BRZ comes last in EVO group test

[cossey]

As someone coming from the previous generation Renaultsport Megane it doesn't make pleasant reading. The group test participants are the obvious for the UK market with the only other possible car being the Elise 1.6.

Hot hatches are the default performance car over here and with the normal discounts you can get on a Renault you could have the 265 with the cup pack and the Recaros for under £25k leaving more than enough for a remap (taking it to ~315Bhp) a spare set of track wheels and tyres and a couple of track days for less than a GT86/BRZ.

The auto box is entire Subaru's mistake, especially as Evo are probalby the most driver orientated European car magazine (with the possible exception of Sport Auto). Hopefully the longer ratios were a big part of the difficulty in keeping in the zone but I doubt it.

I have a manual GT86 coming in June/July so I am a bit worried after putting down a large amount of money without driving one but with the tuning companies getting up to speed it will be fixable just at a cost.

[Levi]

I don't give a f***. The BRZ is best and its all. What are you going to do with a FWD car? Drive straight in to a tree? And what with an open top MX-5? What with the 370Z that is less sporty than a TT-S or Z4 35i? BRZ no doubt. And wait till the turbocahrgers and superchargers come, it will kill anything. It is always easier to add power than to substract weight.

[SupremeMoFo]

Originally Posted by Levi

I don't give a f***. The BRZ is best and its all. What are you going to do with a FWD car? Drive straight in to a tree?

According to that article, you will lap BRZs and have more fun than the BRZ driver as well...

[Lighting Red]

Originally Posted by Subaruwrxfan

Same. I've been thinking that I might like to get the convertible version when it comes out in 2-3 years if they don't add too much weight, maybe it'll have a power boost by then.

It's your choice what you get, and who the hell I'm I to dictate what other people buy, but... Convertible? And ruin what inherently makes this car so desirable? I am cool with a power bump, as long as the increase in mass is within reason, but to buy a fundamentally flawed version of a perfectly good car seems wrong.

Then again, I have never owned a convertible. All those people who do own one may be onto something.

[Lighting Red]

Originally Posted by Levi

I don't give a f***. The BRZ is best and its all. What are you going to do with a FWD car? Drive straight in to a tree? And what with an open top MX-5? What with the 370Z that is less sporty than a TT-S or Z4 35i? BRZ no doubt. And wait till the turbocahrgers and superchargers come, it will kill anything. It is always easier to add power than to substract weight.

Can't say that I disagree with you

[DarkSunrise]

In some ways, this review confirms the BRZ is what Subaru promised: a modestly powered, forgiving RWD track car that doesn't need sticky, expensive tires to be fun. Essentially it's a Miata coupe with more power and better-sorted handling.

Sadly, the addition of a fixed roof and higher limits makes it less engaging on the street than a topless Miata, but what can you do? That's the price you pay for a car that's better than the Miata on the track.

The fact that Subaru chose to send an automatic BRZ was the puzzling decision considering the above, but overall, the BRZ serves different purposes than the cars Evo tested it against so the result is understandable.

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

I said it before and I'll say it again. This car needs a 2.5L engine.

[SUB-FT86]

I'm a bit saddened since I was only wanting the automatic BRZ Limited that me and ZGrinch saw in Atlanta. I have to force myself to try the manual instead but I fear that won't make a big difference.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by MmmHamSandwich

A chassis that is wanting of power is not the end of the world folks. I've got a Civic Si, most of my peers spend great sums of money into giving the thing more power, beyond what the car can reasonably handle. The BRZ should comfortably grow into power increases, and because it is so light, those increase won't have to be particularly great to start having effects.

Exactly! This is a great problem to have. I would much prefer an extremely capable chassis that begs for more power than a flimsy chassis that needs tons of modifications and reinforcement to handle anything more than stock power. What I got from that article is that the BRZ will be incredible with more power and better tires. The aftermarket has their work cut out for them!

[Kimsey47]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Exactly! This is a great problem to have. I would much prefer an extremely capable chassis that begs for more power than a flimsy chassis that needs tons of modifications and reinforcement to handle anything more than stock power. What I got from that article is that the BRZ will be incredible with more power and better tires. The aftermarket has their work cut out for them!

I just posted up an except of a Motortrend blog that had some praise for the BRZ I was not expecting! I think that people complaining about the power should lighten up as I'm excited in making my own mods to make this car what I want it to be, and with the power I want it to have.

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by Levi

I don't give a f***. The BRZ is best and its all. What are you going to do with a FWD car? Drive straight in to a tree? And what with an open top MX-5? What with the 370Z that is less sporty than a TT-S or Z4 35i? BRZ no doubt. And wait till the turbocahrgers and superchargers come, it will kill anything. It is always easier to add power than to substract weight.

That is your opinion right there. But I remember seeing the 370Z beating those other cars in testing all over the place especially in Top Gear when Jeremy said it was more fun to drive and involving than the Z4 35.

[blu_]

Originally Posted by brzmaybe

Months ago we had indications that Subaru had tuned the BRZ suspension for greater stability.

Remember that time attack BRZ/FR-S side-by-side video of a couple of days ago? The BRZ had little understeer... and precious little oversteer, either.

Oops?

Subaru sucks at fine tuning suspension.

[cmspooner]

I keep looking at it this way. I am looking to get the same feeling that my 85 BMW 318i gave me, and that was a poor beaten automatic with a bad cylinder that I couldn't rev over 4 grand or it would shake. It was huge amounts of fun!...well not up hills where tractor trailers would pass.

[DEC1]

Originally Posted by Kimsey47

I just posted up an except of a Motortrend blog that had some praise for the BRZ I was not expecting! I think that people complaining about the power should lighten up as I'm excited in making my own mods to make this car what I want it to be, and with the power I want it to have.

just checked it out and just got my issue of MT with the full article...(which I read on-line before but something fun about reading it on printed pages)
Also a line in Automobile Mag this month about the upcoming WRX that is intriguing in terms of future potential for the BRZ...and I quote

and here's where the news gets interesting: replacing the laggy, aging 2.5-liter flat four will be a turbocharged version of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder that made its first appearance in the rear-wheel-drive BRZ coupe. This engine is smaller, dimensionally, than the 2.0-liter in the regular Impreza, and the two engine families share almost no parts. A big difference here from the BRZ is that the WRX's engine will use Subaru's first in-house direct-injection system, whereas the coupe uses a Toyota system.

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ew_asian_cars/