Thinking of buying a BRZ, need help!
 

Hi all! I am new to this fourm, and this seems like a great community.

I am 22, just got my first career bound job in Electrical Engineering so, in a couple months I will have a lot of money saved up.

Right now, I have a 2008 Ford Focus SE, base model with a 5 speed. Very basic and a great car. I was actually thinking about getting a Focus ST until I found out about the BRZ. Something about it is giving me alot of hype in my head haha. I do eventually want to test drive one even though its slower than the Focus ST, the handling i read is incredible.

Though the reason for this post is I am having some trouble with decisions. Can anyone help me with the pros and cons of a BRZ compared to an ST. I'm not looking for racing or anything. Just a good comfortable car with safe handling that I can have fun with. MAYBE get into some modifications too. I really want to educate myself on auto motives since i know virtually nothing about them except changing/rotating tires and changing the oil.

Thanks :)

I’d say you need to evaluate what you really want/need from a car, as the Focus and BRZ are very different. Both are fun to drive, and both are fairly easy to work on and mod. If you need a vehicle with space and practicality, the Focus is the better one to get. If you want a true drivers car, the 86’s are great sports cars that are a blank canvas to do whatever you want with (autocross, track days, drifting, stancing, etc…).
You really should test drive an 86 to see if you will be wanting for more power, cause fast cars they are not in stock form. But they have enough power stock to have lots of fun at safe and legal speeds.
The Focus is very easy to mod to get big power gains from since it’s already turbocharged, so if you only want cheap speed, go that route. Also they are great to throw around an autox as the braking assist makes it do amazing things.
Good video review of a fr-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa4D2Z3jGDw

There have been lots of good comparisons between these cars. For example:

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/subar...13-subaru-brz/

http://www.canadianautoreview.ca/rev...-focus-st.html

Hey! I'm 24, got a career as an electrical engineer about a year ago and I'm waiting on my 2017 BRZ to arrive. Drive them both and then decide is the best option.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I remember when i was 22. go and get it...drive and sell or trade if you dont like it..
even it's wasting little money doing it, i would do it because we're YOUNGSTER!! lol i wish i can go back to 10 years ago hahahahaha

Or if you would like the more biased but interesting comparisons


http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96105
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21337
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2551
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43126

Haha I figured he might want some less-biased opinions, but yeah plenty of comparisons on this forum too. No surprise how they come out. ;)

OP I forgot to mention, if you decide you want the versatility of a hot hatch, definitely test-drive the new mk7 GTI as well. I'd buy one of those over a Focus ST.

I strongly recommend you stay with Ford and get a Mustang. Preferably a GT 5.0 because it comes with a line lock feature so you can do burnouts...hoes love burnouts

It mostly comes down to FWD Turbo hot hatch with an economy car chassis vs. RWD N.A. sports car with a purpose built chassis. Both are quick around corners. One has more torque and straight line speed, the other better handling and probably a higher performance ceiling. So ask yourself...

1. What's your driving style?

IF you plan on staying on the street/highways and going fast in a straight line and/or occasionally need to take passengers, the Ford might be better suited to you. IF you plan on going to the track and spending a lot of time driving by yourself, then the 86 would be a better choice.

2. What is your driving preference?

IF you like darting in and out of traffic and do a lot of city driving, then get the Ford. In a motorsports environment the Fords brake activated torque vectoring and FWD could be an issue, so get the 86. IF you prefer your steering to have maximum feedback, FWD won't do the trick and you need a RWD chassis. Etc etc...

To me, that's what it mostly comes down to.

Wow, lots of help and replies! Thanks so much!


Haha no way! okay great, yeah I planned to test drive them both one day soon.

Great thanks!

Eh.... Aren't mustangs known for fish-tailing since it has something to do with the rear axle? I'm not knowledgeable in automotives and I'm not a race car driver so I wouldn't be that experienced lol. Irresponsible kids who don't know when to say "i'm not that skilled" kill themselves because of mustangs.

1. I definitely drive more by myself, and I more on the highways but I would love to try the track one day!

2. Hmmm okay, I've never driven a RWD car so that would be interesting to have with the BRZ.

nah that's just the idiots that have no throttle control causing it to fish-tail....nothing wrong with the car itself....

the problem is between the seat and the steering wheel

You can't really blame the tool here. You can only blame the driver for trying to be a wannabe Steve McQueen every time he leaves Cars N Coffee.

There have been cases of FR-S and BRZ wrecks for the same reason you described. This is with a car that's about 230 hp less than the Mustang GT.