Subaru WRX
Registered from 2010 to 2018.
About this model
The Subaru WRX is an all-wheel drive compact car manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru, originally based on the Impreza created for the World Rally Championship in 1992. Subaru claimed the name WRX stands for "World Rally eXperimental". Starting with the 2015 models, the WRX lineup has been split from the Impreza, with a different body style that is not offered as an optional hatchback/wagon, being introduced as the separate Levorg model. The car is known for its striking blue shade, with gold alloy wheels, because of a sponsorship with a Singaporean cigarette manufacturer.
From the Wikipedia article Subaru WRX, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2014 2.5 petrol. 27 of 372 tests failed, 7%.
Better than 94% of 2014 cars. The typical one fails 17%, across 870 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 33% | 9 |
| Tyres and wheels | 33% | 9 |
| Body and structure | 22% | 6 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 22% | 6 |
| Lights and electrics | 19% | 5 |
| Suspension | 15% | 4 |
The defects inspectors cite
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
- A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
- Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
- A tyre cords visible or damaged
- A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative
Where it stands out against its peers
- Body and structure: failed more often than 90% of 2014 cars — 22% of its 27 failed tests, where an ordinary 2014 car has 6%.
Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.
NHTSA's investigations are American; no European regulator publishes an equivalent record, so this section has nothing to draw on for a European car. There is no European equivalent of the service-bulletin register either.
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 33% of its failures
- A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
- Tyres and wheels — 33% of its failures
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
- A tyre cords visible or damaged
- A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative
- Exhaust and emissions — 22% of its failures
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Suspension — 15% of its failures
- Lights and electrics — 19% of its failures
- Body and structure — 22% of its failures
When it starts failing
At 60–80k miles this one fails 11% of its inspections, against the 19% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–40k miles | 2% | 11% | 95 | |
| 40–60k miles | 10% | 15% | 147 | |
| 60–80k miles | 11% | 19% | 79 |
321 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 40k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.
Specification
| Year | Measured |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2.5 petrol · 1584 kg · 2650 mm wheelbase · 10.1 L/100km (NEDC) |
| 2017 | 2.5 petrol · 335 hp · 1582 kg · 2567 mm wheelbase · 10.3 L/100km (NEDC) |
| 2016 | 2.5 petrol · 296 hp · 1580 kg · 2650 mm wheelbase · 10.1 L/100km (NEDC) |
| 2015 | 2.5 petrol · 296 hp · 1589 kg · 2650 mm wheelbase · 10.1 L/100km (NEDC) |