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I doubt the Subie will have anything under the surface that isn't the same quality that you'd find on an 86/FR-S, etc. this is the only market where the Toyota version is being decontented to a price. this car was already built to a cost, so any extra stuff: forget about it.
after months of staring at photo's for minutes, sometimes in excess of half an hour I'm still not sure I have made up my mind entirely as to which version I want. aesthetically, right away I'm hooked by the seductive and well integrated front end design of the FR-S. the same cannot be said for the BRZ with the front end looking quite awkward from some angles, not to mention that fat plastic bumper cover fat as hell chillin' in the grill. the fact that this car was designed by Toyota and Subaru got the leftovers clearly shows, though they did a fairly decent job. however, the BRZ concept I saw in L.A. in Nov of last year required little to no thinking to absorb and appreciate the design. of course all the flashy detailing will do that to any eye, trained or untrained. the BRZ certainly has the chunkier front end that I think may ultimately work better with larger wheels that the Yota version doesn't need because the lines do all the talking.
in the BRZ's favor, for me at least, is branding. yeh, Subaru is known for doing AWD cars, but having actually built and engineered the AS1 off of one of its own platforms, not to mention utilizing a motor it designed almost entirely from the ground up (minus D4S) the BRZ is a legit Subaru with a twist. it's also got the traditional Subaru front overhang you'll find on pretty much any Subie built over the last 10 yrs. what the BRZ really has going for it is the packaging: xenons, nav and a pretty sexy design this car is almost a no brainer, and with an anticipated price point of ~$25k to start...that's pretty attractive and perhaps can make up for the design issues i have with this car. in reverse, for me, that's the issue I have w/ the FR-S: if i want anything at all I've gotta pay for it, and as a single bachelor, and as much as I love cars I don't want to dump my savings bringing a car up to my personal specs as I would like to spend my money on other things.
so there you have it, I'm split.
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