2025 Subaru WRX tS Spec B review

Is this what the latest-generation Subaru WRX should’ve been all along?

Subaru has combined the best bits from various model grades – the Club Spec’s spoiler, brakes and wheels, the tS auto’s suspension and equipment, and a manual gearbox – to create the tS Spec B, a new flagship performance variant to crown the range.

It is no full STI – there won’t be one based on the latest WRX – but this ‘tuned by STI’ grade promises the best blend of style, performance, comfort, handling and equipment seen to date in the current-generation range.

Does that deliver in the real world?

The tS Spec B is the most expensive manual WRX ever sold in Australia without a proper STI badge at $61,490 plus on-road costs.

Remove those caveats and there are dearer WRXs – from the current tS automatic wagon ($63,290), to the third-generation WRX STI Spec R sold from 2008 to 2013 (up to $66,990), and the legendary 1998 WRX STI 22B coupe ($125,000) – but it’s near the top of the tree.

The new variant is the flagship of the current VB-series manual WRX range, $5500 dearer than the RS below it ($55,990).

It’s the same price as the WRX tS CVT sedan, as it doesn’t carry the extra cost of the automatic transmission – and deletes that car’s electric sunroof and power-adjustable passenger seat – but adds bigger wheels and brakes, the rear spoiler, and the no-cost option of STI Performance mufflers that represent a $2682.74 fitted accessory on the tS auto.

Those mufflers have been specified on this vehicle, along with no-cost WR Blue Pearl paint – the WRX’s hero colour – for a $67,569 drive-away price in NSW, according to the Subaru Australia website.

Nearly $70,000 drive-away places the WRX is much more competitive air than the circa-$40,000 plus on-roads that a base model used to cost before the pandemic.

All-wheel-drive rivals are generally more expensive, but faster – the Toyota GR Corolla manual hatch ($67,990 before on-road costs), GR Yaris GTS manual hatch ($60,490 before on-road costs) and Volkswagen Golf R automatic hatch ($70,990 before on-road costs).

There’s the front-wheel-drive Hyundai i30 Sedan N Premium manual ($52,000 plus on-roads) and Skoda Octavia RS auto liftback ($62,990 drive-away), while if ‘cheap’ speed is all you’re after, you could also consider a BYD Seal Performance EV ($61,990 plus on-roads).

Reasons to buy the tS Spec B over the RS manual include 19-inch alloy wheels, Bridgestone Potenza S007 tyres, six-piston front and two-piston rear Brembo brake calipers, larger 340mm front and 326mm rear ventilated and drilled brake discs, a tall rear spoiler, adaptive suspension, and a drive mode selector.

It also gains Ultrasuede and leather-look upholstery, Recaro front sports seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a tS badge, STI branding on the steering wheel and seat headrests, and felt-lined door pockets, but deletes the sunroof and power passenger seat.

Items shared with the RS include an 11.6-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front and outboard rear seats, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, a leather steering wheel, 10-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, and LED headlights.

One area where today’s WRX has kept up with the times is in dimensions. It’s a lot larger than the original WRX of 1994, and in fact bigger than the much-loved B4 Liberty of the mid-2000s.

The cabin is similar to other models in Subaru showrooms, built around a large portrait touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard, and physical controls for many key functions.

Exclusive to the tS Spec B among manual WRXs are the Recaro front sports seats, which are comfortable on long drives, and supremely supportive, without being too tightly bolstered for broader frames.

Eight-way power adjustment is standard on the driver’s side, though the passenger seat is four-way manual without height adjustment, and there is no ventilation (only heating), memory or lumbar adjustment. The Ultrasuede upholstery is soft and supple, and the STI embossing on the headrests is a nice touch.

The steering wheel feels great in the hand – small in diameter but sufficiently chunky in its leather rim – though the buttons take time to learn. The shifter is placed high in the car, and pedal spacing is good for drivers who want to heel-and-toe, but the ‘dead pedal’ beside the clutch is narrow.

All told, the WRX gets the ergonomic attributes of a performance-car interior right, but it’s in other, more rational areas where rivals pull ahead.

The centre armrest is small and far out of reach for even long-armed drivers – so realistically there’s nowhere to rest your left elbow – and the storage space beneath it is pitifully small, thanks in part to the very-rare-for-2025 fitment of a CD player.

Storage elsewhere is limited – the glovebox is decently sized, but the door pockets aren’t huge, and the spot ahead of the shifter is a little too shallow for today’s big phones, and without a wireless charging pad, it’s easy for USB cables to snake around the shifter.

As with other new Subarus, there are volume and tuning dials, plus physical buttons for air temperature and defrosters, but fan speed, heated seats, and all other climate controls are on the screen. They are pinned to the bottom, which is good, but we’d still prefer hard keys.

Amenities include heated seats, keyless entry and start, and dual-zone climate control, plus USB-A and USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and a 12-volt socket. There is no sunroof or heated steering wheel, and while the mirrors offer power folding, it must be done manually with a button on the door panels before switching the car’s electrics off.

Space in the rear is more family-friendly than ever before. My 186cm (6ft 1in) tall frame can fit behind my driving position with a fist width’s worth of knee room, and ample toe room under the seat, but head room is tight, my head touching the roof.

Shorter passengers will have a better time, though the middle seat is quite flat, with a large tunnel to straddle. There’s ample door-pocket storage, plus a fold-down armrest with cupholders, heated outboard seats, dual USB ports, map pockets, outboard ISOFIX anchors, and three top tethers – but the manual handbrake means no rear air vents.

The sedan body means a small boot opening, but it’s deep enough for loading large items, extended further by a folding rear-seat backrest. There is a temporary spare wheel under the floor, but no lights or 12-volt sockets.

Standard in the WRX is an 11.6-inch portrait touchscreen dominating the centre of the dashboard, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, Bluetooth, and AM, FM and digital DAB+ radio.

The icons on the display are big and clear, but it is laggy and slow to respond by 2025 standards, and the 3D-effect graphics – like iPhones 15 years ago – dates the system, in our opinion.

The large Apple CarPlay view looks good, and the wireless link didn’t drop out in our time with the car, but we had multiple instances of the entire system freezing for 15 to 30 seconds after trying to interact with it quickly.

New for high-spec WRXs in 2025 is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster replacing analogue dials and a 4.2-inch screen.

Subaru has never offered a widescreen instrument display in an Australian-market car, yet it’s shockingly customisable, capable of projecting maps from CarPlay into the cluster – including Waze, if you set it up correctly – or, if you prefer, traditional dials.

The 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system delivers plenty of punch across a range of tracks and music genres, but it’s not standout like the brand’s stereos in VW Group vehicles.

The Subaru WRX has not been crash-tested by ANCAP, nor can it derive a safety rating from its sister organisation Euro NCAP, as the vehicle is not sold in Europe.

The related Subaru Impreza hatch and Crosstrek SUV carry five-star scores, but there’s no guarantee the WRX would perform similarly, particularly given it lacks the pair’s front-centre airbag that’s designed to prevent head clashes in a severe side impact – something that is tested under ANCAP’s current criteria.

A model-year 2024 update about 18 months ago means manual WRXs are now fitted with key safety features previously exclusive to automatics, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane-keep assist.

For the most part, these features work well, but they’re not quite as refined as they could be at this price.

Lane-keep assist can be a bit too intrusive in daily driving, and the audible alert accompanying it is noisy. The audible warning can be switched off, as with the whole system, but the latter turns back on every time the car is restarted.

The calibration of the adaptive cruise control and lane-centring systems is better, while the driver monitoring system only beeps when the human behind the wheel is genuinely not paying attention, rather than on quick glances away from the road ahead.

One gripe is that driving into direct sun at times close to sunrise or sunset can disable the safety systems, though it is only temporary, and they re-activate after a few minutes.

The Subaru WRX is covered by the brand’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, plus 12 months of roadside assistance via the motoring club active in the state of registration.

Service intervals are set every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first – a step up in convenience compared to the six-month visits of older WRXs.

It’s reasonably priced for a performance car at $1370.45 over three years/45,000km, and $2692.12 over five years/75,000km.

For comparison, five years/75,000km of servicing at the same 12-month/15,000km intervals costs $3450 (Service Pack pricing) for a Skoda Octavia RS and $3640 for a VW Golf R (with Care plan pricing), while five years/100,000km at less generous six-month/10,000km intervals for a Toyota GR Corolla manual is $4206.61.

A year of comprehensive insurance coverage with a leading provider is quoted at $2073, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Fuel consumption is unlikely to be a major concern of many buyers of a car like this, but even by performance-car standards, the WRX is not particularly frugal.

The tS Spec B is rated to consume 10.4 litres per 100 kilometres in mixed driving based on lab testing – higher than a regular WRX manual’s 9.9L/100km, likely thanks to the stickier Bridgestone tyres, and perhaps a small amount of additional drag from the rear wing.

Over 550km of driving on a mix of roads – city, suburb, freeway, and winding country tarmac – we observed 12.1L/100km from the trip computer.

Around town, we saw consumption spike beyond 14L/100km – as Subaru’s 14.2L/100km urban fuel-use claim suggests it should – while consumption naturally improved on the open road.

Still, it’s less efficient than rival performance cars. A VW Golf R claims closer to the 8.0L/100km mark, and uses around 11L/100km in the city.

Despite its thirst, a large fuel tank by small performance-car standards – 63L rather than the usual 50L – means owners can still expect 450km to 630km on a tank, depending on where and how the car is driven.

The tS Spec B takes the on-the-road flaws of the regular manual WRX and fixes them… mostly.

The biggest improvement has come in the way the new, flagship performance variant deals with bumps, thanks to the fitment of adaptive dampers – a first for a manual WRX, previously exclusive to automatic tS grades.

The firm but occasionally brittle and jarring ride of manual WRXs on passive dampers is replaced by a level of comfort that caught us by surprise, soaking up all but the worst road surfaces without much fuss.

Drivers can choose from Comfort, Normal and Sport presets for the suspension, but the difference between them is not as stark as the adaptive dampers in a Volkswagen hot hatch – and the firmest mode is still not too bone-jarring for use on bumpy city streets.

Sharp bumps and potholes still send a jolt through the chassis and seats – there is still a sporty bent to the tuning of the suspension – but it is a revelation compared to cheaper variants, and allows the WRX to much more closely compete with a Golf R or i30 N.

The three suspension settings form part of a drive-mode select system – also making its manual WRX debut here – with Comfort, Normal, Sport, Sport+ and a customisable Individual mode.

The WRX starts in Sport, but Subaru engineers have been smart to configure it with Normal mode for the suspension, so you can get to your destination without realising it’s on. There’s a Mode button on the steering wheel to access them, plus a star button to quickly activate Individual.

Sport suspension is only selected in Sport+ mode, with the drive profiles also customising the throttle response (Normal or Sport), steering (Comfort, Normal and Sport), and aggressiveness of the EyeSight safety systems (Eco, Comfort, Normal, Dynamic).

The rest of the tS Spec B-specific changes are evident on a winding road.

There’s plenty of stopping power on tap from the enlarged Brembo brakes. They are more heat-resistant than the regular WRX’s units, backed by a firmer but still progressive pedal that (to its benefit) goes without the grabbiness in traffic of, say, a Golf GTI.

Introducing drive modes allows for customisation of the steering weight, from a little too effortless and artificial in Comfort, to suitably reassuring for fast driving in Sport. It’s a quick and direct rack in all settings, though it doesn’t transmit a whole lot of road feel.

Traction from the new Bridgestone Potenza S007 tyres is excellent; unflappable in the dry, and still surprisingly grippy in the wet. The ‘Rex is keen to turn in, hangs on in bends with the poise you’d expect, and reaps the benefits of all-wheel drive in powering out on corner exit.

It’s a safe handling balance that inspires confidence in all weather conditions, rather than playful like a GR Yaris – a positive or negative depending on your viewpoint.

Push it hard enough and it will eventually understeer – it’s a 50:50 all-wheel-drive system with only a limited-slip differential in the centre, not at the front or rear – but it’s so capable in inclement weather that the Spec B always feels power limited, not traction limited.

That’s because the 2.4-litre turbocharged ‘boxer’ four-cylinder is unchanged from cheaper WRXs, with outputs of 202kW (at 5600rpm) and 350Nm (from 2000–5200rpm). Those are nothing to write home about these days, but enough to push you into the back of the seat, and deliver sufficient thrust in the middle of the rev band.

There’s less turbo lag than in earlier WRXs, yet it still doesn’t feel quite as immediate at low revs as hot hatches from VW, Hyundai and Toyota, and needs a fraction longer to hit its stride as boost builds. The 6000rpm redline creeps up faster than you expect.

Still, that gives the engine a slightly more old-school character that fits with the six-speed manual transmission.

The ratios are short – second tops out at about 85km/h – so you need to work the gearbox harder (but why else did you buy the manual?), though the trade-off is, in sixth gear at 110km/h, the engine is spinning at a rather noisy 2800rpm, accompanied by plenty of tyre roar from the sticky Bridgestones.

A plasticky, overly chunky feel means the shifter is far from a standout – it lacks the smooth yet purposeful character of a Civic Type R or older (defunct) Ford ST hot hatch – but it’s notchy enough for the application, and better (by default) than the CVT auto.

The clutch is middle-of-the-road for weight and feel – heavy enough to feel purposeful, but not overly tiring in traffic – but the bite point in the middle of the travel takes time to learn, not helped in tight parking manoeuvres by the lack of a hill-hold system.

There is quite a bit of drone from the no-cost STI Performance mufflers, but it is a compromise we’d accept – and a no-cost option we’d tick – given how quiet the WRX is without them.

Zero to 100km/h can be completed in the low-six-second range in ideal conditions, but it’s brutal, requiring revs close to redline, followed by a clutch dump. Attempting some mechanical sympathy – this is not our car, after all – I achieved 6.6 seconds on satellite timing gear.

No, the Subaru WRX – in any variant – is not rated to tow, which is likely to be less of an issue on this manual sedan than the more family-focused automatic wagon.

It quotes a payload – the maximum mass of passengers, cargo and accessories the car is rated to carry – of 538kg, based on its unladen tare mass, which is enough for a full tank of fuel (about 45kg), five 95kg passengers, and some luggage, should you need to fill every seat on a short trip.

The tS Spec B has sent the latest-generation Subaru WRX to finishing school.

It is the best to drive in the range – sticky tyres, quick steering, great brakes, resolved suspension, and its signature all-weather, all-wheel-drive grip – and the easiest to live with, with a spacious interior, supportive seats, ample amenities, and a far more forgiving ride around town.

If anything, however, its new-found balance of control and comfort highlights how undergunned it is in a straight line against its freshest European, South Korean and Japanese rivals.

It is also getting up there in price for a WRX sans an STI badge, given the interior technology and materials are not class-leading – and it’s missing a few features we’d expect at this price. It’s thirsty by class standards too.

But a glance at the big wing in the rear-view mirror will remind you the tS Spec B is a modern WRX with enough polish and charm to make up for its shortcomings – and a car that’s great to live with. Just don’t mistake it for a new STI.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

Read more about Alex Misoyannis