Which Subaru Models Come With A Manual Transmission?

It's no secret that manual transmissions have become an endangered species in today's auto industry. While numerous improvements have helped make stick shift transmissions easier to use than ever, stick shifts continue to be a niche choice at best. Despite a small but vocal segment of car enthusiasts passionately advocating for cars with three pedals, manual options on the new car market continue to dwindle. 

Even so, some car companies have done a better job than others in keeping the manual alive, and Subaru is one of those. A company long known for its unconventional boxer engines and capable AWD systems, Subaru once offered manual transmissions in nearly every model it made. But as with most automakers, those days are long gone. 

While Subaru, like so many others, has dropped the manual gearbox option from its mainstream offerings, its two enthusiast-focused cars, the WRX sedan and the BRZ coupe, both still come standard with six-speed manual transmissions. In the eyes of modern enthusiasts, Subaru selling two different, relatively affordable manual cars is better than can be said about most companies these days.

Though Subaru now limits manuals to just the WRX and BRZ, up until recently, you could still get a stick shift in some of its more mainstream cars. Both the Impreza and the mechanically similar Crosstrek offered a manual up until the 2024 model year, but now the manual is gone, with Subaru's CVT standard on both cars. As Subaru likely gleaned from its sales data, dropping the unpopular manual option on these cars likely had little to no impact on projected sales.

Dropping the manual option from the legendary WRX would be a different story. As we've found in our reviews, the six-speed manual in Subaru's turbocharged rally-bred sedan remains a crucial part of the WRX's driving experience, and the stick has a very high take rate among buyers. According to Subaru, over 80% of WRXs sold are optioned with a manual transmission, so we don't see the manual option going away anytime soon here.

The same can also be said about the other Subaru offered with a manual, the BRZ. Like its mechanical twin, the Toyota GR86, the BRZ is a rear-wheel drive sports coupe that's designed more for driving pleasure than it is outright performance, and the enjoyable, standard six-speed manual is a huge part of that appeal. As long as Subaru (and Toyota) continue to build this car, we expect a manual to be an option in the BRZ.

As an enthusiast, it's easy to grovel at a car company for getting rid of its manual transmissions, but in the overall scheme of things, Subaru has done a commendable job keeping the manual alive. Even more credit is due when you consider the WRX and BRZ are both pretty affordable as far as new cars go. In contrast, look at some much larger companies, like Chevrolet and Ford, both of which were stalwarts of the affordable car enthusiast market at one point. Chevy, amazingly, doesn't currently offer a single vehicle with a manual transmission. Ford meanwhile, still offers manuals, but only in the Bronco 4x4 and the increasingly pricy, V8-equipped Mustangs.

Sure, a stick shift in a modern Subaru Forester or Outback might be fun and quirky, but the word niche would be an overstatement to describe the nearly non-existent demand for a family CUV with a manual transmission. We'll continue to be happy that the WRX and BRZ are readily and relatively inexpensively available with three pedals.

If we could just make one tiny request from Subaru, it would be to bring back not just the manual transmission in the Crosstrek, but the entire powertrain from the WRX. We've come to enjoy the Crosstrek's agile, rugged personality, so just imagine how fun it'd be with the WRX's 271 turbocharged horsepower and six-speed manual. We think that's the kind of niche that would make a difference.