BRZ and the WRX everyday driver video
 

hey guys, this is my BRZ being compared with the WRX. Enjoy!
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWyyY718AM"]Subaru WRX Review: better than the BRZ (FRS, GT86)? -- Everyday Driver - YouTube[/ame]

Good review. I sat in a new WRX recently and the interior is a big step up from previous versions.

The new WRX is a great bargain for the money and I'd buy one if practicality was a concern, but I agree with their conclusion: if you simply want the better driver's car and don't care about much else, the BRZ is the clear choice.

I really like Everyday Driver reviews, they do a good job at giving pro's and cons. The FRS/BRZ track comparison and FRS/S2000/Lotus Elise comparison are a great watch.

I'm fine with the twins how they are powered though, doesn't need a turbo, and highly disagree that you can't have fun and enjoy the car on normal city roads, your daily commute, or stuck in traffic. I balance and rotate my FRS daily having a blast at legal speeds, especially since I went with a 205/45-17 tire setup.

Edit: actually they have two different triple car comparo reviews, FRS/RX8/S2000 and FRS/Genesis/Elise...

I only watched bits and pieces of the video and I did hit the part where they said the car was "mundane" to drive in city roads or stuck in traffic.

What car is fun to drive stuck in traffic, am I missing something here :drool:. Same goes for city streets with lots of stop lights.

Having owned the exact cars, these guys were spot on. BRZ is the better drivers car by a hair, and more fun to drive around some twisty roads. WRX is much more practical, a lot faster, and is a solid drivers car.

I wish I could own both :)

decent review. Just so much content and to much jumping around. I could see myself owning both cars :)

Cool vid. Pretty enjoyable comparison. I like how they request the wrx's turbo engine be put into the BRZ like all of us want. haha.

I`m gonna get flamed for saying this but, I kind of like the fact that the twins dont have a turbo. it takes a certain person to choose chassis balance over power, and makes the owners truly unique.

If I had to own only one car, WRX makes a lot of sense since it is a very good all around car. however, I bought the BRZ thinking that I will also buy a 2nd car that is only meant for comfort and long distance travels. by separating the two means you get an absolutely uncompromising character in a car. For example, an M3 is a great all around, daily sports car, but it gives up so much in the name of comfort and luxury features vs a car like an elise. that is why, to me, a wrx is a good "sporty" car, but a BRZ is a true "sports" car. both are perfectly fine in their own ways, it`s just about what you need/prefer in a car.

oh, and power... I can ALWAYS add more power on the BRZ, but the WRX will ALWAYS have the engine in front of the front axle. 

Last summer I was || this close to getting the (2013) WRX I'd wanted for years but ended up in the BRZ for the following reasons:

• The BRZ has by far the better chassis and suspension
• Better gas mileage
• 99% of my driving is just me and a backpack going to work, so most of the time I don't need 4 seats
• The 2015 WRX would eventually exist and blow the previous generation away

The BRZ is a better drivers car than the previous WRXs, and both myself and my 2014 WRX-owning friend agree after we swapped cars for a bit. I will say after driving his WRX in traffic that the extra torque from the turbo would be helpful but it's not required. The BRZ keeps up with most other cars on the road, at least around here.

If I could have waited a year to replace my Legacy I'd probably be in a 2015 WRX right now. But I was spending about as much in maintenance per month as I would in payments on a new car so it didn't make financial sense to wait. And I didn't want to get a 2013 WRX only to miss out on the 2015 changes - many of which are inspired by the BRZ. A more BRZ-like WRX was exactly what I wanted and I'm glad Subaru finally delivered that...but a year earlier would have been much better timing for me.

Is the price differential non-existent in the US between the two?

The BRZ and WRX in Canada (Ontario) are separated by $2700 which is just a shade under 10% (base vs. base model). 10% isn't chump change.

If I were looking for a daily driver with a hugely fun aspect, the WRX would be it but since I am looking for a car with fun first, DD'ing duties: don't care for, the BRZ is looking like the winner (or something equivalent).

Love these guys - wish they could do more.

I thought their prices were a little off. 2015 WRX base price is $27,070 (MSRP).

MSRP on a base 2014 BRZ is $26,390.

Base to base, the BRZ is cheaper and the FR-S is even cheaper at $25,455 MSRP.

They seemed to be comparing a Limited BRZ with some mods to a base WRX..

Also, they said the price went down for the 2015 WRX vs the 2014 WRX and they are wrong. Base and Limited are more, I believe the Premium is either cheaper for 2015 or the same price.

Thoroughly enjoyed the video with all the pros and cons of each vehicle.

They make the perfect point.

The BRZ needs the WRX turbo'ed version of the engine.

Make that and Subaru has a perfect 10.

Given that the FA20 in the WRX is almost the same as the BRZ's heart, doesn't this mean you can do a WRX FA20 transplant into a BRZ? This only means good things for BRZ owners.

I know the WRX FA20 has Subaru's DI system whereas the the BRZ FA20 has the D4S DI system from Toyota.

Anyone heard of crickets in the WRX? :D

A monster truck? That would be a blast, at least until the cops showed up.

No crickets :)

The swap is not that easy. I believe this was discussed with the Forester XT (which is the same engine that is in the 15 WRX) and the issue would be the low mount turbo being too low for the BRZ. They would most likely need to modify the FA20 to get the turbo to fit properly.

Clearly it can be done. I am 100% loving the FA20 engine in the 15 WRX. The twin scroll turbo really gives the car a ton of power down low and lag is much less noticeable than in previous years. Gas mileage is great too. I am averaging only 2mpg less so far than my BRZ for the same commute and driving style.

this. I cant believe how good the bugeye was on gas when I used to own one... especially compared with the BRZ. the BRZ is only marginally better for having way less power.

Why do people look down on the the 2009-2014 WRX like it is yesterdays news? The "old" WRX still hold their own. Anyways, soon I would will have both!

The exhaust note from the BRZ was sounded surprisingly good on the follow cam.

Then again the WRX engine sounded pretty wicked.

:thumbup:

That's impressive. Back when I used to own an STI, I got 6-7 mpg less on the same route than my FR-S.

I think it helps that I am staying lower in the powerband with the turbo FA20, whereas before I was living above the 5K band a lot more in the BRZ.

I am glad they mentioned the riding height in the 2015 WRX. The seats are too tall IMHO. I wish they were lower like the BRZ. Overall, I find the BRZ seats to be a better seat (better bolstering, more comfortable, not as tall, etc).

Both cars have the same ground clearance, and although visibility is really good in the WRX, you feel like you are sitting up too high...

I also think the comment in the video that without the BRZ they doubt the 2015 WRX would be as good as it is. I agree. Clearly Subaru took some lessons learned from the BRZ and applied them to the WRX. Kudos for that.

I also think the previous gen WRX hatchback is a better looking car than the new one (external)... They really should have done more with the exterior styling..

:thumbup:I enjoyed the video. How did they get ahold of your car?

I'm uncertain about something though, I'm under the impression from twins owners that the brz/frs is a great dd even if you live in flats and straights UNLESS you have to win from stoplight to stoplight (or need tons of cargo space). :iono: correct me if I'm wrong.

i never paid attention to the tach when i was test driving a brz. when the avcs kicks in, does it kick in like the vtec system? does the rpms race to the redline like the vtec?

Seems like this new WRX has less of a kick and more of a linear power curve..(boost comes early like 2k~2.5k rpms)

Looks like a slight drop off towards the end of the rev range.

Maybe someone can chime in more info

Road and Track dyno tested the WRX and the STi and it appears to support that statement with regards to the WRX.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...aru-wrx-vs-sti

The WRX has always been the more daily driver focused of the two while the STi has always been the more hardcore version. Getting the boost early and having it fall in the high end certainly makes a lot more sense for the daily driver version of this car. Those who really cared about the high end power would've skipped the WRX anyways and went straight to STi.

It's not really a kick. It's sorta similar to the S2000, you hear it more than you feel it.

E85 tune really woke the car up for me. You really hear it now. There's still no kick per se, but it feels like a surge all the way to redline.

I'm good friends with Paul and apparently Subaru does not lend any journalists more than one car at a time so he reached out to me for the review. :)

Reviews like this make me want to boost mine or sell it lol.

That extra 50-60hp would be amazing in the car. No doubt about it

I wonder if Todd(?) will end up getting a BRZ. It sounds like he's obsessed with the Elise but can only have one car (and DDing an Elise would be very difficult if you ever needed to move more than one passenger and a briefcase simultaneously). I think the BRZ does an admirable job of being a fat, DD-able, kind-of-Elise-like car for ten grand less than the cost of the Lotus (if you compare used to used, since you can't buy new Elises here anymore). A CARB-legal supercharger kit would give you a similar power-to-weight ratio and preserve throttle response too...

Clearly Todd should buy a used BRZ and supercharge it.

Actually the biggest problem is the starter location. Completely different location on the BRZ vs WRX which means the bellhousing location is completely different, the engine won't bolt to the trans.

You MIGHT be able to use the shortblock housing from the FA20 on the FA20DIT... But of course turbo location is the second issue, and the ECU being the third issue.

That's why the Phantom Electric Supercharger makes so much sense. For 2k you get roughly the same performance and torque characteristics of that WRX with little to no hassle. Get a header and e85 and you will walk that WRX all day.

Honestly if you were going to swap engines anyway why stop at the FA20DIT? Stick a water-cooled 911 engine in there :P

walk hardly. Stay pretty even yes. But then Tune and give the WRX E85 and watch any ESC twin get stomped on badly.

Did you duck when the point flew right over? :D

I kid...

Wasn't comparing performance with equivalent upgrades. I'm highlighting a simple, relatively inexpensive upgrade that gives and even exceeds the WRX type performance many are yearning for. An ESC on e85 should hit about 235-240 WHP / 215-220 WTQ. That's right in line with the WRX while be how many hundred pounds lighter?

Perrin is expecting 40whp (and I am guessing 30-40lbs ft torque) with just a simple stage 1 tune on the 2015 WRX. I suspect Subaru was very conservative with the tune because the STI is still on the old engine and it would have been hard to sell an STI for $8k more if the WRX was faster and got better MPG :)

And of course the WRX still has the AWD advantage for launching and power in the corners.

I was watching a video with test drivers driving the 2015 WRX Sti at Laguna Seca and you could observe the movements of the car and easily see that the handling dynamics were nothing like the BRZ's. Sure it was good, super direct in it's steering and the VDC was readily keeping the car straight, but it's noticeable how the BRZ gives you much more room for steering with all the oversteer you want. Wasn't ready to make the switch in handling dynamics, but the whole new WRX is very nice.

I think it's the overall high hoodline and beltline of the car that dictates the high seating position. This is my beef with cars in general for the last decade and a half. I feel disconnected with the road sitting so high up. The twins is refreshing but the hoodline is still a tad high. The regulators seem to think it's safer for the pedestrian that wanders aimlessly into traffic, in which you get a higher chance of hitting anyway now that forward visibility is compromised with that gap under the hood.

Every generation of Subaru cars get progressively more ugly, making the last generation easier on the eyes. :D

Still can't believe how good this first gen looks 20 some years later:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hk9HNK7J9Y"]SUBARU IMPREZA WRX(GC) 1992 スバル インプレッサ WRX - YouTube[/ame]

Completely agree with you. Part of that disconnect is due to the fact that the further your eyeballs are from the pavement the slower the car seems to be going. Add in a high dash and side sills and you get that lovely "bathtub" ambiance.

Twins are not bad on hood height IMO but my Tiburon (1st gen) is even better - it has the same hip point as the twins but a lower cowl and hood, giving it amazing front sightlines.

The RX-7 was a true "sports car" and it had a turbo. A "sports car" doesn't have to be slow to live up to the name. I love my BRZ and think it's an amazing car, but it is SLOW.