2025 Subaru WRX tS Has Something We Wish the BRZ tS Had

[samagon]

Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO

drop the mic, this is completely true. WRX has never had the chops to compete with the likes of the Golf R and company.

exactly, the base, and maybe the premium with a discount are the only ones that seem to make sense.

oh well, they sell what they need to. other manufacturers have filled the gaps Subaru left, and for me and my use/opinion, they fill the gaps very well.

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[dwf137]

Originally Posted by samagon

exactly, the base, and maybe the premium with a discount are the only ones that seem to make sense.

oh well, they sell what they need to. other manufacturers have filled the gaps Subaru left, and for me and my use/opinion, they fill the gaps very well.

Ultimately, I left the brand 6 years ago to a competitor because Subaru left me in the dust. Subaru had all the parts of a car to give me exactly what I want, an STI powered Levorg, but they refused to make it. Nobody else has stepped up. My VW R was great but just a little too snug, as would be the GRC, and I will not buy a sedan, so all of the other gap-fillers are out of the running... So, I left the segment altogether.

Leaving the segment kind of opened my eye to another path forward as a family with our cars and I feel like for us, we've made the absolute right decision. No more being pigeonholed into wanting some unique mix of perfection like the idea of an sti powered levorg. No more compromised cars that are trying to do too many things. Sports car for fun, EV for commuting, SUV for road trips and mountain adventures. It helps that my wife doesn't care what she drives, just that the car works, so I get the ability to pick and choose what we drive.

[SoDealer]

Originally Posted by OldBlu

If the buyer determines the value, let's wait until all the 24s are off the lot and see how the 25s end up selling.

I do know this. I see a lot of WRXs on the road in my area but the vast majority of them are base models. For 25 there are no base models and no therefore no sub $35k WRXs. My guess is there will be deep discounts. Just like how now all the TRs in my area are multiple thousands of dollars discounted and still sitting on lots.

Just like Matt Maran says in his video: do premium and base WRXs have value at a certain price? Yes. Do $36k+ WRXs still have that same value? No. Is $46k a joke? Absolutely.

won't be an apples to apples comparison no matter what. Axing the base means half the volume will be gone. The drop will be precipitous.

[20WRX20]

I was just at a dealer and they had a used 2022 parked next to a new 2024 and the plastic fenders on the 2022 were noticeably faded compared to the 2024. Must’ve been parked outside and in the sun it’s whole life, but yeah. It also had salt in between the fenders and paint. This VB generation ain’t it.

Everything SubaruWRXFan said in that video is true. The stupid loud bassy exhaust on cold start and decel. Open diffs when the competitors have LSDs. 268 horsepower. Cheap, gaudy interior. Worst infotainment in the industry. Entry level trim now approaching 40k and almost $50,000 price tag for the tS. Complete joke.

The ICE WRX is dead. Pour one out because this will be axed in another year or two and we’ll be lucky to get some sort of EV crossover that’s “tuned by STi.” Sucks but there’s nothing else that can be done. Subaru just ignores everyone and makes the most idiotic decisions when it comes to this car. Just done.

[21ej]

I wonder if they release a new electrified STI, if it will be a true STI car or “Tuned By STI”. What did the Subaru press release say exactly when they announced discontinuation of the WRX STI? Wasn’t it something along the lines of “we stopped production of the STI to focus on electrification”
Was that referencing electric cars in general or an electric WRX STI?

It’s such a small group of us that are STI buyers, it probably doesn’t hurt them much to stop selling the STI variant. The standard WRX sells in much higher volume and it was probably more worth their time.

Speculating here.

[Russ_G93]

Originally Posted by 21ej

I wonder if they release a new electrified STI, if it will be a true STI car or "Tuned By STI". What did the Subaru press release say exactly when they announced discontinuation of the WRX STI? Wasn't it something along the lines of "we stopped production of the STI to focus on electrification"
Was that referencing electric cars in general or an electric WRX STI?

It's such a small group of us that are STI buyers, it probably doesn't hurt them much to stop selling the STI variant. The standard WRX sells in much higher volume and it was probably more worth their time.

Speculating here.

They basically said that a STI would not be coming in the VB generation

There is definitely something to be said about the GR Corolla for a Core back in 2022-23. Im pretty sure the suggested retail, or msrp was something like 35,900(Check me on that). But even then, for 36k in 2023 Toyota was giving us 300hp with Variable Torque Distribution at the turn of a dial.
Even the Elantra N, at 34,000msrp, its a 4.8-5.2 0-60 Car with an offered DCT.

Yes I enjoy the Room and the shape of the VB. The overall body lines are a lot more "Clean" vs a GR Corolla. Don't enjoy the Cladding or the Exposed plastic Rockers/bumpers. Its just a ridiculous thing to have to replace a whole piece, rather than "Buff" should you mark up the rocker with your shoes. The small Black Plastic in the Corner of my Front doors were the first pieces to get Sun damaged. Starting to show on the Cowl being a couple years old now. - But that stuff I can live with for the Bargain Price (Not the added cladding).

What I would've liked was something like keeping the 277ft lbs of torque that the other XT models have (What Japan has), or at least a 285-290hp number stock. But Maybe the Stock Manual doesn't fair well with increased power(Long-term), maybe they had to keep the Torque down, despite a CVT in a Ascent being Advertised to Tow 3000-4500lbs with a trailer brake. I get that it would have been some sort of project to include a Dccd with a Auto Version WRX, vs just the manual. Although that is what made the STI the STI. Dccd/Brembos/Recaros/STI Trans/2.5I Turbo. All that is missing from the TS is the DCCD, Trans, and a Power Tune, and it competes with a 21 STI as far as what you get.

What im trying to say is that the STI needs to differentiate itself more from the WRX to be that "Premium" offering. There is no "STI" version of the GR Corolla. They all have that 295ft lbs of Torque for 2025. So if Subaru is only Offering a 2.4liter across the Board for its "More Powerful offering," then perhaps one of the Board members thought "Well How much does the STI differentiate itself if we put the same 2.4 in it that other models have, What about these Emission Standards/Fees from the Biden Administration, How much money can we throw at the STI Post Covid." Subaru was Safer not to have a STI for the VB Generation -Biden's Term.

I also wish they kept the Brembo Package as an Option you could throw on Multiple trims. What if We didn't care about the Special Adaptive Suspension and wanted better stopping power in a Premium (Moonroof + Speaker package) or Even on a Limited? Braking was one of the original issues people talked about with the car, not the Balance/stiffness in turns. People Loved how it handled originally.

Either way, im sure Subaru will Make some needed adjustments with the Soft Refresh. I mean... They Did do something similar with the 2011-12 WRX vs the 2009-2010. Flaring/Stamping of the Fenders/Qtrs were different, car looked less skinny. Pretty big "refresh." And Look what happened, Subaru was praised and sales returned. So you never know what Subaru will do. They already have non-cladding stamped fenders on the new Levorg.
The Chevron Deference was Defeated by the Supreme Court, and that calls into question all these rules/regulations/fees imposed on Automakers that more or less was not voted on by Congress itself, but set by Departments. It shouldn't be that a single state or a couple states, determine what the rest of the country "has to abide by" when it comes to "What is available for me the consumer to buy at this current moment." But if sales are the objective, unfortunately you have to deal with that. Especially with involved Politically Motivated Fees/Regs and Buying Trends.

I think we are going to see some nice offerings from here on out, as we know that the Incoming Administration is in Favor of Cars and Drilling. Elon is going to be trimming a ton of Fat off of our spending, and really look at what is Needed vs Not Needed when it comes to a Positive budget/GDP. Will have to wait and see what happens in the car scene, per usual.

Fact of the Matter is, The EV Push set a lot of Automakers back. They cannot switch up technology/production at the drop of a dime and expect a Polished Product. it doesn't work like that. They Need sales/money to do it first. Not inflation/high interest rates resulting in people not spending money. That was a Double Negative. And we are seeing those Consequences with Toyota's Reliabiliy, Nissan's Sales, Stellantis Sales, Ford Losing 35,000 Per F150 Lightning Sold, Etc Etc.

Quick Changes + High Prices to Compensate for what the Govt is telling them to do = Dip in Quality of Product and Low sales numbers.

[samagon]

Originally Posted by Russ_G93

There is definitely something to be said about the GR Corolla for a Core back in 2022-23. Im pretty sure the suggested retail, or msrp was something like 35,900(Check me on that). But even then, for 36k in 2023 Toyota was giving us 300hp with Variable Torque Distribution at the turn of a dial.

more or less. I think the number of 2023 Core cars that were shipped that didn't have the tech and performance package were in the hundreds. never mind that most of us that own a 2023 paid a premium. even still, low-mid 40s for a what the GR Corolla is with LSD F/R, even if it has a cloth interior, still an amazing deal. and some of us in the deep south/intense summer heat, we prefer cloth vs leatherette (or whatever they want to call it).

[dwf137]

Originally Posted by Russ_G93

But Maybe the Stock Manual doesn't fair well with increased power(Long-term)

Everyone says this but I ran my 2009 wrx, stock clutch, with a pretty aggressive tune (over 300 whp/tq) for over 100k miles and no issues. Never slipped, never replaced. The stock 6 speed is fine, it's the CVT that's the weak point.

[samagon]

I ran a 2004 WRX with a VF39 and every bolt on imaginable, although it did have a conservative tune. stock clutch and transmission were going strong at 150k miles when I sold it.

but I also shifted gears and treated the clutch as if they were made of blown glass.

[Russ_G93]

Originally Posted by dwf137

Everyone says this but I ran my 2009 wrx, stock clutch, with a pretty aggressive tune (over 300 whp/tq) for over 100k miles and no issues. Never slipped, never replaced. The stock 6 speed is fine, it's the CVT that's the weak point.

Thats what I mean, theres some sort of information discrepancy when the CVT in the Auto WRX, comes from the Ascent itself. They tell you to tow, and push a 4200-4500lb car around and expect reliability stock. It feels like a Political thing, or.. Maybe Japan wanted to feel more special than other markets in keeping the 277ft lb in their own CVT S4.

Fully Agree on the Cloth Seats vs the "Leather/Fake Leather" in the Humid Heat.

The Trans in the new VB has a pretty close ratio. Would be nice to be to stay in 2nd and hit 60 (Without beating it up), but I think that has to do with the RPM threshold of 6000.
Although some owners of the 2020s experienced power cuts at about 6000rpm due to lack of maintenance. It is worth noting that I think it was the 2009-10 WRX seemed to only reach 6500rpm and then conk out even though the Needle had more room to go. Newer owners weren't around for that I suppose. I remember reading a few posts on here about that back in the day.
For sure goes back to what we've always said, its Not a Corvette, treat your Trans nice, expect good longevity. These newer VB's have been going in for service with random 2nd Gear, 3rd Gear issues. Which could just be a lack of Manual driving experience.

[mcarb002]

Originally Posted by 21ej

I wonder if they release a new electrified STI, if it will be a true STI car or “Tuned By STI”. What did the Subaru press release say exactly when they announced discontinuation of the WRX STI? Wasn’t it something along the lines of “we stopped production of the STI to focus on electrification”
Was that referencing electric cars in general or an electric WRX STI?

It’s such a small group of us that are STI buyers, it probably doesn’t hurt them much to stop selling the STI variant. The standard WRX sells in much higher volume and it was probably more worth their time.

Speculating here.

Bro by the time Subaru releases a next gen EV or hybrid STi every other brand will already have an EV sports car light years ahead and Subaru will be behind the 8 ball like always. I mean shoot the new Model 3 and Ioniq 5 N would be benchmarks and Subaru is already decades behind them. Expect the STI to suffer the Evo fate and be revived in the 2030s if that. The WRX will stop production and a performance Subaru might cease to exist for a while.

[21ej]

Originally Posted by mcarb002

Bro by the time Subaru releases a next gen EV or hybrid STi every other brand will already have an EV sports car light years ahead and Subaru will be behind the 8 ball like always. I mean shoot the new Model 3 and Ioniq 5 N would be benchmarks and Subaru is already decades behind them. Expect the STI to suffer the Evo fate and be revived in the 2030s if that. The WRX will stop production and a performance Subaru might cease to exist for a while.

This hits hard but it could be the truth. A revive in 2030’s is wishful thinking as well.

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by dwf137

Everyone says this but I ran my 2009 wrx, stock clutch, with a pretty aggressive tune (over 300 whp/tq) for over 100k miles and no issues. Never slipped, never replaced. The stock 6 speed is fine, it's the CVT that's the weak point.

What negative have you heard of the SPT?

[quentinberg007]

Originally Posted by samagon

more or less. I think the number of 2023 Core cars that were shipped that didn't have the tech and performance package were in the hundreds. never mind that most of us that own a 2023 paid a premium. even still, low-mid 40s for a what the GR Corolla is with LSD F/R, even if it has a cloth interior, still an amazing deal. and some of us in the deep south/intense summer heat, we prefer cloth vs leatherette (or whatever they want to call it).

The '25 GRC is just a kiss under $40k now but it includes the previously optional performance package as standard. IMO, that's the spec to get. The Premium Plus with the previously Circuit exclusive features is $45k now and that's a little rich for the car, IMO. When I inevitably hit a deer with my GRC, I'll put the circuit hood on it.