Review: 2016 Subrau WRX Limited

"Love. It's what makes a Subaru a Subaru." If you've ever watched a commercial from the Japanese manufacturer, you've heard that slogan. 

After driving the 2016 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited, I came up with a slogan of my own: "Constructive criticism. It's what makes a car review a car review."

An evaluation needs to include the pros and the cons of a particular model. A lot of the vehicles I've reviewed have done so many things well that evaluating them was a challenge. They gave me plenty to like, but I had a hard time thinking of something about them that rubbed me the wrong way. They were frustratingly likeable, almost boring.

The 2016 WRX made doing my job easier by having such easily identifiable flaws as well as obvious strong suits.

Love

-Styling: I'm used to driving a small sedan which makes an equally small visual impact. The WRX also has compact dimensions, but the personality and aggression conveyed through its styling is massive. With its gaping maw of a hood-mounted air scoop, Lexus RC F-esque front fender vents, and rear diffuser and quad pipes, the little Subie made a big statement everywhere it took me in Central Texas, from Austin to Spring Branch to San Antonio and back.

-The (eventual) punch: When I put my foot down while the WRX was in its commuting- and fuel-economy-friendly Intelligent mode, I had to wait a beat before the boost came on and the WRX took off. I wasn't used to such a nonlinear driving experience, but I could've grown accustomed to the thrust provided by the WRX's turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0-liter flat-four engine. Its 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque enabled several roadside-blurring surges forward, especially when the WRX was in its performance-oriented Sport Sharp setting.

-Confidence of AWD: When I opened up the WRX on a curvy road, I felt confident leaving my right foot planted longer than I would've in other cars, thanks to Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. I could feel its grip keeping me shiny side up.

-Abundance of features: Subaru crammed a surprising amount of tech inside the WRX's four doors. The navigation system helped me get where I needed to go (sometimes). LED low beams lit the way in front of me. Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert looked out for people and things I couldn't see. My favorite bit of technology was the Adaptive Cruise Control, which worked flawlessly to keep me safely behind other motorists as I traveled down I-35 at 70 mph to the Texas Auto Writers Association's 2015 Truck Rodeo in Spring Branch.

Constructive Criticism

-Headroom: The WRX fit all 5'10" of me well in every direction - except one. The roof was lower than I expected. I realized how close the top of my head was to it when I went over a speed bump a little too quickly and felt it contact the headliner. Getting in and out of the car required a slight angling of my neck to make sure my head cleared the outer edge of the roofline.

-Ride quality: Given that it's a sports sedan, I had no illusions that the WRX was going to ride like a Cadillac. However, I was still surprised at how stiff and punishing its suspension was - and how much like an old, grouchy man it made me feel.

-Exhaust boom: I've always appreciated how bestial Subaru's boxer engines can sound with the right exhaust hardware and tuning. However, the low, near-constant drone in the cabin from the WRX's quartet of pipes became grating after a few miles.

-Build quality: The WRX is the first vehicle I've ever reviewed whose driver side mirror constantly vibrated at speed. I blame the car's rock-hard suspension tuning. I also noticed the alignment of the tilt-out drawer above the hood latch release was askew. It was a small detail that didn't receive attention - except for mine.

-Navigation system: As I hinted above, the navigation system was hit or miss. It got me lost twice - once while trying to get to my hotel room in San Antonio to take care of some time-sensitive business and once while on the toll road up to Round Rock, Texas. On that latter trip, the nav told me to just keep going and I wound up 20 or so miles away from my destination. It was the most disappointing navigation system I've ever used.

Ultimately, I didn't love the 2016 Subaru WRX Limited. On the other hand, I did have an odd respect for it. Not only did its shortcomings make my job as an automotive journalist easier, but they made the WRX memorable. Ironically, that's something more enjoyable vehicles often aren't.

My Lapis Blue Pearl 2016 Subaru WRX Limited review vehicle had an as-tested price of $36,858, which included a destination and delivery charge of $795 and nearly $6,000 in options. Those included the $4,095 Option Package: 23 (and its Subaru Starlink seven-inch multimedia navigation system, 440-watt nine-speaker premium audio system, keyless access/push-button start setup, EyeSight Driver-Assist System and other features, and Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection System), the $1,200 Lineartronic CVT, a $215 auto-dimming mirror compass, and a $158 center armrest.

Review: The 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT

 

I'm a writer, not a mathematician. However, I do know that the number eight is greater than the number seven.  Especially now that I've driven the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT ($76,465 as tested).

Given that all Jeeps feature a grille with seven slots in it, I was tempted to tell you all the seven things about the hot rod SUV that stood out to me the most. Once I experienced what was under its hood, I had to bump that number up to eight. You'll see why.

 

King Kong in a box:

Imagine a team of brave men and women manage to put the silver screen's most famous, colossal, and powerful ape in a massive crate that can barely contain him. They throw a chain around the box and hand one end of it to you to hold as you stand on a skateboard. Before you can let out a fearful gulp, those same gutsy people in the hard hats and white coats bang on King Kong's wooden confines with sledgehammers to enrage him.

Yeah...that's what it's like when you put your foot down on the right pedal of the Grand Cherokee SRT. It absolutely explodes away from a stop with the power of a massive 6.4-liter HEMI V8. You're instantly pulled away by 475 horses (and 470 pound-feet of torque), which bolt through a 3.70 rear end. Jeep says the SRT can blast from 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, put a quarter mile under its Pirelli Scorpion Verde all-season performance run-flats in the mid-13 second range, and top out at 160 mph.

Surviving the violent pull of those charging horses works up a hunger in you: for more road, for more people to see you in such a badass rig, and for guys in Mustangs to challenge you to a race. It also makes you ravenous for its deep, angry bark of an exhaust note.

Tries to be flexible:

As you can imagine, a 5,150-pound vehicle with such a large, high-performance engine has quite an appetite of its own. Correction: thirst. It guzzled 91-octane gas like an alcoholic at an open-bar wedding. I averaged about 13 mpg in mixed driving. According to the EPA, the Grand Cherokee SRT can cover 13 city and 19 highway miles per gallon of premium.

Several times before I went driving in my neighborhood or in the city of Austin, Texas, I pressed the Eco mode button that was positioned under the HVAC controls. Jeep states that the Eco setting "optimizes [the] transmission’s shift schedule and expands [the] range of Fuel Saver Technology [which switches the engine from eight- to four-cylinder operation] activation for further fuel economy gains." It also made the eight-speed automatic transmission start off in second gear.

Hard to tame:

That was a great thing, not only for the sake of saving gas but for the sake of driving smoothness. It took me a little time to learn how to handle the Grand Cherokee SRT's ferocity. If I wasn't careful (and started in first gear), I'd make the Detroit-built demon lurch by just tapping the gas pedal. (It's hard to make the ladies think you're cool when you look like a guy holding onto the leash of a Great Dane who just got spooked.) The 15-inch vented front and 13.78-inch rear brakes could be quite grabby.

Jeep's Selec-Track system changed a number of vehicle parameters, including shifting sensation, suspension firmness, and the threshold for stability control intervention. When its knob was turned to the Auto position, the ride quality from the short- and long-arm independent front and multi-link rear suspensions was surprisingly gentle. Sport mode was slightly harsher. Gear changes in Track mode were brutally quick and forceful.

Sometimes tries too hard:

Most of the time, I left the transmission in its regular setting. Bumping the T-handle shifter into "S" engaged a sport mode. In that, the eight-speed auto held gears longer to keep the enormous HEMI in its sweet spot.

While I understand the logic in the decision to make the tranny do that, I don't get why Jeep decided to make its shift lever so unusual. Its stem stayed in the same place while I rocked its top back or forth to call up the gearbox mode I needed. If I didn't carefully watch as I selected it, I ran the risk of picking the wrong one. Using the T-handle was not an intuitive process whatsoever. I've been using traditional automatic shift levers for years and I've never had a problem with them. Jeep tried to fix something that wasn't broken - and made it worse.

I occasionally used the tall paddle shifters to swap cogs. They were too tall for my liking. If they were a little shorter, like those on GM vehicles, they would've been easier to reach comfortably with my fingertips from the nine and three o'clock positions.

Packed with useful technology:

I pulled back on those paddle shifters a lot less often than I used the other technology in the Grand Cherokee. For instance, I became a fan of using the 8.4-inch touchscreen and the Uconnect system's replay feature to rewind live radio and listen to my favorite guitar solos over and over again on the $1,995 19-speaker Harmon Kardon stereo. I liked knowing my seats could be heated or cooled, but I would've liked a hard button for that functionality. Instead, I had to go through the touchscreen. The big, red pushbutton starter was always satisfying to use, especially because the Keyless Enter-N-Go setup allowed me to keep the key fob in my pocket as I did so. Although the Jeep's overall length of less than 16 feet meant it was a breeze to maneuver without having to worry about hitting something, the ParkSense front and rear parking assistant was there to help me, just in case.

Jeep also threw in SRT-exclusive Performance Pages, which could keep track of 0-60 times, lateral acceleration, and other figures.

Well-appointed inside and comfortable in the back:

What I enjoyed just as much as the Grand Cherokee's engine was its exterior styling, from the aggressive nostrils on its hood to the eye-catching Redline paint to the sleek and sinister 20-inch black chrome five-spoke wheels - all part of the $3,995 Customer Preferred Package 28J.

The interior was a treat, too. Jeep's use of materials, including real carbon fiber accents, a suede-like headliner, and anodized interior trim, impressed me.

 

I even enjoyed the back seat. It offered plenty of legroom for my 5'10" frame. I popped the "Skyfall" Blu-ray into the player concealed in the front center arm rest, put on a pair of wireless headphones, reclined my seat back, and watched the latest 007 movie on one of two headrest-mounted flat screens.  

The rear cargo hold was at a convenient height for loading groceries, which, in my case, included big, heavy bags of cat litter and gallons of distilled water.  That 35.1-cubic-foot space was also able to fit two 20-something women who decided to be silly and see if they could cram into it. They succeeded.  Long story...

Ridiculous and contradictory, but...:

In the grand scheme of things, sports cars are unnecessary. I love them, but you don't need 550 horsepower to get to work. Just four wheels and a seat. The idea of an SUV with that kind of output makes even less sense to me. It's trying to make an apple into an orange. Sports cars start off with an advantage because they have lower centers of gravity and less weight. With that in mind, vehicles like the Grand Cherokee SRT seem to be silly exercises.

You know what, though? I don't care. Neither do the people who've made the Porsche Cayenne such a sales hit.  I'm glad something as crazy and niche as a 475-horsepower, speed-focused Jeep exists. The automotive world shouldn't be populated by only A-to-B commuter cars. It needs a little ridiculousness. A Jeep that's more at home on a race track than a rocky trail certainly offers that - and an addictive dose of savagery.

Makes me like the new Grand Cherokee even more:

I had the privilege of driving the Grand Cherokee Summit with the EcoDiesel V6 and the "Trail Rated" Grand Cherokee Overland with the Pentastar V6 last October at the Texas Auto Writers Association's annual Truck Rodeo. They both handled an off-road section of the Knibbe Ranch with aplomb while I sat in the comfort of a wood- and leather-trimmed cabin. Their engines delivered plenty of power. Those are only a couple of the reasons why the GC was named the TAWA's "SUV of Texas" for the fifth year in a row.

The SRT model was very different from those more traditional Grand Cherokees, but it was similar to them in that it pleased me with its abilities, interior materials, and powertrain. I don't need to be a mathematician to know that those qualities add up to one hell of an enjoyable and memorable vehicle.

via [Jeep]