Well... I think Im coming back.
 

After selling the 2013 BRZ and buying a home in 2016, then buying a miata, then turboing the miata.... I think its time to sell the miata and resume my BRZ journey.

For those of you that chose to go with the 6 stars in the 2nd gen, what drew you in over the gr86 counterpart?

I like the 86's interior styling and front grill more and I believe Ive read that they offer a better warranty system but the BRZ's aluminum control arms and rear suspension points kind of have me swayed. That and I intend to put a UEL on it and make burbly noises. Cant do that with a Toyota badge, can I?

Ill post pics of the old BRZ and the Miata later for funzies.

Me-ata
https://scontent-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...-g&oe=62ECB225

Me old BRZ
https://scontent-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...gw&oe=630CC8F9

If you’re buying a base:

BRZ comes with aluminum pedal covers, better looking OEM wheels (gunmetal vs polished), and the aluminum knuckle and revised rear sway design that you mentioned. I’ve also heard 86’s don’t come with floor mats which seems ridiculous on a $30k car, but don’t quote me on that.

I knew I wanted a base model so that made the decision pretty easy. Not to mention I was able to order the exact car I wanted from Subaru for $500 under msrp whereas Toyota dealers had various markups and couldn’t custom order, only offer pre-spec’d allocations. Lastly Toyota charges a few hundred extra for red and white, and so that was icing on the cake since I wanted red.

No regrets, would 100 percent go with Subaru again.

Wow lol, no floor mats? Id be going for the Limited but now that I think about it, I only remember the differences on early gen 1's. Push button start, Nav, home link, etc. I need to look into that.


***EDIT***

The 2022 BRZ Limited adds 18-inch alloy wheels in matte gray finish; Michelin® Pilot® Sport 4 summer tires; Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Keep Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert; Steering Responsive Headlights; and STARLINK® Safety and Security.

&

Front seats on the Limited trim are upholstered with Ultrasuede® with red leather accents and feature dual-mode seat-heater controls. The leather-wrapped steering wheel integrates control switches for audio, cruise control and Bluetooth. New BRIN NAUB® nubuck-like material enhance the instrument panel visor and door trim.
*********

Ill be needing them heated seats

All this. My experiences with DFW Toyota dealers is awful and Sewell (great dealer in Texas) has a Subaru dealer in Dallas and I got $500 below MSRP with no BS or any issues on an ordered red limited six-speed manual. Super smooth ordering and delivery experience.

Plus, the engine is Subaru basically and that is the heart of the car. :D :D

I personally went BRZ mainly because of the ordering process. I didn't feel like waiting for an allocation to show up for a GR86. I technically "placed" one a month before I ordered my BRZ - and my BRZ gets here August 7th. No word about the GR86, still waiting.

I was comparing both the Premium 86 and Limited BRZ.

I originally preferred the red stitching of the BRZ, however now I think I l like the gray interior stitching of the GR86, but no biggie. I like the headlight look better on the BRZ. I'm indifferent about the bumpers, they are both great in their own ways, and I could always swap that easily down the road.

The aluminum suspension changes on the BRZ are nice for tracking, however I'll be bagging mine - so going GR86 would have been the smarter move, to be able to use all the identical suspension parts prior. No problem though.

My first gen was an FRS, mainly because I couldn't find a BRZ at the time. However, I've owned two STI's and currently own an Outback XT - so I kinda felt obligated to get the BRZ this time around, haha.

Honestly - I'd just get what you can find, finding a car exactly to your spec can be tough this time around, so if you're just trying to get into the car as fast as possible - put an order in for both and see which shows up first!

I preferred the front bumper on the 86 and the instrument cluster. But preferred the rims and interior of the BRZ. The items you mentioned were also important in my choice.

I wanted either red or white and Toyota charges extra for that and financing rates from them were higher. Toyota dealers were asking $5000-15000 over MSRP around here. I was able to order the exact car I wanted with the options I asked for from Subaru and paid MSRP.

That pretty much sums it up for me as well.

Keep the miata. Get a BRZ. Win.

I love NB's. I've had 3. Most recent was a flyin miata development mule. Favorite was a normally aspirated streetable track build. All were 1999s.

I could have gone either way between the GR86 and the BRZ.

The mechanical differences are minimal and at my driving skill level, I highly doubt I'd notice. This lead me to availability and cosmetics.

GR86 availability was nil in my area and local dealers were unsure of when/if they'd get an allocation. It didn't help that all of the projected allocations for any local dealer were automantics.

WR Blue won me over for cosmetics. I like the ducktail spoiler, gray interior trim and the infotainment system graphics better in the Toyota, but the WR Blue paint and the gun metal vs gloss black wheels pushed the Subaru far into the lead.

The difference is cosmetic in nature, pick whichever one you prefer. In Canada, in 2022, the Suby offering was $2k cheaper than the equivalent Toyota (in equivalent trims) so Suby was a no brainer for me.

But to be honest, i would not be buying a Gen2 car until there is confirmation that the RTV/oil pick up issue is/was resolved. I am not a fan of Russian Roulette.

I mean the RTV thing has supposedly been an issue since 2013. The crux of the matter in that case was the auto group and specific FST who gave corporate fodder to deny the claim falsely.

And at this rate of recognition, I doubt anything similar will happen again. In any case, I wouldnt be on track for a few months lol. Take some dramamine and go hit clover leafs for an hour straight.

Theres a long thread in the GR86 section of this forum where a guy blew up his engine and got denied by Toyota for any kind of warranty

I thought the original RTV problem was a manufacturing issue and was only applicable to the very early Gen1 cars. The later RTV problem were the result of improper reassembly by incompetent/inexperience mechanics performing the valve spring recall.

As things play out currently, it appears history is repeating itself with the Gen2 cars during manufacturing but no one knows if the problem is fixed yet.

This.
I don't know why but when 2022 was released Toyota was 2k more in Canada. From what I understand the trims are identical so you are dropping this money for a Toyota badge? No thanx.
Right now I am looking at the websites the Subie got a bit more expensive so the difference is 1k for 2023, still a lot for a badge in my books..

While I like the front bumper on the Toyota its not that big of a deal for me. What is a big deal is that I keep hearing that BRZ suspension tuning is much more comfortable than GR86s, I daily drive mine so this makes me much happier I went with the BRZ.

And main reason is that when I went to buy mine end of December they had 2 at the dealer and were willing to sell it to me for msrp. GR86 was still unavailable at that time so it made the choice very easy.

True, I spose were discussing two issues simultaneously too. The issue itself and the warranty claim.

There was another guy on the SCCA FB post saying they also had their engine torn down and they also had RTV on/in/around the pickup tube. He said it wasnt detrimental to the function of the pickup tube but it was there.

On the warranty it seems like it was a perfect storm of shitty people. I spoke with a few dealership employees I know in my area and I was assured that it wouldn't be an issue in their garages.

I posted the miata last night and Im already feeling regret lol.

Here's the ad if you wanna peruse it
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/h...516259018.html

In any case, the suspension/trans tuning, aluminum components, wheel/tire config and not-toyota backed...ness of it, has all signs pointing BRZ.

No doubt... all things considered equal, Subie makes a $1,000 emblem.

https://cdn.drivingline.com/media/73...ta=true&w=1130

Compared like-to-like (2023 GR86 Premium in Halo white vs 2023 BRZ Limited in Crystal white), the GR86 ($31,950) actually costs only $165 less than the BRZ ($32,115).

Mainstream coverage on the oiling issue/warranty denial by Road & Track

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a4...HG3msgYEOssLDE


"Toyota is currently looking into the case you referenced. A customer’s satisfaction with our vehicles is important to Toyota. As always, we encourage customers who experience any issues with their vehicle to contact their authorized Toyota dealer or call the Toyota Brand Engagement Center (1-800-331-4331). Of course, in cases where a dealer is not able to resolve the matter, customers are encouraged to contact our Brand Engagement Center."

I went BRZ for the ease of ordering and less dealer nonsense!!

The thought of choosing a Subaru in part because of "less dealer nonsense" is downright comical to me.

Why?

With the Toyota you can't actually order the car you want, only hope they get an allocation with your color/trim/transmission.....and most of the '22 GR's were autos.

With my '23 BRZ we sat down and ordered exactly what I wanted.

Went with BRZ for following reasons:

1) Wanted WRB
2) Liked the base interior better. Seat color and red trim.
3) Subaru was taking orders at MSRP.
4) Owned a subaru in the past and was able to get a 500$ loyalty coupon from Subaru america by calling in and verifying past ownership.

Woah, howd you do that? I was a previous BRZ owner as well.

Because most of the interactions I've had Subaru dealerships have been problematic. In my experience they tend to hire some of the least-qualified, skilled, and educated people amongst car dealerships. My comment wasn't necessarily a comparison of Subaru and Toyota. It's a much different experience than working with dealerships of manufacturers that I have owned.

I just called the regular number - 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783)

Then asked if there was any loyalty coupon available for my order. They could see there was an outback on mysubaru account since 2016. So they generated the loyalty coupon which is good for a year.

GR86 Premium owner in Trueno Blue chiming in here,

On the Toyota side you do have to get the premium to get the aluminum pedal covers. I'm not sure if that's a base option or not on the subies. My car has the ultrasuede interiors, butt warmers, heated mirrors, etc. It is as fully equipped as a top model BRZ would come.

GR86 premium in my opinion is the best styled car you can get. The lip / duck bill on the rear with the aggressive front ends suits me way more than the BRZ but styling is completely subjective.

+1 for free NASA HPDE however waiting for the inevitable class action lawsuit with the RTV to spark a TSB before I book mine.
+1 because the GR program is cool as shit

I don't know how important brand and image is to you however I'd much rather be seen in the GR than the BRZ. As others have mentioned, they are being priced insane right now which means they are more scarce and imo scarcity drives up desirability. 9/10 people you ask say they went with the BRZ because it was what was available to them at MSRP and not entirely because it is the car that they actually wanted.

If you can get a GR at MSRP I think it's a great deal. I paid $33,500 OTD (MSRP) for my Premium and Carvana will come tomorrow and grab it for shy of $38,000.

Again, I think brand and styling is completely subjective so it really is whatever suits your taste. I don't think i'd pay over MSRP for either and I just so happened to get mine at MSRP. Deals are out there, you just have to be diligent and search. I waited 6-7 months since the VIN was allocated at my local dealer for mine to show up from overseas.

https://c.tenor.com/iw1qhkF2hFgAAAAC...-john-wick.gif

LMFTFY :)

I like the GR86 front bumper better but everything else I like better about the BRZ, especially since I was buying the base model:


Ride quality (so I've heard)
WR Blue
17" Subaru wheels are much better looking than the 17" Toyota wheels
Aluminum pedal covers
Warranty support if needed - It sounds like the first gens had issues due to Toyota techs not being familiar with Subaru engines. I prefer warranty work to go through the company that actually builds the car.

I share these sentiments exactly.

Unfortunately, however, I dont think Ill be making the jump after all.

The miata isnt generating as much stir as initially intended and neither did the audi. Audi would absolutely sell for asking when the flakes start flying but the miata.... its almost worthwhile to just keep building it at this point.

Urban legend. Toyota techs actually had more experience on the FA20 in the 86 than Subaru did, since the engine was unique to the BRZ/FRS and Toyota received the vast majority of the builds.

The issue was sloppy techs not following directions, similar to what is being seen now where the robot is applying too much RTV. It happened both at Subaru and Toyota in GEN1.