Well, finally got to drive the car off the lot around 6:45. I had company waiting for me at home so I didn't get to take all the pictures I wanted. Those will come. But here are a couple I took at the dealership.
So, initial impressions:
Fantastic. It's unbelievable how well sorted the suspension is for it being a stock car under 30K. It feels like the car is already modded. The low CG means there's barely any body roll, which is surprising considering how soft the springs and sways are.
Let's see if I can organize this.
Steering: A lot heavier than I thought it was going to be considering all the "great, but" reviews regarding the electric steering. I really like the feel.
Shifter: Very nice and precise. The position is good, but the pivot is a LOT higher than in my other Subarus. It will take some getting used to. Gear engagement is positive. But I need to get used to the new gears and clutch to smooth my shifts out.
Clutch: My biggest disappointment. A lot of reviewers like it, which makes me think I must be used to very heavy clutches. The BRZ's clutch is VERY light. When I first stepped on it, the clutch reminded me of the one in my old corolla when the slave was busted. But other than the feel, it's a good clutch. Engagement is mid-high and I adapted to it pretty well for the driving I did today.
Visibility: Excellent out the front and sides. Rear is pretty good. But the sail panels are a bit thick. Looking out the passenger side is good. But looking back over my left shoulder is blocked. I'll need to change my lane-change habits with this car.
Seat: Very supportive. However it's just a touch tight for my fatness. But hey, more incentive to lose some weight. The belt rests against the side of my neck which is mildly annoying. There's a loop on the seat's shoulder, but I'm too big to leave the belt in there. Hopefully the people experimenting with hard seatbelt guides will find oen that works.
Radio: Good, but needs a lot of fiddling. The Bluetooth is good and integrated very easily with my Thunderbolt. The hardest part was finding the Bluetooth device search on my phone. There is a 12V port in the glovebox. So I can connect my phone to a charger and stuff it in the glovebox and let it connect to the stereo via Bluetooth.
GPS: I didn't get to play with this much, but looks a LOT better than the sorry excuse in the spec.B. I'll mess with it more to see if it is at least as good as my old Garmin.
Back Seats: Yeah... Wow.. Small.. This will be interesting trying to get a friend back there with another who's as big as me in the front seat.
Power: The thing you've all been waiting for. I haven't been able to hammer on it due to break in. But I did do a short run through the gears. Since I'm used to turbo cars, I miss the rising tide of torque, so it doesn't feel as aggressive. But we'll see how it is in daily driving. And once I've got it broken in some more I'll do some playing in the upper RPM range.
I can't wait to take this to an AutoX. I've already inadvertently engaged the stability control three times.
