From GTI to BRZ

[Fazzster]

BRZ is at the top of my list when it comes time to replace my GTI. However I am torn about leaving the "solidity" of a German car for a Japanese car. I have owned a couple of WRX's, Mazdaspeed3 and a zillion Honda's back in the 80's and 90's. Nothing comes close to how a German car feels. I also appreciate the high quality interior of my GTI. My question to all you former/current GTI owners who now have a BRZ, does it feel "cheap" or are the driving dynamics so good you can overlook some of the negatives?

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Fazzster

BRZ is at the top of my list when it comes time to replace my GTI. However I am torn about leaving the "solidity" of a German car for a Japanese car. I have owned a couple of WRX's, Mazdaspeed3 and a zillion Honda's back in the 80's and 90's. Nothing comes close to how a German car feels. I also appreciate the high quality interior of my GTI. My question to all you former/current GTI owners who now have a BRZ, does it feel "cheap" or are the driving dynamics so good you can overlook some of the negatives?

Both. The interior on my FR-S definitely feels cheaper than on my GTI. You can tell this car is meant to be lightweight so you won't, for example, get that heavy *thud* when you close the doors the way you would in a GTI. The GTI definitely feels a level or two more upscale on the inside.

The FR-S is exactly what you would guess -- a minimalist, lightweight RWD sports car. But that's part of its charm. If it helps, I've never once been driving it and found myself thinking, "I wish it had a better interior." I just enjoy it for what it is.

[xia]

I dont care for interior looks/feel. Driving experience matters the most

[SirBrass]

Thing is, these cars still have nice interiors. I rode in a coworker's 06 Corolla when we went to lunch last week while my BRZ was still in the shop, and THAT was a basic, no-frills interior. The 86 twins interiors (from base model FR-S to BRZ Limited) were ALL orders of magnitude nicer and more "luxurious." Compare that to similarly priced (allowing for inflation) 90's cars, even the nicer family sedans, and these vehicles that we say have "eco-box interiors" (I don't say that, as I'm not that arrogant and condescending about our cars) have nothing of the sort.

Even compared to domestics, we've got nicer interiors in these vehicles. Obviously the nicer german cars are nicer inside. That's part of the german charm . But you also have to then pay german sports car pricing too .

[syrs_finest_frs]

Originally Posted by Fazzster

BRZ is at the top of my list when it comes time to replace my GTI. However I am torn about leaving the "solidity" of a German car for a Japanese car. I have owned a couple of WRX's, Mazdaspeed3 and a zillion Honda's back in the 80's and 90's. Nothing comes close to how a German car feels. I also appreciate the high quality interior of my GTI. My question to all you former/current GTI owners who now have a BRZ, does it feel "cheap" or are the driving dynamics so good you can overlook some of the negatives?

It's funny because that was a good reason I didn't want to get rid of my gti. Because I couldn't find anything that lived up to the luxurious interior. I first went and looked at an frs, and didn't like the interior, it wasn't enough for me to switch. Then I went and looked at the brz premium/limited and fell in love, you just feel like your in a sports car. I don't miss the gti's interior one bit.

[Ganthrithor]

I came from a totally optioned Mk4 GTI and don't miss it at all. When I went to move apartments I missed the cargo space of the GTI a little bit, but I was shocked at how much stuff I was able to fit into the BRZ with a careful packing job.

The interior of the BRZ has all the features of my GTI and more (satnav, although I don't use it because the BRZ head unit is terrible). I guess I don't have full leather seats anymore, but I really don't care: the BRZ seats are more comfortable and much more supportive than the GTI seats (which were already pretty comfortable). Overall I'd say that the interior on the GTI looks a little more "serious" than the BRZs, but the BRZ interior is plenty nice and similarly simple. I guess more modern GTIs had nicer interiors, so maybe if you're coming out of a recent one you'd find yourself missing things, but I've always preferred simple interiors anyway so I don't care.

Driving-wise the BRZ is just a whole new world of fun compared to my GTI. The GTI was quick, but ultimately the handling was pretty boring: mine has aftermarket springs / dampers, an aftermarket front swaybar, poly motor mounts and a Milltek turbo-back, but at the end of the day all the car really wanted to do was go fast and understeer a bit if you pushed it too hard. It was a quick and really forgiving car to drive, but not interesting like the BRZ is.

I do miss the power of my GTI a bit: it was probably making less HP than my BRZ, but the minimally-laggy torque from the turbo with that exhaust attached is something a miss a little. I'd say that if I drove both cars down a tight, windy road, my GTI with its Dunlop Star Specs might get from A to B a tiny bit faster than my BRZ, but my BRZ is much more fun to drive and with good tyres might be even quicker than the Mk4. Compared to my BRZ in stock format I think the GTI would definitely be a bit faster. There's just no comparing the quantities of fun involved though: the BRZ feels extremely light and nimble compared to the GTI, and being able to balance the car on the throttle better is a lot of fun.

FWIW I was driving both cars for a couple of months, and once you get used to the BRZ hopping into the GTI feels like you're driving a bus-- the wheel feels huge, the rack feels slow and strangely light, the seating position feels high and a bit wrong, the gear shift isn't where it ~*should*~ be, and the whole package feels heavy. My modded GTI felt like a fast hatch but you could still feel that it was a Golf trying hard to compete with proper sportscars (and doing a pretty good job in terms of raw numbers, but not that gracefully): my modded BRZ feels like a babby M-car-- less power, less weight, less grip (on stockers anyway), but it handles in the same way as much more serious cars.

[horrorbiz]

Originally Posted by Ganthrithor

FWIW I was driving both cars for a couple of months, and once you get used to the BRZ hopping into the GTI feels like you're driving a bus-- the wheel feels huge, the rack feels slow and strangely light, the seating position feels high and a bit wrong, the gear shift isn't where it ~*should*~ be, and the whole package feels heavy. My modded GTI felt like a fast hatch but you could still feel that it was a Golf trying hard to compete with proper sportscars (and doing a pretty good job in terms of raw numbers, but not that gracefully): my modded BRZ feels like a babby M-car-- less power, less weight, less grip (on stockers anyway), but it handles in the same way as much more serious cars.

This sounds exactly like my experience if you swap out GTI for WRX.

[Fleischwagen]

Came from a autocross prepped Stage 2+ MK5 GTI and I can safely say, this car, even stock is WAY more fun and exciting. Yes I miss the nearly instant torque and ability to spin the tires all the way into 3rd gear but the BRZ's handling prowess trumps even my ex modded "too much torque for decent corner exit" hatchback. Sure do miss the cargo space but hey, if it don't fit in the trunk, you don't reallllllly need it... right?

[Telfo]

I went from MK6 to BRZ too. I miss the interior of the GTI but overall I am happy with the switch. pretty glad to be done with the DSG transmission

[SirBrass]

Not familiar with DSG. What is it besides a kind of auto trans?

[utekineir]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

Not familiar with DSG. What is it besides a kind of auto trans?

dual clutch

its actually pretty decent, had one for 40k+, gf still has one on her tdi. Its closer to a manual than a slush box.

My main gripe with it (besides out of warranty fears) is that the transmission doesn't give much feedback on a stock car. Exhaust solved that though.

[krayzie]

I also switched from a slightly modified Mk5 GTI w/ DSG over to a BRZ manual and it's the best decision I've ever made. The VW PQ35 chassis has a ridiculous subframe problem due to insufficient torque on the stock bolts that's holding it. The alu subframe shifts everytime I turn a corner or stopping the car to the point, my alignment constantly drifts and the DSG started to miss shifts. I spent so much money trying to fix it to no avail so that was the last straw, on top of all the other problems I've had (mainly electrical) with it since new. It was orange too so it did make a smile on every stranger's face except my own.

The BRZ is not as lux as a GTI but everytime I take it out for a spin it just surprises me with its handling feel even stock (I've since added STI pink springs, STI flexible tower bar, and Michelin PSA/S3s and now the steering is even tighter, gonna add STI draw stiffener next). It's the best car I've ever driven other than a Porsche Boxster, and the first ever car I've driven daily was a 3rd gen Integra back in the 90's, and this BRZ sits low just like an old Honda I love it!

Honestly I don't miss all the stupid plastic bits that kept breaking on the GTI. At least the Subie dip stick doesn't have plastic guides on it that will crack on me and drop into the oil pan during winter lol!! I actually find all the Toyota interior switch gears to be better than VW to be honest.