Posted Monday, October 14, 2024 at 8:56pm
When the latest Subaru WRX debuted a few years back, it was immediately the subject of controversy, and not only because of its plastic body cladding. Folks were annoyed that Subaru made the odd decision to lock performance bits like drive modes and Recaro seats into the top-trim WRX GT… which was only available with a CVT. Yuck.
Well, a few years later Subuaru seems to have righted this wrong with the manual-equipped WRX tS. Sure, it’s not the STI many of us were hoping for (it’s never coming), but it’s a damn good compact sports sedan that takes the WRX to the edge of greatness. The addition of big ol’ Brembo brakes, a trick suspension, an exclusive digital gauge cluster and a whole lot of blue make the tS a really compelling package for people looking at cars like the Honda Civic Type R, Toyota GR Corolla and Volkswagen Golf R. I promise you’re not going to miss the fact this isn’t an STI, at least not too much.