3000 mile review.

[Superhatch]

My commute is 110m round trip and I usually drive this 5 days a week in the summer. In the winter we will be mainly using my wife's Scion Xd (she works at the same company as I do) which has dedicated winter tires and does very well in the snow. That said I am at the point where I think I have some solid experience with the car and can do a follow up to my initial impressions.

You can also follow me here: http://thebrz.blogspot.com/

Interior
I am still in love with the interior. The controls are laid out well, and they are easy to understand. The touchscreen radio/nav is great once you learn how much force your finger needs and how to press the buttons on the screen. The seats are still firm and the seating position feels low and natural. It's similar to some of the dedicated track cars I've owned/been in. One gripe is that there is a small cubby just to the left of the USB port which would be great if it was deep enough for a phone and had a removable rubber insert rather than one that can't be moved. Great for iPod minis I suppose. Nighttime viewing and operation of the controls is easy on the eyes and lit very well. I've had two people in back so far. Once my brother who is short sat in back on a 1.5h car ride and he had no issues aside from having to wear a hat since the rear seats in essence have a glass roof and short hair + 1.5h of direct sun = sunburn. The other time my friend who is about 5'10" sat in back while my other friend who is 6'0" sat in front. They both fit, but 20m was likely all that would be comfortable. Really this car is either for short people, or two people. I think small kids could fit in the back with no issues. Also, taller people in the back have no head rest...just the rear glass. Doh.

Exterior
The paint is doing well so far but I would really like to get a clear 3M bra on the car soon. The wheels are great because they are dark grey, black and the only silver is on the outsides of every couple blades. This means that the wheels, for the most part, look the same if they are clean or dirty. The WRB does a great job of looking good even with a layer of rain dust on it. Touchless car washes, a synthetic sham and a microfiber towel make it look brand new.

Everyone I run into who has seen this car in a mag or online says how much better it looks in person. I can't agree more. Even the rear end, which I was hesitant about, fits the car well when you see it live.

Driving Impressions
This car is more fun to drive as each day goes by. I'm really getting a feel for the limits of the tires and suspension and realizing more and more how balanced the platform is. It's leagues above anything else in it's class when it comes to handling and fun. I will say that another 50hp would make the car spectacular and I'm thinking that bolt ons, an ECU and cams will make this car what many people wanted it to be. I'm having lots, and lots, and lots of fun with this car in totally stock trim and any complaint I have about hp is a small one.

To date my avg mpg is at 30.7, 70% hwy/30% city.

I've had a good amount of stick time with TCS and VSC on Full, Sport, and Off modes.

DRY-FULL
This setting make the car feel like any other car on the road for the most part. You might get a chirp out of the tires, and you might feel a very slight step out if you really get on it, but you can drive the BRZ like a fwd Civic in this condition.
WET-FULL
In the wet the Full setting is very good at keeping you in line. You can get a little more wheel spin, and step the back out a tiny bit more, but unless you are doing something very stupid you should have no troubles driving this car in the wet with everything on.
DRY-SPORT
I'm not as impressed with the Sport setting as I thought I was going to be. My expectation was that in sport you would have some ability to step out and get a little sideways, and while that is true the Sport mode also slams the door on your fun in an abrupt and unexpected manner. The sudden correction of sideways motion to an attempt to straighten you out is jarring at times. There is probably a happy medium in there somewhere, not too much slide, a slow progression to the limits of Sport mode, but it is something I will have to learn over time.
WET-SPORT
In the wet Sport mode is similar to what's noted above aside from the limits approaching faster due to the ability to more quickly lose grip. Not a lot of fun.
DRY-OFF
If you've had some rwd experience, or have an open parking lot, this is the mode you want to be in. It allows you to understand the limits of the tires, not the limits of the ECU. That limit is much higher than one would expect with a 240 A/A tire. I've entered and exited corners faster with this car than with my 91 Civic Si on full coil overs and Falken Azenis. The BRZ just sticks when you want it to stick even while the TCS/VSC is off. Learn this mode, love this mode.
WET-OFF
Unless you really want to just do some doughnuts for no other reason to do them, or know what it was like driving a rwd car prior to having an ECU which helps in the wet I don't see much reason to play around with this combo. You don't get to learn much aside from your limits in the wet, and most people aren't going to need this. Even if I was on track and I had on wet weather tires on I would likely still be in Sport mode.

[Coheed]

good read. i enjoyed it.

[Exhaust]

I approve this write up.

[kwood9000]

Nice write up...thanks!

[dsgerbc]

Good review. Did you try just the 'TSC off' mode?

[Superhatch]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

Good review. Did you try just the 'TSC off' mode?

Hmmm....perhaps not. I've only ever used that button to turn everything off. I'll give it a try today but I think it would only allow burnouts. Any sideways motion and the VSC would reel you back in. Oddly there is another mode where you are in sport, but then hold down the TCS button and you have all 3 icons (TRAC off [yellow], VSC Sport [green], VSC off [yellow]) on your dash. This isn't mentioned in the manual and I think that it's the same as holding the traction control for 3s.

[helloimgil]

thanks for the review - I'm almost to 1k miles on my BRZ and this just gets me more excited!

[Superhatch]

Oh! I know why you can't use TCS off only. Well, you can, but after 30mph it automatically turns back on. Read this in the manual when I was reading up on the different modes and I remembered it today before I tried it out. It's specifically for mud or snow so that you can put power to the wheels.

Having the ability to turn this off in my wife's car in the winter I can say that sometimes you want it on in the snow, some times you want it off, depends on the situation.