2023 Subaru WRX vs 2024 Nissan Altima

Subaru's image is centred around rugged station wagons, outdoor activities, and cute dogs, but the automaker also has a sporty side—exemplified by the 2023 Subaru WRX.

The WRX first appeared in the 1990s as a homologation special for the World Rally Championship (WRC), which at the time required cars to be closely related to production models. Subaru viewed rallying as the perfect way to show off its all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicles so, after a trial with the Legacy midsize sedan, it launched the Impreza-based WRX with the goal of becoming more competitive. It worked: Subaru has won multiple rally championships and the WRX has endeared it to car enthusiasts.

Subaru didn't begin selling the WRX in North America until the 2002 model year, but it's remained a fixture of the automaker's lineup ever since, competing against other sporty compact cars like the Honda Civic Si, Hyundai Elantra N, Volkswagen Golf GTI and Jetta GLI, and other derivatives of those models.

The current, fourth-generation WRX was introduced for the 2022 model year, so there are no changes to report for 2023. The lineup in Canada includes base, Sport, and Sport-Tech trims. For this review, we drove the U.S. WRX GT trim, which is closest to Canada’s top Sport-Tech grade.

There simply aren’t as many sedans on sale today as there once were. Crossover SUVs offer more space and for many shoppers, better value. But for those who still want a sedan, there are plenty of familiar names available. The Altima, now in its sixth year since a noteworthy redesign, continues on in 2024 as a staple of the segment.

Verdict: With an attractive starting price and an impressive array of standard safety tech, the 2024 Nissan Altima looks like a good value. Standard all-wheel drive in Canada and an upgraded touchscreen display on higher trims only further the appeal.