The 2025 Subaru WRX tS Says "Why Not Both?" to Street and Track Duty
It’s not an STI, but after driving it we think the 2025 Subaru WRX tS can take whatever you can throw at it.
When Subaru brought the WRX to the North American market in 2001, enthusiasts celebrated as they finally had their turn to own a piece of the rally-inspired legend. After 24 years, does the new 2025 Subaru WRX tS continue to deliver on what those enthusiasts were craving? Subaru invited us to take the new tS through its paces on the winding back roads of Napa Valley, to the groomed asphalt of Sonoma Raceway. Now we can tell you what we think of the 2025 WRX tS so far.
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What Does tS Stand For?
First thing’s first. No the “tS” is not a weird typo of “STI.” You’re not going to find that badge on this WRX. “tS” stands for “Tuned by STI,” which we understand is a little confusing. Technically, any STI is “tuned by” well, STI right? It’s a bit more complicated than that. The Subaru WRX STI is, for all intents and purposes, a toned-down rally car for the street. STIs have more horsepower than the trims below them, a different aerodynamic package, and a list of other rally-inspired features.
The WRX tS is much more subdued. Under the hood the 2025 WRX tS has the same 271 hp and 258 lb-ft engine found in the base WRX. But it's the upgraded brakes and suspension tuning that set the tS apart from the WRX it's based on. It's the same basic formula we saw in the BRZ tS: improved handling, no additional ponies.
What Makes the tS Different?
The tS features a Brembo brake package with monobloc six-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers in the rear. The front calipers grip 13.4-inch discs and the rear discs are 12.8 inches. All four rotors are vented and cross drilled. The 2025 WRX tS suspension features electronically controlled dampers that, as the badge states, have been tuned by STI to be optimized for street and track use. While the suspension hardware is shared with the WRX GT, the tS features more damping force across all three suspension modes (comfort, normal, and sport) than the GT.
Aside from the brake and suspension upgrades, there are some very subtle exterior changes to the tS including an exclusive set of 19-inch matte grey wheels, tS badging, and some exterior bits finished in glossy black.
Practical on the Streets
Our drive route through Napa Valley was full of beautiful twisty back roads, some stretches of highway, and normal surface street driving. The first thing we noticed is that the steering is very responsive in all drive modes.
Which brings us to another bright spot: comfort mode. Often when sports cars come with a “comfort mode,” it doesn’t do much to change the driving feel. As much as we love the Acura Integra Type S, comfort mode in that car means absolutely nothing. That’s not the case in the WRX tS. The Sport and Sport+ driving modes provide a very stiff ride, and even Normal mode is noticeably firm. However, comfort mode makes a perceptible improvement in ride quality, reducing harshness to make the WRX tS much more manageable for a long drive.
Overall driving the WRX tS on the road was a pleasurable experience, if not for a few flaws. First, while the exhaust isn't loud enough to drone, but it's close, and the tS doesn't do a good job of keeping the sound it does make out. Or road noise, for that matter. An electronically controlled baffle would improve things in comfort mode.
Secret Track Weapon
The real genius of the 2025 Subaru WRX tS shows itself when you get it on track. As much as we love horsepower, when it comes to putting together effective laps on a closed course, braking and suspension tuning are arguably more important. We put that theory to the test at Sonoma Raceway where Subaru designed a short course that still incorporated the Raceway’s signature elevation changes and wide mix of corner types. We chose Sport+ mode for our time on the track, which puts the steering, suspension, and engine at max tilt.
Our laps were in the same car we drove on the street loop, and Subaru tells us it didn't swap out the brake pads between our session and the previous group of journalists who hoofed around Sonoma in the car a few days before we did. There wasn't a hint of brake fade from the Brembo package, giving us plenty of confidence to dive in hotter and brake later. And we found the suspension deftly controlled body roll while allowing plenty of space for weight transfer.
Subaru also did an excellent job of mitigating the understeer that is commonly associated with AWD drivetrains. After two different lap settings, the true meaning of the tS dawned on us: It's an out-of-the-box solution for the duality many enthusiasts seek. Its incredible brakes and suspension tuning make the tS a great road car and a capable track car, allowing you to have tons of fun in both spheres without giving up everyday drivability. And we're not giving up hope of spending some more time in the tS in the future, so stay tuned.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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