2023 Subaru Wrx Limited on 2040-cars

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2019 Subaru STI S209 is a burbling blue beast

The 2019 Subaru STI S209 is a celebration of everything that made the STI and Impreza WRX STI line so popular with car enthusiasts. It has extreme body work, a heavily boosted flat-four that slams you in your seat, performance gizmos such as a center differential controller and an intercooler sprayer, as well as impressive handling and grip, in part due to its all-wheel drive. And of course, it has that signature boxer engine rumble, which has been accentuated with this model's exhaust system. We wanted to share that sound so captured some footage of the car on start-up, gentle acceleration, full throttle acceleration, and some free-revving, in that order. It's a mellow sound, one that occasionally sounds like a motorcycle, but a bit smoother. And while it's noticeable at lower speeds, it's tuned such that it's extremely quiet at cruising speeds, and doesn't become massively louder at full throttle. In fact, you'll notice that the road noise and the wind rushing out of the exhaust ends up overwhelming the rumble at some points. It's something that both Senior Producer Chris McGraw and I noticed in our drives of the super Subaru. If it seems like it's too quiet, we're sure the aftermarket can solve the volume issue for you.

Subaru Ascent crossover's roofline revealed

Just recently, Subaru announced that the new Ascent three-row crossover would be revealed at the L.A. Auto Show. Along with the announcement came a teaser that didn't reveal much of anything. Now Subaru has released a second teaser, shown above, that is significantly more generous. The teaser gives us a solid look at the roofline and greenhouse of the Ascent. In general, it looks very much like a taller, more squared-off Outback roof, particularly at the back. But it doesn't quite look as upright as the Forester. The top of the front fender has a more pronounced shoulder over the wheel arches than either of those Subarus, too. Based on past spy shots, we're expecting the rest of the Ascent to continue the "big Outback" look. Expect a similar hexagonal grille and chiseled sheet metal as the Outback and the rest of the Subaru line. We'll get our complete look at the new crossover on November 28 at the L.A. Auto Show. Related Video:

Subaru WRX STI might finally get power bump for 2019

Since it arrived in the US, the Subaru WRX STI has hovered around 300 horsepower. That was world-class in the early 2000s, but the 2018 model's 2.5-liter turbocharged boxer-four 305 horsepower output is no longer something to write home about. This week, The Truth About Cars reported that the hottest Impreza might get another slight bump. A NHTSA document lists the 2019 model at all of 310 horsepower, the same output as the limited-run WRX STI Type RA. If you thought the $50,000 Type RA wasn't worth the extra cash, at least the standard model will get the 5 horsepower bump now, too. That's more than the 292 horsepower Volkswagen Golf R or the 306 horsepower Honda Civic Type R, but it's way off the 350 horsepower output of the Ford Focus RS. According to the NHTSA filing, there's no power increase mentioned for the non-STI Subaru WRX. We're hoping the next generation WRX STI will finally shed the old EJ-series boxer-four in favor of a more modern and more powerful engine. The standard Impreza was updated in 2016, and the performance variants usually follow a few years later. Cross your fingers that a new version of the WRX wagon comes along, too. Related Video: Related Gallery 2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA: First Drive View 51 Photos News Source: The Truth About Cars Subaru Performance Sedan subaru sti