The 2002 Subaru WRX stroke far above its weight, and it was faster than a 2025 WRX TS – Jalopnik

It seems that every generation of the Subaru WRX who succeeded the first Impreza WRX in the US received harsh criticism and feelings of disappointment. Car recenters have clamped the way in which newer WRX’s have “grew up” and have become heavier, more isolated vehicles than the original. This was especially the case with the Impreza WRX of 2008, which was the first complete redesign for the compact powerhouse of Subaru, but no WRX was able to put the performance car world on its ear like the original. This 2002 Car and driver comparison test Brings extra context to that explanation, when the Subaru Impreza WRX 2002 against two much more expensive German four-wheel-drive German sedanicones, the BMW 330Xi and the Audi S4 Quattro.

This comparison was a bit unorthodox. The Impreza WRX of 2002 was based on a car with a small economy, while the Germans were hotter versions of compact luxury sedans. But the WRX was revolutionary because it offered similar power and performance to the spark plug Germans for a price that was about 40% lower. In this specific test, the courageous Bugeye even completed the sprint of 0-TOT-60-Mph faster than one of its challengers, and even faster than the 2025 Subaru WRX TS in Car and driver test. I always knew that the original Impreza WRX was a disruptor in the car world, but I didn’t quite realize how much a disruptor it was.

The Audi S4 and BMW 330Xi were the mid-grade flavors of the compact sports sedance of the German luxury giants, with more power than the standard models but less than the hottest variants. At the time, they were formidable artists in the same way as modern S4 and M340i, which contributed to the surprise when a $ 25,000 Subaru Impreza faster 0 to 60 and a quarter miles than his $ 40,000 challengers.

In this test the Subaru reached 60 MPH in 5.4 seconds, while the Audi S4 lasted 5.5 seconds and the BMW 330xi needed 5.7 seconds. The WRX even rejects the 3 -series on the ski path and pulled 0.82 g versus the BMWs 0.78 g, but the S4 defeated both with a ski path result of 0.86 g. The competitors once picked up once the speed has risen; The BMW fixed the WRX’s 0-to-100 time at 15.5 seconds and the Audi won with a time of 15 seconds. The 0-to-17 times reflected that placement in which both the BMW and WRX lasted 25.2 seconds and the Audi needed 23.1.

To CDThe drivers to reach the impressive sprints of the WRX, they had to throw mechanical sympathy for the wind and dump the coupling at 5000 rpm, but the Subaru held that torture. The WRX also lost the 70-to-0 brake test, as well as the top equipment rolling gear tests, but in general the $ 25,000 car made a thorough impression on the testers and it deserved a second place, only behind the S4 on the back with a single point at the end.

In 2002, the prominent hot hatchback, the Volkswagen GTI, completed the 0-TOT-60 Sprint in 6.5 seconds, and that was quite quickly at the time. But not compared to the 2002 Subaru WRX, which hit a second from that time and only cost around $ 2,000 more than the GTI.

Placing things in a modern context reveals how important the performance of 2002 WRX were. In separate tests, Car and driver A 0-to-60 sprint in a 2023 BMW M340i xDrive in just 3.7 seconds, a 2020 Audi S4 lasted 4.2 seconds to hit 60 mph and the 2025 Subaru WRX TS did it in 5.5 seconds. Adjusted for inflation, that would cost $ 25,000 Subaru Impreza WRX about $ 45,000 in 2025, which is approximately equal to the basic price of the 2025 WRX TS. The $ 40,000 2002 330xi and S4 would cost around $ 71,000 in the account of inflation, which is still about accurate for the prices of the modern M340i and the new Audi S5 Sportback.

I think that a better modern comparison of a modern relatively affordable car versus the mid-grade German sports dance should involve something if a Volkswagen Golf R, Hyundai Elantra N, Toyota Gr Corolla or Honda Civic Type R, but none of these are so fast or faster than a new M340i or S5 Sportback. The Ford Mustang GT is the only car with gas that costs around $ 45,000 and comes close to the 0 to 60 times of the M340i and S5 Sportback. It is all going to see how revolutionary the original Subaru WRX was, and how much the automotive landscape has changed in the last 20 years.