EVO: Subaru BRZ vs Subaru Impreza 2000 Turbo review

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by robo_robb

To your first point: He doesn't derive the same pleasure from the twins as does someone who values balance and feel. He just wants more power because that's what he's told makes a good sports car. That's how he doesn't "get" it.

To your second point: The added weight comes from modern advances in safety as well as the fact that cars are bigger today on average than they were 10 or 20 years ago. The Twins are light-weight by today's standards. We can't fairly compare the weights of today's cars to weights of cars from 10 or 20 years ago.

& to think, Tada-san is hiding 86 that's 100kg lighter... drool

[kilrb]

Dumb question... Was this an automatic? The article doesn't mention whether it was manual or not. The only picutre of the BRZ interior in the linked article looked like an auto shifter, with no clutch pedal. Not to knock you guys with autos, but shouldn't they compare a manula BRZ against the manual Impreza? I'm not sure how the auto lays down power on the road, but the 0-60 #'s for the auto are quite a bit slower than the manual, right? Could that contribute to his perception of lack of power?

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by kilrb

Dumb question... Was this an automatic? The article doesn't mention whether it was manual or not. The only picutre of the BRZ interior in the linked article looked like an auto shifter, with no clutch pedal. Not to knock you guys with autos, but shouldn't they compare a manula BRZ against the manual Impreza? I'm not sure how the auto lays down power on the road, but the 0-60 #'s for the auto are quite a bit slower than the manual, right? Could that contribute to his perception of lack of power?

Yes, it was AT trans for BRZ

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

Yes, it was AT trans for BRZ

Wait a minute... Was the 2002 Subaru WRX we had in the states comparable to the model the author is talking about? Because I know that my 6 speed manaul FRS isn't really that much slower than one of those.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

Wait a minute... Was the 2002 Subaru WRX we had in the states comparable to the model the author is talking about? Because I know that my 6 speed manaul FRS isn't really that much slower than one of those.

No, '02 WRX is totally different chassis than author test drove. First gen is '93~01 (in US) & Second gen is '02~'07 (in US). Chassis are totally different (even tho you can swap em out back & forth between them).
GC/GM/GF = 2,600lbs~2,850lbs
GB/GD = 2,965lbs~3065lbs

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

No, '02 WRX is totally different chassis than author test drove. First gen is '93~01 (in US) & Second gen is '02~'07 (in US). Chassis are totally different (even tho you can swap em out back & forth between them).
GC/GM/GF = 2,600lbs~2,850lbs
GB/GD = 2,965lbs~3065lbs

Ah, okay. I still don't think it is a very fair comparison though.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

Ah, okay. I still don't think it is a very fair comparison though.

Word "fair" is one person's point-of-view, so in his view it's a "fair" review

I'm more interested on "how" he compared these 2 cars.

[mechaghost]

I'm biased towards the BRZ for obvious reasons, so I thought his review was "meh"

[stateless]

This is nothing, I've seen some of the future articles EVO plans to publish. Spoiler alert: the BRZ is compared to an iPad and the iPad is faster at math, and then it's compared to a park bench and found to have a lower center of gravity. I'd have trouble making car purchasing decisions if it weren't for these quality articles.

The 97 GC looks like a very fun car and I presume it is more nimble (due to a big weight advantage) than my 06 WRX, but at any rate, as much as I really liked my 06 WRX, it felt quite dull in comparison to the handling of the BRZ. In some performance aspects my WRX outperformed the BRZ, but the BRZ is even more enjoyable to drive, which is important to me on days when I'm not an imaginary race car driver attempting to set drag race records with a stock car.

[MightyMeeple]

Wow, now that some have pointed out that the author of this article was driving an AT BRZ compared to a MT WRX...it makes the article less quirky opinion and more just plain flawed journalism.

No offense to those with the AT...my first test drive was in an AT, and it was great; but for me, the MT experience sold the car. Completely different driving experience.

[Captain Snooze]

All reviews, with exception of the specifications, are opinion pieces. The point that the author didn't like the BRZ is valid; he doesn't have to like it. Any car only has to satisfy their buyers/owners.

Do you like your BRZ/86/FR-S? That's all that matters.

[cruzinbill]

I disagree about the "soundtrack", I really enjoy how this car sounds at high RPM.

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by cruzinbill

I disagree about the "soundtrack", I really enjoy how this car sounds at high RPM.

I was beginning to think that I was the only one who liked the boxer engine in this car... It's not the screaming k20z3 that I'm used to, but it has a pretty cool rumble.

[kilrb]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

I was beginning to think that I was the only one who liked the boxer engine in this car... It's not the screaming k20z3 that I'm used to, but it has a pretty cool rumble.

Agreed! I had the opportunity to run an FR-S through 1st and 2nd gears on a test drive, and I thought the engine sound was great. I've always been a push rod V-8 guy, and four cylinder engines have always sounded unexciting to me, but the boxer motor sounded really nice, IMO.