Manual-Only 2024 Subaru WRX TR Can Hit the Track from the Get-Go

• The manual-only 2024 WRX TR comes well equipped, with a more aggressive suspension tuning, and is meant to be the top performer in the WRX lineup.

• It also gets a serious brake upgrade, including a larger master cylinder and red-painted mono-block calipers with six pistons in front and two in the rear.

• When they hit showrooms in early 2o24, base WRXs will start at $33,855, top-line GTs at $45,335, with the TR coming in at $42,775. Trims also include Premium and Limited models.

The Subaru WRX TR ain’t what it used to be, and that isn’t necessarily bad.

The original TR was a stripped down, lower-priced WRX aimed at buyers who planned aftermarket mods out of the box. It debuted in 2006—the era of WRX wagons and the Saab 9-2X—at $24,620. TR stood for Tuner Ready. With a model changeover in 2008, TR spec become the base WRX.

The 2024 WRX TR is a different beast. It comes well equipped, with option packages available, though it’s not the peak of the WRX line by price (that would be the plusher, automatic-equipped WRX GT).

Most importantly, with more aggressive suspension tuning and a serious brake upgrade, the manual-only TR is meant to be the top performer in the WRX lineup, measured by lap times. In this iteration, TR stands for something closer to track ready.

All ‘24 WRXs come with Subaru’s turbocharged 2.4-liter boxer-four, generating 271 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. All get additional structural reinforcement in the floor and rear suspension area.

In the TR, engineers took advantage of the improved rigidity by tuning the suspension with stiffer springs and firmer shocks all ‘round. They tweaked the electric power steering, ostensibly for better road feel, and fitted the TR with a Brembo performance brake package.

The brake upgrade starts with a larger master cylinder, feeding hydraulic fluid to red-painted mono-block calipers with six pistons in front and two in the rear. Disc diameter increases to 13.4 inches front and 12.8 inches rear, from 12.4/11.4 in other WRXs.

The TR gets its own satin gray 19-inch rims wrapped with Bridgestone Potenza S007s—the same sport tire fitted to Ferraris and Aston Martins.

Inside, the TR gets big-bolster Recaro sport seats in black and gray Ultrasuede fabric. There’s unique red stitching and red accents throughout, but no TR badging anywhere on the car. The standard WRX moonroof is deleted.

That, and the lighter sport seats, keep the TR’s 3,430-pound curb weight in line with lesser, comparably equipped WRXs.

The 2024 WRXs are the first manual-transmission cars equipped with Subaru’s EyeSight optical safety technology. EyeSight enables features like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and pre-collision brake assist.

Just know that the WRX can stall when it slows itself down if you fail to downshift or push in the clutch pedal. We’ll take it.

Subaru won the Targa Florio twice during the Triple-5 Impreza rally era, when that annual event in Sicily was a European Rally Championship date. We note this here because the company offered its first drive in the WRX TR around the original Targa Florio route.

There are nits to pick with new TR, starting with steering that’s still too light for a fast car, but the brake upgrade is obvious. The TR is not nearly as painful (nor hairy) as Subaru’s updated BRZ tS on ancient, battered roads in rural Sicily. It all made a great reminder that the WRX is legitimately a hypo car, with a lot of performance for the money.

This fundamental appeal is also demonstrated by sales. Subaru expects to deliver upwards of 25,000 WRXs for model year 2023, or more than it ever has in North America—inflation and supply glitches notwithstanding. With the BRZ, the WRX draws younger buyers than anything else Subaru sells.

By sales volume, Subaru remains a small brand (with consistent, moderate growth). Yet with the WRX TR—and WRXs and BRZs generally—it remains committed to performance, enthusiast-style driving, and clutch pedal-managed manual transmissions. There might be lessons here for some larger automakers.

Bravo Subaru.

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