Car Reviews
Subaru’s all-new BRZ: IT WRX FOR ME
Subaru’s all-new BRZ:
IT WRX FOR ME
Santa Clarita, CA – In their first iteration, Subaru’s BRZ and its (almost) identical twin, Toyota’s Scion FR-S, represented the epitome of automotive adolescence. With its front-engine and rear-wheel drive, the platform was – in this century – an automotive outlier. You could, of course, still purchase front-engined, rear-wheel drive cars and trucks, but the cars were invariably on BMW and Benz showrooms, and the trucks…well, they were trucks. A driver-focused 2+2 at an under-$30K price point was automotive gold, and the Subaru/Toyota joint venture enjoyed a reception fully appropriate to a Gold Rush.
Introduced to the U.S. market in 2013, and based on concepts shown several years earlier, the BRZ felt familiar from the very beginning. With that, the BRZ’s 200 (or so) horsepower didn’t deliver the expectations provided by the low-slung profile or platform, and its almost-agrarian noises and vibes didn’t wear well. Like most low-volume coupes updates were few, and it would be nine model years before a redesign would appear. And this was after the rumor mill warned – repeatedly – that no redesign was planned by either of the partners. But the redesign did happen, and I’m here to tell you…it’s worth the wait.
In the walk-up, the sheetmetal is immediately identifiable as the BRZ, but every surface (save – perhaps – the doors) looks to have been reworked. The hood and front fascia are mildly Ferrari-esque, while the front and rear fenders benefit from mild flares. In the rear I’d liken it to the difference between Porsche’s Carrera and Carrera 4, where the all-wheel drive variant (at one time) received a widened track and fenders to better accommodate a wider tread. You won’t confuse Subaru’s treatment with the dune buggy proportions that SEMA’s aftermarket is inclined to provide, but the result is more visceral, albeit in a softer, less threatening way.
Inside, what Subaru describes as an all-new, ‘driver-focused’ interior works as well as we remember it. This remains an interior environment furnished to its price point, but the buckets in our Limited trim supplied a great combo of support and accessibility, although my still-skinny backside wasn’t the test the Average American will give it. While some surfaces are graced with soft-touch surfaces (and the Limited trim enjoys Ultrasuede seat covers), hard plastic abounds. And I continue to wonder why Japan and Korea think everyone with a performance-oriented trim level wants red stitching anywhere…and everywhere. Give me, please, a delete button.
As a grandparent, I’ll mention the +2 seating, making it possible to shuttle our 8-year-old grandson to school without placing him in the front seat. But this remains very much a +2 environment for young kids; they’ll outgrow it by junior high. It’s also a one-piece rear backrest, which works against carrying both a kid and stuff; folded, there’s plenty of room for stuff, but with a rear seat passenger the stuff heads to the smallish trunk.
The biggest news is found under the hood, where the powerplant now displaces 2.4 liters, and delivers 228 horsepower along with a 15% bump in torque, to 184 lb-ft at 3,700 rpm. The diehards were hoping for something turbocharged, perhaps from Subaru’s WRX. And while the WRX’s 271 horsepower would have been delightful (and numerically match the first Mustang’s High Output V8!), it’d also have been more expensive. Whereas the new BRZ in Limited trim tops out at about $31K, I’d assume a turbo version would be closer to $35K. With all of that, the 228 you get is a real improvement over the 200 the BRZ was first launched with, its flexibility is amazing and the connectivity of its standard 6-speed manual is everything you’d hope.
On the road I’ll give it mixed reviews. If the asphalt is smooth the BRZ’s ride/handling dynamic is wonderful. But if the freeway is grooved, as most of it was between Los Angeles and Palm Springs on a day trip, the noise and vibration coming from the Limited’s 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport summer tires were fatiguing just 30 minutes into our 2+ hour drive. And adding insult to the hearing damage was the 18-inch rim getting dimpled when ‘negotiating’ a pothole, something LA has more of following December rains.
With that, I’m still all-in on the BRZ design, spec and menu. Unlike so many redesigns, Subaru’s product team left all that made the 1st– gen so good, while reducing – or wholly eliminating – its few negatives. The footprint hasn’t grown…only your enjoyment.
