Subaru WRX TR vs WRX tS: When Rally Roots Meet Track Day Refinement
By Nik Miles
If you’ve ever wished your daily commute felt more like a World Rally Championship stage, Subaru has a rather punchy proposition for you—two, in fact. Meet the 2025 Subaru WRX TR and WRX tS: a pair of brawny, boxer-powered siblings that might look similar on the surface, but under the skin they’re tuned for very different types of petrolhead.
So, which one deserves your garage space—and your paycheck? Let’s dive into this gloriously niche, surprisingly nuanced sibling rivalry.
Q: What exactly are the WRX TR and WRX tS?
In Subaru speak, the “TR” stands for “Tuner Ready,” and it does what it says on the tin. Think: stripped-down but focused, a WRX with track aspirations. The “tS” (short for “tuned by STI”) takes a more sophisticated approach—think of it as the thinking driver’s WRX, bred for agility, not brutality.
Both models ditch the manual gearbox (pause for boos from the purists), offering instead the Subaru Performance Transmission (SPT)—a CVT tuned within an inch of its life. Heresy? Maybe. But heresy with a purpose.
Q: How do they drive?
Let’s get this out of the way: neither of these WRXs is particularly interested in coddling you.
- WRX TR
The TR is Subaru’s equivalent of a hot spoonful of wasabi. You get Brembo brakes all around (6-piston front, 2-piston rear), stiffer springs, and Recaro buckets that grip you like a grudge. The 19-inch wheels are wrapped in sticky Bridgestone Potenzas, and the whole setup begs to be thrashed around corners like it’s hunting apexes for sport. It’s brutal. It’s raw. It’s glorious—provided you don’t hit a pothole. - WRX tS
The tS, on the other hand, is a scalpel rather than a broadsword. The magic here lies in the STI-tuned adaptive dampers, which adjust ride stiffness in real time. It’s less shouty than the TR but quicker through a twisty backroad. You don’t so much wrestle with the tS as collaborate with it. This is the WRX that wears glasses, quotes Senna, and still outruns the jocks.
Q: Same engine? Really?
Yes. Both WRXs come with Subaru’s 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four, making 271 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. On paper, it’s the same powertrain as the standard WRX, which might sound a bit anticlimactic. But trust us—these cars are less about numbers and more about feel. The enhanced chassis and braking tweaks make the power feel sharper, even if the stopwatch says otherwise.
Still, if you were hoping for an STI badge and 300+ horses, you’ll be disappointed. Subaru has made it clear: STI is on ice, at least in the internal combustion era.
Q: Who are these cars really for?
Here’s the rub: the TR and tS aren’t for everyone. They’re for drivers who understand that performance isn’t just about horsepower—it’s about stopping power, steering feedback, and lap times.
- The WRX TR is for weekend warriors who plan to hit the track and want a foundation they can build upon. No sunroof, no frills—just hardware that works.
- The WRX tS is for the seasoned driver who appreciates balance over brawn. It’s the car you take up a mountain pass not to post a time, but to enjoy the road as a kind of moving meditation.
Q: Are they worth the money?
The TR starts at $41,655, while the tS rings in at $44,215. That’s premium hot-hatch territory—and dangerously close to base BMW M235i or Golf R pricing. But neither German option offers Subaru’s rally pedigree, nor the kind of nerdy mechanical charm that lets you geek out over dampers and brake calipers at Cars and Coffee.
Q: Is this truly a game-changer or just hype?
Game-changer? Not quite. These cars aren’t reinventing the wheel—they’re refining it. They’re a love letter to Subaru loyalists who feared the brand had gone soft. And while we may never see another STI in the traditional sense, the WRX TR and tS prove that Subaru hasn’t forgotten how to make a car that speaks to the driver’s spine, not just their smartphone.
If the standard WRX is the gateway drug, these two are the distilled form—one for hammering apexes, the other for carving canyon roads with Zen-like precision.
Final Thoughts
Subaru’s WRX TR and tS are proof that performance still matters in a world of bloated SUVs and electric anonymity. Neither is perfect. Both are deeply flawed—in the best possible way. But if you’ve ever loved a car for the way it felt, rather than just the way it looked on a spec sheet, you owe yourself a test drive.
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