Used 2018 Subaru WRX for sale 

The 2018 Subaru WRX itself is a car made for driving pleasure. Some users would cherish how well made and reliable these sedans perform around curves and on the track. Subaru offers a variety of trims and features in the sedan to liven up the WRX, although each trim offers the AWD along with a racing tuned suspension and manual transmission as standard. Overall even if the styling is a bit on the retro side, the car still packs a relevant punch, and enthusiasts will still come flocking to get their hands on one.

The 2018 Subaru WRX is available in five trims, with three trims sharing the base 2.0L engine and the other two sharing the 2.5L engine. A 6-speed manual transmission is standard and a CVT is available in higher trims.

We Recommend

Even though WRX is available in five trims, WRX STI trims offer more power and come at a significantly higher cost. Among the other three trims of WRX, entry-level WRX provides everything that enthusiasts desire - an exciting engine, sticky summer tires, and a racing tuned chassis. And most importantly the stick shift transmission, mated to the classic AWD Subaru is known for.

The 2018 Subaru WRX series comes with a 2.0L turbocharged Subaru Boxer 4-Cylinder engine generating maximum power of 268 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque. Although the engines are a carryover from the previous generation, they are still rather well-tuned, and the car itself can go up against and even best most of its competitors. 

All WRX comes with a racing tuned suspension, which seems tuned to let most bumps and potholes be distinctly felt inside the cabin, though one thing it does well is keeping the tires on the ground at all times. The cars are further outfitted with summer tires and come with a 6-speed manual transmission as standard. Also worthy of note is that all variants of the car come with an AWD. There is a tuned-up variant of the sedan with a larger 2.5L turbocharged boxer-4, the WRX STI ups the power rating to 305-hp and 290 foot-pounds of torque.

WRX's base engine is the strongest amongst its rivals with 268-hp. Next to WRX comes the Ford Focus with 252-hp, which is cheaper than WRX by $1,920. The other rivals include the cheaper but less powerful VW Golf GTI with 210-hp ($1400 less) and Honda Civic Si Sedan with 205-hp ($2895 less). All the competitors of the WRX offer only a front-wheel-drive.

Acceleration

The 2018 Subaru WRX comes with two powerful engines. The base engine is on par with the rest of the rivals in the class and accelerates the WRX from 0-60 MPH in 5.5 seconds. This turbo lag also doesn't make everyday riding a good experience. If you are used to driving the car in its high torque range though, you can truly appreciate how well it accelerates. It hesitates to move at low engine speeds followed by large lurching acceleration when the turbos spool up at around 2,000 rpm.

The quickest to reach 60 mph from standstill is the Subaru WRX with a time of 5.5 seconds. This is largely due to Subarus’s refined and rather capable AWD system, which is rather well known in the automotive world. It's followed closely by the VW Golf GTI, which does 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds. The rest of the rivals are considerably slower with Ford Focus having a time of 6.0 secs and Honda Civic Si Sedan with a time of 6.7 secs.

2018 Subaru WRX Handling and Steering

You cannot get the most out of WRX until you take it by the neck. WRX comes with the standard All-Wheel-Drive system and its summer tires grip the tarmac hard. The chassis and the electric-assist steering, all help in giving the car supple and reliable handling with boatloads of road-feel. The suspension is so rugged that it gets almost unbearable if you live somewhere with bad roads. Although on highways and tracks, you would be thoroughly thrilled if you can get the car to do your bidding.

The ride quality of the car is bad, to say the least. It is not an executive car and does the bare minimum to ease out bumps. Subaru has added new door liners and better insulation, though they still perform substandard in terms of removing tire noise. The engine also gets considerably noisy and the vibrations can be felt in the cabin at higher rpm.

2018 Subaru WRX Braking

2018 Subaru WRX comes with the standard summer tires in all the trims with optional Performance packages brake pads available. These tires provide excellent braking performance on dryer roads, though we would advise you to keep all-weather spares especially if you live in snowy regions. The car is designed as a solid unit, and as such Subaru has ensured that it handles like a racecar, which extends to its brakes, which have a considerably bitey character. Also, the brake pedals are placed close to the throttle, which helps in fast heel-and-toe downshifting.

Compared to its competitors in this class, Subaru WRX falls behind when it comes to stopping, this is largely due to the heavier frame. It takes about 113 ft. to stop the car, while VW Golf GTI leads the domain with only about 100 ft. needed to stop it from 60-0 MPH. The Ford Focus comes to a standstill a bit quicker though it lacks the bitey braking feel, and feels a bit mundane. The Honda Civic Si, which is the lightest car on the block still takes the longest to come to a stop.

Just like HULK can't stop its thirst for killing people, Subaru WRX can't stop its thirst for fuel. The AWD setup takes its toll on the fuel economy, which is the lowest in the class, even with the manual transmission. WRX provides a mileage of 21 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 23 mpg combined. The CVT fares even worse, with 18/24/21 mpg in city/highway/combined. While WRX STI, on the other hand, provides a mileage of 17 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and a combined mileage of 19 mpg.

All of Subaru WRX's main rivals are quite fuel-efficient. The VW Golf GTI is 3 mpg ahead of WRX in the city and 7 mpg on the highway. Ford Focus ST is 1 mpg ahead of WRX's city mileage, and by 3 mpg on the highway. Honda Civic Si Sedan is also ahead of WRX's city mileage by 7 mpg, 11 mpg on the highway. The Honda Civic Si comes out to be the most fuel-efficient car in the competition.

The interiors of the 2018 Subaru WRX won't be confused for a luxury car anytime soon, though Subaru has taken care to better outfit their cabin. The basic trim sports cloth upholstery, which gets upgraded to finer materials in the Premium, and the Limited finally sports leather inserts. The dashboard is also covered in soft-touch materials. The seats themselves offer considerable bolstering and a bucket style position, which makes handling the car rather easy. The controls and switches in the cabin appear easier to use than the competition, which honestly adds to the Subaru’s character.

There is enough space in the rear seats for two, but all the best trying to convince a third person to fill the center seating position of the standard 60/40 split-folding rear bench. Entering and exiting from the driver's seat is quite easy even for a 6' tall person. Similarly, entering and exiting from the rear seat is easy due to the large knee room still available when the driver's seat is adjusted according to a 6' tall person. The Honda Civic SI offers the best rear row legroom in the competition. Few key features include-

• Tilting Steering column
• Telescoping steering column
• Power driver's seat
• Heated front seats (optional)
• 8 cup holders
• 60/40 split-folding rear seats

2018 Subaru WRX Infotainment System

Even though by the looks of its graphics, it may seem outdated but the same cannot be said about the features that it comes with. Base versions of WRX are equipped with automatic climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, a 5.9-inch driver information screen perched atop the dash, and a 6.2-inch touchscreen for infotainment.

The higher trims offer a 7.0-inch touchscreen, which does include Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Navigation and premium audio from Harman Kardon are the optional features that you can enjoy with the Limited trim of WRX. Some standout features in infotainment are:

• 5.9-inch driver’s infotainment display
• 6.2-inch touchscreen standard
• 7.0-inch upgraded touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Bluetooth Compatibility
• InBuilt Navigation (optional)
• Premium Harman Kardon Audio System (optional)

2018 Subaru WRX Cargo Volume

The 2018 Subaru WRX has one of the smallest trunks in the class. But there is no loading lip so you won't have a problem loading or unloading. The rear 60/40 seats fold down completely flat with just a push of a button. This gives the WRX a massive cargo volume.

Its rival - the Ford Focus ST has the largest trunk volume of 23.8 cubic ft, followed by the VW Golf GTI with a trunk volume of 23. Honda Civic Si Sedan has a comparable trunk volume of 14.7 cubic ft as compared to Subaru WRX. Subaru has an average lift-over height as compared to its competitors. A reasonably wide trunk opening makes loading and unloading cargo into the WRX's trunk a generally easy task.

The front bumper has been redesigned to be more sporty. It does have a bit of an overhang, though it's still well off the ground. The Subaru WRX also comes standard with a full rear-wing, though it can be swapped with a decklid spoiler for no extra cost. The overall exterior of the sedan looks decent enough to stand attractive to compete with the rivals in the segment.

The 2018 Subaru WRX is on the heavier side among the competitors. It is about 46 pounds heavier than Ford Focus ST. It has the least ground clearance amongst the rivals but is next to the tallest, the tallest being Ford Focus ST, which gives it a strong stance. The Subaru is amongst the longest cars in the segment, though the Japanese automaker has done a great job at still keeping the body dynamics tight.Few important exterior features include-

• New 18-inch alloys
• Bulging hood scoop feeds air to the engine's top-mounted intercooler
• Four silver-tipped exhaust pipes
• Small lip spoiler
• Fuel door on the passenger side

The NHTSA has not rated or tested the 2018 Subaru WRX, though the car is solidly built and comes with great assurance about its quality. The IIHS has rated the Subaru as the “Top Safety Pick+,” which means it's amongst the best-equipped cars in terms of crashworthiness and safety tech. Apart from this impressive proof of its safety, the 2018 WRX brings a host of safety features for the passengers inside. Some standout safety technology offered in the car is:

• Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
• ABS And Driveline Traction Control
• Side Impact Beams
• Dual Stage Driver And Passenger Seat-Mounted Side Airbags
• Dual Stage Driver And Passenger Front Airbags
• Curtain 1st and 2nd Row Airbags
• Ring-shaped Reinforcement Frame body structure
• Subaru Advanced frontal airbag system (SRS)
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Active Lane Keeping
• Forward Collision Warning
• Automatic Emergency Braking

Subaru WRX Sedan vs VW Golf GTI

The new 2018 Subaru WRX is costlier than the VW Golf GTI but doesn't quite match the interior quality that the Golf GTI has to offer. Subaru WRX offers a more powerful turbocharged engine as compared to VW Golf GTI but at cost of fuel economy. Also, VW Golf GTI comes with a huge trunk volume of 23 cubic feet as compared to only 12 cubic feet of the Subaru WRX. The choice remains between comfort or performance.

Subaru WRX Sedan vs Ford Focus ST

The Subaru WRX and Ford Focus ST are neck to neck in terms of performance with one providing 268-hp of power and the latter providing a power of 252-hp. But Ford Focus ST lags when it comes to 0-60 mph timing with Ford Focus ST having a time of 6.0 sec as compared to 5.5 sec of Subaru WRX. The fuel economy of both the cars is also nearly equal with WRX providing 21 in the city and Ford Focus ST providing a mileage of 22 in the city.

Subaru WRX Sedan vs Honda Civic Si Sedan

When it comes to comparing the 2018 Subaru WRX with Honda Civic Si Sedan, the only area Honda Civic Si Sedan leads is the price and the fuel economy. With a difference of about $2,000 between the two sedans, the Subaru WRX is a better buy as it pays in the long run with its reliability and resale value.

2018 Subaru WRX surely provides an engaging experience behind the wheel with its 268-hp turbocharged engine, well-sorted chassis, sticky tires, and precise steering. However, it's almost annoying around town with its jerky power delivery and inconsistent clutch. The key to bringing the best out of Subaru WRX is to take it by the neck. And if you intend to do that often, the WRX is a good place to put your money. It is a true enthusiast’s car, which once you figure out how to drive will reward you with some of the best performance available in the market.