Subaru WRX And STI Are Still The Hot Models Among All Compact Sports Cars

The 2020 Subaru WRX and STI remain the best-selling models among all compact sports cars. See how the two sports cars felt less impact because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The 2020 Subaru WRX and STI are overdue for a complete remodel, but they are still in high demand. The two Subaru performance models out-performed all other compact sports cars again last month. Through the first eight months of 2020, Subaru of America has delivered 13,396 of the sport-tuned WRX and performance-tuned STI models to customers.

How are the WRX and STI doing compared with other Subaru models? Although all Subaru models have dropped in 2020, other than the hot Forester, which is up 0.4 percent, WRX and STI are the only models that have felt less impact because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The WRX and STI are down 16.2 percent for the year, compared with BRZ (-19.08%), Impreza (-36.6%), Crosstrek (-25.0%), Outback (-30.9%), Ascent (-19.4%), and Legacy (-27.7%).

How does the Subaru WRX and STI compare in sales with all other compact models? In the last twelve months, the WRX and STI have out-performed all other compact sports cars in North America, including the new mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette.

Subaru is still the hot model in the compact sports car segment. Subaru of America delivered 21,838 WRX and STI performance models to customers from August 2019 through July 2020.

In the same period, Hyundai delivered 8,327 Veloster models, BMW 2 Series - 8,015, Mazda MX-5 Miata - 7,753, Infiniti Q60 - 5,043, Lexus RC - 4,591, Volkswagen Golf R - 4,223, Toyota 86 - 3,398, Toyota Supra - 2,884, Fiat 124 Spider - 2,646, Nissan 370Z - 2,384, Subaru BRZ - 2,334, and Porsche Taycan - 130. The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette had 17,988 sales.

What’s next for WRX and STI?

After the BRZ sports coupe, The WRX and STI performance sedans will be the last two nameplates in Subaru's lineup to upgrade to its new modular platform.

We’ve heard Subaru will drop the Ascent-sourced FA24 2.4-liter Boxer engine in the STI, and it will get a decent bump in horsepower. Some reports say it could get as much as 400 horsepower, which would thrill performance fans. The WRX could get the same FA24 direct-injection turbocharged Boxer engine with less horsepower.

The next-generation WRX should arrive sometime in 2021 and STI later in 2022. The current-generation model is going out soon, but it’s still a good performance value and selling better than all compact sports cars.

With a starting price of $28,395 for the 2020 Subaru WRX and $37,895 for the 2020 Subaru WRX STI, including destination and delivery fees, the performance cars are arguably the best performance value in North America.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press and the founder of Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Subaru, Competition Subaru - Saint James, NY