Starts at $37,750
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Pros
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What's New for 2025?
The manual-only WRX tS joins the fleet with a smattering of enthusiast-oriented upgrades, including STI-tuned adaptive suspension dampers, upgraded Brembo brakes with gold calipers, unique Recaro front seats and a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel. Also, the base model has been discontinued, so the starting price gets a big bump even though the 2025 WRX is fundamentally unchanged.
FAST FACTS
"A legend in its own time, the rally-inspired WRX continues to offer standard all-wheel drive and a characterful turbocharged flat-four engine that's laggy at first and explosive once the boost arrives. We could do without the optional CVT, which isn't exactly performance-car equipment, but the manual transmission persists, so bless Subaru for that. Although refinement has never been the WRX's calling card, its robust all-season turbocharged performance is a force to be reckoned with. We wish we could say that the WRX continues to be a performance bargain, but price creep means that's no longer the case."—Ranked #5 out of 7 Sport Compact Cars
MotorDonkey's proprietary vehicle data identifies every significant version of each model so that you can compare and decide. Ordered by price from low to high, here are the versions of the 2025 Subaru WRX that you need to be aware of, along with our expert analysis and recommendations.
The manual WRX's price is now uncomfortably close to $40k just to get in the door. Drive it hard year-round and it'll reward you with tenacious AWD traction and big turbocharged thrills, but that turbo takes a while to kick in — it's one of the laggiest turbo engines on the market. You also won't be wowed by the WRX's interior materials and refinement on the road. We love the spirit of this machine, but it's not the performance bargain it used to be.
It's very nearly as quick as the manual WRX, but the CVT version will need to put the tachometer needle on lock at the 6,100-rpm redline to achieve those numbers. No thrill here of running through the gears, although this CVT does have "gears" that it "shifts" between at less than wide-open throttle. Whether this trickery will win you over probably depends on how much traffic you expect to be sitting in. If you'll be seeing a lot of open road in your WRX, do the right thing and get the stick.
Publisher and Donkey-in-Chief
Josh has been reviewing cars professionally since joining Edmunds.com fresh out of grad school in 2008, personally driving most new cars on the market every year since. He also served as the project manager for Edmunds' expert vehicle rankings from their inception in 2018, building the product out from the back end to the front end. Josh is a card-carrying member of the Motor Press Guild and a lifelong car nut who has tested, compared and critiqued a ridiculous number of cars in his career.
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