This is simply a joyful car
 

Over the past week, as the last vestiges of winter have left and New England has thawed out, I brought out my BRZ from its winter slumber.

I don't 'lay up' the car for the winter in any particular way, it's a Subaru and not a mega-buck exotic, though it always lives in the garage under a cover. Being small, light, and RWD (and still with it's original crappy traction-free tires), it's just not the best winter car, so it doesn't get much use in the cold months.

Over the past week I gave it the ritual Spring washing and waxing, and started driving it regularly. I missed it. Not on any special roads, but many of the paths here in New England are twisty secondary roads meant for this car. As I was tooling along yesterday, rowing through the gears going down the island, I realized what a smile I had on my face. I wasn't setting any land speed records, not doing an impersonation of Fangio or anything. Just driving along, shifting up and down, taking the turns, listening to the engine.

And it hit me: this is simply a joyful car. It's exactly what a 'sports car' should be. The hell with the 'numbers' so many people obsess over, arguing over tenths of a second differences in '0-60' times. The BRZ is simply pure, undiluted fun to drive. Fun to drive in the old-school analog way, the way it feels to the seat of my pants and not some arbitrary 'numbers' that don't mean a thing in street driving.

Though my car is a mere first generation model with 'only' 205 hp, it's enough for me. It's more than enough to be fun, to feel the acceleration on the street without the need to be an adolescent and challenge muscle cars to drag races that will only end up with a night in jail (or an accident). Driving it 'playfully' (but not pedal to the metal, there's no need for that), I really don't feel (or maybe just don't care about) the 'torque dip' so many complain about but probably don't actually experience. The immediacy and linear response of a naturally aspirated engine is sweet compared to the rubber-band catapult of most turbos.

When I bought the car I planned to do the usual 'headers and a tune', but no longer will. Why bother? I think it sounds just fine as it is and for what it is - a simple, playful, fun, tossable, and very reasonably priced sports car. It sounds good enough to remind me I'm driving something special. Not every car has to have window-shattering volume or sound like an imitation Ferrari.

I knew all this when I bought the car - that's why I got it. But after a few months' absence, getting behind the wheel again and just having fun on secondary roads, reminded me of what cars are supposed to be all about (at least to me): fun.

From all the 'road tests' and reviews, the second-generation car certainly sounds 'superior' in terms of power and other things. Maybe someday, when the pandemic insanity of supply chain disruptions calms down and it becomes possible to actually test drive a car before buying it (and then able to buy it without a horror-movie dealer ADM), I might look into it. But I'm in no hurry, and maybe not at all. With all the fun it is to just drive this car, I really don't want or need any more.

Get out and drive. Have fun. Before we know it, internal combustion cars will be in the minority, gas will cost more than good Scotch, and most 'automobiles' on the road will be soulless, anodyne, boring, battery-powered autonomous electric transportation pods. We'll look back and miss the days when it was possible to buy gas for only $4.99 a gallon, and drive a car with an actual stick shift and clutch. I'm taking it out tomorrow, just for the hell of it, with no particular destination in mind.

If not now, when?

Great review - couldn't have said it better. My BRZ exceeded almost every expectation I had of it.

Great bit of writing and even better approach to life.

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You know you can enjoy them year round. As you said it is not some exotic and winter will not destroy it if you don just a little bit of maintenance.

I have a second gen, but originally I wanted a 1st gen, it was the best car for me and what I wanted to do. Rip some backroads and attend autocrosses from time to time. I don't get the hate and all the torque dip comments. I rode in a first gen Spec Solo coupe and it was more than fast enough, scary even. They are easy on consumables brakes tires etc.

My favorite cars are the old flat-six air-cooled Porsches, most of them made less power than a FA20 and I never hear people complain about power. Even the newer ones like mine will still get smoked by a Camry on the highway. The first gen cars are great, people who talk the most crap have never even driven them on a curvy road.

I am a second gen owner that loves the original cars especially the ones that get driven, hard.

LOL, my current 'approach to life' is recent growth, coming after a lot of time spend meditating. For most of my life I was a typical 'Type A' and obsessively driven, rarely spent much time smelling the flowers. All it gave me was high blood pressure and other health issues.

Better late than never to change (but even better to wake up while there's still time to do something about it).

I don't avoid driving the car in the winter. Only when there's snow or ice on the roads. The BRZ, especially with those amazing original Primacy tires, doesn't have the best traction in the automotive world when the coefficient of friction is reduced. It comes out on dry days, but this winter saw a lot of snow and it stayed asleep for a few months.

All year rounder here! Snow and ice! pfft....the only thing im concerned about is ground clearance :D

We had a bigass snow dump yesterday and i would have gotten stuck if i tried going out, snow was just too deep in the residential areas (all the busses i drove past were stuck lol)

Your post echoed my thoughts exactly. This car is exactly what "I" want and it's perfectly fun. My friends have all migrated to modern Porsches which are nice but they can barely use their cars without risks of going to jail. Having said that, i did put in an order for a Gen2 because of the strong resale as of late. I thought it was worth it if i can get into a newer/more powerful car for minimal money.

I also must add...
And i think this might only apply to the 2017+ MT models but....

The engine bay is actually quite pretty with the red intake plenum.

Everything nowadays has a plastic cover so you dont see engine stuff anymore.

Even the AT models and the pre-2017 models with the black plastic plenum and D4S logo doesn't look as nice.

Meh. They make different tires.

FWIW, none of the best experiences in life can be reduced to a number.
Those who obsess about numbers tend to strike me as people who lack the appreciation of the qualitative things to life.

You are so very right!!! Not just about cars, but so many things in life.

It really isn’t all about the ‘numbers.’

Rule #1