Houston Cars

The 08 ‘Rex came in with 224 HP - not unhealthy.  For 2009, Subaru’s engineers got to work, and the result is brilliant - 265 horses from that little boxer engine.  That’s not too far from the top dog STI, for the record.

The bigger turbo is the big news of course, and accounts for that HP bump.  But Subaru wasn’t lazy with the 09 WRX - they also updated the suspension with some STI bits, and put summer tires on as standard equipment.  Considering the WRX’s performance-based theme, that makes sense.

Some will cry that the WRX is still underpowered.  After all, an Altima has 270 HP these days.  To those people, I say - what a load of crap.  The WRX has never been the fastest car around.  It is a reasonably fast car ( now a bit faster ), that handles fantastically, and can be driven all year round, regardless of the climate.   Turbocharged, AWD fun is the name of the game, and Subaru has it nailed.