Dear enthusiasts, if you want to continue to have cool car options, then you need to buy those cars. While that sentence seems like a simple fix to a more complex problem, I completely understand that it’s difficult to purchase anything at the moment. Especially something as major as a new vehicle. Still, a sales slowdown is in full effect for two relatively entertaining machines: the Subaru WRX and BRZ.
All of the pertinent arguments apply in this case. Crossovers move the needles, prices on popular models continue to climb, and Subaru still has yet to deliver a real-deal STI that its more hardcore customers are waiting to see materialize. That rising cost issue has hit the WRX particularly hard.
As pointed out by The Drive, the base price of a WRX has risen by nearly $10,000 since Subaru updated the second-generation version in 2022. On the flip side, WRX sales are down 41 percent year-to-date in 2025.
Subaru says it’s making room on dealer lots for the freshened-up Forester and Outback models. This excuse certainly holds water. The Crosstrek Hybrid and 2026 Outback are likely to get fresh butts into seats. Wilderness models sell especially well as all that extra cladding seems to appeal to a dyed-in-the-flannel Subaru customer.
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Source: Subaru
While WRX is tanking, the BRZ is slumping. Year-to-date sales of the oh-so-entertaining coupe are down over 8 percent. Taking a look at just the month of October, however, Subaru sold 365 examples in 2024 compared to just 182 in 2025.
| Oct 2025 Sales | Oct 2024 Sales | YTD 2025 | YTD 2024 | |
| Subaru BRZ | 182 | 365 | 2,466 | 2,688 |
| Subaru WRX | 720 | 1,637 | 8,859 | 15,182 |
While the end of the year isn’t exactly a top-tier time to purchase a sports car, the slump is still quite noticeable for the BRZ. Perhaps potential BRZ customers are waiting for the next generation of the car to arrive. Back to our current reality, though, and how it relates to that opening sentence.
Affordable sports cars, or even sporty cars, are few and far between these days. What does the word “affordable” even mean anymore? Subaru eliminated the base BRZ trim for the 2026 model year. If you even want to get in the door, you need to start with a BRZ Limited and a starting price tag north of $37,000. There are certainly options closer to the better side of the $30,000 mark.
But “affordable” continues to sit as a term that has less resonance with the group of folks most likely to buy a given vehicle. I know that enthusiasts generally want to put their money where their mouths are. But I also know those same mouths need to be able to afford to eat, too.
