Every once in a great while, I drive a car that makes me wonder why on Earth people buy anything else. These aren't necessarily the most refined cars, or have the best interior quality, or cost a lot, but represent such massive overall value that I can't help but be amazed. The sixth- and seventh-generation Honda Accord are pretty much the standard for this, in my mind.
Still, though the Accord is an exceptional all-rounder, what is one to do when they've had kids and need something practical, but also want to thrash about like a greasy-haired eighteen-year-old? Simple: you buy the 2002-2007 Subaru Impreza WRX.
The GD-chassis WRX became an instant hit upon its release (2002 in the US, 2001 in the rest of the world), with American buff books hailing it as a leap forward in performance motoring for the masses. And they have a bit of a point: I can only think of a few four-door cars and wagons that can do 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, and that number grows even smaller when you consider how (relatively) cheap to buy and run WRXs are.
Its EJ205 engine is rev-happy in the extreme -- like all of Subaru's turbocharged boxers it doesn't really get going in power and torque until about 3000 RPM. But then oh man does it ever go. It doesn't make the most pleasant noise in the world, but it's a purposeful little growl and if nothing else it makes the machine so much fun to drive that you don't even care all that much about the noise.
Yet Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive system means that you never really feel out of control. For instance, I drove the particular WRX on review here from Baltimore to New York at night in pouring rain, but did 85 mph the whole way without ever feeling at all unsafe. Indeed, I have taken this particular WRX out at night on curvy, rainy roads and truly thrashed the thing, yet I have only ever felt it even begin to give up any grip just once. And even that was under massive duress on a road soaked with rain and coated with wet leaves.
But while those older Accords don't perform like sports cars, they have a really quite nice interior. The WRX performs much better, but that performance does seem to come at the expense of interior quality and comfort. The plastics are typical Subaru: fairly hard, but durable and easy to clean. More worryingly, the shifter is actually somewhat sharp, and the action is perhaps a tad too vague. In addition, the manual transmission only has five forward gears (the six was reserved for the STi), so on highways the engine can be both noisy and inefficient. There was supposedly an automatic, but if you're trying to find an automatic on a car like this you're missing the point entirely. The stereo is decent -- it comes stock with a six-disc changer, but the sound quality is perhaps not so good. Yet it's a fairly standard double-DIN unit, so it's swappable. The seats, however, are a joy: comfortable yet supportive bucket seats. I can't speak for the rear seats, which are more standard, but in the wagon they do fold down to allow enough room for a large Ikea flat-pack bookcase. In all, the WRX's interior betrays its economy car roots, with the notable exception of the seats. Those, however, are not fitted to the Impreza's base model, the 2.5 RS.
The GD WRX is such an exceptional all-rounder: quick, safe, reliable, fun, well-built... the list goes on. There are certainly a few downsides to the car, but as a reasonnably-priced all-around performance car/family car for sale in the United States, I can think of only a few cars that really come close to this wonderful machine. And to be able to get such a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde vehicle as a wagon... well, that's just magnificent.
