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I am always comparing the BRZ cabin to my wife's 2014 Forester. I only really care about a usb charger and aux cable. The BRZ Limited had way beyond my basic requirements since I use my phone for navigation and audio playback. Bluetooth connects automatically 90% of the time. Sometimes I have to switch to FM then back to BT to get it out of a weird state but I am happy with how it syncs with my phone.
Like everyone else I'm annoyed with the touchscreen design and responsiveness. The audio menu could easily be improved with a software or firmware update I imagine. As minor as it may be I use the next track action all the time when I'm on a radio app or shuffled playlist and the Forester controls are 10x better. You have the steering wheel toggle and a giant physical button. It's way easier to focus on the road operating the Forester. In the BRZ I have to plant my thumb or palm in a way to support my finger so I can accurately hit the small target area on the screen. It takes ~3s of attention compared to .1s to click the toggle in the Forester. For now I've been using the buttons on the phone since it's easier to do without looking. I think if they could just draw the buttons larger on the Audio touchscreen menu it would resolve my biggest issues with the device.
I think the voice commands are underrated. They do allow you to do things that would take many steps on the touchscreen. I always have good luck with Siri and voice commands though. Saying Handsfree, Call <contact> <number> works when I need to make a handsfree call. I also like that you can change audio source and do things with navigation via voice. I need to explore it a little more but the voice recognition is much better than the Forester in my experience.
I don't love the stock unit but I definitely don't hate it. If I wanted something with every little cabin comfort I would've bought a luxury car or SUV.
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