BRZ comes last in EVO group test

[ft86Fan]

I wouldn't worry too much guys. The way I read it, they are constantly complaining about the lack of torque because they want the car to be sideways in the dry and it just doesn't have the torque to do it and especially with an auto transmission. But why does a car always have to be sideways? Is that a measure of how good a car is? Maybe I don't want the car to be sideways. I'm actually sick of seeing this car sideways. I want a track car with good grips. I don't recall any other reviews complaining that the car lacks power.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

This just reaffirms my plans to supercharge the car and put stickier tires on. All of the problems mentioned in the article will be solved!

That's essentially what this review highlighted for me. Needs boost.

I was already considered about the low torque output, this doesn't put my mind at ease at all.

[Capt Canuck]

Originally Posted by Spaceywilly

Their biggest complaint (really their only compaint) was the power delivery. The auto has longer gears and a torque converter. I think the review would've been a lot different if they had a manual.

Certainly do not disagree to that and wasn't implying there couldn't be a different verdict
My response was to the other guy's hyperbolic statement on the waste of spacefullness of the article.

[uspspro]

The manual, with it's shorter gears, does actually change the way the car handles. More torque generally helps oversteer.

[zoomzoomers]

To me this review is like them testing a BRZ against the WRX or a Mitsu Evo. One is a new comer and the other is pretty much in a class by itself. Let's not even mention the turbo motor. We all know that a properly set up FWD car can do just as well as a RWD car. So let's just call that moot. So it really was a duel between a turbo motor and a NA 2.0, so I think the BRZ went into the ring undergun'd, IMO. In either case, it doesn't change my mind about the car one bit.

[Dimman]

Not concerned.

Big thing here is everyone wanting power oversteer. Why?

Response and predictability are fine.

[Bristecom]

My concern is not power oversteer but power band. I don't want to be rocking my head back and forth when it drops below 6500 rpm like they're saying you need to... LOL

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

My concern is not power oversteer but power band. I don't want to be rocking my head back and forth when it drops below 6500 rpm like they're saying you need to... LOL

I'm getting a manual car, and am pretty sure a lot of that complaint is the auto's gearing/converter.

[Rampage]

Originally Posted by bneale

After all Chris Harris writes and drives for EVO mag and he flew all the way to Japan just to drive it for 20 minutes and loved it!


bneale

Chris Harris tested the car on a racetrack in Spain. In fact, all the early reviews were conducted on racetracks which tend to be smooth and represent a controlled enviorment. Journalist and high performance drivers were encouragaed to drive the car at its limits. Now the car is being released to the real world and the honeymoon seems to be somewhat over. It was just plain unrealistic to think that this car could be everything that Toyota and Subaru hype said it was. But that does not mean it is a bad car or that it cannot revive the Japanese tuner market. If anything this type of article will make enthusiast buyers more determined to tune the car to their personal liking.

If there are lessons here at all they are:

1. Do not believe the advertising department hype of any car manufacturerer, They are in the business to make money, period.

2. Toyota and Subaru overpriced the car and therefore put it within comparison range of some very good performance machines.

3. RWD is not the coming of the performance car messiah. For lower power cars FWD is not inferior to RWD on the racetrack or the street.

4. You should never test an automatic against manual shift cars in a low end sports car test like this one.

[Sport-Tech]

Again, Evo drivers are not your typical enthusiasts, they are quasi-racing pros. I'll be more interested to see what more "mainstream" reviewers find in a comparison - guys who drive and experience things more like real-world drivers, even when going fast.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by Rampage

If there are lessons here at all they are:

2. Toyota and Subaru overpriced the car and therefore put it within comparison range of some very good performance machines.

Not sure how this follows from this or any other reviews we saw so far.
Please name a few of those "very good performance machines" you can get new.

[Buggy51]

Hmmm I'm just reading this quote: "It reminds me not of a junior M3 or slightly more grown up MX-5, but a Porsche Cayman. Similar unshakeable composure and poise."

I'm very unlikely to use the care to go sideways or on a track, so most of the points seem more negligible to me. But isn't it good to have that feeling of composure?

[brzmaybe]

Originally Posted by bneale

I like EVO mag and all, but I think they got some of the priorities slightly wrong with this article.

bneale

If you trust John Barker on the track, then I'm afraid that EVO got it right.

When Motor Trend drove a preproduction BRZ on the track in Japan they wrote:

"That is not to say push is entirely absent. Apparently, for safety reasons, understeer is the default condition when you get sloppy. It's easy to induce through early turn-in, which causes the front outside tire to roll over and howl unhappily as the nose plows."

Eerily similar reporting from two different publications, testing on two tracks on opposite sides of the world.

There's enough bad news from enough credible testers to make me wait to drive both cars before I buy, and wait for head-to-head Subaru/Toyota comparisons.

For now, my money's in my wallet where it belongs.

[touge-n00b]

Originally Posted by bneale

Not sure if Chris Harris was part of this test group or not but I suspect he wasn't.

Chris Harris no longer writes/reviews for EVO, and that's a big reason why EVO scooped up

.

As far as I know, he know contributes to PistonHeads, as well as his own show on the Drive YouTube network.