So on my day off today I decided to go visit the local subie dealer to see what the fuss about these BRZ's is all about. My impressions:
1. First the seats. I am tall (6'3") so the first thing I wanted to do was squeeze into the car to see how fit. I was very pleased with the sitting position. The seats cup you just right and the ledge on the door (glass sill) was just the right height for resting my elbow and had enough width to rest a good portion of my arm. The seats were leather and were very snug. I tried the standard seats on another car at the dealership and was not impressed with the feel. The overall position was good and vision through all windows of the car was fantastic - which surprised me.
2. Test drive. The first thing I noticed and kept fixated on almost the entire test drive was the giant rpm gauge directly in front of you. I don't think I ever noticed the speedo. Just the rpm needle and the digital speed indicator. It took me a little to get used to the clutch - so much lighter than my ole STI. The gearbox was good although I had some trouble trying to figure out what gear I was in at times. The reverse being to the left in the gear tree is strange to me. In any case, off we zipped. The car is an absolute brick in the low rpms - maybe even worse than my ole celica, but ironically I think the car is actually quicker than it let's on. I found myself getting to 60-70mph with relative ease. I had opportunity to gun it from a light as we neared our return to the dealership and it was a blast. The car came to life and growled like a panther. Overall it drove almost exactly as I imagined it. Kinda reminds of a 2.5RS but not as torquey.
Conclusions: i should say first that I come from a stage 2 07 STI but I did go into this with limited expectations to not mess up my impression. Overall it is a gorgeous little car - I absolutely love the cockpit feel of the BRZ. It doesn't really throw you into your seat but it has such a good road feel you kinda overlook it. I just felt so comfortable in it. Still it was a tad slower than I imagined it would be. Don't get me wrong it feels sporty but you really have to be rolling around in the upper rpms to see it - and it's very loud at the high end so you won't be fooling anyone by holding it in a lower gear to get a quick jump.
I think it would make a good replacement for my commuter celi for sure. I was curious if there is anything on the BRZ when you purchased it that you really wished you had upgraded. I think I may just be picking me up one this year.
