STi to BRZ? Who Else Made The Switch?

[wlwarfield]

I have both a 2011 STi and a 2013 BRZ Limited. Both are fun to drive in their own ways, however I gind myself driving the BRZ more & more since it handles awesome like my s2000 I used to own.

[jabbathewhat]

Interesting points ^^^

[urabus]

sorry to bump an old thread

i switched from an 06 sti to 13 brz. the power difference is huge but overall daily driving the brz is a lot more fun.

being a pretty conservative driver (shifting below boost, keeping around speed limit) having a stage 2 sti was quite pointless

although i do miss having the convenience of having 2 extra doors and a trunk

[RallySport Direct]

I currently have a "Stage 2" 05 STi and a BRZ, and I have driven my STi once since I bought the BRZ. Here shortly the BRZ is going in the garage and the STi will be my daily for the winter.

Couple of things to note. I am an AWD junkie. Something about the control and confidence it inspires and the way the STi differentials just seem to pull the front of the car in when you take a corner aggressively. It's quite an awesome feeling. The BRZ is a much more difficult car for me to drive quickly, and I feel like I have to be a bit more on point with my throttle, steering and brake inputs, and even more so when things go wrong. With the STi, I can get that thing so incredibly upset and 99% of the time get the car going where I want it to without much effort. But that is what I like about the twins, they are much more engaging and require a bit more brain power on my part. Also the fun meter is much easier to peg in the BRZ, where with the STi it seems I have to go way to fast on the road to really have some fun. Now on dirt or snow.... STi all the way!

I'm incredibly happy I can own both cars, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would not hesitate to take one of the twins. It just seems to check more boxes for me.

okay now I have a desire to go for a drive in the STi hahaha.

Thanks,
Rick

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

I currently have a "Stage 2" 05 STi and a BRZ, and I have driven my STi once since I bought the BRZ. Here shortly the BRZ is going in the garage and the STi will be my daily for the winter.

Couple of things to note. I am an AWD junkie. Something about the control and confidence it inspires and the way the STi differentials just seem to pull the front of the car in when you take a corner aggressively. It's quite an awesome feeling. The BRZ is a much more difficult car for me to drive quickly, and I feel like I have to be a bit more on point with my throttle, steering and brake inputs, and even more so when things go wrong. With the STi, I can get that thing so incredibly upset and 99% of the time get the car going where I want it to without much effort. But that is what I like about the twins, they are much more engaging and require a bit more brain power on my part. Also the fun meter is much easier to peg in the BRZ, where with the STi it seems I have to go way to fast on the road to really have some fun. Now on dirt or snow.... STi all the way!

I'm incredibly happy I can own both cars, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would not hesitate to take one of the twins. It just seems to check more boxes for me.

okay now I have a desire to go for a drive in the STi hahaha.

Thanks,
Rick

AWD is easy mode. That's why I loved my WRX. Point to corner, stomp throttle, hold on.

[Turbowned]

So I bought a BRZ in June, bought a (perfectly good and bone stock) 2004 WRX STi in August. Got tired of STi real quick and sold it yesterday. A fantastic performance car but an extremely mediocre car otherwise. Your results may vary if you're less than 6' tall and don't have to sit in traffic often (read: ever).

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

Couple of things to note. I am an AWD junkie. Something about the control and confidence it inspires and the way the STi differentials just seem to pull the front of the car in when you take a corner aggressively. It's quite an awesome feeling.

It's definitely a unique feeling and one of the things I used to love about my STI. That said, I picked the Twins for the same reasons as you (i.e., driver's car). It's so much fun to drive and I feel, teaches me more about driving than my STI did.

[iLuveKetchup]

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

I am an AWD junkie. Something about the control and confidence it inspires and the way the STi differentials just seem to pull the front of the car in when you take a corner aggressively. It's quite an awesome feeling.

Pull the car in!? Not sure if it's a typo but the STi is an understeering pig & pushes the car out.

[nijikon5]

Originally Posted by jabbathewhat

Bumping an old thread to see if there are any other people who have done this and to see if the people who originally commented on this still feel the same.

I currently have a modded 2012 STI and am looking into this move possibly.

Not exactly an STi owner, but I've been driving Evos for the last 9 years ( Evo8 and now a Evo X ). Kept my Evo X since it's been paid off for a while and the BRZ wasn't that big of a hit to my finances.

Love both cars for different reasons. Whenever I drive the BRZ for a while, it's always nice to go back into the power that the Evo offers. The first thing I noticed was how sharp and agile the RWD Lightweight BRZ/FR-S is. It really got me hooked. I honestly don't think I could have given up my Evo, but the BRZ is a wonderful DD and weekend warrior.

[Whitigir]

Originally Posted by nijikon5

Not exactly an STi owner, but I've been driving Evos for the last 9 years ( Evo8 and now a Evo X ). Kept my Evo X since it's been paid off for a while and the BRZ wasn't that big of a hit to my finances.

Love both cars for different reasons. Whenever I drive the BRZ for a while, it's always nice to go back into the power that the Evo offers. The first thing I noticed was how sharp and agile the RWD Lightweight BRZ/FR-S is. It really got me hooked. I honestly don't think I could have given up my Evo, but the BRZ is a wonderful DD and weekend warrior.

I dont see why an Evo X could be any less of a wonderful DD and weekend warrior under all weather with more power.

I do understand FRS look sexier though. Also more reliable

It is so nice to see many people switch from STI and has no regret. It is surprising

[nijikon5]

Originally Posted by Whitigir

I dont see why an Evo X could be any less of a wonderful DD and weekend warrior under all weather with more power.

I do understand FRS look sexier though. Also more reliable

It is so nice to see many people switch from STI and has no regret. It is surprising

The Evo X is a solid DD / Weekend Warrior. Mine is tuned so the gas mileage is slightly better ( Still not as good as the BRZ ). I love both cars ( one of the reasons why I did not get rid of the Evo ). As it is now, I'm going to slowly mod the Evo into more of a track/weekend warrior over the next year and leave the BRZ stock more or less.

[jetfire]

Originally Posted by robot

Over the last 7 years: 04 sti (5 years) -> 94 miata/dd civic (1 year) -> 99 e36 m3 (~1 year) -> brz

I miss the sti. I miss its utility for carrying people and stuff. I miss that I didn't care about getting rock chips or dirt on it too much. I miss the woosh of the turbo.

I love the brz. The cockpit feel. The newness. The handling is better, more balanced. Ideally I'd have both, but that'll never happen. I will probably end up keeping the brz for a long time. It is a very good car.

I miss the cheapness of the miata. The brz handles better and has a little more power.

I am an 08 STI owner and a '94 Miata owner and I share these concerns. I'm thinking about "consolidating" by selling both and getting a BRZ, but I'm afraid I'm going to miss the utility of the STI (used the hatch to move nearly all my apartment furniture and boxes and use it every weekend for carrying the bicycle around).

My questions to you guys who've switched: is the BRZ interior better? My STI is notorious for making random creaking noises from the hatch area and from the driver's seat, and the road noise is really loud at highway speeds, I have to shout so a person sitting in the back can hear me. Is the noise much better in the BRZ, especially considering it has Bluetooth calling standard?

[Stierzy34]

Originally Posted by Whitigir

It is so nice to see many people switch from STI and has no regret. It is surprising

This is the incredible part. I have had cars with twice the power of the BRZ for nearly 6-7 years yet have never had as much fun in them as I do the BRZ. You can line up all of the stats and the BRZ may not make sense but when you drive it, it will. I am convinced until someone drives this car 2-3 times, it is hard to grasp what is so special.

That being said, I miss the turbo and the power but would never swap back. God I love the BRZ.

Edit: as far as cabin noise, there will be creaks and rattles here and there. It's a Suby after all. Lol however, compared to my WRXs the road noise is way down. At least that is how it seems.

[robot]

Originally Posted by jetfire

I am an 08 STI owner and a '94 Miata owner and I share these concerns. I'm thinking about "consolidating" by selling both and getting a BRZ, but I'm afraid I'm going to miss the utility of the STI (used the hatch to move nearly all my apartment furniture and boxes and use it every weekend for carrying the bicycle around).

My questions to you guys who've switched: is the BRZ interior better? My STI is notorious for making random creaking noises from the hatch area and from the driver's seat, and the road noise is really loud at highway speeds, I have to shout so a person sitting in the back can hear me. Is the noise much better in the BRZ, especially considering it has Bluetooth calling standard?

The BRZ has the same level of fit and finish of the interior. However, the car itself is not as noisy (engine, tranny, etc.). So, it is more livable inside.

The bluetooth is ok. Better than the pioneer AVIC thing I used to have, but i've only had it work on certain roms on my phone. Others have had issues with it as well.