6+ Month Owner Review For The 2022+ Subaru WRX VB - Regrets? Concerns?

5th WRX in my lifetime. Subaru made the VB a great daily driver that can handle children, pets, and be a great backroad bomber. No car is absolutely perfect, to expect to find nirvana in a sub 40k car is IMO unrealistic. The VB however feels like its aiming a the folks who have had these in the past who can appreciate its legacy and have more rounded DD. Anyone in the fence should just take one out for a test drive. I didnt think I would like it as much until I got behind the wheel. Its been my favorite WRX. Even more so than my STi.

You are grinding because you are getting comfortable with shifting the wrx and doing f a lazy shift sometimes, happens...you are not doing i t on the other manuals because you are being extra careful...this is basically the same transmission from tbe va, it's not that bad...manual driver for 20 years, just my 2 cents and I love my vb...

Appreciate your insight and honesty Mike!

I also have a 2022 orange WRX, and absolutely love it. No shifter/trans problems at all. Infotainment set up is OK, but not great. Handles like it is glued to the road, yet also extremely comfortable.

who buys a car only to get rid of it after 8 months?! Take a chill pill lol

Have owned my 23 premium spt since October. Currently at 8400 miles. Car has been completely bulletproof. No mechanical or electrical issues at all even though I have done some moderate modifications. I've also spent alot upgrading the interior to make it a little nicer since it is my daily driver. My main gripe is the fuel economy which is just something I just have to deal with but other than that I love the car!. Planning on doing the brakes soon as well.

Definitely get an exhaust, most just do the axle backs for cost but the full catback sounds a lot better. Any oem piping replaced will be for the better it’s all very restricting and small

‘23 Premium - 3500 miles - no issues whatsoever. No grinding……

My 2024 BRZ grinds specifically on 2nd gear if I'm not being very precise with the throttle and clutch. It feels more clunky compared to other manual cars.

I have a fairly early built '22 Premium. No problems at all. I can't remember any gear clashing ever. I have the OE STI shifter. I put a shift stop on it. Ive made a bunch of other mods as well but not engine modded yet. Its a fun car for the money.

23 Limited 6MT with almost 2400 miles. Best MPG has been 27.6 with a mix of country roads and a little bit of city (speeds from 45-65 MPH usually). I think that's pretty decent for an AWD 271 HP car andi bet will get better with more miles. My wife's Outback usually gets around 26 MPG with just a little more city driving. Hers is a NA 2017 with about 100 HP less.

Also didn't expereince grinding in second or 4th. Felt the push back on the third to neutral a few times but I was told by my wife I wasn't doing it right and since then it hasn't happened again. Same boat as you first time driving manual my wife taught me how to drive it.

Yeah I agree. I have a 23 and while I definitely like it, I don't think I will return to the WRX platform after I sell it in a few years. I think for my next car I'm going to go up market to like a used Porsche 718. But that won't be for a while. I do agree though that the VB is probably the best bang for the buck under 40k. But part of me kind of wishes that I would have spent the extra for the GR Corolla. Though at the time that I made my purchase the GRC had crazy markups, and I got my VB for under msrp with 2% APR. I just couldn't pass it up.

My primary concerns (living in the desert southwest) are how will the black plastic cladding age? And second, the usual long-term side effects of direct injection turbo carbon deposits on the intake side.

What miles are you on ? I noticed mine grinding for a while on and off and after I hit about 4500 to 5500 miles it went away entirely !

Great review! I’m really debating between getting a WRX with CVT or GTI with DSG for a fun daily commuter. Nervous about VW reliability…

try the civic si more refined better handling machine

you've obviously never driven the Type R or a Type S?

it's in the base GR Corolla range, to me that's the main competitor

You need MORE practice driving a manual, especially when driving a WRX. I have a 2022 Limited Stocked. 0 to 60 in 4.8 to 5.0 . And I don't burn through clutches.