Thinking about buying a 2018 BRZ STi
 

I live in Japan, and will be getting into a new job soon that comes with a huge pay raise. So I have decided to buy a new car for myself.

I was debating about a BMW, but after going to the Tokyo Motor Show this year, I fell in love with the new BRZ STi.

So here's my question...


Should I pull the trigger on the BRZ STi, or is there any news or rumor about another GT-86 or BRZ in the making that will be better?

Ask your self this: Why?

If it's not on a dealership show room it does not exist.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Wait at least half a year into your new job to buy a new car. You never know how long a new job will last.

Buy yourself a Honda. More power, more room, cost less.

Absolutely not on the Honda lol I don't like any of the new Honda cars. Saw the new Civic Type R at TMS too, and it looks like crap. I like their bikes though.

And the job is contractual... So no worries on waiting.


I will count your vote as yes on the BRZ STi.

This forum has a weird tick for recommending shitty hondas to people instead of our own cars. When did all these honda fangays infiltrate our community?!

Do you mean the BRZ STI Sport?

Reference: https://www.torquenews.com/1084/new-...8-sports-coupe

I do agree with ensuring you have more than enough reserve money before purchasing anything new. However, I am not as familiar with how the car system works in Japan, as I thought having a place to park your car was Job #1.

There are a few long threads about the "BRZ tS" in USDM here on ft86. One of them being:

• http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...118856&page=21

I still generally have an issue with this car, as it offers no other performance benefits over the BRZ Limited with the performance pack.

Therefore, I would state if you did have to have a new car, the Performance Pack is available, and it is much cheaper than any STi Sports edition there, I would pick the BRZ with Performance Pack.

If there is another reason why you want the STI Sports, let us know! I would like to know what makes it more attractive in Japan.

Ps. It is unfortunately "STI", as Subaru Technical International changed that around 2006 from STi to STI. :(

Or 15+ year old cars. Just wait it will happen.


"Oh you are looking at a brand new 86? I would say go buy a 1996 Skyline if you are in Japan"

Dang Tcoat... You've got me! Although I was going to say get a Honda Beat and add a "er" to the end of the name.

I wouldn't expect anything major until 2019/20 based on a 4 year model cycle.

But I'd also be holding out and seeing what the trim levels of the '18 model is rather than run out and buy a '17 this late in the year.

Performance rubber. The BRZ STI is said to come with real tires.

In any case, I took his post as he is in Japan, looking at JDM models.

Yep. Don't see how people miss that.

If someone comes on a 86 forum asking if they should buy an 86 then they probably don't know much about the car aside from what they have seen on Youtube. People like that are probably better off with a Civic in the long run. The majority of people who enjoy these cars already get what makes them so great and don't have to ask an online community about which car they should buy.


I've owned my car for almost 4 years. That being said, there are not very many people that I would recommend this car to. The majority of people these days don't enjoy driving small, underpowered cars that practically force you to rev high and downshift. Most people crave comfortable rides, nice stereos, and plenty of torque down low so you never have to rev above 4k.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhh. :cry:

I didn't, per my quotes about the market, iff you are referring to me.

Still, tires are easily swappable. Having a 7.5" rim instead of a 7" wheel I would think is more important.

I am not sure what width the STI Sport/tS wheels are, but them being an 18" wheel is a turn-off for performance.

It's all a matter of perspective. Personally I am looking forward to getting my BRZ tS next year, since it has way more power than my 112hp AE86, my 130hp CRZ, my 170hp Datsun Z, and has the same power and weight as my SR-swapped S13.

I'm really looking forward to a car that sprints to 60 in only around 6 seconds.
With all the track time I've put in with my current cars, taking possession of this thing will feel like unlocking a superweapon....

Sure, I get that, but you're in the minority. If affordable, lightweight, rwd coupes were in demand we would have more than 1 option available to pick from.

I am not sure I totally get your reply.

This car is a niche selling car that, even compared to USDM's Subaru own sales numbers, sells 0.7% of their total car volume.

Reference: http://media.subaru.com/pressrelease...-october-sales

Therefore, I don't think that a group that is the minority really has room to tell others "but you're the minority". It appears to be an oxymoronic statement.

Also, we do. MX5. Also, this is the JDM market, so their are other cars that could fit this bill the US Market never sees.

To the remainder of your qualifiers, I have to know what the range of "affordable" or "lightweight" is, so contenders like the Alpha 4C, Lotus, Cayman, FT-1 concept, Corvette, as well as many other used cars...

Still, all of this is a tangent, at best, or more realistically a non-sequitur to the OP's question:

If that is all that you want answered -- no, there is never any news about making it better.

Enjoy your new JDM BRZ STI Sport.

Nah not you.

Always will be loads of rumours though. Anybody that waits for those rumours to come true may be severely disappointed.

Being the JDM market, the Toyota 86 Gazoo Racing could be a comparable selection for top of the line performance 86 twins. But having been in both cars, I've got to say the paint and interior of the STI sport is really something special. Plus, it is only a 1 of 100 model....

I wasn't replying specifically to OP's post. I was responding to the user who questioned why people on here will frequently recommend Hondas to potential buyers. I constantly see potential buyers cross shopping the 86 with cars like the Civic Si, WRX, and Focus ST. While they are in the same price range, the 86 is a completely different kind of experience. If someone is having a hard time deciding between a WRX or BRZ I will always tell them to go with the WRX.


When I think of the word Coupe, I don't tend to think of convertibles. I think of a fixed hard top.


As for the question of affordability, I don't think many people would classify a car costing more than $50,000 as "affordable."


I guess what I am trying to say is that a lot of people might think they like the idea of a sporty coupe like the BRZ. However, once they spend a couple of months driving it they quickly realize that they wanted something bigger, faster, or requires less effort to drive. That's just my experience though.

I have had this very conversation with my dealer's sales manager a couple of times. Over half of the FRS/86s they have sold are traded back in in the first six months of ownership. This forum represents the minority of owners and really skews what the perception of the car is all about.
He said that the main reason it id traded by the general public is that it "scares" them! They buy it expecting a normal little coupe that they can run to work in and the first time they accidently lay the rear end out they say "NOPE" and get a nice safe Corolla. He said that he hasn't had any traded in for being too slow, not big enough or any of the common "not practical" reasons we see listed here. It is plain and simple not a car designed nor intended for the everyday driver and although it serves that purpose well many do not enjoy it for what it is.

The funny thing about this situation though is this, which seems to encapsulate this weird theme on this site.

OP said: Thinking about a BMW but then "fell in love with the brz sti at tokyo auto show".

Nexy reply: "buy yourself a Honda. More power, more room, cost less."

.
.
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Wut?

That's what brought us all here, falling in love with this car when we saw it.

If you have some serious buyers regret that you would recommend a funny looking sedan in place of this car than maybe its time for you to hop in that funny looking sedan and rev your two front wheels over to a honda forum.

Even if there is a new one on the drawboard, you'll have to wait too long. The BRZ STi is a great car.

Yep.

ForFlat4Life:

"I was debating about a BMW, but after going to the Tokyo Motor Show this year, I fell in love with the new BRZ STi. "

OK, so you've fallen in love with the looks of the BRZ. That's only a little piece of the puzzle.

I'd say, drive both cars to determine which is best sitting behind the steering wheel.

For me it's like the difference between a standard SLR and a mirrorless camera. The smaller, usually lighter, mirrorless just fits my hands better.

Pick the one which fits your body best. Something I learned after years of owning cars which could be adjusted to fit my body, yet weren't a perfect fit.

I don't discuss cars with such people.
http://www.poojadang.com/wp-content/.../meh-baby.jpeg

So what you're hearing is that for the buyers who don't stick with them our underpowered car is not slow enough?

Cynicism noted, but really, they aren't drivers.

They don't want cars that move or feel alive.

They want safe,plush sofas that coddle them and make them feel like much better drivers than they are.

From the hairdressers and accountants that have zero interest in actually driving yes.

Yes. And there is nothing wrong with that. Technically speaking we are the weirdos not them.

What i've discovered...If you really want to make the wife mad, just take a turn fast and have the traction control kick in and create that crazy grinding sound of the one tire trying to prevent the rear end from coming around...:P OMG she blows up instantly!!! Are you trying to kill meeee???? I just look over...what? thats normal. :) safety. subaru. <3

"We are going to go under a truck"
"Do you have to turn so fast"
"This is way to loud I am getting a headache"
"I can't get in it is too low"
"I can't get out it is way too low"
"You are ruining the tires doing that"
"Slow down when there are bumps"
"People are staring at me"
"Slow down"
"Do you have to turn like a maniac"
"You are wasting gas"
"You trying to get us killed"
"Stop it"
"Stop it"
"Stop it"
"Stop it"
"I am never riding in this deathtrap again"

Huh, when I do that the wife giggles! Turn that thing off ;)

skip the brz sti and just get a regular one and make it what you want. Modding whether for style or performance is more fun anyway. Yes it might cost you some more, but who cares. I see no fun in buying a car and having it perfect from the factory - too boring. Its the process that keeps you coming back for more. It could be a disease, but I can't help it.

Mine does that, too. But, after she gets out of the car, I see the impressions she left gripping the door handle. For me, the stock tires seem to have a large distance separating the "baying like a pack of hungry hounds" stage and the onset of "real" traction loss. I think it's the noise that causes the problem.

That said, I learned on our run up and down the "tail of the dragon" over the summer that spirited driving with her in the car REQUIRES Dramamine.

With my wife it would require Valium.
Would probably help if she took some as well.

I disagree. You have a much better car from day one. Not perfect, but for sure better. The purpose of a car is to be driven. Not to wait and wait until you are satisfied with the result. I own 2 Subarus and I modded both of them. Reason was that we don't have any performance line here. If I had an option, I would buy a brz sti / tS.

Although there may not be a huge performance increase in the BRZ, it has everything I would upgrade anyway...
Suspension and brakes, (Brakes are a big one for me).
and it just looks so damn good.

This is a bit vain, which I am okay with, but I another big reason is because I can... All of my friends in the states can't get a BRZ STI, and I kind of like the fact that I can have one, and (the proverbially) you can't get one.

I'm a jackass lol but it's one of the reasons I like it.


For the most part though, it's because I want to buy a car, with a nice and safe warranty, and start saving money while I love driving the car everyday. By the time the warranty runs out, I will have plenty of money saved up to do anything I want with it. Turbo, or supercharger, or whatever.

The JDM BRZ STI is basically the same trim as the USDM BRZ tS. Same tires, brakes, suspension, red accented interior, front bumper, etc. Only real difference is the BRZ tS gets the aero kit and wing.

There was a JDM BRZ tS, so they wouldn’t make the exact same car again with an STi badge.

I don’t know enough specifics to argue the point, however I am sure there are upgrades.

You can read all about those specifics on this forum and find out how wrong you are. The US tS is the same as the JDM STi just as the above poster mentioned, both better then the JDM tS because the things Subaru learned from that car were incorporated into the 2017 improvements. They probably didn't call the US version STi because then everyone stateside would be all, "ZOMG where's the turbo?!?!?!".