2026 Subaru WRX tS Spec B: Long-term review part three – Is this Australia’s most scenic road?

As a driving road, the Great Ocean Road has unfortunately become somewhat of a no-go zone for those who seek a challenging string of corners.

Especially at this time of year, when caravan-toting holiday-goers from all parts take over in search of the Surf Coast’s best camping spots, tackling one of the most iconic stretches of road in the country becomes an exercise in frustration.

My planned day trip down the Great Ocean Road coincided with the region's busiest period – the Christmas holidays.

Thankfully, there’s more than one way to see the Great Ocean Road and surrounds. My favourite way to visit and go for a good drive is to head inland along the Princes Freeway, then cut south and come across one of my favourite rainforest roads – Deans Marsh Road.

This goal in mind, I picked up Photographer Frank from Geelong to document the trip, and we continued westward towards Winchelsea.

A hot 35 degrees Celsius was showing on the car’s ambient temperature gauge as we drove along the freeway, so it was cold comfort (literally) that the Subaru’s dual-zone air-conditioning system was working a treat. Japanese cars really do have consistently good air-con.

However, the microfibre-like upholstery of the Recaro sports seats wasn’t as conducive to a hot day. It feels as though sweat gets trapped between your body and the seat material, and there’s poor heat/sweat dissipation.

Either way, the level of support the seats provides is fantastic. There are thick, chunky bolsters to keep the driver in tight through switchback corners, plus an elongated seat squab that raises and lowers as you need it.

Over the course of the last few months, I’ve even found these performance-focussed seats are comfortable on freeway jaunts too.

Although the Surf Coast is a holidayer’s playground, your best bet to visit is during the week when tourist traffic is at a minimum.

We zipped by all the dried-out farms dotted along the Princes Freeway in no time while listening to music through the car’s wireless Apple CarPlay connection. With this top-spec WRX, you get a nice 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and it’s been a great asset for the car – no trips to JB Hi-Fi necessary – this sound system gets a big tick.

Although there have been some instances where the car has attempted to alert me to a fixed speed camera by beeping a quick tune, which plays at a lower volume than the regular stereo music, but the car then gets stuck in this lower-volume mode for a time. It self-resolves after about 15 minutes, but this is one frustration that’s cropped up multiple times with the car.

From Winchelsea, it’s a short drive south before you hit Deans Marsh – with a fantastic general store worthy of a pitstop – and the fun really begins.

Deans Marsh Road is the thinking man’s equivalent (read: enthusiast’s) to the Great Ocean Road. It’s not like the GOR in any sense – there’s no view, and the surroundings are lush and green, compared to breezy water vistas – but it’s a challenging stretch of fast-sinewy bitumen that snakes down to sea level through some fantastic landscape.

There’s little to do to get the WRX tS Spec B primed for dynamic driving – the car actually starts off in Sport mode at each engine restart, meaning the car’s primed from the time you hit the starter button.

It’s characterised by a hefty steering weight, responsive throttle, and a firm suspension tune that strikes a great balance between remaining comfortable over manhole covers and the like, plus staying flat through bends.

This Sport mode has become my go-to with the WRX tS Spec B – Sport+ makes the car too eager for fast road driving (it’s best reserved for a racetrack, I’d think), and comfort dials the steering weight way down.

Deans Marsh Road contains plenty of challenging hairpin corners, and the Subaru’s no-cost STI Performance muffler option sounds fantastic backfiring after a heel-toe downshift.

The car’s warbly exhaust noise echoes off the steep bankings surrounding each corner, and the car’s all-wheel grip feels super composed – as though I could have taken a sharp turn down any one of the gravel-track offshoots and carried on at the same pace.

The road is speed-limited at 100km/h initially, but the posted limit drops to 80km/h through the twistier tarmac.

I ended up doing multiple passes up and down the same stretch for Photographer Frank to capture imagery, attempting faster passes with each run.

For one thing, the condition of the road is excellent – the roads are tight, but they’re cambered around bends, and there’s minimal pockmarking and lumps to upset the car’s balance.

You get a great feel from the steering, and the chassis’s purchase on the ground is feelsome through the tiller.

I only wish the six-speed H-pattern gearbox had a shorter throw. I complained about this in my last instalment, and it’s a shortfall that’s rearing its head again through dynamic driving. It’s probably one of the first few things I’d address if I owned this car myself.

Though the road is surrounded by thick rainforest, and the trees from either side of the road touch one another in a canopy overhead, you can catch a few glimpses of the glistening Bass Strait in the distance as you descend further into Lorne.

Descending the road, rather than ascending, is my favourite way to tackle it because of this reason. 

Lorne itself is packed full of people this time of year, so it’s a quick lunch pitstop before jumping back in the car, bound for Geelong via the Great Ocean Road.

Aaaand, almost immediately, we’re hit with traffic as day-trippers head back to the city.

The road flows much more seamlessly, and the margins on either side are much wider, though you’re still at the mercy of the other road-users, unfortunately.

As such, I’d recommend you shelve the dynamic driving for the Great Ocean Road and simply cruise while taking in the gorgeous vistas.

It’s not like Victoria to boast of turquoise-blue water, but the colours from beneath the cliffs at this time of year are stop-dead gorgeous.

The Great Ocean Road itself is a fantastic stretch of bitumen for drivers, but one that’s marred by traffic. There are few overtaking points, and it’s also important to stay vigilant to beachgoers crossing the road.

As such, Photographer Frank and I take a leisurely drive back to Geelong while stopping off for photos at some of the most scenic turnouts.

This experience is great in and of itself, but if you’re deadset about driving the Great Ocean Road at speed, there are ways to tackle it – you might just have to come back after dark.

Tom started out in the automotive industry by exploiting his photographic skills but quickly learned journalists got the better end of the deal. With tenures at CarAdvice, Wheels Media, and now Drive, Tom's breadth of experience and industry knowledge informs a strong opinion on all things automotive. At Drive, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.

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