As a global performance car icon, the Subaru WRX, formerly the Impreza WRX, still provides the same recipe it did nearly 30 years ago, with an all-wheel drive system, a turbocharged boxer four-cylinder engine and a sedan body style. Now well into its fifth generation, the current WRX was introduced in 2014 and has received updates throughout its model life and is set to be replaced within the next two years.
For today’s comparison, we are using WRX models from 2014 and 2015 with less than 100 000km on the odometer to determine which WRX model depreciates the fastest. Since launch, there have only been two WRX variants sold, both with the so-called ‘Premium’ specification and the only difference being the gearbox options, namely a 6-speed manual or a CVT.
Related: Subaru WRX ES Premium review: Split personality in a sedan body
The current WRX has not been a volume seller for the Japanese brand, meaning that pre-owned examples are scarce. At the time of writing, 7 WRX models listed on AutoTrader qualified for our comparison, which is not an ideal sample size as one outlier may affect the value retention percentage dramatically.
Comparing the variants
2014/2015 Subaru WRX Premium 6MT
New Price: R449 000
Average Current Price: R322 435
Value Retained: 71.81%
The manual WRX has been the more popular model from a sales perspective and this is true within the pre-owned realm, with four examples of the manual model qualifying for our comparison. As suggested previously, an outlier has affected the figures, with one low-mileage WRX example increasing the average value retention of the manual models from 67.53% to 71.81% as it was R70 000 more expensive than the next manual model.
2014/2015 Subaru WRX Premium Sport Lineartronic CVT
New Price: R469 000
Average Current Price: R289 947
Value Retained: 61.82%
The three CVT models listed on AutoTrader had a similar amount of mileage on their odometers and were priced with R25 000 of one another. Despite only having one less variant listed for sale than the manual model, the CVT appears to have a markedly lower resale value, which may come down to a lack of demand.
Related: What is covered under Subaru WRX manufacturer car warranty?
Which one depreciates the fastest?
The small sample size of the Subaru WRX line-up means that the depreciation figures were affected by one low-mileage WRX model registered in 2015, however, even after removing this model from the equation, it would appear that the manual WRX model depreciates less than
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