Holden Calais vs Subaru WRX

What's the difference?

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Holden Calais
Holden Calais

$12,439 - $29,990

2018 price

Subaru WRX
Subaru WRX

2026 price

Summary

2018 Holden Calais
2026 Subaru WRX
Safety Rating

Engine Type
V6, 3.6L

Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

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Fuel Efficiency
9.1L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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Dislikes
  • Fuel use on the high side
  • Four-cylinder turbo petrol unavailable
  • Diesel not an option

  • Thirsty engine
  • No extra power over rest of range
  • No rear parking sensors
2018 Holden Calais Summary

If Holden had a dollar for every time someone had criticised the new and international flavour of Australia’s formerly home-grown hero, it would surely have more than enough spare cash to blow the dust of that vast South Australian factory and restart local Commodore production immediately.

Hell, there’d probably be enough left over to relaunch the Camira while they were at it. And maybe even knock out a new Gemini or two.

So we’re not going to do that again here. The all-new Commodore, in this case the Calais Tourer, is now here - granted having travelled further than the one it replaces - and so we’ll be playing this review with the straightest of bats.

Because the truth is, if you peel the badging - and thus the swirling emotion - off its elongated rump, then you’ll find this German-built Tourer is, really and truly, a very good thing.

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2026 Subaru WRX Summary

The Subaru WRX – do we even need to introduce this iconic beastie at all? With its rally winning roots to being a legend in its own suburb, the ‘Rex’ is a sports car that’s affordable and fun – although the one we’re testing here is one of the pricier versions: the WRX tS Spec B.  

So what is a tS Spec B? Well, the old king of the WRX world – the STI – was retired at the end of the previous generation. Now this new grade – the tS Spec B – is the new WRX monarch. 

So does this mean the tS Spec B has more superpower than the rest of the line-up? Does it have a bigger engine? How much more does it cost? Does it have a manual gearbox? So many questions – the answers are below.

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Deep dive comparison

2018 Holden Calais 2026 Subaru WRX

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