2015+ WRX: Decent Daily Driver, or Steaming Pile of E36 M3?

I've been thinking a lot lately about what car I'm going to eventually replace my trusty 2012 Mazda 3 with. For my next car, I want something a little bit bigger (especially inside) and a bit more fun. Here's the thing: I'd go out and buy a Mazdaspeed 3 or 6, but they don't make one. I have had great luck with my Mazda, but nothing in their current or upcoming lineup excites me (I am a big guy and don't fit in Miatas, so scratch that). It makes me sad that they don't have anything in the stable that I want.

My brain is telling me Pony Car with a V8 (especially the CHALLENGER!!!!), but my adult sensibilities tell me to get something more practical that's good in New England weather and won't nickel and dime me down the road. One of the cars I've been thinking about was the newer 2015+ Subaru WRX.

I've had two WRX's previously: a 2002 wagon and a 2009 5-door. I'm acquainted with the EJ-series engines, and their many shortcomings and flaws, but the new ones have the FA-series engines that I'm not too familiar with. Also, I was less than thrilled with my 2009, and less than thrilled with Subaru as a company for that matter. I've openly trashed them on here many times for how much of a POS my 2009 was and how I was told that my "Subaru Gold Plus bumper to bumper" warranty covered basically nothing. I got rid of the 2009 because it was a ticking time bomb.

So, why the berk am I even thinking about one?

Pros (on paper):

-Good balance of economy and power

-Should be fun to drive in all types of weather

-Interior seems nicer than my old ones

-Looks to be slightly larger inside than my Mazda

Cons:

-Questionable reliability

-Sorta frumpy styling

-Bad personal history with Subaru cars and company

Wild Card:

-The FA engines... I know very little about them, better than the EJ's?

-Timing chain or belt?

-Easy to work on, or are they maintenance nightmares? I hated working on the 2009.

I'm seeing 2015+ WRX's in my area with reasonable miles on them going from $21k and up. A Limited model would be great, because those come with leather, heated seats, and HID's, and I'd like stuff like that in my next car.

What say ye GRM Hive Mind?

The engines on these are said to be more reliable than the old EJ.

I DD'ed a 2012 WRX for a while and I liked it, but the interior did not hold up well in Vegas heat. Two friends I knew blew engines on possibly shady tunes and subaru still covered the engines by warranty. The dealership I went to in Ontario California was by far the best dealer experience I ever had. It was like my mom was selling me a car.

edit: All the issues I had with my 2012 were solved in this car. Better quality interior, 6 speed, and new engine. The styling looks like a Evo X. I mean what is frumpy about the evo x front on a car with box flares? I like the way this car looks.

In reply to kanaric:

I just remember how great the concept looked and how disappointed I was with the production model. It looks to me like a tarted up Corolla. Subarus have never been known for their looks, so it's NBD.

Like anything, a lot of it is probably opinion and luck. I have 140k on my '09 WRX now and the interior condition is still excellent (nothing whatsoever has broken or "gone bad" except my aftermarket boost gauge) and literally the only thing I've done to the car in the last 100k miles are a couple coil packs and just recently a turbo inlet (aside from maintenance/wear items like a clutch and timing/belts/filters/fluids) Otherwise it's been totally bulletproof (knock on wood). So sometimes I just think it's the luck of the draw.

That said, I hate working on this car, so if it ever starts becoming a problem child, I'll get rid of it really quickly. Took me longer to do the turbo inlet than it would take me to do an engine swap in the e30 ;)

irish44j wrote: Like anything, a lot of it is probably opinion and luck. I have 140k on my '09 WRX now and the interior condition is still excellent (nothing whatsoever has broken or "gone bad" except my aftermarket boost gauge) and literally the only thing I've done to the car in the last 100k miles are a couple coil packs and just recently a turbo inlet (aside from maintenance/wear items like a clutch and timing/belts/filters/fluids) Otherwise it's been totally bulletproof (knock on wood). So sometimes I just think it's the luck of the draw. That said, I hate working on this car, so if it ever starts becoming a problem child, I'll get rid of it really quickly. Took me longer to do the turbo inlet than it would take me to do an engine swap in the e30 ;)

Where do you live around? Like in Vegas the inside of a car while i'm at work can get up to like 130 degrees. I just don't think Subarus are built to withstand that for their interior.

Maybe if I got the windows tinted it would have been better. I'm sure the average person living in like the midwest or north east would have no problems.

All the interior stuff worked, it's just that anything that was glued was starting to come apart.

I've heard good things from Subaru people. Those people are about as reliable in their reflections on the product as Mazda rotary people are though.

DaveEstey wrote: I've heard good things from Subaru people. Those people are about as reliable in their reflections on the product as Mazda rotary people are though.

Add B5 S4 and 3000GT owners to that lol.

In reply to DaveEstey:

Yeah, I know what you mean there. When I want an opinion if it's reliable, I'm not talking "Subaru Fanboi Reliable", but "actual real-world reliable".

The interior of my 2009 was falling apart a year into ownership. They had to replace the glove box assembly, some A/C vents, some fuses that blew that they blamed my cell phone charger on, and a huge chunk of dash trim. It's not hard to be better than that.

I had a spot weld on my driver's seat break on my Mazda in 125k+ miles of ownership. A few new spot welds and about 20 minutes of time fixed that. That's it.

SilverFleet wrote: In reply to DaveEstey: Yeah, I know what you mean there. When I want an opinion if it's reliable, I'm not talking "Subaru Fanboi Reliable", but "actual real-world reliable". The interior of my 2009 was falling apart a year into ownership. They had to replace the glove box assembly, some A/C vents, some fuses that blew that they blamed my cell phone charger on, and a huge chunk of dash trim. It's not hard to be better than that. I had a spot weld on my driver's seat break on my Mazda in 125k+ miles of ownership. A few new spot welds and about 20 minutes of time fixed that. That's it.

lol my 2012 didn't have those issues. I thought just the boost gauge and glued on plastic coming off was bad enough. I would have hated it if I had your experience.

I have a 2015 WRX with 50,000 km (about 30,000 miles) on it, that's been my daily since new. I've had zero problems with it, and other than oil and filter changes, it's never been touched. We've done a bunch of long trips in it, and I find it is a wonderful way to cover distance pretty effortlessly. Driving semi-legally, it routinely gives 34 mpg (7.0 L/100 km). I find the throttle response very non-linear (and yes, I'm used to turbo motors), but other than that, I'm very happy.

kanaric wrote:

irish44j wrote: Like anything, a lot of it is probably opinion and luck. I have 140k on my '09 WRX now and the interior condition is still excellent (nothing whatsoever has broken or "gone bad" except my aftermarket boost gauge) and literally the only thing I've done to the car in the last 100k miles are a couple coil packs and just recently a turbo inlet (aside from maintenance/wear items like a clutch and timing/belts/filters/fluids) Otherwise it's been totally bulletproof (knock on wood). So sometimes I just think it's the luck of the draw. That said, I hate working on this car, so if it ever starts becoming a problem child, I'll get rid of it really quickly. Took me longer to do the turbo inlet than it would take me to do an engine swap in the e30 ;)

Where do you live around? Like in Vegas the inside of a car while i'm at work can get up to like 130 degrees. I just don't think Subarus are built to withstand that for their interior. Maybe if I got the windows tinted it would have been better. I'm sure the average person living in like the midwest or north east would have no problems. All the interior stuff worked, it's just that anything that was glued was starting to come apart.

I live in the DC area....so it's not Vegas heat (most places aren't), but the car (which is black) certainly gets pretty damn hot on our typical 90-95 degree summer days parked on the roof of my work garage. I have a light (50%, legal) tint but since we get a lot of afternoon thunderstorms in summer I can't leave the windows cracked or anything, so it gets pretty damn hot inside ;) Haven't noticed any glued things or whatever coming off though. YMMV.

SilverFleet wrote: In reply to DaveEstey: Yeah, I know what you mean there. When I want an opinion if it's reliable, I'm not talking "Subaru Fanboi Reliable", but "actual real-world reliable". The interior of my 2009 was falling apart a year into ownership. They had to replace the glove box assembly, some A/C vents, some fuses that blew that they blamed my cell phone charger on, and a huge chunk of dash trim. It's not hard to be better than that. I had a spot weld on my driver's seat break on my Mazda in 125k+ miles of ownership. A few new spot welds and about 20 minutes of time fixed that. That's it.

man, just sounds like you got a lemon built by the last guy on shift on a Friday lol....I have had zero of those issues in 140k miles....Hell, mine hardly has any squeaks or rattles except the a-pillar cover on really cold mornings - and my car is on 330# racecomp/bilstein cup suspension (not soft) and drives on brutal roads daily.

I am far from a Fanboi though. I like the car but am not a "Subaru guy" overall (heck, I rally an old BMW when everyone else rallies Subarus haha). The car certainly has its flaws, but quality-wise it has been no worse than our two Toyota SUVs or my Maxima or my Accord were (though it has a lot more hard plastic for sure!)

If tin cans that rot out after 5 years are your thing, the WRX is right up your alley.

I have a 2016 wrx premium. It now has 36,000 miles(bought july 2015). I drive about 90 miles a work day. I've had every variety of Subaru impreza since the 90's. This is my favorite to date. I have a manual. Things that I wish were different or better. I don't like the cable transmission. I prefer the old rod style that's in my 02 wrx race car. The reception on the oem radio isn't great, and the sat radio reception could also be better. The 3rd brake light housing started vibrating, which is a known issue. Very easy to fix(5 minutes), when you finally remember to fix it. Love the engine. Looooove the engine. Oil changes are super easy, filter is on the top of the engine. Oil drain is accessible without removing the undertray. It's needed zero work other than gas and oil changes. It's original wipers are now just starting to demonstrate a need for replacement for Vermont winters. I could be accused of being biased, given my employment. However I'm a cheap SOB and this is the first ever car I bought new if that tells you anything. Having them at work gave me the opportunity to feel them out, and I found I really liked them. I'd also say the CVT are very nice.

I will also say the seats are super comfy. Best subie seats to date, better than the 02 wrx. It's very good commuter car, and gets better mileage than any of my previous subies.

We also just leased a 3.6 outback for my wife. Really like that to. I'd totally consider a 3.6 legacy if an auto is a thought in your mind. Extremely comfy cruiser, but not necessarily sporting.

Long story short. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

To answer other questions. It has a timing chain. The FA is fantastic engine thus far. I'm conspiring to put an FA in my race car, I like it that much. the HID lights are spendy to replace, so consider that if you must have the leather. Aside from oil changes and removing the 3rd brake light, it hasn't needed anything to know if they are tough to work on. As mentioned, the oil change is too easy. Even the 3rd brake light was easy. The work ones have needed minimal stuff, and they have not had easy lives driving cross country and doing recce duty.

What about a focus rs

SilverFleet wrote: -Easy to work on, or are they maintenance nightmares? I hated working on the 2009.

You find a Subaru to be a hateful maintenance experience? Serious question. I find that these are the easiest cars to work on in modern history.

On topic. One of my customers has a 2016. He had us put a 1" lift kit on it practically as soon as he bought it because it was too low to get up his driveway without scraping.

I am not convinced that the FA engine architecture is good for turbocharging, compared to the EJs. On the other hand, the much smaller bore and longer stroke should mean higher detonation resistance, meaning the bottom end doesn't have to be as beefy to begin with. Chain engine, which is a negative in my book, chains seem to last just as long as belts but are much more time consuming and expensive to replace. We replace belts long before their sell-by date because they're cheap and easy, with chains the idea is when the chain fails you buy a new car and you ignore it until it gets to that point. Engine itself is much more laborious to work on than the EJ because of the way the head and block are multipiece arrangements, but if you're looking for new and warranty then this is irrelevant. You're probably not going to go fishing under the camshaft trays for sheer hell of it Subaru says they went to chains to get the valve angle closer together (it matters on a finger follower design?) which is funny because Toyota is now touting the chamber tumble benefits of a wide valve angle and the elimination of short side radius. (Great, they discovered what Ford's been doing since at least 1996)

Kind of a neat thing I discovered when installing that lift kit: Front suspension has no bushings in it except for the sway bar mounts. It's all rod ends. It remains to be seen if these will be like Toyota Camry rear suspension links that work forever, or GM Minivan rear suspension links that go loose and clunk after a few years, or Jag S-type rear suspension links that get gritchy, then squeak annoyingly, then bind up entirely and tear the subframe apart.

In reply to Knurled:

Yes, the 2009 I had was annoying to work on. The 2002 I had was pretty easy, granted you knew where everything was on the car, especially under the hood. I did all sorts of stuff to that 2002: turbo-back exhaust, brake upgrades, suspension upgrades, bushing replacements, etc. and it was all straightforward.

On the 2009, they made many things needlessly complex. Simple maintenance like oil changes, bulb changes, and more became a chore. For example, to replace my fog lights, the front bumper had to come off. On other cars I've had, including my old bugeye wagon, you could remove part of the undertray to get to them easily. Nope, the bumper had to come off. I did some other stuff to the car, including a shifter + bushings, and those were tougher to do as well compared to the earlier cars.

I'm not a Subaru fan. I had an '06 STI for a little while. While the powertrain was decent (turbo was too small, other EJ25 issues) the rest of the car was a steaming pile.

The interior was decidedly low rent, crappy plastics, thin carpet, really uncomfortable seats, loads of rattles in only 4000 miles, shock dampening didn't match the spring rate, thin paint etc, etc.

Maybe I'm just too used to Audi/BMW/Porsche interiors but for the amount that car cost me (the ONLY car I've ever bought brand new) I was really disappointed.

I ended up selling it after owning it 6-9 months...

a 2006 sti model and a 2015+ wrx are completely different cars, tough to compare the 2. 2002-2007 are good comparisons. 2008-2014 are good comparisons. Many similarities still existed between those generations. The 2015+ is substantially different, for the better.

I had one for a year. Instantly regretted selling it. It was a great DD. Lots of space, great gas mileage (like 28mpg avg), plenty fast, and their interiors are light years better than the WRXs of yesteryear. A base model in my opinion is the best bang for the buck. You don't get a sunroof, foglights, or inverted struts, but if you are just daily driving it....who cares.

Actually planning on getting another one because of my dumb decision. The only issue I had was the throwout bearing went bad and had to have the whole clutch assembly replaced at 10k miles. Then the clutch pedal started squeaking. Come to find out after I sold it, one of my friends took my car while at the 12 hours of sebring as was doing donuts in the mud during the rain storm and likely what screwed up the clutch.

SilverFleet wrote: For example, to replace my fog lights, the front bumper had to come off. On other cars I've had, including my old bugeye wagon, you could remove part of the undertray to get to them easily. Nope, the bumper had to come off.

I've taken my fog light assemblies out a half dozen times and never had to remove the bumper. You basically take two bolts out and the lights come right out....It helps that the side splashguard undertrays are long gone on my car. If there is one thing I absolutely hate about this car is how wimpy and poorly-attached all the front-of-body undercladding is. Every original pop-clip hole is ripped out on mine, so it's zip-tie central under there!

Probably most cars nowadays you need to remove the bumper cover (not the bumper, just the cover) to replace a bulb. So in that respect a Subaru would be like 90% of the cars on the market.

irish44j wrote:

SilverFleet wrote: For example, to replace my fog lights, the front bumper had to come off. On other cars I've had, including my old bugeye wagon, you could remove part of the undertray to get to them easily. Nope, the bumper had to come off.

I've taken my fog light assemblies out a half dozen times and never had to remove the bumper. You basically take two bolts out and the lights come right out....It helps that the side splashguard undertrays are long gone on my car. If there is one thing I absolutely hate about this car is how wimpy and poorly-attached all the front-of-body undercladding is. Every original pop-clip hole is ripped out on mine, so it's zip-tie central under there!

The newer ones suck. Same goes for the Forester line as well. To get to the foglights on my wife's 16 FXT I would either have to go in through wheel wells or remove the splash guard and all that jazz. Removing the front bumper makes the work much easier but it can be done other ways. Subarus are still much easier to work on than most everything else on the market right now sans Honda.