Now, the RX8 appeals to me for two reasons.
One, it's a rotary. I like rotaries. I "get" rotaries. I understand why some people don't like them. Most of those people don't have legitimate reasons to hate them, they just have an unjustified, uninformed herd-thought inspired and supported opinion and it's stupid, like them. Some have considered, informed reasons why they don't like them and their points are valid. There are some characteristics of that engine that are unappealing and there's no way around it. You have to accept them if you are to be happy with a rotary. I am one of those strange birds who will so I happen to love the little spinny triangle motors. The RX8 has one, good.
Two. All reviews praise the handling of these cars. Some have compared it to an FD which is a very good handling car. I have an FC. I love my FC, but the FC is a big broadsword where the FD is a razor sharp Katana. Both will cut you, but where the FC requires a wide cleaving stroke, the FD whispers through the flesh with the flick of a wrist. I don't mind the unsophisticated "hold the fuck on" way around a corner, but it would be nice to try lacing through them smoothly, for once. I'm not getting an FD so the idea that the RX8 has similar capability is very appealing.
The RX8, is, unfortunately, ONE OF THE BUTT UGLIEST CARS I HAVE EVER LAID EYES ON! So, sadly, there's no way I would buy one. One auto reviewer put my feeling into words perfectly when he said "I respect the RX8, but I don't love it." Now, here I am, standing next to a car that I love and respect, both having been earned today and there goes the car that that same reviewer said had the power that the BRZ was missing. I felt a stirring in my loins. I looked at BRZ and BRZ was already cracking it's knuckles and loosening up for battle.
How cool would this be if it happened? What are the chances the road would open up to allow it? What are the chances the 8 driver would want to go? I didn't know, but I was going to find out. I jumped in the car and gave chase. As we went south the cars thinned out and I got closer to the 8 and people got out of his way. We came around the sweeper at Ginoza up to the light before the expressway entrance and the car in front of him turned left. There he was at the light and I was right behind him.
The light went green and we both eased off. I surged up and I saw puffs of smoke burst from his pipes and we tore through second and were about to grab our third gears when traffic ahead stopped us. So close! Indeed, so close; he didn't pull away from me an inch on that short blast. Certainly not definitive, but still fun as hell. We continued south and as we got to the north end of the bridge leading into Kin I hope it was clear because he had one car in front of him and the movement of the 8 suggested he would go for the pass. The road swept right and slowly the bridge became visible. As soon as I saw it was empty across it's entire length I slotted the car down a gear and wound up the little boxer and I could see he was getting ready make the pass. as he moved to the right I nailed the gas.
His mufflers puffed a split second later and we were off. If he had waited a second later I would have had to hit the brakes. Yes, that equates to a head start, and?
We took it through a full gear and upshifted and I was balls deep in his ass and he couldn't do anything about it, but stare at the rice bags he was face down on and feel that 2.0 **** poking him. I let off and saluted him in his rear view mirror. I didn't want to be a jerk about it. I was grateful he was willing to play and I felt he had nothing to be ashamed of. I said out loud "underpowered, eh? Not if you drive it right." I couldn't have hoped for a more delicious frosting to the cake I had been eating all day.
Conclusion:
On paper it is my belief that Subaru's objectives were to build a car that was really really good, but not great. They wanted it to be very balanced in the sense that it would do everything as well as it could without sacrificing that overall balance to be able to do one thing a little better. They wanted a solid, but blank sheet of paper for the owner to embellish as they see fit. After spending a day with the car and giving it a test drive that would make a car dealer need a fistful of Prozac and a stiff drink I can say with confidence that I have looked into this car's eyes and seen a machine I can work with. If Subaru was, in fact, trying to do what I think they were, they did it.
This car is pretty. This car is solidly built. This car is reasonably spacious for its size and the interior, save for the seat issue, which may really just be a problem I have, is a darned nice place to live and work in. The car is low slung and firmly planted to the road. The suspension is firm, but not hostile and works very well in most any setting. The brakes are understated, but strong, linear and showed no signs of being overworked all day. The engine is sort of boring, quiet with enough power, but no more than that. Yes, the car would be better with more power and yes, the torque dip should have been ironed out before the car was launched and definitely after three years of production, but I had a theory that if properly driven it could be worked around and I have tested the theory in the real world in all arenas save for a straight up drag race which I think would go badly as that is 100% in the car's blind spot, power.
Other than that, what you have here is the automotive equivalent of a Swiss army knife. It can do so many things and do them very well. It only comes up wanting when you try to step outside of the balance and do something more specialized, something that can only come at the expense of other things. Much like I wouldn't use my SAK to chop down a tree, nor would I ask a BRZ to lay claim to a drag strip. Realistically, though, how often am I chopping down trees? How much use does my ax get? How often do I need to turn a screw, cut some rope, open a bottle etc, though? Answer, all the time. How often do I make a long trip up north to attack windy roads?
More to the point, how often am I going to work and happen to be on a short strip of road all by myself without adult supervision? Yeah, exactly, all the time. I love my "race cars," but bringing them out requires planning, scheduling and back up plans for when they blow up. As much as I want to be 1000hp GT-R guy, I'm not. I'm bone stock BRZ guy with a broken GT-R.
Subaru, we will be talking very soon.
Thank you for a fun day BRZ.
