From its United States debut in 2004 to its departure after 2021, the Subaru WRX STI was a staple in the automaker’s lineup, giving its showrooms a sassy little contrast for trusty-but-staid crossovers like the Forester and Outback. But in 2022, the world got a new WRX variant, and Subaru was firm that it would no longer offer an STI version. While the standard sportster is plenty fun, enthusiasts everywhere were sad that their Colin McRae dreams were left in the dust.
That changes, if only slightly, with the 2025 Subaru WRX tS. The trim level stands for “Tuned by STI,” and it brings massive braking upgrades, revised steering, a higher-performance set of adaptive dampers, and a handful of other performance tweaks to make the car even more engaging on the road and capable on the track. Like the similarly named BRZ trim level, the WRX tS doesn’t have any more power than its lesser siblings, but it’s still one helluva fun sport sedan when it’s boiling down a back road.
Like the WRX TR it replaces, the tS model receives a stout set of Brembo performance brakes, with vented and cross-drilled calipers measuring 13.4 inches in front and 12.8 inches on the rear. The six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers are of the monoblock variety for quicker response and better initial bite, and they’re painted a Subaru-signature burnt gold (unlike last year’s red paint). The tS also gets the TR model’s 19-inch wheels and Bridgestone Potenza S007 tires.
However, the suspension holding that rolling stock to the road is a new set of adaptive dampers, replacing the TR’s responsive but punishing static shocks and performance springs. Paired with a new drive mode controller that offers Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Individual modes, the tS manages to be both smoother and sportier than its “Tuner Ready” forebear, offering a better ride in its softest setting without sacrificing sporty firmness when it matters. And although the tS isn’t the first WRX to get switchable shocks – the CVT-only GT trim has had them for years – it is tuned by STI to be firmer and more responsive than its sibling.
The mode selector also tweaks the effort behind the STI-tuned dual-pinion steering, which I hoped would provide a more enjoyable experience than the standard WRX’s dull helm. The driver can also choose between three levels of powertrain aggression, with each setting ratcheting up the throttle and turbo response.
The ‘Ru also gets some cosmetic tweaks, including bright red “WRX” badging on the grille and trunk, a subtle “tS” badge on the back done in Subaru Technica International’s signature pink color, and a new Galaxy Purple Pearl color that looks black in dim light but illuminates with some mauve sparkle in the sun. If you’re looking to cross one more color off of your Hanky Code bingo card, look inside. There, you’ll find Recaro performance seats in grippy black Ultrasuede upholstery, with bold World Rally Blue accents on the headrests, bolsters, and door panels. The tS also gets a WRX-first digital instrument cluster, measuring 12.3 inches and offering driver-assistance, navigation, and traditional gauge displays, as well as integration with Apple Maps.
My first experience in the WRX tS was on the undulating, uneven pavement that rims Napa Valley. Set to their comfort mode, the adaptive dampers do indeed provide a smoother ride than I remembered from previous WRXes, softening crash-through on potholes while still keeping porpoising motions at bay over the wavy asphalt. To my surprise, the softest setting was best for those roads, since the Sport and Sport Plus modes made it much harder to drive smoothly.
Yet even the least aggressive suspension setup was fun to drive, and body motions are reasonable and predictable, allowing the tS driver to turn in, take a set, and ride a wave of all-wheel-drive grip all the way to the next curve. My co-driver said it reminded him of the 2004 WRX he had in college, with a soft but well-controlled ride that would be perfect in the dirt.
The WRX tS’ braking package is phenomenal, unsurprising given its hardware. There’s plenty of initial bite that can be a bit hard to navigate smoothly around town, but trail braking through corners is hilarious good fun, thanks to a pedal that modulates beautifully through its entire travel. Overcook it on the corner entry? No problem, just add a little brake to the mix and feel the car rotate toward the apex. Need to slow things down real quick? Mash your foot down and hang on to your retinas. The Brembos can do it all.
Speaking of corner entry, I’m very happy to say that the STI-tuned steering is indeed much improved. There’s lots more weight as you ratchet through the drive modes – a predictable and cynical approach to the electric power steering dilemma – but there also seems to be a little more feel as well. The thick-rimmed wheel isn’t as chatty as it was on WRXes from the 2000s, but it’s not nearly as vague and numb as the Subie I drove in 2022. Score one for progress while still leaving some room for improvement.
Luckily, the retuned throttle is nowhere near as ambivalent. Rev hang, an awful sensation that makes it impossible to drive a manual car smoothly, is minimized when the powertrain is set to Sport and almost eliminated in Sport+. The accelerator is sharper as well, and it commands the same 271 horsepower and 258 pound-feet as before.
The turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four has plenty of torque down low, but there’s still a satisfying, Group B sort of turbo whoosh once you wind it out toward the redline – the best of both worlds. The only real problem with the mill is its vacuum cleaner induction noise and too-quiet exhaust. I like mature cars, but this one sounds a bit too octogenarian for my taste.
The real fun came later in the day, when Subaru assembled a fleet of WRXes at Sonoma Raceway for an afternoon of hot laps, both behind the wheel and as a passenger with pro driver Scott Speed. Riding along with the aptly named racer was a great introduction, with Speed capitalizing on those grippy, four-wheel-driven Bridgestones and the WRX’s surprisingly neutral balance to brake late, turn in hard, and get on the throttle early.
When it was my turn to tackle Sonoma’s elevation changes and late apexes, I tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to emulate Speed’s racing line, but even without the Subaru veteran’s talent, I still learned a good deal about the WRX tS. I’ll get the complaining out of the way first: The exhaust that’s overly genteel on the street becomes downright frustrating on a track, making it hard to hear the engine through a helmet during rev-matched downshifts.
And that’s it. The WRX tS is an incredible track machine, dispatching quick esses and altitude-related weight transfers with zero drama and sharp reflexes. Transient response is brilliant, grip is eternal, and torque is rich enough to avoid changing gears in slower corners. My driving position was all but perfect, and the Ultrasuede-trimmed, thick-bolstered Recaros held me in place during cornering and hard braking. The shifter and pedals play beautifully with each other, with a feelsome clutch and nicely spaced brake and accelerator assisting with those aforementioned and too-quiet downshifts.
Better still, the braking package is in its element at Sonoma, enduring lap after lap with no discernible performance degradation. The track day entailed a warm-up, two flying hot laps, and a cool-down, with a five-minute break between sessions before starting it all over again. Despite this punishment, the Brembos exhibited no signs of wear, warpage, or fade – a smoother and more talented driver could probably spend all day in the WRX tS and it’d still feel like new. The “Tuned by STI” moniker carries some legitimate weight here, giving the Scooby some real credentials on a track as legendary as Sonoma.
The rest of the package is mostly standard WRX fare, which means a portrait-oriented 11.6-inch center touchscreen that’s somewhat clunky to use and would randomly kick me off Apple CarPlay every once in awhile. The interior plastics are class-competitive, and there’s a good amount of space in the cabin and trunk. And finally, that boring exhaust does yield a drone-free freeway ride, although there is still a little engine thrash and tire noise that make their way through.
So what does all that track-proven goodness cost relative to the $44,215, CVT-only GT trim with which the tS fights for WRX flagship status? Subaru isn’t ready to share that information just yet, except that it would probably cost about the same as the more sedate model. That’s definitely at or near the top of its competitive set – a similarly powerful, front-drive-only Hyundai Elantra N is around $8,000 less and has more on-road personality, while the more powerful and refined Volkswagen Golf R 4Motion is a bit more expensive but boasts hatchback practicality.
Still, the tS puts Subaru in no danger of losing its king-of-the-hill sales numbers in the class, where the WRX has outsold those two models, as well as the Honda Civic Si and Type R. While STI purists might cry out for more power to go along with its higher price, for me, the 2025 Subaru WRX tS does an excellent job of solving its lesser siblings’ problems and maintaining the accessible, flingable performance the company’s enthusiasts have come to expect. Pink badge and all.
