More MY08 WRX Spy Shots

By George Skentzos | August 19th, 2007

These shots were actually taken by me personally, and I have to say the new WRX has been given quite a bad rap.

These photos are of the same car we reported previously, and in the flesh it really isn’t the ugly duckling many have been made out to be.

However this is the successor to the iconic WRX Impreza – and therein lies the rub. As a hot hatch the new WRX is certainly viable for top spot but a road going rally car it is no more.

The sound emanating from the WRX was not the unmistakable boxer-engine thunder, but a whiny – almost electric sound, certainly not the acoustics which should have been produced by a WRX.

Subaru have one more chance to make amends with the STi variant, which promises aggressive styling with more power and dynamics – albeit in a smaller package.

Sorry for the image quality as these were taken on my ancient phone.

George Skentzos

http://grandjdm.com grandJDM.com

I’ve never thought it was ugly, just that it looks like a Toyota from the front, a Kia from the back, and a merging of the Mazda 3 and BMW 1-series from the side. Visually, it lacks any elements that make it a Subaru. But that said, Subaru have never really been able to nail down an iconic family aesthetic anyway.
http://grandjdm.com grandJDM.com

I should also add that all of this means that the car will undoubtedly sell well amongst the Corolla crowd, which is obviously their goal.
smokin’R32

What country was this thing styled in?
Reckless1

Quite right – the Toyota fans will love it, it even handles like a Corolla (badly)
BOB

i always thought the tail end was really good front not so much wheels thinks it’ll have 220kw and do 0-100km in 5.2sec what a load of shit
superaguri

Man, the rear is much uglier than any Corolla or BMW 1 series.
Steve

And after all that talk about how poo it looks. It gets reported that the famous WRX sound is gone too?

Excuse my french, but WTF are they thinking?
http://. ROBERTO

… they were not thinking, Mr Bean was responsible for it. He never had time to finish it properly as working on Barney Rubbles car off The Flinstones. He did a commendable job as the old school (70+) will buy it to drive to church on Sunday mornings. SUBARU, YOU JUST HAVE NOT GOT A CLUE!
Simon

I agree a poor WRX is a great loss to motoring. However think about this from Subaru’s point of view. They must be struggling globally with every car company now offering what used to be unique about their cars (AWD). So they need volume and let’s face it there will never be real volume in the performance market and none of these buyers will probably ever trade up to a Forester etc.

So it’s mass market first and performance second, which would explain the styling as others have said.
Spitfire

One can only repeat what the late Colin Chapman from Lotus said about the Jaguar XJS when it was released in the 1970′s. It looks like it was designed by three people who were not talking to each other.
HOLDEN & HSV 4EVA

IAM WITH ONE OF THE OTHER GUYS, THIS THING IS DAMN UGLY AND LOOKS LIKE MY WIFE’S 2004 KIA RIO
Richo

yeah the boy racer looks of the old WRX is gone, and aren’t the internet fanboys up in arms about it! But may I be so bold as to ask, out of all the people complaining, how many of you could actually afford to buy one anyway? Well I can afford one, and in the past I haven’t bought one because I didn’t wanna drive around in something that looked like it was styled at autobarn with an interior done by KIA! Now the WRX has a cleaner look and a much nicer interior and I am actually tempted to buy one for the first time since the original (yeah the boy racer looks did appeal to me back when I was 18 and couldn’t afford one like the majority of the people complaining).

Although I will agree with one thing, I do hope the sound isn’t gone, cos the Subaru did have a truly awesome sound to it!
http://. ROBERTO

Yeah I can afford it, trouble is why bother as bland as eating peas. A Kia Rio looks better then this abortion of a cardigan design. That techno crap rear light look is vague and non-flowing to fit into the overall design.
Richo

well enjoy your Kia Rio then Roberto, but I think I might have just a touch more fun behind the wheel of my new rex…
http://. ROBERTO

RICHO… Agree, but get out of your rocking chair and see that the only aggressive item on the car is big slotted bonnet scoop!!! The design of the car is severely lacking as too reserved and whilst nice you may as well drive a Kia Rio is my point! If you are happy with the design you wear a cardigan and have forgotten the bad boy & aggressive looking theme of earlier models and accept the current one. FACT!
Richo

Roberto I don’t actually own a cardigan, nor am I old, only 22 infact, however quite frankly the “bad boy image” of a car designed by autobarn just doesn’t appeal to me! I can think of better things to be doing then being pulled over every 15 seconds by the cop because i’m a young bloke driving a hoonmobile. My interest lies in performance, and more specifically in performance driving, styling comes a very distant second to performance my friend and if you don’t believe that than you aren’t much of a car guy.

By saying you think I should buy a Kia Rio because I dont want an agressive looking car suggests you value styling above performance when buying a car. I thought a WRX was all about performance and not about looks? How else can you explain so many people buying the bug-eyed version!

And FACT? how is the tenuous link between liking the styling of the 2008 WRX and cardigan wearing somehow fact?
Richo

oh and Roberto… have you ever wondered why the Golf GTi is so popular? It can’t be because of boy racer looks because, well it doesn’t have any! Hmmm must be something to do with performance yeah? Wow buyers of performance cars being more interested in performance then styling?!?! who would have thought….
http://. ROBERTO

Yeah, to each there own.

Subaru had the aggressive syle introduced in past models and not VW, so you might be not comparing on an apples v apples comparison basis! SUBARU IS TRYING TO GET THE DESIGN RIGHT AND HAS CHOPPED AND CHANGED FROM AGGRESSIVE TO NICE AND AVERAGE WAY TOO MUCH AND EARLIER MODELS LOOKED FINE AND IS HAS HAD ALL BUG EYES PUT ON IT!

The VW is nice, and if you have a look at the models that precededed the current one you won’t find a very bad boy aggressive Golf in the range! VW HAS NOT CHANGED ITS DESIGN AS CONSERVATIVE SINCE INCEPTION AND NEVER BEEN AGGRESSIVE IN THE SUBARU MOULD!
Richo

but subaru, relitively speaking, dont sell many cars, this is a fact that they want to change. They are targeting the VW Golf with the new Impreza (hence why i compared it) they have stated this on numerous occasions, hence the new styling. This is a decision to improve sales of their no. 1 car which is what they need to get the high sales volumes which subaru desperately wants. See the aggressive styling of previous WRX’s only really appealed to young boy racers who, generally speaking, couldn’t afford to buy one brand new. Why on earth would they market a car for a target audiance that isn’t going to buy it anyway, no matter how much they like it? Instead Subaru has to target the Impreza to people who, generally speaking, can afford to buy one new, and these people, again generally speaking, prefer more understated styling.
http://. ROBERTO

Mitch, I agree to disagree on that. I know people who have got previous Subaru WRX’s (not young racers either mate) and they all say the current one coming up is bland. I do like the shape but for base models, and not the WRX! Lets just see how the public accept it cause it will struggle I reckon?
Richo

They said the same about the bug-eyed WRX, but it didnt really struggle, and nor will this one. I know lots of people who didn’t buy a WRX because they didn’t like the styling and hated the lack of quality in the interior
Matthew

I reckon there needs to be a package (style & performance) if you are looking at a sports car. You could be looking at “Kia Rio” with high performance. The new Subaru is definitely BLAND i agree, and it lacks originality. In fact, after mentioning how it looks like a Mazda3 and BMW1, i can tell you that the tail light design is actually stolen of the Mitsubishi Outlander. Go see for yourselves.
Mr Worrier

The drive might be absolutely out of this world, the comfort might be second to none, and safety could be the best in its class… But!

If the car looks ugly, My money is rather well spent on a previous shape WRX STi, that first caught my interest, and defines my interest on what a muscle jap car should be.

My car defines my personality, and my personality is based on modern and amazing designs.

Sorry Subaru, this has just spoilt my day… U design a car to compete with Golf, yet its falling in comparison to Hyundai/Corrolla/Mazda…

I’m all out to get the mitsubishi Evo X Australia, Please bring that model here for all decerning subi lovers… make us happy from this sad moment till subaru pulls up there socks.
http://www.dpccars.com fast cars

Great pictures, I still think Subaru made a mistake with this hatchback. Subaru will loose a lot of people to Mitsubishi.
Matt

I test drove the MY06 WRX when I bought my MY06 Forester two years ago. I drove the MY08 WRX hatch yesterday and to tell you the truth, I love the toned-down hot-hatch appearance. The last thing I want is to be compared to boy-racers with their hot-dogs and blow-off valves in 6 year-old wrx models. The new rex is quieter, roomier, lighter and $500 cheaper than the previous version. BTW, it has a shit-load lower end torque to boot! If you want a noisy car, attach a hot-dog to your Hyundai.
BTW I’m 31 and can afford a MY08 WRX, which would sit nicely next to my Forester in the garage.
Hugo

I agree entirely. I’d always had an eye on the WRX but had never seriously contemplated purchasing one as, for all it’s dynamic prowess, it screamed ‘look at me’ like an obnoxious infant vying for attention. Not only that, but when the daily commute in peak hour traffic constitutes the majority of one’s driving, sure I wouldn’t rush off to buy an automatic Corolla, but considerations of the car’s ‘day-to-day’ ability become increasingly influential.

I think it’s understated looks and more accessible real world performance are big advantages to be honest. It may well have disenchanted the party faithful by not having spoilers and bonnet scoops that protrude several feet from the body, or an exhaust you can hear from 3 blocks away, but at the very least it’s still cheaper, lighter and quicker than the old one, and has better equipment to boot, which is no bad thing.
Bavarian Missile

I agree……but I do miss the exhaust note. Apparently there isn’t a system after market yet that will give the burble back.So I have been told anyway.

I will be interested to find out what sort of number world wide Subby will with the grown up version!

What is the go with blow of valves……is it just a noise thing in the end?

I know we had a blow of valve on the 671 and that really was just a wank option…looked pretty ! I would have preferred titanium straps over the blower……now they look cool and race !
Alex

I have just purchased an MY08 Impreza WRX – in black. Yes it is more refined than any other model I have driven (MY99, MY00 and an MY02)the sound is still present, just much quieter – we’ll all change the exhaust anyway – and the ride is slightly softer with some noticeable body roll, which would be my biggest complaint – Subaru have already recommend there is a possibility of STI swaybar/strut braces available. However, the technology in this new car is unbelievable! The 2.5L with altered torque curve is pleasant to drive. In my honest opinion this model is probably the best looking one to date. Let be honest with ourselves, without the wheels, bonnet scoope and wing, any other Impreza was an ugly brick. This is my first Subaru purchase, I don’t feel silly driving the car to work, and at the same time, the only thing that has beaten me – by a whisker – was an evo8 – and I was short shifting at 4000rpm as the engine as the engine is still not run in. Take another look at the wrx – You’ll get over it. And the sti…weapon.
Craig

Purchased a MY08 WRX back in Dec. Easily changed the wheels, exhaust and suspension for my tasts. I am very happy with it. The reason it looks like other modern small cars, it because is just that (a modern small car). My wife drives the 07 Impreza and next to mine it looks very outdated.
davo

How many of you guys have actually driven any wrx let alone the my08. The new ones faster, lighter, safer and built better. Oh not to forget the 2.5 engine.
Not everybody wants to be noticed ,

and ps get your Kia next to it at the lights and we will see who looks stupid.
Stick to your fords and holdens