Let's talk about those turn signals?
 

A lot of people have already complained about the BRZ/86 getting a "BMW style" turn signal lever. I had a chance to play with the signal lever myself (thanks @Veloist!!!), and can report that it's not a problem at all.

My girlfriend figured out how to use it in less than a minute without reading any manuals, or any tips from me.
That includes "enable it fully", "one touch three times blink" and "cancel previous enable".

The new turn signal level has a nice premium-ish feel to it during operation, in contrast to the cheap crunchy feel of the one in 2013–2020 cars.

This is why I always laugh at journalists. Sure, it's annoying for 1 day. Then you get used to it and it's a non-issue.

Here's an excerpt from the Owner's manual describing how to operate it:

https://i.imgur.com/P3ZVdhR.png

Personally I don't think I'll use the "slightly press and hold to signal a lane change" thing, but I've alerady used the "one touch blink three times" gesture many times on other cars.

If a journalist can't figure out how to use this turn signal lever in 5 minutes,
I doubt their ability to adequately review any of the more complicated topics...

I used to review cars and some of them were actually knowledgeable when it comes to mechanical workings and electrical... most... were not.

Aside from the fact BMW has been doing this since at least the mid-80s, many newer cars have the same feature as well.

Not sure how it's annoying, I think it's fantastic.

That said, for safety's sake it might be argued that some controls should function the same regardless of vehicle brand; I've read of the disconcerting "brake button" on old Citroens, although I've never tried one. Imaging if steering wheels functioned differently between brands, especially if one owns several different brands of cars?

My Boxster's turn signals are somewhat goofy, particularly in lane changes, so I guess I'll adapt to this too. It's the Porsche parking brake that I cannot stand.

BMWs have turn signals?

The turn signals on my BMW are stupid bright. I joke that BMW got tired of the stereotypes and put the brightest LEDs they could in there to make sure people notice when they’re on.

I think the real point is that all Subarus should function the same. When I get into my Legacy or Forester now I will have to think differently. It really is kind of stupid for them to change on just one of their cars.

And truly all cars should generally function the same. Muscle memory doesn't allow for us to change things depending on the car we are driving that day.

All BMWs are equipped with em, but most drivers opt out of using it as other drivers around are supposed to just move out of their way.

The turn signals arent as annoying as the wiper controls being functionally opposite lol.

In the 86 its up for mist, down for activation (one click down for delay, 2 clicks down for regular wipe, 3 for fast wipe). Its been like this on every car i had (Corolla XRS, Honda Fit, wifes Nissan versa at the time she owned one)

In our X1, its the complete opposite....down for mist, up once for regular wipe, up twice for fast wipe. Theres no delay, but an auto button at the end for rain sensing. I dont really like it since sometimes it doesnt actually detect anything until the entire windshield is covered in droplets......kind of defeating the purpose since it forces me to just switch on the regular wipe.

Oh, great point.
I remember how annoying it was to re-learn when I rented a Mustang in Hawaii (briefly rained every day!). It's opposite on the Mustang vs Mazda 6 I had at the time.

Similar problems with cruise control buttons: Mustang has it on the left, Mazda 6 has it on the right...
One could argue that the placement of the cruise control "CANCEL, OR I'M GOING TO CRASH" button should also be standard.
I know that CC gets cancelled if you press the brake pedal yourself, but some people in a panic situation might not remember that.

Toyota must be onto something with their cruise control stalk being in the bottom right spoke of the steering wheel (and has been the exact same thing, in the exact same location and functioned exactly the same for ages). And has been used in every toyota and Lexus product in existence until these recent generation of cars where they started moving the CC to its own steering wheel buttons like every carmaker out there.

that is KISS philosophy at work right there.

That and the digital clock with the m and h buttons.

Anecdotally, the first time I used this CC stalk design it was in a Porsche.

Gone in the 2022.