--- title: "The Subaru WRX Is Back With a Vengeance" date: "2026-09-02" modified: "2026-09-02" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-subaru-wrx-is-rebounding-from-its-worst-year-ever" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Subaru News" tags: - "sedan" - "sports car" - "Subaru" - "WRX" --- # The Subaru WRX Is Back With a Vengeance ![Subaru WRX rear 3/4]() *\Subaru\* Look back about 12 months, and Subaru WRX sales [were not in an enviable spot](). 2025 marked the model's worst-performing trip around the sun ever, though it wasn't necessarily a byproduct of lagging demand. The WRX suffered as a casualty of Subaru's manufacturing musical chairs over the last few years, when the new Forester supplanted it in production-line priority. While unfortunate, the move made sense from a business perspective, given that the SUV is a major sales driver for the small automaker. But that's in the past now, and since inventory for the sport sedan has recovered, and its [base model is back on the menu](), the WRX has enjoyed a much more comfortable end to the summer. 191% more comfortable, to be precise. The WRX [closed out August]() with almost three times the sales it pulled over the same month in 2025—1,778 cars, versus 611. Pack that into the year to date, and the WRX is selling 37.7% better than it was entering September 2025, having already reached 10,324 units sold. That's just around 600 cars shy of 2025's total, so the rally-bred sedan is all but certain to outperform last year's historic low. Of course, we're happy to see it. It would seem that Subaru pulled the base WRX because it knew it had to make every sale count, so to speak, over a lengthy period when inventory would be constrained. The base version returned in January at $32,495, about $5,000 cheaper than the six-speed Premium, which was the lowest rung on the WRX ladder last year. Today, the base WRX has more equipment than ever, though Subaru's lack of meaningful performance updates beyond better brakes and suspension for higher-end packages like the [TR]() and [tS]() have left the current car feeling a bit long in the tooth. Meanwhile, a limited-slip differential still isn't an option at any level, and every WRX still rolls off the line with the same 271-horsepower, 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer-four. We want to believe that the special models STI teased in Japan earlier this year will finally surprise us, but we've been burned [so]() [many]() [times]() [before](). *Got a tip? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()