Quote:
Originally Posted by YMAA
Only other car I seriously considered was a 5-door WRX - the car that I've wanted for pretty much as long as I've ever wanted a sporty car. No other cars in my ~30k price range were any real competition in my eyes.
However, I took a long look at how I use my vehicle and ~95% of the time I'm hauling myself and a backpack on a highway to work and back. Strictly in terms of fuel economy the BRZ wins.
Also, from everything I've read on both cars (I haven't actually driven a WRX so I haven't experienced this firsthand) the WRX really doesn't handle as well as the BRZ. From this I determined that it's possible to make the BRZ as fast as the WRX but the WRX will never handle as well as the BRZ. I will miss the AWD but the consensus is that with a good set of winter tires the BRZ handles just fine in the snow...and I'd need winter tires on the WRX anyway since it too comes with summer tires.
If Subaru were releasing the 2015 model with the rumored changes (2.0L engine, shedding ~200lbs, and a new body style) and updating the interior to one befitting this decade, I probably would have gone for the WRX over the BRZ. I feel that Subaru has learned a lot from their work on the 86 and a great deal of that will translate over to the WRX's future models, but for right now the BRZ just makes the WRX look old, and I tend to keep vehicles for a very long time. I want to start with something that feels as new as possible.
Would I be happy with the WRX? Absolutely, I'm sure of it. But my gut tells me the BRZ is the car for me, and when it arrives in the next few weeks I won't care about anything else.
|
Unfortunately the BRZ is horrible in the winter, even with snow tires. I made it through last winter in NH, but any slight incline that I had to stop on I couldn't get it going again without backing up and getting a running start, or just flooring it and moving inch by inch.
Before I got my BRZ I test drove a MazdaSpeed3, Gen Coupe 2.0T and 3.6, Mustang (V6), and ultimately decided on the BRZ.