2023 Subaru BRZ vs 2018 Holden Commodore

What's the difference?

It’s an increasingly rare combination. An affordable sports car with a naturally aspirated engine in the front, driving the rear wheels through a manual gearbox. 

In the not-too-distant future enthusiast drivers will be talking about the good old days when the second-generation Subaru BRZ was sitting new in showrooms with a sub-$45K price sticker on the windscreen.

And maybe this BRZ S manual represents your last chance to acquire a mainstream performance-focused combustion car offering such a pure experience behind the wheel.  

It’s roughly 12 months since Subaru launched the current BRZ in Australia, well ahead of its Toyota GR86 twin, with the first 500 examples selling in the blink of an eye.

So, now that the dust has settled, and a relatively modest price rise from earlier in the year has been bedded down, it’s time to catch up with Subaru’s in-demand two-door.    

For many Australians, calling the new ZB a Commodore is tantamount to being forced to call your Mum’s new boyfriend ‘Dad.’ 

It's not built here, available in rear-wheel drive, there's no sign of a V8 or a sedan body, so why should we accept it as a worthy heir to the badge worn by Holden’s proudest model since 1978? 

One big reason is that it was always going to be the next Commodore, even before Holden decided to stop building cars in Australia. Yes, it was even set to be built here. 

Once the VE/VF Commodore’s Zeta platform was axed during General Motors’ post-GFC rationalisation, the next best thing was to align with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia designed primarily for Europe. 

Holden was actually involved with the new Insignia’s development from the beginning, which has led to some key details for the Commodore version and Australia, and a whole lot of input from our world-renowned Aussie engineering team. 

So it’s a whole lot more Commodore than you may realise. Whether it lives up to its reputation is another matter.