Subaru WRX Infotainment and Interior Review: It's a Real Car!

About six months into our long-term test of our 2022 Subaru WRX Limited, we have more than enough experience with it in daily life to talk about its interior and infotainment system. These two items may not be as exciting to examine as the WRX's performance and handling dynamics, but they're hugely important for typical customers in today's marketplace, regardless of the car in question. Indeed, youngish buyers may not even recall a time when sporty cars were judged solely on their driving characteristics while their other features and convenience amenities came a distant second on the checklist of what matters.

The Subaru WRX's interior feels mature compared to some of the wackier, more playful sedan interiors these days. There's little clutter on the dashboard; the infotainment "tablet" means there aren't many hard, physical buttons used to control various items. On the other hand, besides the massive touchscreen that dominates the cabin's front area, the cockpit is fairly pedestrian. Our WRX Limited features deviated red stitching on the dash, steering wheel, seats, and door panels, and red embroidered "WRX" logos on the front headrests to remind you what you're driving, but the interior overall is more muted and serious than fun and lighthearted. It might underwhelm some folks at first glance, or even fourth glance. But although it is a bit dull compared to, say, Hyundai N products or Toyota's GR lineup, the understated layout never comes off as gimmicky, and we expect it will age well and remain easy on the eyes over the long run.

The Subaru WRX Limited offers a relatively spacious cabin, and we and our passengers appreciate never feeling cramped. Four adults fit inside with zero issues, and the generous trunk swallows plenty of luggage and/or groceries, including enough for getaways—we've not yet needed to share cabin space with luggage due to lack of trunk space. Meanwhile, the Subaru's low beltline and flat roof give front and rear passengers a spacious greenhouse and provide a fair amount of visibility to rear occupants. If you find yourself driving without any occupants, you can transport a huge amount of gear while maintaining plenty of outward visibility.

It's easy to take a look at the massive 11.6-inch display and condemn the automotive trend of replacing nearly every actual button with what looks like an iPad. But you don't need much time before you realize how seamless the user experience is while driving. After six months in the car, the screen's vertical orientation combined with oversized text makes it easy to decipher information quickly. Divided into three distinct areas for vehicle information (top), media (middle), and HVAC (bottom), it's incredibly quick and easy to adjust various settings and controls by using small hand movements, as everything on the screen is within easy reach.

Much like an iPhone, Subaru categorizes its infotainment offerings into apps, bound by squircle borders. These colorful apps, organized three-by-three wide, are incredibly simple and straightforward compared to the monotone color scheme some other manufactures use. One upshot is that your memory of which app is which becomes driven by the various visual icons' colors rather than their shapes. This design makes them easy to identify when glancing quickly at the screen, reducing the amount of time you take your eyes off the road.

Older Subarus featured three rotary knobs for controlling driver/passenger temperature and fan speed. The tactile click of incremental temperature adjustments along with a longer, snappier turn of the fan-speed knob also meant you didn't have to take your eyes off the road to make adjustments. Similarly, Subaru's new display retains hard buttons for controlling the dual-zone temperature setup. Not so similarly, you must use touch controls to modify the fan speed. Our drivers are split on these "virtual" fan buttons. One said he never finds himself poking at the wrong buttons to increase or reduce fan speed, while another says it's sometimes difficult to get the fan to respond to his fingertip commands, which annoyingly means you have to hit the fan up and down arrows more than once to make a single desired adjustment.

Apple CarPlay in the WRX uses most of the screen's real estate in portrait orientation, retaining the usefulness of simple hand placement to make it easy to interact with. Information is split into three categories in CarPlay: The top border contains in-app toggle functions, the center mass shows app information, and the bottom border provides app selection as well as ever-present home, car, and user-profile buttons.

A permanent Home button while using CarPlay creates harmony between your phone and the Subaru WRX. One press takes you to and from Subaru's main apps, whereas other systems have their home button disguised as an iPhone app three touches away. Needlessly overcomplicating usability with extra touches, swipes, and layers ruins a touchscreen's convenience. Subaru's decision to not bury access to home, car, or user profiles one or two screens deeper from CarPlay is a good one.

In the cons department, the screen is too dim in certain situations. Brightness is an issue in the middle of the day, requiring you to squint, remove your sunglasses, or stare at the screen for too long to decipher information. The dark screen and its slightly sloped angle exacerbate the problem of reflections on the screen. Displays with shrouds, inset positions, or even increased brightness perform better. Often when you're driving under a shining sun, this issue becomes, er, glaringly obvious.

Overall, the relatively seamless integration between general user controls, media, and HVAC functions proves large infotainment tablets can work well, and we're mostly OK with the car's lack of traditional, physical buttons. Our long-term Subaru WRX has simple analog gauges and a six-speed manual transmission for maximum engagement, and the giant touchscreen doesn't detract from driving enjoyment. And if you need to haul a lot of stuff along the way, you have nothing to worry about on that front, either.