Eric's Autos: 2025 Subaru WRX

Finding a new car that comes standard with a manual transmission is almost as unusual as finding a new car that still comes standard with a manual, grab-handle emergency brake.

How about one that comes standard with both?

What It Is

The WRX is the street-legal iteration of the World Rally Cup Experimental race cars that Subaru racing teams have made famous -- and made desirable to people who want to drive basically the same thing with license plates. It used to be based on the compact Impreza but is now built on a slightly larger Global Platform that Subaru uses as the basis for several of its current models.

It also used to be available as a hatchback but now comes only as a sedan -- which makes it less practical in one way than one of its two main rivals, the Toyota GR Corolla hatchback -- which has more room for cargo but less room for legs in its backseat because it's a much smaller car. It's also a significantly pricier car. The GR Corolla stickers for $38,860 to start versus $35,750 to start for the WRX -- topping out at $45,705 for the tS version, which comes only with the six-speed manual and comes standard with a driver-adjustable adaptive suspension, Brembo brakes with gold anodized calipers, a 19-inch wheel/tire package, Recaro sport buckets with blue accents and a 12.4-inch LCD instrument cluster, among other upgrades.

Basically, almost everything -- except the huge wing on the rear deck and the larger, 2.5-liter engine -- that used to define the WRX STi, which Subaru dropped from the lineup back in 2021.

The Soobie's other rival -- the Hyundai Elantra N -- is also a sedan and so doesn't have much space in its trunk, either. And it also doesn't offer all-wheel drive, which comes standard with the WRX.

But the Elantra N is more price competitive. It stickers for $34,250 to start -- or $1,500 less than the least expensive Premium trim WRX.

What's New for 2025

Galaxy Purple has been added as an optional color for all WRX trims, and Subaru's EyeSight suite of driver assistance technology is now included as standard equipment.

The previously available base trim has been dropped, which means your starting point is now the Premium trim, which was the next-highest trim last year. The good news is that heated front seats, heated outside mirrors, dual-zone climate control and larger (18-inch versus 17-inch) wheels are now standard.

The bad news is you can't get a new WRX for $32,735 -- which was the price of last year's now-discontinued base trim WRX.

What's Good

-- A practical high-performance car in that it is set up to deal with low-traction conditions such as wet and snow-slicked roads as well as unpaved roads.

-- Much more backseat legroom than GR Corolla.

-- Manual pull-up emergency brake and manual transmission are standard.

What's Not So Good

-- Not much room in this sedan's trunk (just 12.5 cubic feet of storage space).

-- GR Corolla's mighty mouse three-cylinder engine makes almost 30 more horsepower.

-- Eyesight "safety" stuff is standard.

Under the Hood

The WRX comes with an engine that's almost as large -- and nearly as strong -- as the engine that used to be exclusive to the WRX STi. It's a 2.4-liter version of Subaru's growly boxer four -- so named because, unlike an inline four, the Soobie engine has two of its four cylinders facing the other pair across the centerline of the crankshaft. Hence boxer -- because the pistons of opposed cylinders box their opposite number. This layout has several advantages, among them inherent smoothness because the engine is naturally balanced. Also, a lower center of gravity because the weight of the engine is lower down in the chassis and spread out more evenly, which enhances the balance of the car during high-speed cornering.

The engine makes 271 horsepower -- exactly 29 less than the 2021 WRX STi's 2.5-liter (300-horsepower) engine developed. A six-speed manual is standard, but if you want an automatic, there's a performance-calibrated continuously variable transmission available optionally in all trims except the tS, which comes only with the six-speed manual.

AWD is, of course, standard. And it's not just the usual front-to-back type of AWD. The system can also modulate power delivery to inside and outside wheels, which is a big part of what gives the WRX its ferocious off-road (and slick-road) handling capabilities.

On the Road

Most high-performance cars are fair-weather cars, especially the rear-drive ones. If there's snow on the road, even just a little, they're like Samson after Delilah cut off the former's hair. And taking one onto a washed-out dirt road is kind of like going swimming with a cinderblock strapped to your back.

The WRX, on the other hand, is made for that. More finely, it is made for everything. Take it to the track -- or take it up your favorite old dirt road. Or take it to work. Snow is just an excuse for more fun. Point being, you can drive a WRX every day, pretty much anywhere -- irrespective of the weather or even whether there's a road. You can't do that with a Mustang or a Corvette. Or -- for that matter -- the Elantra N, which is great fun on a paved road but out of its element if there's snow on the road. It also does not have a manual pull-up emergency brake like the Soobie and GR Corolla do, which means you can't steer the car using the emergency brake.

At the Curb

The WRX used to be based on the Impreza, which used to be a compact car. The current WRX is based on a new "global" platform and is a longer by almost a foot (183.8 inches versus the previous, Impreza-based WRX's 173.8 inches), and that's huge -- because it created room in the back for more than just a gym bag. The Impreza-based WRX had a tight backseat, comparatively speaking -- with 33.5 inches of legroom versus the current car's 36.5 inches.

This is about 7 inches more backseat legroom than you'll find in the GR Corolla, which is a car about the same length (176.2 inches) as the old Impreza-based WRX and just as tight for that reason. It is a hatchback though -- and that layout does carve out generous space for cargo: 20.4 cubic feet behind the second row versus the Soobie's very small (12.5-cubic-foot) trunk, and that space can be expanded by folding the second row forward to 56 cubic feet.

The Rest

The WRX -- like many performance cars -- has gotten expensive, which makes it more difficult for the very demographic (chiefly, young guys under 35) interested in cars like this to afford one. The 2025 iteration of this performance car costs $3,015 more than last year -- and while it's true the '25 comes standard with many things that used to be optional, that's irrelevant if you can't afford them.

If anything, Subaru ought to figure out a way to sell this thing for less rather than more -- in order to sell more rather than less.

The Bottom Line

Fun -- and practicality -- are rarely found in the same package. Here's the exception to that rule.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.