While I like their hardheadedness in sticking with a boxer engine....between head gasket and ring land failures, hopefully their next gen of engines will have those problems solved.
That was the 2.5 engine, not this one. And not all 2.5's had the ringland problem by any means - my 2008 LGT never has, with that DOHC engine. I know several of the local WRX go-faster crew with older cars (the new one never features) and none of them has had that problem either despite boosting to 11. The DOHC has never had head gasket issues, that was the SOHC regular 2.5 in Foresters/Outbacks, cooking Imprezas. If you're going to be snarky, get your facts straight. The problem with the newer DI engines has been oil consumption. Since that has been going on for seven years once the 2.5 was ditched and you never mention it , your mind seems stuck in the wayback machine about a dozen years ago.
The current WRX with CVT I drove had the rear backlight window that rattled/buzzed loudly each time the engine revs rose and fell either side of 1500 rpm. Hell in traffic. "They all do that!" said the helpful salesman and attendant service writer and mechanic after I returned from an overnight loan. Since I read the forums, I knew that was true. However, hours of wedging cardboard in strategic locations was not something I felt I should have to do in a new car. "Too bad", says I to expectant faces, "it drove me crazy". Not a patch on the old LGT. Noisy, wasn't that quick at full wick, rode like a truck and gave off cheapy vibes interior-wise. Nice handling was all I liked about it. In a drag race, I'd take it on and not expect necessarily to lose. Those 268 hp are not hairy-chested ones, and it won't rev out to 6500 rpm like the old engine. It feels like a mini-motor through the seven fake CVT ratios.
Subaru is no longer on my radar. Even the Forester XT has been dumped. They just want to sell head-bobbler wagons for the greenie trade with dogs, and to grey-faced accountants with a check list - "Ah, AWD". Very successfully done, I might add. Not my cup of tea at all. If the next WRX is a noisy boy-racer then forget it. They're done. Some refinement desperately required.
