First newspaper reviews hitting the web....
 

The Toronto Star:
http://www.wheels.ca/article/807275
Does note that the shifter is notchy, something that struck me in a test drive.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto): "Subaru shows what a real sports car should be"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle2426884/
Chronicle-Herald (Halifax):
http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheelsn...e-the-brz-buzz

Different people like different shifter feel. I don't like a shifter that just slips from gear to gear. I like some feed-back as it's going through the gates. A good shift should go "click-click", IMO. I like to feel the synchro engagement.

The problem is that manufacturers keep trying to take as much of the mechanical feel of a car out of it in an effort to make it "nicer". So a nice, precise shifter with a mechanical feel won't feel "right" to some people.

My STI has a great feel to the shifter with a solid mechanical feel and a "click-click" almost gun-like action, but I can still go from gear to gear with just my fingertips. I'm really looking forward to how the BRZ will feel.

This is one of the main problems with how most vehicles are being engineered today. The driver is becoming more and more disconnected with what the vehicle should be communicating to them.

Yep, a lot of people knock the STI as having a poor shifter, but I liked the shift feel on my 09 STI. It was just as precise and smooth as the shifter on the S2000, Miata, and RSX. My only complaint was it was just a little notchy for my taste, but otherwise, it was very good.

I'm looking forward to having a more communicative shifter than the one in my Audi. As silky-smooth as it is, it really lacks that mechanical feel.

Okay, I'm not going to lie, I've been reading automotive publications for years and I still don't know what is meant by "notchy."

Rough. Like there's notches in the throw you need to pull the lever past.

Basically, it feels like it is set up like this:

http://media.windingroad.com/autos_d...7x667_q100.jpg

It means that it requires considerable pressure to go from a gear to a neutral position, or neutral to a gear, and its not a gradual move - you build more and more pressure up on the lever and then suddenly it "jumps" to the next position. Sort of like opening a tight jar lid, sudden release.

Lol the 2 posts directly above me have completely different explanations. I always thought it was the latter but the former makes more sense when you consider "notch" in the literal sense.

I always felt like the STi's shifter was nothcy at times, but smooth overall, but it was like you never knew what kind of shift you were gonna get. o.O

so it kind of 'clicks' into place? wouldn't you want that? I mean, I 'd hate it if the shifter was a mushy mess and it was hard to discern whether I was sticking it in 3rd or 5th for example.

Speaking of shifter feel, I am just glad that teh breezy's shifter is the antithesis of the WRX's.

When I had my 2004 WRX, I remember with clarity how bad the shifter felt. It was like the stick was bound by definite gates in a shift pattern, but it had to move through a cavalcade of loose nuts and bolts held together by dog shit. I recently drove a co-worker's 2012 Plasma Blue WRX hachty. While it is a beautiful car, the shift still had the same ugly feel.

Teh Breezy's shifter feels like something out of a car that should be a order of magnitude more expensive! I was quite skeptical of the car considering my past experience with Subaru's machines. I understood that it's not a Subie shifter, but ya know... After driving the BRZ all I have to say is: :happyanim: