Huh? What do you mean “It may not be for me?”
Well…it pretty much depends on what you’re really looking for.
Are you looking for an under-50K performance vehicle to impress your significant other on date night? If so, this may not be your first choice.
But if you’re looking for a somewhat reasonably priced performance vehicle with great street creds for YOU, keep reading.
Yes…for starters, you need to know how to shift gears. There’s no automatic option for the tS. And don’t ask “Where’s the sunroof?” You don’t see sunroofs on real race / rally cars, do you? Too much extra weight in the wrong place. And glove-soft leather isn’t an option, either. But you will get Black Ultrasuede Recaros with electric blue trim.
Are you starting to see what the Subaru tS really is by now?
It’s a 4-door rally car with just about all the serious pieces except a number on its side.;
You’ll get a 2.4 liter 271 HP turbo that’s capable of a top speed around 145 MPH.
Zero to 60 comes in a decent 5.5 seconds or so, but it’s in the twisties that the WRX really shines. Winding mountain roads bring out its best. Red-lining the tS between third and fifth will keep a big grin plastered to your face.
Gummy 19” Bridgestone Potenza S007 Summer rubber is one reason that the WRX tS just sings through curves, and big 6-piston 13.4” discs are a the reason that you’re able to fling this car around with such abandon, You just know that when you’ve gotta’ stop now…you can. The whole package just exudes poise and confidence….and the 4-pipe performance exhausts in the rear don’t hurt, either.
This is not to say that you won’t find civilized touches with your WRX tS. Harman Kardon sound is standard, as are heated seats and mirrors…along with Subaru’s EyeSight driver awareness safety technology. And as you’d demand in a true performance vehicle. Subaru gives you actual physical knobs for your radio and temp control…all to help you keep your eyes on the next curve just ahead.
What’s one more clue as to the true character of the tS? While it comes with the somewhat standard “Comfort”, “Individual”, “Sport”, and “Sport Plus” suspension and steering settings, every time you fire up your WRX tS, you’ll find it defaults to the “Sport” setting. That alone kinda’ defines the character of the whole vehicle.
Pricing hadn’t been officially announced at the time of our review, but expect it to be in the low $40’s…and unlike some of those luxury rides, you won’t need to add 10-20K inn options and packages. The tS is ready to run right out of the box. And even running the tS on the hard side, we got 24-25 MPG throughout the week in all conditions.
So if performance is your thing, you won’t have to leave the usual 3-4 passengers behind, but they’ll know that you didn’t buy Subaru’s WRX tS to impress them…you bought it to impress you.