So I bought a '23...
 

So far so good...

About time ;)

Sweet!

- Andrew

Congrats! The new one is so good, you will love it.

How on Earth did you find a '23?! I thought they were sold out long ago. Did you order it a while back? Was this a recent delivery?

Please share your observations and experiences of the '23 vs. your old '17. I'm in a similar boat, own and absolutely love my '19, but have been searching and yearning for a 2nd gen car.

Thanks!

I've been sorta keeping an eye out and same story as you, every ad, I'd call up and it was sold, nothing coming in for months, do I wanna order one and get it in 4 months?

Then I *had* to get a new car, I searched nationwide on AutoTrader and requested info on every single available BRZ in my acceptable colors (Sapphire, Magnetite, WRB). MOST were already sold, but not *all*. I had a deposit on a WRB in Huntsville AL (McLarty Subaru) but then the gray one in NH showed up and was available. Boom, I test-drove and put down a deposit.

They are out there but you'll have to spend a couple/few solid days of back/forth with dealers!

Want to share as to what happened to your Gen1.5 car that resulted in "had" to get a new one?

Leather/alcantara seats in the '17 are pretty great, '23 are even better! Same huggy/holding but seat bottom isn't as flat, more form-fitting.

I disabled the seatbelt chime, but I still get 5-6 "welcome" chimes, annoying as hell! HOw to turn off?!

Steering feel is indeed a bit worse on the new one. In particular it feels like there's a little friction or viscosity, some hysteresis in there. I'll be OK with it but gen1 better in this regard. Although to be fair I only drove the '17 totally stock for a few weeks before it got significantly lowered and cambered and put on 200tw 245/40-17s so not exactly apples/apples...

I know the new car is significantly faster, but it *feels* slower in normal driving. I think the gen1's throttle tip-in is a lot more hyper, almost to a fault. It's softer in the gen2.

See if I warm up to fake engine noises, but I'm most likely gonna pull the plug on that...

I *loved* the way my '17 looked. I'm *loving* the way this one looks too! Especially from the driver's seat, the pontoon front fenders look *sweeet* and less gimmicky than the two li'l fender bump-ups on the gen1. Love both, gen1 IMO more aggro, gen2 more sculpted.

I'm about to see how my 225/45-17s on 17x9 +35 fit on the new car. I'm afraid of the answer tho...

I went from a 17 -> 22. Picture more refinement (though i cannot say it was a leaps/bounds jump), better riding and a more potent engine. And yes, the power difference is quite noticeable. I never thought the Gen1.5 car was as slow as the internet made them out to be but the new car is noticeably quicker. Other than that, they are very similar cars, especially once you start modding the suspension. Heck, they are built on the same chassis.

I felt the same test driving a gen 2. Then after playing around with front toe on my '18 I noticed that more toe-in caused a similar effect on the steering feel. I wonder if the second gen comes with more toe-in in the front from the factory (or at least comes with more consistent alignment between cars). Interesting to see if the steering improves with zero toe.

Oh yeah, I'd rather have the tachometer from the '17! Actual bright red needle >>> li'l LCD white line with trailing sweep...

How long will it stay stock for? Excluding trying to put your old wheels on. What are your plans for the car? I’m guessing no power mods this time.

I haven’t driven a 2nd gen since 12 or so months ago, it kind of convinced me to get a header and tune on my gen 1 as I really liked the low end torque of the new one. How would you compare the power/torque feel between the new one and a 1st gen with a header and tune?

Congratulations on the new car!

2017 GTS to 2022 BRZ. Engine is the main upgrade, it’s a cracker. I don’t think the 2022 is the ginormous step up the motoring journo’s would make you think, but it’s super fun, as is the Gen 1.