Subaru BRZ Video Reviews

Completely redesigned inside and out, and with a bigger engine, extensive chassis updates and more safety tech, the second-gen Subaru BRZ rights most of the (admittedly very few) wrongs of the 2012 original. Now, there's the tS flagship, bringing minor suspension and brake upgrades to an already sharply accomplished driving package, but no more performance. Has one of the best become even better?

It's lucky Toyota and Subaru committed to a second version of the BRZ and 86 pair, but has enough changed?

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the 2017 Subaru BRZ with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The Subaru BRZ is the type of car we haven't really had for almost 30 years. Back in the 70s and early 80s, you could buy several two-door rear-drive coupes from Europe and Japan and set about getting cheap thrills.But 15 years ago, the only coupe option left open to you was an over-priced Celica or trying-very-hard-but-not-quite-getting-there Hyundai Coupe, neither of which were rear-wheel drive. The coupe got fatter then disappeared, the Celica simply died.And so the BRZ, along with its Toyota 86 twin, has become one of the most hyped cars on the planet.VALUEThe Subaru BRZ comes in a single spec 2.0 litre boxer engine to which you can add trim and transmission options. The starting price for a basic, cloth trim BRZ is $37,150 drive away -- and you can only buy the car online via Subaru's website. The automatic transmission adds $2000 taking the price to $39,150.Standard fare includes dual-zone climate control, a six-speaker stereo -- from a Corolla -- with USB input, dodgy windscreen-mounted Bluetooth unit and the genuine admiration of other road users who will photograph your car while you're driving it. A big hello to the fellow with the camera phone in the R34 Skyline who nearly killed me trying to do just that.On the outside is a handsome set of 17-in alloys that look bigger than they really are because the BRZ is so low-slung. The headlights are Xenon and there's a set of daytime running lights set low in the bumper. All paint colours are included in the price, including the surprisingly fetching WR Blue Mica of our test car.The Premium Pack is a $1500 option and adds leather to the bolsters of the seats and Alcantara inserts. The Alcantara is marginally more grippy and is nicer than the better-breathing cloth, but we're talking small percentages here. The seats also gain heating via two toggle switches on the centre console.Among the short options list is an $1800 (!) sat-nav with 7-inch touch screen, a $220 fake carbon finish for the dashboard to replace the matt silver plastic (recommended), front and rear park assist and camera at $306, $612 and $470 respectively (the camera requires the sat-nav) and some less-than-tasteful exterior styling add-ons.RIVALSAs for the competition, there isn't really anything apart from the Toyota GT 86. The 86 range kicks off with the $29,990 manual GT. The automatic GT loses the manual's limited slip diff, which is madness unless you are just interested in looks.The base GT has solid rear brakes, skinnier 205 section tyres on 16-inch rims, halogen headlamps, and air-con and a more basic instrument set. The GTS betters the BRZ's specification adding sat-nav but also weighs slightly more owing to the better equipment level.In contrast to the BRZ, you'll need to add a cheeky $400 for metallic paint – a bit sly as there's just one non-metallic colour, the lurid Fuji Red.Further afield and the price shoots skyward - Mazda's MX-5, the closest philosophical competitor, now costs a sobering $47,280 plus on roads and is even less practical than the 2+2 BRZ. The Nissan 370Z, which is really in another league with a raucous six-cylinder, nudges $70,000.Below the BRZ's price range is the front-wheel drive Kia Koup, but it is quite obviously based on a hatchback and can't get anywhere near the BRZ's driving appeal. Also from Korea is the Hyundai Veloster, but front-wheel drive also rules it out if you're after rear-borne propulsion.DESIGNThe BRZ is low, sleek and is hard to pick from a distance from the Toyota. On closer inspection, the exterior trim pieces are more restrained, with a simple chromed blade where the door meets the front quarter panel, a gaping air intake at the front and a less shouty colour palette. The BRZ looks a little more grown-up, in keeping with Subaru's overall brand character. It is refreshingly devoid of the aggressive plastic cladding Subarus are sprouting at an alarming rate.Inside is very basic. The plastics are mostly of good quality but the two-piece trim panel that spans the dash doesn't quite fit together and the steering column cowl is scratchy.The standard silver dash is annoying in sunlight as it flashes back in your eyes a bit when the sun is low. The black panel option will cure that, but isn't particularly stylish.The seats are fantastically grippy but not so uncomfortable for slightly larger folk. You sit very low in the BRZ, so low you can easily reach the ground with your hand when seated, which bodes well for the handling but less so for access.Entry and exit requires a little planning if you are to maintain decorum and a couple of female passengers complained of the process being a little unladylike at their first attempt.While it's easy to reach the ground, it's a long reach back to the pillar-mounted seat belt. There's a thoughtful snap-fastened strap on the shoulder of the seat that is meant to keep the belt from returning all the way, but as soon as you grab the belt it comes undone and is about as useful as your appendix.The instrument cluster is dominated by the tachometer which is redlined at 7000rpm and has a digital screen set into it. Which is just as well, because the small analogue speedometer is comically crowded -- numbered to 260, rendering it unreadable.  Happily, the tacho's digital screen displays your speed in large orange numbers, saving you from many, many speeding fines.A secondary LCD strip screen displays basic trip computer functions and also which gear you're in. You can watch that display for handy hints on when to shift up when you're on an economy drive.For when you're really going for it, there's a red shift light in the centre of the speedo, but it's out of your eyeline when you're watching where you're going.The Premium Pack's leather and Alcantara is nice enough and is complemented by red stitching. There's even a leather covered pad on the central tunnel right where you brace yourself with your knee while driving.There's plenty of cost-cutting in there, though. The steering column has a blank plug for an ignition barrel, the seat release to get in and out of the back is a flimsy cloth strap and the seats don't slide forward or return to their starting position.In the car's defence, putting people in the back seat of the BRZ is tantamount to a war crime, so it's probably just as well.The stereo is an obviously cheap unit from a Corolla and, while this is nit-picking, has a green backlight while the rest of the dash is orange.Supremely irritating is the Bluetooth, a black barnacle with three buttons in the upper right-hand corner of the windscreen. The larger button is to answer the incoming call and the only concession to convenience is that the stereo is muted when the call comes in.No screen, no caller ID, nothing. The cheap stereo can be easily replaced, however, so while you're at it, change the Bluetooth.TECHNOLOGYThe BRZ is powered by Subaru's fabled flat-four "boxer" engine. With direct injection, the engine produces 147kW and 205Nm of torque. The horizontal layout of the cylinders means the moving mass is kept low, resulting in the bonnet being barely higher than your knees.Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual or automatic and is apportioned by a torque-sensing, or Torsen, limited-slip differential. Internet chatterers will tell you this is a calamity of hideous proportions and the makers should have used another type of LSD. But don't listen -- they're being utterly ridiculous.SAFETYThe BRZ's safety features run to the usual pair of front and side airbags, with curtain airbags down either side and a driver's knee airbag. Vehicle dynamic and stability control is also standard, as is ABS. The BRZ also has slightly larger brakes than the 86. The Subaru scored five ANCAP stars for crash safety.DRIVINGDriving is what this car is all about. While it's quite happy doing the daily duties as a commuter car, there's nothing the BRZ likes more than a seriously bendy road. The driver will think the same, too.Given its comparatively low output of 147kW and a more meagre-than-usual 205Nm of torque, the boxer has to be mercilessly revved to wring out straight line performance. You'll quickly realise this is a waste of time.What Subaru has achieved with the BRZ is an almost perfect balance of attributes - the 215 tyres are neither too big or too small, meaning the grip level is just right.The engine's relative meekness means that you will never light the rear tyres up unless you really, really mean to. The torque means you won't slingshot out of one corner and have to stand on the brakes for the next one.The steering is beautifully weighted and communicative, achieving an almost unassisted, uncorrupted feel, letting you know where the tyres are on the road and what the surface is like.It's a trick many other manufacturers have completely failed to master and one only Mazda has been doing -- with the MX-5 -- for any prolonged period of time.You’ll hear the BRZ is a poor man’s sports car, but that’s wrong... it’s not a poor man’s anything. It’s a proper sports car. And unlike many other cars on the road today, there's no slack, you're in charge. The clutch bites strongly rather than somewhere during the travel you'll never quite master. You steering changes the direction of the car straight away and there's almost no play.It's all about the braking, the change in direction, the response from the throttle. You drive with the balls of your feet and your wrists, and it's quite delicate. It's what Gordon Murray, the fabled F1 and McLaren F1 road car designer calls "transient performance."In a way, it's like the original Mini Cooper S or Peugeot 205 GTi - you don't have to brake hard for corners, you just brush the pedal to shift the weight forward.You can build up the lateral Gs and enjoy that boy-racer feeling without fearing for your licence between the bends. Making the most of what you've got rather than letting technology dictate the parameters of your experience.The engine responds almost instantly to a flex of the toe rather than a Microsoft-style "are you sure you want more revs?"Even more incredibly, the ride is exceptionally good for a car of this type - taut, but never hard, it also manages never to bottom out.The best thing is, you don't need a track to enjoy it, because you're having fun on normal roads at perfectly safe speeds. This is the sort of car that teaches you the basics - braking, turn-in, acceleration. You can experiment, find better ways to drive your favourite road.VERDICTThe BRZ is obviously not for everybody. Many will buy it because of the hype and not get what they expected. Some might be disappointed by the lowly spec level and skip it altogether. But you don't have to care about low centre of gravity, limited slip differential or transient performance to like it. The Subaru BRZ is just a terrific car, even if you never take it for a back road thrash.This is pure 70s sports car fun without all the mechanical dramas those cars came with -- and without all the complexity and high running and purchasing costs of a contemporary one.Subaru BRZPrice: $37,150 (man) $39,730 (auto)Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl petrol 147kW/205NmTransmission: 6-speed man or auto; RWDWarranty: 3 years/unlimited kmSafety: 5 star ANCAPDimensions: 4.2m (l); 1.8M (w); 1.2M (h)Weight: 1216kg (man); 1238KG (auto)Thirst: 7.8L/100km 181g/co2 km (man); 7.1Ll, 164g (auto)Spare: 17-inch

It’s not often that the entire Australian motoring media agrees on the merits of a particular vehicle but such has been the case with the new Subaru BRZ. This exciting and affordable two-door coupe has gained rave reviews from just about everyone who’s driven it, although sadly very few members of the public, and so potential buyers, have had that opportunity and won’t have for some time.VALUEHigh global demand meant that barely BRZ 200 models made it to Australia. Of these around 50 were allocated to dealers as demonstrators meaning that demand was always going to heavily outweigh supply and all available cars were sold in just over three hours when they went on sale in July this year.BRZ is built at Subaru’s Ota plant in Japan as a joint venture with the company’s part-owner, Toyota, and it competes directly against its identical twin, the Toyota 86.The division of labour between the two companies makes a lot of sense with Toyota looking after the product planning and styling while Subaru in charge of its engineering development and production.With so few cars available Subaru adopted the unusual strategy of selling the BRZ exclusively over the internet and with national driveaway pricing – $37,150 for the manual and $39,730 for the automatic. While the entry-level Toyota 86 GT manual is priced at $29,990 that’s before on-road costs and with lower equipment levels than the Subaru so an apples-with-apples comparison brings the two models closer together in price.Standard equipment includes cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear lever, push-button start and stop, sports seats, front and rear foglights and power folding side mirrors.Those that were lucky enough to purchase a BRZ will soon be able to dress it up with a range of performance parts and accessories that were shown with an STI concept car at the Sydney motor show and which will be on sale progressively from November.These parts include front, side and boot lip spoilers, 17-inch alloy wheels, sports muffler, push start switch, instrument panel trim, black wheel nuts, rear under diffuser and flexible tower bar.TECHNOLOGYThe BRZ breaks new ground for Subaru in that it has rear-wheel drive – all its other Australian models have all-wheel drive.Power for the BRZ comes from an all-new 2.0-litre horizontally-opposed petrol engine that generates 147 kW of power at 7000 rpm and 205 Nm of torque at 6600 revs. We’ve always loved the throaty sound of the Subaru ‘boxer’ engine and so were quite happy to sit and enjoy this aural prelude before setting out on our test drive.SAFETYEquipment levels are high with standard safety equipment that includes dual front, side and curtain airbags, ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control and a retractor brake pedal. It comes with a five-star ANCAP rating.DESIGNThe Subaru coupe certainly looks the part with its low-slung styling and short overhangs. The front is dominated by a large, hexagonal grille with sweeping headlights and the rear is tall and square with an additional brake light positioned between twin large tail pipes.Too often otherwise enjoyable driving cars are spoilt by cramped interior space but although it’s necessary to hunker down into the driver’s seat, once settled in the seat is firm but comfortable and there’s plenty of leg and headroom.Although there are four seats the rear pair are basically there for emergency use rather than for long-distance travel. The boot is quite small although the rear seatbacks do fold flat for extra storage space. Surprisingly for a car where space is at a premium BRZ comes with a full-size spare wheel.Weight minimisation is paramount with performance cars and the BRZ’s combination of high tensile steel in the body and aluminium bonnet and wheels has kept its weight down to 1256 kg (manual) and 1278 kg (automatic).DRIVINGAs expected in a car of this type, the ride is firm with plenty of feel for the road yet comfortable enough for an extended trip. Steering is precise and direct with excellent driver feedback.Both the six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions were specifically developed for the BRZ. Our test car had the manual, a delightful short-throw unit which is fast and smooth and just asks to be used frequently.VERDICTWe’ve left the bad news until last because, despite ongoing pleading with Subaru’s head office decision makers, the worldwide popularity of the BRZ means that there could be a wait for up to a year before the next shipload arrives in Australia.Subaru BRZPrice: from $37,150 (manual) to $39,730 (automatic)Warranty: 3 yearsEngine: 2.0-litre horizontal four-cylinder petrol, 147kW/205NmTransmission: six-speed manual or automatic, rear-wheel driveThirst: 7.8L/100Km, 181 g/km CO2