Driven: 2026 Subaru WRX Rolls Back the PricesSubaruYou'll never hear us complain when a fun car gets more affordable. While it might not be the kind of price delta that has you lacing up your running shoes for a sprint to the dealer, the 2026 Subaru WRX marks the return of the slightly more affordable Base trim, which sacrifices just a couple creature comforts but none of the fun bits. Maybe even better, big price cuts apply to other trims in the lineup too.What's New for 2026?Subaru's feel-good WRX price adjustments, which essentially roll back prices to just below 2024 levels, are the direct result of an overreach in the opposite direction. When tariffs started flying in 2024, the Japan-built WRX was caught in the crosshairs, and Subaru announced stiff price hikes for 2025. This fiscal anchor dragged WRX sales down 41 percent last year, so Subaru decided to slash margins on its halo performance car and reintroduce the Base trim to better align the WRX with its budget-performance audience. WRX sales for June 2026 were up 252 percent compared to June 2025, so we'd say Subaru made the correct move here.SubaruThe WRX Base isn't the only new variant on offer this year. If you dig limited editions, a new WRX Series.Yellow trim builds upon the hopped-up tS model with a new Sunrise Yellow paint job and matte-black wheels. But if you're after the ultimate skinflint good time, the Base is worth your attention.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe WRX Base starts at $33,690, or $1500 below the WRX Premium. Unlike prior Base models, this one now comes with 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels and keyless access, so you get a bit more kit than before. Other standard bits include an 11.6-inch portrait-style infotainment touchscreen with both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone automatic climate control, cloth seats, LED headlights, and leather across both the steering wheel and shift lever.SubaruYou really don't lose much in sticking with the entry-level WRX. Premium models add heated front seats, rear USB ports, heated exterior mirrors, LED fog lights, and a body-color trunklid spoiler. If you're willing to forgo those accoutrements, you can drop that cash on some suspension mods—or, perhaps, as you'll note from our adventures below, some upgraded brake pads and fluid.No matter the trim, the powertrain remains the same. The WRX relies on a turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four making 271 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, with a six-speed manual coming as standard equipment on all trims except for the CVT-only GT. When we tested a 2022 WRX Limited, it hit 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and cleared the quarter-mile in 13.9 seconds at 101 mph.SubaruWRX on the TrackOulton Park is an interesting track, though it's clearly not the most well-known circuit in England. Fans of the British Touring Car Championship, however, will undoubtedly recognize this 2.7-mile, 17-corner layout, which features a wide variety of turns, straights, dips, and blind crests. Thankfully, the base WRX can't carry nearly as much speed as a British touring car, so our chances of taking a brief vacation to the barriers was quite low.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe WRX is a very easy car to track in off-the-rack form, with standard-issue summer performance tires that we've seen generate about 0.95 g of grip around our skidpad. The standard suspension tune has just enough stiffness baked into it that body motions were largely controlled around Oulton Park, whether we were taking the long, sweeping left of Island Bend or chucking it through the tight right-left combination of Hislops. Right before crossing the starting line, there's a deep compression that takes place at Deer Leap, but the WRX hunkered down and sailed through it, offering just enough suspension travel to avoid slamming onto its bump stops.Rowing through the gears was a breeze. The six-speed stick has a longish travel, but it's precise enough that we never missed a hurried shift (most of Oulton Park can be done in third or fourth gear). The clutch offers a predictable, if soft, takeup at launch, and it proved capable of handling all our, erm, manhandling. Since 271 horsepower isn't enough to blow anyone's doors off, that gave us ample opportunity to play with throttle application and see how glomming on the gas at different times could affect our driving lines.SubaruAfter a dozen laps across a few short stints, we did uncover some challenges inherent to WRX Base track work. The first is the engine note; our track helmets included built-in radios with earpieces, and all that over-ear coverage meant we couldn't really hear the engine at any point, so instead we spent a lot of on-track time staring at the tachometer to make sure we weren't banging against the rev limiter.The second issue came by way of the brakes. While they provided good stopping power and a reassuring pedal feel at the start of the day, the pads and fluid cooked themselves to medium-well by lunch—which proved interesting, as we still had two full days of street driving to do—so we recommend track rats upgrade both the pads and the brake fluid before committing to more than a half day of lapping.SubaruWRX on the RoadWith our post-track brake pedal feeling nice and questionable, we set out on a two-day journey from Oulton Park, heading west into Wales before eventually bending back east toward Goodwood and the forthcoming Festival of Speed. Thankfully, even after some heavy lapping, the brakes continued to work as advertised, though we gave the sheep farmers and their many large craft some extra distance as we tackled a seemingly never-ending morass of tight, hedge-lined B-roads.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe WRX's steering is on the lighter side, in terms of both weight and feel. While it was more than fine on track, the tiller felt great on normal roads, where a little less steering effort goes a long way in reducing fatigue on longer drives. The suspension's firmness allowed a few pavement inconsistencies to work their way into the cabin, but it remained pliant enough to handle the occasional bump, hump, or pothole without feeling crashy or annoying. With the WRX's tall windows, visibility was also delightful—that comes in handy when you're driving left-hand-drive cars on the left side of the road.SubaruOur largest gripe here? The radio. If you're familiar with any of our Subaru coverage, you'd know that we have often bemoaned Subaru's infotainment for taking ages to boot up, and that problem continues in the 2026 WRX. We'd turn the car on, plug in our phone to pull up directions, then stop and have a conversation about the weather for the two or three minutes it would take for the software to catch up. Picking a more expensive trim doesn't speed it up; it's consistently mediocre across the brand's lineup, save for the most recently redesigned models like the Outback, which introduce a new, more-responsive system.Overall, we didn't miss a lick of the extra equipment from the pricier WRX Premium. Like we said before: Take that $1500 saved, throw it into some new brake pads and fluid, and buy yourself a nice dinner (or two) with the remainder. We'll never not be fans of more affordable ways to put a fun sporty car in your driveway.➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029
