Subaru WRX Review After 6 Years Of WRX Ownership 

I recently bought a 2015 WRX and I love it. It's not modified nor do I plan to change it. I always loved the looks and sound of this platform. I enjoy your videos and reading what the more spirited crowd prefers.

I bought my 2019 wrx brand new in August of 2018. So I’ve had the car for 3.5 years now and I love it today as much as I loved it when I first bought it. It’s not my daily driver, it sits in my garage when there’s any bad weather. I’ve been modifying it pretty heavily and it’s just a joy to take out on some spirited back road drives and it puts a smile on my face every time.

I bought a 2017 WRX premium manual a few months ago. I'm loving it. I have owned cars in the past with a lot more power, but I find this car is good all around. Decent power, the all wheel drive is sweet in the snow and I love the look of it. I'm still new though, so we will see down the road. Great video man!

I think it all just depends on each one’s opportunity cost. I have a 2015 wrx I bought for 19k that I’ve had for 3 years now and put about 25k miles on it so far with practically zero issues. Put about 10k in mods; flex fuel, intake, j pipe, Intercooler, kevlar clutch disk, suspension, wheels, interior, etc.. 380 whp and it’s super fun and reliable. Worst maintenance I’ve done so far is replacing the Ac compressor and lines. Other than that, I haven’t hated one second of spending money on my car. They can last a very long time if you take the proper care into consideration. You only have to worry if you aren’t prepared to incur the cost.

well spoken and very informative, i was looking into buying my first wrx 2016 theres a cvt and a manual for around the same price near me. Subscribing, and I enjoy the way you describe stuff

Couldn’t agree more, I was a die hard wrx/sti fan and went through the honeymoon phase and enjoyed every minute of it, now after only 2 years of ownership I have been looking at American muscle and will definitely be trading in the subie eventually. With that being said my wrx will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first manual transmission car and did bring me some awesome memories.

For me the fa20 wrx is pretty much perfect for what it is. It’s basically a mini version of a ej207 JDM sti. It’s cheap, reliable, sounds amazing, and gets decent fuel economy. I treat mine like a Toyota Corolla, nothing more, nothing less. Service it well, and it will take care of you. Keep your costs down, stage 1 is all you need. If you’re looking for more, you need an sti.

2016 Premium 6MT owner. Purchased 94k mi from Carvana (previous 1 owner, great condition, all stock). Been setting her up for a long term daily so I've done fresh oil change, spark plug change, new air filter etc. With everyone I've read/seen online, I'm somewhat scared something will happen to it inevitably, but this is my favorite platform (for now) so I'm going to stick w/ it thru the good times and the bad times.

When you explained the existence phase: you kind talked but didn’t say anything. You didn’t say what the 50% negatives are. No disrespect.

I've owned Miatas for 25 years and I am considering getting a WRX as a second car for the first time. 2 seats vs 4, yada yada, go drive a Miata. This happens to all enthusiasts over time. If it weren't a WRX, it would be a C6. Whatever you do, drive a car that loves you back.

This is with any and every car you own. Fun ,loving, and pain in my azz then sold.

2.5 years after buying new and I'd say it makes up well for the fun part that a Corolla misses, you can beat on it in stock form, but unlike a Corolla, you know it might blow up on you.

So, I purchased my '21 Premium back in September. It's been a great car to drive, lots of fun, everything I have expected. I went with a new car which I usually do not do, but I didn't want the potential maintenance headaches that come with owning a used car. It will most likely not be car I will drive forever. Reason being apart from the fun factor which is why you buy the car, there's not much else better than in other cars. The sound system for starters is absolutely terrible, especially on the highway (My 2008 Acura TL-S had a far superior sound system, granted it's a luxury car but still). The lack of features and comfort is another thing. The gas mileage is mediocre at best for what it is. Also living in Seattle, WA, the traffic is horrible, so there is not as much time to enjoy the glorious 6-Speed manual. Eventually, I want to come into something like an Audi A5 or S5 which is of course more expensive but is a better overall car to live with everyday. But so far, it serves it's purpose until I can save for something better.

Love the raw review. I am now a owner of a 2020 wrx and am loving it so far. Of course it feels much sportier than my old kitted up jeep yj and the thrill of a sports car is amazing. One thing I would love to hear about though is that I have noticed that the shifter seems to have a decent amount of shifteing when accelerating and will wiggle a bit in gear is this something that is typical for the wrx base platform? Is this something that can just be fixed by adding some upgraded after market shift components? I like resting my hand on the shifter most of the time while driving and this is often an uncomforatable experince

I've got a 2017 Limited being delivered on Sunday. Have been watching quite a few of your videos, as I am beyond anxious about becoming part of the WRX community. I'm looking for a good video on maintenance and upkeep. I plan on leaving it bone stock other than a few cosmetic additions.

I've owned my 17 WRX for 5 years coming up in May. Everything you've said is completely true. I have realized all the negatives and decided that the positives of this car outweigh them. I have taken my time with modifying it, and that has really helped me savor my relationship with this platform. I think no matter which car you have, slowly modifying it, helps you grow more attached and helps to overcome the negatives. I could not afford an STI, but I would not have enjoyed modding it. I believe STI's are in a certain category where it is smarter to leave it mostly stock, because of how they hold their value. I am actually happy that I will not have to worry as much with depreciation on the WRX, it is going to happen whether it is modded or not.

You make quality content my guy👌

Really accurate take on cars on general for people. I've been in a Subaru since 2008. I more of a Honda guy myself, but being in the Boston area owning a Honda back when I got my license came with certain fears which inevitably happened. When you watch the car you love pull up completely stripped of all your hard work it leaves a lasting impression. I decided at that time I wasn't going to chance owning the car I loved and made the decision to switch to something less attractive to thieves and better for new england weather. I started with a 98 2.5 RS and fell in love with the style and awd system. I did everything my budget would let me to make it as clean as possible and emulate the 98 wrx minus the motor and drive train. I then came across a super clean mbp bugeye and got my first taste of turbo. At that point in life myself and the majority of my friends loved going to NED for import faces offs and the occasional street night. So the bugeye saw a good amount of track time which led me down the path of modifying for more power. I ended up swapping to a vf39, pink sti injectors and a front mount. Every bolt on you could do basically before upgrading the entire motor itself. It's was an awesome car but the mileage was up there. I enjoyed that car for 5 years before it finally bent a valve. At that point I moved up into the 13 wrx limited hatch. This car wasn't going to see much track time though. I switched up how I modified my car. Nothing but the best, grimmspeed top mount, cobb downpipe, ark grip cat back, grimmspeed intake, perrin inlet, id1000s and a cobb flex fuel kit. All done within the first year of getting the car. It was perfect, until I stopped making the drive out to Logan for e85 and I noticed I was only putting 2k miles a year on it. I wished I had gone front mount instead and my wife hated the sound of the ewg dump pipe when I got on it. But there was always one thing I regretted everytime I got a new Subaru. It's that I didn't just go with an Sti. So last December that's what I did, the Wrx ran great had awesome power and was at 52k miles. I had no real reason to move on. I just wanted the Sti. So I got one. But, I know now that I don't need 350hp to be happy with it. I still want to be different, but the idea of annoying my neighbors whne I start my car in the morning changed how I wanted to approach this build. The idea that the EPA is going to crack down on us any day is limiting my build path. But, I still have to do it anyway. Cobb downpipe ready to go when it gets warmer. Fujitsubo cat back already on. Cobb redline intake and 90 percent of the password jdm carbon fiber under the hood. Cylinder 4 coolant mod ready to go, the go fast bits adjustable blowoff valve. I'll have everything you can do legally that is easy to swap back when it's not. It looks great and is comfortable. When I get tuned it'll be for street use and reliability, just making the parts work together and be smooth. The suspension is tight and already gives you that fast feeling even if it isn't. This will be my long term car until they force us all into a Tesla. I no longer need all that power in my Subaru. I own my own house now with a garage, so with that security my power car is back to my Honda civic hatchback. Fully built motor all brand new parts gsr turbo. It will be exactly what I wanted back in 07 before it was stolen. I can appreciate my Subaru as an adult because I have the toy to play with now. But that mod bug will always be with me and I just want to be different in a scene where everyone has the same car.

1 month in my first subaru. I love it!

Bought a 04 Wrx limited 2 years ago (dream car) it would be my weekend warrior and i love driving it around and 2 months after ownership, i got hit in the quarter panel ( persona was texting and driving🤦🏻‍♂️) and its slowly getting fixed. Change it and slowly been building the engine. April this year will be the day i can drive it again and it will have a brand new paint job done. It’s a long process but ill get there soon and once that blows up the engine. I plan on doing an H6 swap and stripping the whole car to repaint the shell in a different color so i can take it to sema with a wide body and everything. All paint and body work will be done by my brother and I since he’s an auto painter. I have really high hopes for this car but this progress has taught me that everything takes time. Won’t probably start the H6 swap until 7 years down the line tbh

Hey man, great video. However, this video made me sad. I purchased my 2018 WRX 3 months ago and just finished getting it how I want it cosmetically. It’s Dark Metallic Grey with satin black STI lip kit all round that I painted myself in 2K. I mounted a spoiler to it and a CS Vortex Generator on the roof too. I LOVE the way it looks, it has a set of smoked silver 19”s too. The car is going to the tuner in a month to get J pipe, Cai, upgraded TMIC, charge pipe and a pro Tune. I also installed a Perrin short shift kit myself (transformed the car). I love the car so much RN and it’s my daily that I’m stuck with for years, I overpaid for it because of “COVID tax.” But now your making me think that I’ll only like it this much for a year and want to move on? That sucks considering how much love and money I’ve put into the car so far.. Don’t get me wrong, I wish all the time I bought an STI instead, but I’ll be with this car for years due to the investment. I hope I never get over it. I had my 08 for a year and loved it for every second, only sold due to needing a bigger car, bought a commodore wagon and sold that because I hated driving a boat haha. Sorry for the rambling, great video and I enjoyed the different outlook, just hope I don’t get over my car lmao.

I got mine on the first, a new 2021 limited. So not quite 2 months. I definitely feel the honeymoon phase as I love the car all around. I'm a little bit older (I turn 40 this year) and I've owned enough cars at this point to not be blinded by that love. Coming from my beater 2010 civic, I bought it planning to have it for about a decade. It checked all the boxes I really cared about: sedan with enough space for a car seat, a bit of spunk but not over the top, blue (WRB), and a manual transmission (I have never owned an automatic transmission). It also checked a bunch of boxes that I didn't even realize I wanted until I got the car. Proximity key with push start, heated seats, AWD (I live in the NE). It's nice to have a moonroof again and functioning air conditioning (lol). I have found a few things already I wish we're better. The clutch pedal is kind of ridiculous, buying primo gas sucks, the mpg is kind of a bummer, but not wholly unexpected. This is my daily and my gas costs went up nearly 100% which is jarring. I've put a few minor mods on the car so far, but only appearance items. I'm gonna keep everything stock at least until the warranty is up. Maybe I will never do anything performance wise. We'll see I guess. Overall, I still love it and I feel that overprotective compulsion, but it's my daily and it's gonna get some dings along the way eventually. So far I'm pretty happy and see myself keeping it for a decade.

I 100% agree with what you say here, two years of STI ownership, I am just in the phase you mentioned you don't want to drive this car too much, but the reason for me is a little bit different, STI is not that good for daily, especially I have an HKS SP coil and a Tomei exhaust, beside that I have a crosstrek for daily. but I still love driving this car, that is because I am not only a car enthusiast but also a driving enthusiast, everytime I drive this car I think I learn something, so I plan to track build my STI and when I take it to the Palmer, I think I will learn more!

Yes I been in that honeymoon face the best thing about subaru is the family you create is the most peaceful group i experience ,GOOO! SUBARU!

I agree 100% I’m about 10 months in in my new 21’ WRX premium. It kinda sucks lol 😂 but I still do like it and don’t really like anything better for 32k at this point so its all good but you’re right it gets old real quick

I believe it's on the person, what is mean is I'm 36 not actually young but not actually old I just got my second WRX. I came from used 16 Wrx stock that was in accident and transmission replaced to a brand new 21 WRX limited. I had my last WRX for 4 years and still loved it, same with my new one. I've had plenty of cars, so I knew what I was getting into let's say twice lol. Being older negates some of that I have to get something different phase and/or it's getting old phase. Another aspect is this is not my daily car so it's always fresh just to get in a manual from my automatic Honda Fit. I believe a daily car will never be that satisfying wow factor that a car enthusiasts or non car enthusiasts looking for. I enjoy the looks of the car and how it was put together with the cons at the price point. The pros outweighs the cons for me, I plan on modding it of course. But I knew from the gate I'm not looking for a monster high end hp, just something with some pep. I'm married with kids, so I really don't need that 700hp +. If you know you want major power and etc, you need to look and do major research and get what you need to satisfy that itch forever.

Just got a brand new 2021 WRX back in July, and I'm definitely still in that honeymoon phase. This is honestly my favorite car on the planet that I can get in this price range, and I don't think I'll be looking into any other platform any time in the near future because the only other platforms I'd ever be interested in are $60k+ so unless I get a better job or get lucky in the future, I'm stickin' with with the WRX lol.

ive been a subaru owner for 10 years i had a 04 forester than 2008 impreza and now i drive a 2017 wrx limited. i love the wrx a lot but i do miss having an older subaru to drive in the winter months and not care about it getting ruined. the dream would be to buy a second car at this point something older and just mainlt drive the 17 wrx in the spring and summer and my older subaru in the winter

I think the honeymoon phase, going through the negatives and wanting to trying something different, relates to any hobby. But I agree with the inconvenience of not wanting to drive the car because of damage. Parking the STI far to prevent door dings and other damage. It is just other people do not respect other people’s property.

I think the 15+ wrx is a modern day performance car for the person who wants to push the platform to it limits and still be able to daylily the car. Don’t go on the e. Coming from a 14 sti, I choose the current day wrx for everyday driving.

At 18 months of ownership now on my 20' WRX. Certainly a lot to love about the car, a lot to like, and things that I dislike. At the moment just enjoying the car stock, but want to make a bit more power. I know that maintenance only gets tougher down the road but I think I'm ready for that. I don't drive it too much and after 18mo, it's only at 8k miles so I hope for years of fun with this car. I think one solution to keeping things fresh would be to buy a second car, used maybe older, and modifying that and vary which car you drive. I think what I'm dreading the most right now is the inevitable door ding in a parking lot. Lol 😬

I have yet to own a WRX but currently have a 2022 on order , but I can say that my experience with other vehicles mostly pickups and then the last 6 years Wranglers all of which cost a significant amount of more money, I get the honeymoon idea and then totally get the time when you can say everything you love and hate about a vehicle but I will and never have gotten to a point that I didn't want to drive something because I was afraid to have it damaged... A vehicle is a worthless investment and no matter what you do they lose value so drive them and enjoy them and if you don't well simply get something else

I must be in the "existence" phase. I have nearly ten months on my 2021 WRX, and I've been keeping the miles off. It mostly just sits in the garage and it hasn't even seen rain in all that time, let alone snow. Illinois salt is very destructive so I want it to stay rust-free. I have three other cars including another garage queen and two rusty beaters to drive in the winter.

Have a 2015 Subaru wrx love the car, super fun quick and nice sound. But my dad has a had a 2012 ford raptor since 2014 and I can’t seem to loose the love for the sheer power and roar of a bigger engine, love my wrx but that’s my take.

I agree with your fazes of ownership. I have a different perspective because I own a 600hp 335i as well which I have had for 5 years, I have daily driven it, delivered pizzas in it, taken it on numerous trips. So I have lived with modded cars a while. I eventually stopped dailying it, because like you said, I didn’t wanna put more mileage on it or damage it. So I bought a vw 1.8t Jetta to daily. Then decided that wasn’t fast enough so I got a mk6 GLI to daily instead. Had that for a year, and traded it last October for a brand new 21 WRX. So WRX is not my first platform, tuning and modding is not new to me. But I said I would not mod this WRX till the warranty was up. That did not last long, as it’s been 5 months and I’m stage 1+ and custom e30 tune😂 and now I’m already to the existence stage after only 5 months because I really don’t want to hurt the car anymore daily driving it and I’ve considered getting a 3rd car to daily. 😂

Just 2 years in on my 2020 WRX. I haven't finished modding it, currently stage 2+. I still like it very much, but I wish for more power sometimes. Hopefully the next set of upgrades and a protune will do that. I haven't launched the car or done 0-60 runs because I'm afraid of burning the clutch. I don't even know how fast it would be. I'm not afraid of upcoming maintenance or possible damage. Took it ice racing recently and it was more fun than the track. Got lots of positive comments and jealous remarks from my instructor. Still mostly positive about the car at this point.

I have a cosmic blue 2014 Wrx , and a 17 Wrx , I’m more into my ej2.5 (2014) over the fa20.(2017) Fa20 has higher boost for sure stock . But nothing sounds and or feels better than my 2014.

MY18 WRX limited I brought brand new late 2017, is my first subie and my daily, I still love driving the car, but I also catch myself contemplating an STi 😁 I definitely agree with the different phases of wrx/car ownership. Personally I’m still in a mix of both enjoying the car when it was brand new but also looking at a future upgrade. If the new STi is decent I will be very tempted to try it out 🙂

The prices on them are insane right now

I'm on my 6 years too and I can't wait to pay this baby off lmao

My 2020 WRX base model is my second WRX (last one was a 2011), so I went into this car knowing that there will be dumb things about this car and that I would make some changes. The exhaust is really quiet from the factory so I got a used STI Performance exhaust, for cheap. The stock wheels are ugly and heavy, so I got some BBS wheels from the GD chassis STi, again for cheap. Interior? Just don't talk about it. It's going to rattle and buzz. The shifting feel is honestly terrible compared to my BRZ so I have done a couple of things to make it better. This is a compromised sporty car with an economy car interior that can serve as a reasonable family car. If you set out with this platform thinking it'll be the most amazing driver's car or a great cruiser out of the box, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. In the past couple of months, I've considered switching to a used ISF, Pontiac G8 GT, a 05-09 Legacy with an H6, and heck, even a Camry Hybrid. Those are all potentially cool options in their own way but the used ones don't come with a factory warranty and as soon as you see snow falling outside, you realize that with a set of winter tires, you can stomp on the accelerator everywhere and do hilarious things in the WRX without ending up in a ditch. It'll also haul your wife and two kids. Versatility, especially in winter, is what this car is about, and that's why I'm keeping it.

1.3 years in on my 2020 WRX PREM. Started looking at Supercharged V8's...In stock form its just too slow and i dont want to destroy my comp warranty.

I totally agree even tho ive only had my 2020 cvt wrx for 6 months

Car looks great. I have a base 2021 and am buying wheels. What should I expect for poke with a +42mm 18 x 8.5

18 wrx 4 years now, love driving it every chance I can, but def wanting something new, waiting on the new STI to see if it’s worth it, or an M3 it is

Ten minutes I will never get back.

I love my daily wrx after 3+ year of ownership. I’m still in the honeymoon phase, grateful, and blessed. Only con imo is the carb build up, and instead of ringland, FA has something else. Awd and 4 door is a pro and con for me. I don’t need awd or a 4door but it’s nice to have. Kind of want a coupe and FR car.

what fire exhaust is that?

The door dings r the worst. Entire drivers side covered by dings. Idiots on bikes scooters and haters. Plus I live in the city. 45 minute train ride out plus 200 bones a month is what I have to deal with. I've put 100000 miles on the protune. 142896 total miles. Oil tires spark plugs and brake pads and rotors r my curse. 2017 WRX FA20 stage 1.5 protuned by Snailperformance. Cobb accessport sf intake cobb ss turboback perrin pitch stop perrin sump restrictor pill Exedy clutch. Planning rebuild on drivetrain at 200000. 91 and up has kept the insides alive. E25 blend sometimes for hot days.

Hows that automatic transmission holding up

You really gotta lower your car