My days of Olympic Games racing are long behind me, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking for outdoor adventures in between family life. Whether I'm driving up the mountains to the running trails or embarking on a family road trip up the coast, the core reason I keep returning to the Subaru WRX Sportswagon is its summer drivability coupled with convenience. Subaru's combination of Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, together with the snappy turbocharged Boxer engine, packs a punch.
But what about the technology? Just because the Subaru WRX Sportswagon is a sports car, convenience is still paramount. Sometimes, the technology in the background plays such a significant role in making the trip easy that you forget it's there, like the use of the Adaptive Cruise Control while driving down the M1 from the Gold Coast to Brisbane.
Or consider the smallest of details when you're stuck with groceries in hand. That's when I seem to remember that there's a hands-free badge sensor for the powered tailgate*The powered tailgate with hands-free badge sensor is only available on WRX Sportswagon AWD GT and WRX Sportswagon AWD tS..
Sitting in the driver's seat of my Subaru WRX Sportswagon right now, I'm looking at three things I get most excited about in the current 2023 model.
Firstly, there's face detection to automatically adjust the seat position*Auto driver seat adjustment only available on Subaru WRX AWD RS Sport Lineartronic®, WRX AWD tS Sport Lineartronic®, WRX Sportswagon AWD GT and WRX Sportswagon AWD tS.. Between my wife and I, doing the school runs, there's nothing worse than jumping in the car with your knees jammed up under the steering wheel and needing to manually adjust and readjust to find that same driving position. With this feature, I only need to set it up once. Somehow, the technology in the car recognises your face, and will save your seat position, and automatically puts you back in that same driving position. You can also set up the dual memory function for 8-way power seat adjustment between two chosen positions. Set button 1 or 2 – a more manual way, with a separate button on the driver-side door. Either way, say goodbye to the old days of fiddling around with seat adjustments.
I always love it when someone new jumps in the car for the first time. Normally, the comment is, "Damn, look at the size of the screen!" The Subaru WRX Sportswagon boasts a 11.6" LCD touchscreen that has more features than I need to know about. But what feature gets used every trip? The Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™*Compatible Apple® device required. if you're that way inclined. So, whether I'm using the inbuilt satellite navigation*Satellite Navigation not available on Subaru WRX AWD and WRX Sportswagon AWD variants. or Apple CarPlay's Maps, I'm all set to get to my destination. I'm not really a podcast kind of guy for entertainment, but when I'm driving, my Spotify podcast list is in full swing, and it's all controllable from the steering wheel or the touchscreen with Apple CarPlay™. It's also great for family trips to keep the kids entertained through the 10 Harman Kardon®*Harman Kardon® is a registered trademark of HARMAN International Industries Incorporated and only available on Subaru WRX AWD RS and Subaru WRX AWD tS. speakers, subwoofer, and amplifier.
Now, I know you're going to laugh here, as the Queensland winter isn't really that cold, but at 5 in the morning, it's still dark, and the front seat heaters*Heated and powered front seats not available on Subaru WRX AWD manual, WRX AWD Sport Lineartronic® and WRX Sportswagon AWD. are a real treat for my hamstrings as I head off to the trails to run. I really miss those heaters when I'm in a rental car while traveling – it's a luxury I've definitely gotten used to over the years driving Subarus.
You see, just because you choose the Subaru WRX Sportswagon for the drive doesn't mean you can't have all the bells and whistles too.
Courtney Atkinson
Subaru Ambassador
Paid Partnership
Check out the Subaru WRX Sportswagon detour across the Great Alpine Road in this episode of Subaru's Great Australian Detour.
