Just for the heck of it, figured I’d post up a GRM “long term” review of my 2009 WRX, which now has close to 170,000 miles on the clock I thought I’d do it kind of like car mags do their long-term reviews, with some categories and commentary, just for posterity as I start thinking about a replacement car.
Overall Rating: I’d give it a B+
Highs: It has been surprisingly reliable for its mileage, and far moreso than I expected. With the suspension I have on it, I still enjoy the balanced handling that can get me out of any trouble without a worry. The AWD system continues to be outstanding in all weather conditions. The seats are great.
Lows: Dash still looks and feels cheap. Still lots of rattles and other noises that get annoying quickly. Paper-thin sheet metal picks up dents an dings like crazy. Paint quality is poor…chips easily and already fading in many places.
Fuel Economy: This car has a Cobb Stage 1 tune and no other engine modifications. Fuel economy did not change from stock, and over 170,000 miles I consistently get 23.5 MPG in mixed suburban and highway commuting. Most long-distance highway trips it gets about 27MPG. One one trip where I kept speeds under 65mph on the highway consistently, it was above 29MPG. Car requires premium.
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Interior: Mixed bag. As noted, the dash and door panels are the cheapest of cheap-feeling plastic. Inner door handles, buttons, and switches have great movement and placement, in my opinion. The 3-knob climate control system works great and the big knobs have really nice feel to them. Overall, A+ for ergonomics inside. The original sun visors lost their “spring-back” and would fall down, so were replaced. The manual, heated seats are top-notch. I LOVE these seats for long trips and spirited driving (I’m 6’0, 170). They only adjust tilt and up-down/back-forward but they are really a good shape for me. I do 8-10 hour road trips and feel great when I get out – which I can’t say for more luxurious cars I’ve owned in the past. The car has had rattles and squeaks since new….I’ve tried to fix them here and there and eventually gave up and turned up the stereo. In 170k miles, abosolutely nothing in the interior other than the sunvisors has broken. Switches, latches, buttons, etc – all great. Electrical failures are zero as well….no dash lights out, no window motor issues, etc. The only electrical thing that has died is my aftermarket Omori boost gauge. The car has no leaks, and never has. Rear seat legroom is good. I can sit comfortably back there at 6 feet tall, and my 6’8 buddy has ridden back there many times with no complaints. There are a few more inches back there than in previous WRXs. Also, it fits rear-facing baby seats fine, not that my kids are in this car much since they say “its too loud.” Interior wear is nil. Seats have no rips, tears, or any sign of wear. The stock floormat on the driver’s side wore through at my heel long ago, but I’ve had weathertechs in there forever. Otherwise, no other interior items have worn out or broken.
Exterior: Well, I love the low-key narrow-body sedan design because it is so stealth. But it doesn’t look like a WRX, more like a Corolla with a hood scoop. This paint has chipped easily from day one, and the car is full of chips, dents, and dings (my 1985 BMW rally car has far fewer, if that gives you any idea!). The paint is soooo thin and the body panels are soooo wimpy. The only rust on the car are on both front doors’ b-pillars, I guess there’s a finisher piece there and water somehow seeped into the backside of both doors there and I have a bit of rust bubbling on the outside. Otherwise, nothing on the car has rusted – and I am not much of a car-wash guy, and I DO use it extensively in salt-covered roads in the winter. The trunk spoiler and hood scoop (which are plastic) the paint on them has both totally faded and gotten dull, moreso than the rest of the car. Like all Imprezas, the front clip is designed poorly and attached to the car even more poorly. This car has never really done anything off the road nor been in any accidents, but the front clip has come detached more than once. The front wheel liners and front underbody splash guards fell apart years ago and what is left has been held by zipties forever. The front clip and underbody of this car is beyond being an awful design. Otherwise, the rest of the body is fine.
Lights: The stock front lights were halogen, and they were terrible. I replaced them with OEM HIDs from the same-year STi, which were better but still not great. As years have gone on, the front headlights have gotten hazy, and been polished over and over. But it’s to the point where I hate driving this car at night due to the lousy headlights, adn really I always have. The interior night gauge lighting is red and really good on the eyes. I have not had any lighting electrical issues, and I think have replaced only 1 bulb in 170k miles on the exterior lights, for what it’s worth.
Engine: at 9000 miles I blew the engine. the first 2 months’ of production on the 2009 model had crank bearing issues, and mine was one of them. Subaru replaced the engine and turbo under warranty, and in the 160,000 miles since then I’ve had no major engine issues. Over the last 50k I have replaced 3 of the 4 original coils after misfires, but otherwise nothign but regular maintenance (air filters, oil filters, and Rotella T6 oil) About 20k miles ago I checked the turbo and it had no bearing play or any issues. I haven’t checked compression since that’s a hassle on this car (as is replacing plugs/coils), but nothing to suggest to me that compression isn’t fine. When new, the car had a mid-range hesitation due to the factory lean tune. The Stage 1 tune fixed this issue (and added 20hp/30tq or so, to boot). The car still hits peak boost of 18psi (stock is about 14psi). The car came from the dealer as an “SPT Edition” with the SPT stainless exhaust. It is still there, still not rusty, and the original cats are good as far as I know. I’ve replaced 02 sensors in the last couple years, but just due to mileage – not cause.
Transmission/drivetrain: No transmission issues. I replaced the original clutch at around 100k miles since I figured it was time, but it actually still had plenty of life left – probably would have been good past 150k. I replaced the center diff at around 140k miles or so when it went bad, causing “hopping” on tight turns in parking lots. Rear diff, driveshaft, etc all good. My car had the factory “STi short shifter” and I added a urethane bushing support to it, improving the feel. All of that is still good.
Suspension: The car’s stock suspension came off at around 30k miles and I installed the prototype RaceComp/GTWorx/Bilstein suspension as the test car. It’s still on there, though the shocks need to be rebuilt at this point as they’re sounding and feeling a bit clunky. The OEM components (control arms, top hats, etc) I finally replaced last year, though they all seemed to be in good shape. The car’s handing is still oustanding, and I can hang with almost anything in a curvy road, especially if it’s wet. The commuting ride quality is getting kind of old at this point though. Or maybe it’s just me getting old. I’m considering moving back to a stock-ish spring rate and some Konis or something for the last couple years that I plan to keep this car.
Steering: The steering rack was leaking at around 140k miles and was replaced. For the past 20-30k miles the PS pump has been whining, and bleeding the system does nothing. I replaced the pump, the belt, etc….still whiney. So I suspect I have a tiny leak in a line someplace letting a little air in. THere is no visible leak and the fluid doesn’t get lower, and the steering feel is fine. Just sounds like I have a small supercharger when I’m in the parking garage at work haha. I continue to absolutely love the steering feel and balance on this car. It’s the best I’ve ever owned, hands-down (it does have urethane rack bushings).
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Brakes: My front brakes I replaced the stock sliding calipers with the 4-pot opposed calipers from an 06-07 WRX (which is bolt-on), back in about 2010. Other than wearing through a couple sets of Hawk HPS pads and a set of rotors, the braking system has been flawless with regular basic maintenance (cleaning and greasing). No seized calipers, no ‘warped” rotors, no other issues.
Cargo: It’s a sedan with a trunk. It’s not a huge trunk thanks to the bump-up for the rear diff. The rear seats fold down for more space, but the whole trunk is pretty low in height so carrying lumber is fine but it only fits like two stock-sized tires in the trunk. If I carry anything big, it goes in the back seat.
Interior sound level: the SPT exhaust is louder than the stock one, but not loud like an Invidia or anything. It doesn’t drone, I really like the sound. A few of my old neighbors have commented on it, but I leave for work at 530am in a very quiet neighborhood, so any car that isn’t a Camry sounds loud here…..Wind noise and road noise is fairly nonexistant. Not Lexus quiet, but it’s not notable and can’t be heard over the exhaust in any case.
Safety stuff: Haven’t had any accidents, so thankfully no comment. I’m about to get the airbag recall done next week, which I’ve been putting off for months. Seatbelts work fine, still retract.
So, that’s about what I can think of for the moment. Overall, this has been a good car. It’s fast, handles well, is outstanding in snow and rain, and in general has had less major issues than other cars I’ve owned with this mileage (other than the 9000 mile engine replacement). The low-key looks of the 09 Sedan is nice – it’s still a WRX, but the police dont’ notice it. I haven’t been pulled over a single time in this car, that I can recall (and I do not drive slow….). I love the seats and the ergonomics. I dislike most of the rest of the interior.
Replacement in a year or two….probably will get something that gets better MPGs, though I could get a new WRX if gas prices don’t get too high. GTI is on my list, Civic Si, etc. In this price range, there are nicer cars than the WRX but none that have the AWD+Performance, in my opinion. So we’ll see.
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