0-litre boxer four-cylinder -- closely related to the engine in the BRZ but with Subaru’s own direct-injection system (rather than the BRZ's Toyota-sourced one) and a turbocharger to lift the output of the current model’s 198kW and 330Nm.The 2015 WRX STi also being unveiled at the show will carry the same engine but with power squeezed up to 227kW or more, with the performance improved by a lighter weight, better aerodynamics and retuned suspension.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott