Photography Credit: Paris Van Gorder
Anyone who’s watched a New York Jets game this year will instantly understand the vibe. An aging, once superstar quarterback, still retaining some skill and drive but not like in his heyday, battles for relevance in a league that seems to be passing him by. His legendary past performance now looks positively pedestrian when compared to the hot young crop of QBs, yet he still has those who believe in him.
Yeah, the Subaru WRX is a lot like that. But with the new tS package, Subaru may have found the equivalent of Aaron Rodgers’ hyperbaric chamber to keep its one-time icon in the game and appeasing loyal fans.
The tS package–which, according to Subaru press materials, stands for “Tuned by STI”–replaces the TR trim as the most performance-oriented WRX model, and the go-fast goodies certainly add an edge that’s been sorely missing from the WRX lineup for a while. Available only with a six-speed manual transmission and a 2.4-liter boxer making 271 horsepower, the WRX tS lands with an MSRP of $45,705, putting it in the same league as the more powerful Civic Type R and GR Corolla and $10 grand more than a similarly powered Hyundai Elantra N.
Photography Credit: J.G. Pasterjak
It’s a shame that the WRX tS doesn’t get more power, because the chassis enhancements bring some much-needed refinement to a platform that could easily thrive with more grunt. The tS package gets adaptive shocks plus springs that are reported to be about 5% stiffer than those on other WRX trim levels.
The shocks have three modes–Comfort, Normal and Sport–with damping having a confident, digressive feel in all three modes. Reaction speed and body roll are reduced as you climb the ladder toward the sportiest setting. The difference over the base setup is a testament to what truly good shocks can do, as they’ve turned this WRX from a car that simply overwhelms the front tires with any aggressive input to a chassis that can actually carve a bit.
Photography Credit: J.G. Pasterjak
The star of the show, though, are the brakes: giant six-piston Brembos up front and two-piston calipers in the rear. Even though the 13.4-inch front rotors don’t seem particularly huge in today’s world of 14- and 15-inch rotors, they produce exactly the right amount of leverage to deliver excellent feedback and release. We also saw longitudinal g-loads exceeding 1g under braking, which is impressive given the fact that the WRX tS ships on Bridgestone Potenza S007 tires and not super-aggressive, track-focused rubber.
Steering benefits from the suspension upgrade as well. Feedback is not great, but it’s certainly good, and this tS is easier to be precise with than any WRX in the post-STi era. Pedals are well placed for heel-and-toe action, and the whole seat-wheel-pedal relationship feels solid. The tS features some suede-wrapped Recaros that remind us of the seats in Subaru’s other tS model, the BRZ, which are among our favorite OEM seats of the moment.
Quickly shifting the six-speed transmission rewards with precise motion, but on the street, when not shifted aggressively, the action has a less premium feel. There’s a clickiness, if that’s a word, to the mechanism, producing a shift action that feels of lightweight materials, and not in a good way.
The solution may be as simple as adding a heavier shift knob to provide some mass damping of the shift action, but the feel of the lever seems out of character with the rest of the car and its upgrades. At any rate, it’s vastly preferable to the CVT-based Subaru Performance Transmission that’s found on many of the other WRX trim levels.
Overall, the feel and presence of the WRX tS are solid, but the car still lags behind the sophistication and modernity of cars like the Civic Type R or Integra Type S.
Our previous encounter with a more pedestrian WRX on track left us frustrated. A once scrappy little performance car had turned into a front-heavy, tippy tire grinder. This tS package makes huge, welcome strides toward rectifying those shortcomings and turns the WRX into a far more track-capable partner.
The WRX tS lags a bit behind its market competitors at our official test track, the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park, but most of that deficit, as we alluded to earlier, comes due to the fact that the WRX offers less power than any of its contemporaries.
We lined up the VBox data traces from the WRX tS with its AWD competitor, the Toyota GR Corolla, and spotted a quick trend: The 271-horsepower WRX gets dog-walked by the 301-horsepower GR Corolla in every acceleration zone. Predictable, but real.
1. The Subaru WRX tS (red trace) can nearly match the Toyota GR Corolla (blue trace) in third-gear acceleration, but as soon as the Subaru shifts to fourth, the thrust falls off dramatically. 2. Fortunately, the Subaru’s brakes are world-class, easily outperforming those found on the GR Corolla. 3. The entry to Turn 8 represents a nice win for the Subaru’s predictable chassis and communicative steering. It dives into the corner faster than the GR Corolla and easily maintains speed through the middle of the long left-hander. Unfortunately, the speed overwhelms that grip late in the corner at the tricky off-camber exit. The Toyota’s superior roadholding gives it the edge here. At the end of the lap, the GR Corolla has a 2-second advantage.
The Toyota only enjoys a real edge in one corner, the FIRM’s fast Turn 4 right-hand kink, but in every acceleration zone, the speed trace of the GR Corolla climbs consistently faster and higher than the WRX’s. At the end of the fastest straight, which follows a corner that the WRX and GR Corolla exited at nearly identical speeds, the Toyota held a near 3 mph advantage into the braking zone.
The Subaru does have great brakes, though–and not just according to our foot; the VBox agrees. Braking into Turn 5, the Subaru decelerates at a greater rate than the Toyota and touches a max of 1.03g entering that section.
The Subaru also shows surprising agility, particularly in the entry to the FIRM’s Turn 8, which is a great place to see how well a car does multiple things at once. The Subaru enters the corner 3 mph faster than the Toyota and doesn’t have the telltale speed dip of a car that understeers on entry–like the GR Corolla does. Speed through the long corner is also on par with the Corolla, showing solid roadholding even in a turn with variable road camber.
Overall, the latest WRX makes for a competent track companion, with good feedback and good drivability, but it’s hampered mostly by a lack of power compared to cars it will clearly be cross-shopped against. An exceptional set of brakes makes for confidence in not just stopping but in corner entry, where the release and modulation pays off in lots of entry stability.
The WRX’s 1:23.65-second lap time lags behind the rest of the usual suspects in the class. The latest Honda Civic Type R, for example, leads the segment down in the 1:20s. The WRX tS has the chassis to compete in the class but simply lacks the thrust.
Photography Credit: Paris Van Gorder
So, the real question here: Who is this car for? It won’t outlap its competition, and it doesn’t feel as high-end as the latest Honda and Acura offerings.
How about this: Perhaps the WRX is as much of a cult object as it is a market object. For years it defined the small performance segment for a lot of folks who wanted an alternative to the mainstream options from Honda. Today, though, maybe it’s a way to recapture some of the magic that’s been waning over the past few years.
The Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park in Keystone Heights serves as GRM’s official test track. This 1.6-mile course, managed by Larina Hintze and located half an hour east of Gainesville, Florida, is consistent, accessible and staffed by nice people. Learn more at gorally.com. For details on our FIRM track tests, held on the 1.55-mile configuration on the right, head to grassrootsmotorsports.com/laps.
Nice package/nice car that's in a competitive price point to be sure, in which "nice" may not cut it.
Would it have been cost prohibitive or an engineering impossibility to find about 15 ponies in the motor/turbo/tuning? VW, for example, seems to find about 8-15hp with each refresh without having to open the block and replace all of the internals. That would at least bring it up to Elantra N levels of power...forget about the CTR or Golf R...that'd be just crazy talk to consider those levels of unobtanium power.
In reply to Coniglio Rampante :
Good point about Volkswagen. I'd bet even few as 8 horses would be enough to make a difference.
Minor typo in the track map above. I'm assuming the second T3 is really T8?
In reply to Jaytee :
Yes, that should definitely be T8. Thank you for noticing that. 
That price is a hard ask for the performance. Its not even a full STi to at least have the halo name recognition. I guess your options are limited if you really want an AWD sporty car. I'd 100% take a golf R or GRC over it.
Does the WRX lose out because the 2-3 shift has a larger rpm drop vs the GR?
That close-up of the wheel/tire makes me really dislike rubber band tires on these cars. Still happy of my choice for the GR C.
DrMikeCSI said:Does the WRX lose out because the 2-3 shift has a larger rpm drop vs the GR?
The GRC is just sort of better in all phases than the WRX, but the gearing sure isn't helping the Subaru any. The 2-3 rev drop isn't really that much of an issue since the WRX is fairly torquey, but second gear is just so short to begin with. The car will barely do 55 in 2nd, and it hits the rev limiter hard and feels like it's still pulling. I kind of feel like they could have either raised the redline 500rpm or made the lower gears slightly steeper or both and had a car that felt just as quick but also had some more flexibility.
I just had a WRX tS to review and I think it's... better than a regular WRX? The damping and steering were both far better to me. I still hate how they have the engine tuned, I'm with JG on it needing more revs. Right as it starts to build and get fun, it slams into the fuel cut. Add 500-1,000 RPM or mess with the gearing. The shifter is pretty good and I like the Recaros. Generally, it's fun enough though the GR Corolla is more puppy-dog-fun (with a worse interior) and the Civic Type-R is nicer/better in general albeit with FWD.
I dunno, I'm not a Subaru person. Not sure if this is enough for the Subie die-hards who want a modern STi, though I doubt they'll make one...
I'd add the WRX to my list of fun cars for bigger drivers. It's roomy inside compared to other options.
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