For nearly five years, Subaru showrooms have gone without a somewhat berserk 300-ish-horsepower manual-only sport compact car. While the WRX regenerated, the loony-spec WRX STI Scandinavian-flicked its way towards the sunset, leaving flat-four diehards wanting for a new halo car. It really seemed like the end of an era, but a new teaser has got people’s hopes up. Something World Rally Blue with an STI badge in the grille has made its way onto Subaru Japan’s Instagram account, but before booking the reveal date of Jan. 9 off as a religious holiday, attendees of the church of Boxer might want to hold their horses.
Over in Japan, the Subaru WRX is a slightly different proposition than it is in North America. Home-market customers can order a WRX S4 STI Sport R, and that sounds great until you learn it’s only available with a continuously variable transmission. In fact, a stick-shift simply isn’t available in JDM WRXs anymore, so to every North American whinging about the unpainted plastic fender flares on the latest model, it could be worse.
However, that might be about to change. Earlier this year, Japanese media got to drive a repatriated Canadian-market WRX with a six-speed manual transmission. To make things even more interesting, this wasn’t a private import brought in by a third party, but something Subaru itself loaned out to journalists. As Best Car Web wrote, translated via Google Translate:
According to Subaru, “This is to gauge the media’s evaluation and fan reaction as we consider future products.” It appears they are also considering selling the “Performance-B STI concept,” an Impreza exhibited at JMS equipped with a 2.4-liter turbo and 6MT.
Ah yes, the Performance-B STI concept. At the Japan Mobility Show earlier this year, Subaru rolled out what was essentially the mashup of enthusiasts’ dreams, an Impreza hatchback with a wild body kit, a six-speed manual transmission, and the driver-controlled center differential from the old WRX STI. It’s hugely intriguing, but it doesn’t match up with what we’re seeing in this latest teaser.
View this post on Instagram
For once, the STI-badged WRX shown off on Instagram is a sedan, not a hatchback. In overhead shots, there’s definitely a trunk lid behind the rear window, so don’t expect a five-door revival just yet. What’s more, a brief glimpse of the rolling stock shows the same wheels used on the North American-market WRX tS. Unsurprisingly, “tS” means “Tuned by STI” in Subaru-speak, and that little nugget of information might just let us down gently.
There’s a solid chance that this new STI-badged WRX isn’t a true successor to the old full-fat EJ-powered STI, and that might be okay. If it just ends up being a stick-shift VB WRX for the Japanese market, that’s still far better than a choice of CVT or GTFO. Of course, there is a possibility that this is yet another CVT-equipped STI Sport model, but given the media drives of the manual model, perhaps this is just a case of Japan finally getting a second transmission option. While we won’t know for sure until Jan. 9, it’s probably best to temper expectations for now. On the plus side, it does sound like a more hardcore STI model is likely coming eventually, it just probably isn’t arriving next month.
Top graphic image: Subaru
Okay, I’m thinking there are people who pound their Subarus and expect alot of tech from the head unit and others who just drive normally and depend on their phones for tech. Our Crosstrek has performed flawlessly for 8 years and plays audio from our phones fine. The reverse camera doesn’t always work and the CVT is fine as long as you don’t drive it like a WRC. The AWD does its job to keep my wife out of trouble in slippery conditions and gets us out in snow and ice when necessary. I have much more fun in the BRZ, but the Crosstrek is our workhorse.
I know the tease is fake and deliberately misleading.
How do I know? Easy.
It’s not offensively fugly enough (see all current non-BRZ Subaru models for reference).
.
.
.
I genuinely do not understand how people can willingly acquire modern subarus. They don’t offer any particular advantage over their competition. They instead offer a failure-prone CVT (that needs more maintenance than they want to let on), the horrid infotainment, the cheap amalgamation of materials and textures inside, the aforementioned hideous and awkward exteriors, the thin metal body panels, paint quality that would make even Maaco call them out, a mishmash of interfaces, and the AWD system has such tight tolerances that if one tire needs to be replaced for some reason it could signal the death knell of the remaining three, depending on geometry, or else the AWD system goes explodey. Other than being deliberately different I just can’t wrap my head around these offering any appeal, especially when *checks notes* Mazda and Toyota exist, not to mention Volvo from a perceived safety front.
It makes me sad to see how ugly the modern WRX’s have become. I know it’s subjective, and no hate on people who are into it.
When I was a teenager in the early 2000s, they were a dream car. When I got my first real job, I bought a 2007 WRX TR (tuner-ready = normal a/c knobs and a basic stereo). No traction control, even. Just a 2.5L T, 5MT, AWD, and the confidence of a young guy in his 20’s who watched a lot of WRC.
Absolutely amazing car. To put a CVT in a WRX is… unspeakable.
Even back in the early aughts, I always thought the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions looked better. I’ve never driven one or the WRX, so I can’t speak to which one drove better.
I’m in a similar boat. I had planned on making a Subaru my first new-car purchase back in the early 2000s as well. The sales people were very dismissive, and wouldn’t let me test drive a stick shift Impreza (not even sure it was a STI or not) even though the car I drove up in was a stick. Didn’t really color my perception of the brand (but apparently the attitudes haven’t changed much at the local dealership level) but was a poor way to treat someone who could have been a brand promoter and even lifetime customer.
Every review of every modern Subaru says the Play-Skool tablet infotainment is hot garbage yet Subaru does nothing to fix that. If they refuse to correct buggy software what makes anyone think that they will magically give us a brand new performance model we’re asking for?
I’ve heard the infotainment in the new (and hideous) Outback has corrected some of the complaints. But we’ll have to wait until a refresh or new generation comes out on each of the models to see the new system there.
I have a 22 WRX and the tablet is, indeed, sheeeeee-it. It’s slow. It’s laggy. Sometimes presses don’t register. A handful of times it has gone to sleep and won’t wake up without restarting the car.
Also, I’m pretty sure when they did QA on the software, they never tested in a 6MT. If I back into my driveway and leave the stick in R, when I start the car it struggles to figure out if it should show the normal start-up warning screen, or the backup camera, or… and sometimes you get a flash of the radio screen in there for good measure. And if you tried to stab a radio station button, they hadn’t re-mapped the buttons correctly to the smaller space it was displaying in, so you’d change to a station that was not the button you hit.
Anyway, last time I took it in for service, the dealer gave me a 25 CrossTrek as a loaner. While the screen looks the same as what I have, it behaved properly. It wasn’t laggy. I never once cursed at it. If I could pop that system into my car I would certainly be happier.
My 2025 Crosstrek screen is a bit laggy at startup, for the first 2 or 3 minutes. It is decently responsive after that.
Subaru: CVT or GTFO!
Me: Bye Felicia.
Subaru certainly needs to tune their cvts but that’s just dumb. At least give the people a chance at something they want. There are people buying the current wrx because it’s just about the last thing in the US with AWD and a manual.
Actually, what would be really great is an STI drivetrain in the smaller CrossTrek. That would be a hoot. A Subaru GR Corolla.
I’d rather just have the Toyota. Even if it were the GR Yaris.
It will take a lot for me to give up my GR-C for a new Subie. Loved my 2.5RS, mostly loved the bugeye WRX, but just not into the current body style. I debated looking for a hatch WRX/STi but I’m scared of what they’ve been turned into.
Man Subaru killed their fans with the latest WRX. I have seen so few of them. They must be selling terrible.
I’m in the PNW and see a few of them up here, but when I was in Texas prior to the move there were none anywhere.
I’m in Texas, and they are seriously all over the place. Mainly near the places where people are, though. You’re not going to see a ton of Subarus in Cut and Shoot (yes, that’s a real TX town).
You will definitely see them in the Greater Austin area, San Antonio, DFW, Houston…
I was in Houston and barely saw new WRXs in the inner loop. Maybe more out in the burbs?
I see new WRXs daily in the Austin/North Austin area. So yeah, maybe more burbs than urbs.
As for older/other models of Subaru, they’re pretty pervasive out this way.
I see a fair amount in Colorado but it’s basically their home market. Once outside a big Subaru area barely any. Some of the people I’ve talked to with them aren’t even really Subaru people they just want AWD and a third pedal.
Similar, I’m in New Mexico. They’re everywhere.
Yeah I am in Utah and should see tons of them. I have seen maybe 3 or 4. I see the older VA model all over the place though.
…you’ve seen so few new WRX’s, or Subarus?
I truly don’t understand why you can’t get a WRX version of the Crosstrek and Forrester. Especially if the WRX is selling so poorly. Seems like it would make sense to stop WRX production for a year or two and make XT versions of the other bodies, especially since they are all on the same chassis now.
They would print money with a crosstrek XT. So many of those are sold and I guarantee that people would like a turbo.
Per a subaru sales rep I chatted with while looking at an older 2014 WRX they’ve seen a noticeable WRX sales dive since the hideous VB WRX came out. Though IIRC the VB WRX came with a pretty significant price increase too which can’t have helped.
Yeah, the hope is that they realize how much they screwed up with the VB and revert but Subaru seems so off course….
Yeh, I swear they were trying to see if they could finally kill it off with the VB generation. It’s felt like ever since the weak-ass ’08 WRX (which admittedly they rectified in 2010-2011) it’s felt like Subaru was only grudgingly continuing to sell them.
Which blows my mind considering they haven’t brought the drivetrain into the crosstrek. It’s like they thought they would get crosstrek owners to buy a wrx by bringing the crosstrek into the wrx instead.
for real it makes no sense, I think you said this above but if they’d offered a crosstrek with the WRX drivetrain solid chance I would’ve already bought one, been saying this for years.
I’m in the Pacific Northwest and you see so many hot rodded and modified crosstreks anyways an actual performance version would sell like hot cakes imo.
It’ll be tS for them!
I’m pretty sure “tS” actually stands for, um, “don’t hold your breath.”
We need the old wagon STI back so people can tell their spouses “Look honey, it is a manual for efficiency and a practical wagon for the kids and dog.”
This is funny but also 95% accurate to my own situation.
Exactly me. We have a dog; no kids yet but we’re trying. Would desperately love a new WRX wagon with a stick.
The only expectation vs reality gap worse than Subaru reliability is Subaru concepts vs production vehicles.
Cultists are gonna cult. Subaru diehards are almost as insufferable and self-blinding as tesla and apple sheeple.