BRZ Photos Showing Interior Measurements, Stereo UI, Trunk, Etc.

[Deslock]

I saw the BRZ today at Steve Lewis Subaru in Hadley, MA. I tried to take mostly photos of things that I haven't seen elsewhere, focusing on interior room (for those of us considering this car as a daily driver).

My overall impressions:

The car looks great. As expected, it's tiny. Headroom in the front is much better than my '99 MX5... well, with the top down the MX5 is better

I wish the doors were lower, but you just can't get cars like that anymore. The FT86 is not a good car if you're claustrophobic.

1. Here it is being backed into and parked in the dealership.





2. Fuse box.





3. I'm not sure what this tubing is (perhaps a sound enhancer).





4. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus *just* fits in the little cubby in front of the shifter (tilted slightly as far as width goes).





5. The shifter clears by a little over an 1", so charging it there would require a right-angle micro USB cable (alternatively the phone could go in the glove compartment or behind the shifter where there's another charger).




6. The shifter felt great. Its action isn't quite as smooth and effortless as my '99 MX5 (or the S2k, my all time favorite), but its 3.5" throw is even shorter than my MX5. It's by far the best shifter I've used in a Subaru.





7. There was 3" of clearance behind the driver seats for my normal position (5'9", 31" inseam). Not enough for anyone, but I think I could drive with the seat pushed forward a couple inches (and thus could carry a small adult or child behind me in a pinch).



8. It's snug, but you can fit two 5'-9" adults in the passenger side front and rear seats no problem (though headroom in the back is a joke). I had about 6.5" of clearance for my legs in the back with another 5'9" person in the front.



9. My feet were tucked under the front seat.



10. The trunk is about 32" deep with the rear seats in place.



11. The trunk is 56" deep with the rear seats folded down.





12. The rear seats are 39" across and it's 53" across from wall-to-wall in the back seat.





13. The alcoves above behind the rear wheels are 14" deep and 11" tall.





14. They had a trunk subwoofer from an Impreza on hand, and it's not anywhere near close to fitting in the BRZ. There is also no space under the seats for a sub. I'm curious where that port mounted sub goes.



15. Here are a few shots of the stuff under the trunk.







16. Info on the car from the door panel (manufactured Dec 2011).





17. For anyone considering a swap to get rid of the spoiler, here's the VIN on the trunk.



18. The fake vent looks like it has 4 plastic pins holding it in place.





19. Maps on a 4GB SD card, and a few shots of the stereo UI. There stereo sounded good (pretty crisp for OEM) with decent low-end, but I'd still want a subwoofer.

[dookie11]

Any videos of the UI?

[S2kphile]

Awesome post. I love all the measurement info and a look at the infortainment system. I hoping we can use a different SD card with music on it to play instead of using the iPod USB/Plugin.

[M-17]

Nice job and thanks for sharing these photos.

[ZetaVI]

Really good post man. Great measurement on everything.

[slizoth]

Finding a place to fit a sub will be pretty hard and that behind the driver seat shot looks terrifying, no one would fit there but I can't imagine the seat goes any further back that that. Do you typically lean pretty far back when driving, I know people that do that and even in a four door its a huge bitch to sit behind them.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Excellent photos, thank you!

[MattieK27]

Awesome job. Trunk dimensions are an issue for me since this will be my daily driver. Just curious, how did you find out the car would be at the dealer? I am in Chicago, and every dealer I ask about a preview car acts like I am crazy.

[Deslock]

Originally Posted by dookie11

Any videos of the UI?

Sorry, no. I was using my old DSLR without the ability to shoot video and it didn't occur to me to use my phone for it. FWIW, it seemed intuitive and pleasant to use.

I intended to hook up my phone via BT, but I first asked the Subaru rep if it was OK and he didn't want me to. He was concerned my stuff would download to it... I wasn't worried about that, but he was really nice and I was appreciative that he let me spend that much time in the car, so I didn't want to argue with him.

Originally Posted by slizoth

Finding a place to fit a sub will be pretty hard and that behind the driver seat shot looks terrifying, no one would fit there but I can't imagine the seat goes any further back that that. Do you typically lean pretty far back when driving, I know people that do that and even in a four door its a huge bitch to sit behind them.

Both the front seats were leaning back what I would call an average angle for an enthusiast driver (that is to say, more than my wife would set her seat to, but not as far back as what you'd picture in an exotic).

The front seats go all the way back (so that they touch the rear seats). There are posts by taller people who say there's plenty of room.

[Deslock]

Originally Posted by MattieK27

Awesome job. Trunk dimensions are an issue for me since this will be my daily driver. Just curious, how did you find out the car would be at the dealer? I am in Chicago, and every dealer I ask about a preview car acts like I am crazy.

My Subaru dealer called to tell me (I had a deposit there already).

I'm sure they think I'm crazy too given all the photos I took and how much time I spent with the car

[Jayde]

Thanks for the pics!!! Every time someone posts new pics up makes me want this car that much more.

[(K)]

The sound and equalizer settings are pretty slick for a car of this caliber. I'm not sure how I feel about the card-based maps, but they had to cut back somewhere. AND I hate to be the pessimist, but I'm picturing naked fenders for BRZ/FR-S owners everywhere because some thief figured out they can just pry the fender garnishes off with a screwdriver...but I'm sure that can be rectified with some steel screws and nuts in place of the plastic fasteners. Maybe.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by (K)

The sound and equalizer settings are pretty slick for a car of this caliber.

I know aftermarket units with shittier EQ settings.

[Do Boy]

I wish I didn't miss the BRZ when it was here in Houston