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Larphraulen · 04-23-2019, 04:47 PM

I'm 32 and traded in my 2012 GLI for a 2018 BRZ. My GF drives a Mazda 3 which basically greenlit me for a fun, less practical car. Long story short: do it if you can!

After test-driving one and Turo'ing one for a weekend (to test practicality), I sat on this decision for over a year. Watched Autotrader on a weekly basis. Decided that the next major $$ repair/maintenance that came up on the GLI would pull the trigger if I found a good deal.

I think I did pretty well for trying to be as adult-like about the decision as I could. My use case for the car is DD, a little bit of autocross, and driving to Toronto (~470km / 300 miles, one way) to see family and friends about 6-8 times a year. It's not a garage queen, and I drive it in Ottawa winters.

The 2017+ have nice, comfy suspension set ups. While you do feel every bump/pothole in the road, it is not horribly jarring. You should still avoid the big ones -- as you would in any normal car.

I usually cruise around 120km/h (75mph) on the highway. It feels like the same level of noise as my GF's 2018 Mazda 3 on those horrible Ecopia tires -- maybe even quieter. No drone. Gas mileage is pretty good. I average just under 30 mpg. The base seats are comfy for slimmer folks. I'm 5'11, 150 lbs and it's pretty comfy, even on those 5-6 hour drives to Toronto.

The biggest thing I find I had to adjust to is how sensitive the throttle is in the early pedal travel, and it has a bit of delay at the 600 RPM idle (1-2s). The three BRZ/86s I've driven seems to be mapped this way too. It feels like 80% of the power is in the first 20% of travel. Also, the clutch is pretty vague and light.

In the snow, it steps out if you're not smooth with throttle or brakes. As someone who'd never driven anything other than FWD, as long as you look to where you want to go, your hands and the car will sort the rest out. For winter tires, I would say oversize the diameter and decrease the width. Gives you more ride height, pothole absorption, and more cutting action in the snow.

The GLI did everything I asked of it. Great car but too comfortable and numb. That's what makes it refined though. The BRZ on the other hand just makes us excited to go anywhere. Even my GF gets excited to go for a ride as a passenger. She even got me a vanity plate for the car.

04-23-2019, 04:47 PM	#80
Larphraulen Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Drives: 2018 Subaru BRZ 6m; 2012 VW GLI 6m Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 34 Thanks: 33 Thanked 15 Times in 10 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I'm 32 and traded in my 2012 GLI for a 2018 BRZ. My GF drives a Mazda 3 which basically greenlit me for a fun, less practical car. Long story short: do it if you can! After test-driving one and Turo'ing one for a weekend (to test practicality), I sat on this decision for over a year. Watched Autotrader on a weekly basis. Decided that the next major $$ repair/maintenance that came up on the GLI would pull the trigger if I found a good deal. I think I did pretty well for trying to be as adult-like about the decision as I could. My use case for the car is DD, a little bit of autocross, and driving to Toronto (~470km / 300 miles, one way) to see family and friends about 6-8 times a year. It's not a garage queen, and I drive it in Ottawa winters. The 2017+ have nice, comfy suspension set ups. While you do feel every bump/pothole in the road, it is not horribly jarring. You should still avoid the big ones -- as you would in any normal car. I usually cruise around 120km/h (75mph) on the highway. It feels like the same level of noise as my GF's 2018 Mazda 3 on those horrible Ecopia tires -- maybe even quieter. No drone. Gas mileage is pretty good. I average just under 30 mpg. The base seats are comfy for slimmer folks. I'm 5'11, 150 lbs and it's pretty comfy, even on those 5-6 hour drives to Toronto. The biggest thing I find I had to adjust to is how sensitive the throttle is in the early pedal travel, and it has a bit of delay at the 600 RPM idle (1-2s). The three BRZ/86s I've driven seems to be mapped this way too. It feels like 80% of the power is in the first 20% of travel. Also, the clutch is pretty vague and light. In the snow, it steps out if you're not smooth with throttle or brakes. As someone who'd never driven anything other than FWD, as long as you look to where you want to go, your hands and the car will sort the rest out. For winter tires, I would say oversize the diameter and decrease the width. Gives you more ride height, pothole absorption, and more cutting action in the snow. The GLI did everything I asked of it. Great car but too comfortable and numb. That's what makes it refined though. The BRZ on the other hand just makes us excited to go anywhere. Even my GF gets excited to go for a ride as a passenger. She even got me a vanity plate for the car.