Subaru managed to get the 2022 WRX on everybody’s lips this season. And while part of that is owed to the fantastic rallying heritage of the badge, the opinion-splitting styling of the performance sedan also deserves credit here. Sure, everybody is thrilled that the new WRX doesn’t share any body panels with the Impreza (except owners of the latter, of course), but what’s up with those plastic flares?
Subaru gave the all-new WRX its traditional widebody, with the arches of the newcomer, which add 1 inch (2.5 cm) of width compared to the old car, making this 2 inches (5 cm) more generous than the Impreza.
However, the black plastic flares have a noticeable impact on how we perceive the wheels, making the rolling goodies appear smaller in an era when people put larger wheels on whatever car you can think of.
Admittedly, the said bits were present on the Subaru Viziv Performance concept of 2017, even though they were absent from the WRX concept released back in 2013. Regardless, they’re here now and while I personally find the standout look they give the Scooby quite appealing, I’m clearly in the minority here.
So, what can you do to “fix” the design of the 2022 WRX?
For starters, choosing a dark color rather than a bright hue will make a world of a difference. This is highlighted in the image gallery. Once you go past the first two images (we’ll discuss these below), you reach the official images of the sedan: we have the popular shade of blue that reminds everybody of the said rallying era in one corner and orange or white in the other.
Now, Subaru claims that the pattern on the plastic pieces has an aerodynamic effect and while that might be true, so is the fact that many fans would still prefer a color-coded approach.
Well, until the aftermarket gets a hold of the car, we’ll have to settle for a piece of pixel work. Cue to digital artist Abimelec Arellano (aka abimelecdesign), who made an effort to give the people a bit of what they want.
The enthusiast, who normally handles complex 3D workโyou may have seen his outlaw Shelby Cobra Lowriderโvirtually painted the flares, while further manipulating the stance of the car by lowering the suspension and adding custom wheelsโhello Volk TE37s!
For the record, fans also complained about the large amount of plastic in the rear diffuser area, but this is another story for another time.
We’ll remind you that 2017 also brought us the STI version of the Viziv Performance show car, which kept its less spicy sibling’s black arches, so these might also show up on the future STI production model.
This whole story, which, naturally, is as subjective as they get, could be about people sometimes reacting negatively to change only to embrace it later, but it may also be true that certain people will always prefer the WRX/STI in one color.