I bought and totaled a BRZ. Then I bought another.

[covance]

Originally Posted by unhappymeal

-My co-workers make jokes that I must be getting paid too much based on the car's looks. This in a parking lot with M and AMG cars. I have to politely explain to them that the car costs less than the Outbacks and Edges we outfit our Field Force with.

I hear similar comments as well. The car gives the impression of costing a lot of money to people not in the know/car scene.

[unhappymeal]

Originally Posted by covance

I hear similar comments as well. The car gives the impression of costing a lot of money to people not in the know/car scene.

Yep. Also, I have found that daily driving the BRZ has completely thrown off my sense of perspective. I was driving home yesterday and saw that one of my neighbours had a new white Mazda hatch. I thought to myself "oh, the CX-5 really looks sleek in the flesh" only to realize it was just a Mazda 3 with 18" wheels and a roof rack.

Everything looks giant now that I sit 2 inches off the ground.

[qqzj]

I need to grab the tow truck driver and stick a wrench up his ***. Even for a totalled car, there is no need to do it this way. This picture totally ruined my day ... I thought tow truck drivers are semi car guys ....

Originally Posted by unhappymeal

I am a long time lurker and probably have set the record for the shortest amount of time before totaling a BRZ.

A bit of background first. Two years ago I started a new job and purchased a Cadillac ATS 2.0T. The ATS was a good car and reminded me very much of my E46 BMW, but it had a major flaw--it was an automatic. After nearly two decades of driving manuals, I had married and decided on an automatic to share the car with my wife (who drives manual...long story). This was a poor decision and I quickly became bored of the car.

After much pestering of my wife, she gave me the go ahead to trade in her Honda Fit and shop for a new car. Cars I tested or considered before landing on the BRZ:

-2012 Porsche Cayman S
-2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS
-2016 BMW M2
-2016 Focus RS
-2016 Golf R
-2015 Lexus RC-F

Cars I've owned:

-1988 Toyota MR-2
-2002 BMW M3
-2006 Honda Civic Si
-2014 Honda Civic Si
-2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T

After test driving quite a few cars and nearly pulling the trigger on the RC-F, I ended up getting a hot deal on a 2016 Pure Red BRZ. I then promptly proceeded to roll it into a ditch.

After getting an insurance settlement, I went ahead and replaced the 2016 BRZ with a 2017 World Rally Blue BRZ with a 6-speed manual. After 350 km on the clock, here are my impressions:

-The suspension is stiff, but well damped. For those who have driven Magneride equipped GM cars, it reminds me of the dampers in Sport mode.
-The LED headlights are stupidly bright and angled poorly. I was flashed high beams twice on the drive home.
-The infotainment system and navigation are not flashy, but work well and are leagues ahead of Cadillac's CUE system (sad, no?).
-Dual zone climate control in this car is laughable.
-The car heats up really quickly--I like this.
-The 2017 steering wheel is tiny and I love it. The leather feels cheap, but I am okay with that.
-The car is not loud with the sound tube plugged. Majority of the noise is tire noise, which is pretty easy to remedy by replacing the stock tires.
-The stock tires and brakes are not awful. My initial impressions when I test drove the BRZ was that it was underbraked, but it's not the case. It really is the tires and their lack of grip, but the lack of grip suits the character of the car.
-Stock power level is more than fine. I've yet to have issues with merging, keeping up with traffic or passing when need be. This is with keeping the revs less than 4,000 RPMs due to the break-in period.
-This car is really attractive. I was waiting in a school parking lot to pick-up my nephew and kids were doing laps around the car.
-My wife hates riding passenger due to lack of height adjustment, but she loves driving it.
-The doors don't automatically lock over 25 kph or unlock when stopped. Really Toyota/Subaru?

All in all, I am very pleased with this car. It feels like an amalgamation of all of my old cars.

[Silver Cervy]

Surprised you didn't go for the M2. What turned you off about it?

[unhappymeal]

Originally Posted by Silver Cervy

Surprised you didn't go for the M2. What turned you off about it?

The M2 didn't feel special enough to warrant the dealer mark-up and awful interest rates.

I test drove one that the Corporate BMW office in Canada keeps on hand. For $76,000 CAD (before stealership mark-up!), I expect a nicer interior and more elegant car than Chevrolet Camaro. The car I test drove had ~1,000 km on it and it already had rattles over less than perfect roads. It also rode choppier than the magnetic ride Camaro SS with the suspension in Track mode. Lastly, once pointed out, I couldn't unsee the crooked driver seat. Every time you sit down you notice your lower body is off center from the steering wheel (to be fair, I have mild obsessive disorder).

If I was shopping for 3,500+ lb coupes I would take a Camaro 2SS or 2018 Mustang GT PP2 all day every day over anything from BMW. They no longer have an interior quality advantage over the domestics (or Japanese); their chassis tuning is inferior to what's coming out of GM and their long-term cost of ownership is horrific. I still have nightmares about the never ending repairs with my E46 M3.

[TheRoops]

Originally Posted by covance

I hear similar comments as well. The car gives the impression of costing a lot of money to people not in the know/car scene.

I had that a couple times when I first bought it but luckily the guy joking knows what's up and I'm the third guy to have one at work(one of the guys in his dept is who I consulted,) which is wildly amazing within a small company but not wildly amazing in my area. There's an insanely large hive of us in SE LA County.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

It is pretty much the same as all cars where the stuff after the wipers builds up and starts to freeze.
The heating system does a great job of defrosting and warming the upper body in really cold temperatures. It however really sucks at warming your feet! Even with the blower just blasting the floor the top of you will be wetting and your feet ice cold. There was a couple of threads on this and we finally figured out that even though the blower is down there it isn't circulating the heat through the whole car. There isn't enough space between the back of the front seats and the front of the back seats to allow much air movement and this prevents the air back there from heating well. The result is cold air from the back keeping your feet frozen for about1/2 an hour of driving.

This is giving me insane flashbacks to why I moved to California. My Impreza Outback wagon died due to weather after 10 years. I drove over horrifying stuff in Hartford and NYC that contributed. I commend you all for having these cars that far north.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by TheRoops

I had that a couple times when I first bought it but luckily the guy joking knows what's up and I'm the third guy to have one at work(one of the guys in his dept is who I consulted,) which is wildly amazing within a small company but not wildly amazing in my area. There's an insanely large hive of us in SE LA County.



This is giving me insane flashbacks to why I moved to California. My Impreza Outback wagon died due to weather after 10 years. I drove over horrifying stuff in Hartford and NYC that contributed. I commend you all for having these cars that far north.

Lol. Well we can't all move to California. It would get crowded.

[Willie Swoopes]

Blue is Beautiful!

I, too am the proud owner of a WRB. Can I ask about the cost to get the car so shiny? I have the original wax from the dealer with 333 miles as of last night. I'd like to keep the look as long as possible.

Did you do your own sealing and Aquapeal? I'm guessing yes from the damp halo around you car.

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by unhappymeal

I couldn't unsee the crooked driver seat. Every time you sit down you notice your lower body is off center from the steering wheel (to be fair, I have mild obsessive disorder).

I used to wonder what they meant when Subaru mentioned in their promo video that the BRZ has a centered driver's seat relative to the steering wheel, as some sports cars have an offset driving position.

I thought the new 2 series seating position is rather high for a sports car compare to even the previous 1 series.

[unhappymeal]

Originally Posted by Willie Swoopes

Blue is Beautiful!

I, too am the proud owner of a WRB. Can I ask about the cost to get the car so shiny? I have the original wax from the dealer with 333 miles as of last night. I'd like to keep the look as long as possible.

Did you do your own sealing and Aquapeal? I'm guessing yes from the damp halo around you car.

Yeah, I didn't do anything crazy though. I just washed the car twice and treated it with Black Fire Diamond. I think it costs $20 CAD for a bottle the spray and wipe, which is enough to seal the car 40 times.