Since Subaru dropped out of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2008, it seems like the Impreza has lost some of its luster for enthusiasts. Subaru still trades on its heritage, and in 2015 spun off the Impreza's WRX badge into its own model from the Impreza. We're now in the second generation of the Subaru WRX as a standalone model, and it's a seriously underrated enthusiast's car. Most interestingly, the WRX is almost the complete opposite in sporting philosophy as the Subaru BRZ, but the WRX has more power and a more sophisticated drivetrain, and costs less.

 

Currently, a 2026 Subaru WRX starts at $32,495 versus the BRZ's starting price of $35,860 – making the WRX $3,365 cheaper despite having all-wheel-drive, 43 more horsepower, and two more doors. However, both have sporting DNA, a wickedly fun Subaru Boxer engine, and come standard with a manual transmission.