The 2022 Subaru WRX was revealed back in September and while unconventional, we wouldn't say that its styling is ugly. Nevertheless, the fifth-generation sedan has come under fire for its quirky design. With the arrival of a new GT trim that adds electronically controlled dampers and the fact that a manual gearbox remains a standard feature, the people at Subaru are clearly very interested in keeping their most enthusiastic buyers happy. In fact, the brand has said as much in an interview. Speaking with Automotive News, car line planning manager at Subaru of America, Michael Redic, explains that the automaker relied heavily on customer feedback to make the WRX better than ever while staying true to its heritage.

"The customers love the performance of the car and then we're just asking for it to be delivered in a way that was more comfortable for daily driving, but also more capable, especially with the suspension," says Redic. "We know WRX customers want something that's powerful and it is one of the most powerful cars in its segment, compared to the direct competitors like [the Volkswagen Golf] GTI and [Honda Civic] Si."

While the manual gearbox is a welcome returning star, the brand has worked hard to make the available automatic Subaru Performance Transmission better too. Upshifts are now 30% quicker while downshifts are as much as 50% quicker than with the automatic found in the old WRX.

It seems, then, that the 2022 WRX has been engineered to satisfy enthusiasts, but as new models are proposed - many of which will be electric - one might worry about the fun factor of future Scoobys. Redic, however, promises that Subaru is committed to exciting driving even as the age of electrification gains momentum.

"It would be ignorant to not realize that that's going to have some impact on our future products," says Redic. "Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Stellantis - everybody is going to be impacted to some degree, but in the meantime, we're going to deliver a new pocket rocket to the market."

We look forward to seeing what Subaru does next, but as long as enthusiasts remain an integral part of the development process, we have hope that the future will be fun.