Mazda CX-70 vs Subaru BRZ

What's the difference?

Mazda calls the new CX-70 its "flagship" five-seat SUV, which also makes it yet another flag-bearer for the brands relentless push up market as part of its 'Mazda Premium' strategy.

It might have a different badge, but it's really a five-seat version of the brand's biggest and most expensive offering, the seven-seat CX-90.

And, for reasons that will become clear in a moment, it's something of a bargain, at least in the context of Mazda's plush large SUV range.

How so, you ask? Read on.

Subaru struck gold when it first launched the BRZ in 2011.

It, alongside the related Toyota 86 (now GR86), has been the standard for budget two-door sports cars for 15 years now. Nothing besides the MX-5 convertible is in the same class.

However, buyer’s preferences have changed dramatically over the years and sports cars are at risk of becoming more mundane and vanilla to please the general public. It’s great that Subaru continues to offer the BRZ, importantly with the availability of a manual gearbox. Hallelujah.

Last year Subaru made some slight tweaks to the BRZ, including adding active safety tech and a ‘Sport’ mode to the manual trims, plus a full-size spare wheel on the top-spec tS grade.

Speaking of, we’ve got the BRZ tS manual on test here, so let’s see how it fares in 2026.