[Kona61]

Originally Posted by Up4speed

Hi guys/gals,

I just signed up to the forum, excited about (possibly) buying the BRZ, and looking for advice. I am seriously considering buying the new 2022 BRZ, but wanted to make sure it was a wise move, and need some encouragement, especially from people that went from a GTI to the BRZ, and are happy about it.
My concerns are that I currently LOVE my GTI. I use it as my "bad weather" daily, and my track car. It is very comfortable as a daily, has a lot of versatility, and it also performs reasonably well in our NY winters. I have done a lot of performance modifications to make it track ready, and it is very quick on street, and track. I tend to beat up on cars that I have no business beating up on. So you ask, if it's that good, why do you want to replace it?
Well, to be honest, 80% of the reason is that it is "wrong wheel drive", lol. The other 20% is probably that it is too top heavy.
I have a lot of track experience, so I got to the point that I am starting to get bored because it is "too easy" to drive. I literally can drive at the limit (even in the rain) and feel like I'm on a Sunday drive. Of course my passengers are in awe, and sometimes pooping in their pants, but I'm not feeling thrilled.

Well, I feel like the BRZ can change that for me. It is a RWD car with a manual transmission, and a low center of gravity. It has very playful characteristics, that, I think should, keep me excited for a longer time. However, my main concern is the lack of power (compared to my tuned GTI). I also lose the back seat, and cargo space. The back seat isn't too big of an issue though, because I have other cars that I can use in an emergency.

Were any of you in a similar predicament? Were you happy you made the change, or do you have some regrets?
I'm predicting that I will truly love this car, and its playfulness and chassis dynamics should definitely make up for the lost speed. My intent for this car would be to leave it essentially stock, I don’t want to go down the modding rabbit hole like I did with the GTI. I intend to just put on a good set of street/track brake pads (maybe Ferodo), and a good brake fluid (maybe Motul RBF660), then break the car in for about 1500-2000 miles, then head to the track.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Should I just dive in, and order one?

I had a MK7 Golf, a 1.8/5MT for 5 years. I also have spent a decent amount of time in 7 and 7.5 GTI's and a little bit in a 7R.

The versatility sucks comparatively. Trunk is fine for a coupe but can't compare to a hatch. The rear seats are also comparatively diminutive but I can sit behind myself in my BRZ (5' 9") in a pinch.

Driving wise, I will say this car for one does not feel slow. It's no rocket ship but it is fast enough to get you to jail haha. It does not have the low down punch the IS20/38 provides but has much more character as you rev it out. Also, the EA888 sounds pretty terrible in my opinion compared to the FA24. For me though, the biggest draw is the dynamics. It wins hands down to any car in the price segment. I always hated how numb the steering on my Golf was and the chassis balance of complete and utter understeer. The BRZ chassis is just much more purposeful as you would expect. Lastly, I am a child and I like to drift. Owned quite a few drift cars and tracked them. You definitely cannot slide a MK7 though I definitely tried with the handbrake lol.

I would also compare reliability too, the reason I sold my Golf was because it started burning coolant. No clue why as it was totally stock and had 28k miles and I had never beaten it to death. Also was having some electrical gremlins with the passenger airbag.