Boy racer comes of age

If the 2015 Subaru WRX were awarded a superlative in its high school yearbook, it would be “most changed since freshman year.” That’s not to say that the all-new ‘Rex has lost its famous capability or performance, but the 14-year-old skater boy of days pasthas put on a new suit and is interviewing for a whole new position.

Over the course of my time with the Subaru, I put it through as many daily-driver tests as I could: embarking on a 215-mile road trip from Manhattan to Cape Cod, hauling gear to and from a marina, and testing the road holding and acceleration on backcountry New England roads. Like any well-prepared student, the WRX passed all of these tests with flying colors. From a glance, it may be difficult to tell the WRX apart from its Impreza sibling, but flared fenders and the iconic hood scoop make it stand out

From a glance, it may be difficult to tell the WRX apart from its Impreza sibling, but flared fenders and the iconic hood scoop make it stand out

The red gauges and white needles of the WRX are sporty and simple, and the 3.5-inch LCD display shows pertinent information like boost pressure and miles-per-gallon

The rear seat legroom in the WRX is highly impressive, rivaling many larger, more expensive sedans

Expecting the test car to show up in the loud and proud WR Blue, I was caught off guard to see a Crystal Black Silica WRX roll up to the Daily News office. The black paint job with dark gray wheels may have looked out of character for the car it was fitted to, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t look downright classy. The blacked out appearance hid some of the flares and flourishes that give the WRX its rally racer looks. Here was a car that looked more at home on the mean streets of New York than on a remote dirt road.

With LED headlight and taillight signatures, the 2015 WRX stands out from the standard Impreza day or night

Trunk space is more than ample as well, but we couldn't help thinking it would be even better as a hatchback...

My surprise continued when I climbed inside and found the interior to be a marked improvement over Subarus of yore. While it still lags behind class leaders, like the Volkswagen GTI, the plastics and optional leather fitted to our test car were a step in the right direction. The gauges and buttons are still an exercise in Subaru’s long held practice of function over form, but everything is conveniently laid out and performs as you’d expect.

Our top-spec Limited model was fitted with an 8-way adjustable driver’s seat, leather upholstery with red accent stitching, a backup camera, automatic on/off LED headlights, and a standard AM/FM stereo with satellite radio, iPod capability, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming. The stereo was sub-par, however, with music from all sources sounding flat and thin no matter how much I played with the settings.