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BRZ First-Gen (2012+) -- General Topics All discussions about the first-gen Subaru BRZ coupe


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Old 08-03-2012, 11:07 AM   #1
Mtechnik
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Drives: 99' SM, S54 & S52 M Coupes, 13' BRZ
Location: Orlando, Fl
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2000 mile review, road trip to Road Atlanta & a chat with Randy Pobst.

We gained delivery of our BRZ just a short 4 weeks ago and she already has 2000 much enjoyed miles! We are long time BMW enthusiasts and have owned/tracked a few other ultrahigh performance sports cars, although not a Subaru until now. It all started when my search began for a new car to replace our 2006 Dinan Stage 2 supercharged Mini Cooper S. An E90/92 M3 was the top candidate, although the BRZ was very intriguing, we definitely had to give it a closer look. Closer look I took, this is only the 3rd brand new car my wife & I have purchased (we typically buy M cars 6mos to a year old), sight unseen, never test drove – I even test drove the Noble M400 prior to our purchase and of course was immediately sold. This decision was solely based on reviews with strong encouragement from Randy Pobst’s review stating something along the lines of: “I really, really like this car, excellent transitionally, a fun car, very driver oriented.” Since I am focusing on road racing currently, the BRZ was a perfect fit & a good replacement for the screaming Mini, 2 doors, a back seat, an excellent chassis, and practical, right?! Here’s our take on it…
Road trip to Road Atlanta and a chat with Randy Pobst: “It’s like a BMW & a Lotus had a baby.”


Road Trip!
Last weekend my wife & I took our first road trip in the BRZ up to Road Atlanta for an SCCA race weekend. We had started the trip with about 400 miles on the clock and made sure to vary the Hwy speeds/rpms on the way up, needless to say she was pretty much broken in once we got there. It rained half of the entire trip on the way up, and while people were driving with their hazard lights on, we buzzed right through at 70mph + without any uneasiness, well my wife was a bit apprehensive to keep the throttle at 70, but I encouraged her that it will be just fine, haha, and it sure was rock solid planted through the wet stuff. While registering at the SCCA trailer, I saw Randy walking up. I had the car parked on the other side in the parking lot and he was already chatting with some other guys. Ok, I need to get to the team and get ready; I’ll catch him around the paddock later on. I drove the BRZ up to the driver’s meeting since it was on the other side of the Paddock, and as soon as the meeting was over Randy was walking right in front of the car. We had a good chat, and I explained to him one of the primary reasons for purchasing the car sight unseen was based on his review. He was quite surprised and taken back… He started raving about how much fun and great the car is, even feels more balanced than the FRS. I said, “Randy, it’s like a BMW & a Lotus had a baby.” Randy replied, “I’ve never heard it put that way, but I totally agree with you!” “The solid refined feel of the BMW combined with the nimbleness and balance of a Lotus,” I stated. “Right on, Randy replied!” Needless to say the rest of the race weekend went great in the new SM race car and the drive home was rather pleasant without any butt or back aches! Which is great to say about sport seats, and from my wife’s words, much better than the seats in the M Coupes!


Initial impressions: Looks even better in person than in pictures, solid good build quality (the door closes with a nice solid thud like some highline German counterparts), great fit and finish on the interior, Seats feel excellent with good support, ride height is way up there like a rally car, engine has a nice sound to it from inside the car, and the tiny exhaust tips are dwarfed by the large openings where it definitely needs a nice exhaust/tip combo.


Chassis, Steering feel & Handling:
This is obviously where the FT86 chassis shines, I could not believe how direct and communicative the steering was. Being a rather lightweight car, although having electric assist steering I was skeptical, I came away very impressed. The only other car I have experienced with this type of feel is a Cayman/Boxster, Elise/Exige, or Noble. The difference here is, the BRZ has a solid refined feel to it, not like a Lotus which feels more like a toy car. Factory tires are Ok, they are suited for 95% of the drivers that will purchase this car, although for ultimate enthusiasts you will want some stickier summer rubber. I drove a friends FRS with RPF1’s & Michelin Pilot Super Sports, WOW. That’s all I can say. It’s the difference between the BRZ/FRS handling like a sports car & a super car!! Flat and planted around corners, it’s a must do for me, although I first wanted to experience it in stock form. Another observation, there is not much front camber whatsoever. Considering this is a typical strut style front suspension the handling will be that much better with more camber. That being said, it is very balanced and east to drive fast! It drifts nicely, although doesn't really have the power to keep a slide going for long.

Interior:
Overall very nice and on par with say a Nissan GTR. Not quite at the level of the Germans, but close. On brick roads and rough pavement there are no squeaks, rattles, and everything feels composed. The steering wheel is nice and thick, the shifter is fantastic (a fellow S2000 racer says much better than an S2k, he stated due to S2k being too short). The Red Stitching is a very nice touch, although the hand brake boot is cheap and thin, like a cheap vinyl used for a Batman Halloween costume. I wish they just used the same material as the shift boot! The rear seat is quite a bit smaller than other 2+2 coupes, it is as small/smaller than a GTR. Besides the difficulty getting in/out of the rear seats, the front seats don’t move back into position after the seat back and seat are moved forward, such a simple convenience that is standard even on a base MINI doesn’t exist here. A HUGE and Unfortunate flaw that belongs only in cheap Korean econobox’s. As others have mentioned, an armrest would be a good addition, and the heated seats are strange. On the forward position it seems the heated seats turn on for a few mins and then shut off, although in the rearward position they stay on and warm your backside nicely! The A/C is great, no complaints in hot Fl weather even in traffic, and the auto controls are easy to use and add a nice look to the interior. (GTR look with the switches) The clutch pedal feel has a high engagement point and doesn’t take much force to engage/disengage. I prefer a heavier clutch pedal, although this one is welcome for daily use, takes a bit of getting used to though. The spare tire in the trunk really eats up trunk space, otherwise the trunk is Ok for most basic utility use, well sort of. On the second day my wife went grocery shopping and upon her return the entire BRZ was filled with groceries, even with the back seat down. You can fit a lot of stuff in there, that’s for sure! A split-folding seat would be nice though. Tinting the rear window is an absolute PITA!! I had to look up the DIY post about removing the rear deck in order to remove the rear brake light. This is ridiculous. Most other manufactures the rear brake light comes out with ease by itself, nope Subaru made a huge project out of it. 3 hours in fact to do a 1 hour tint job!

Radio/Nav:
As some others have mentioned the Nav is not that good, well I beg to differ slightly. When it works, it works very well and is intuitive, although sometimes it runs slow and isn’t very responsive, that can be a pain. The worst thing about the nav is this, and I haven’t heard anybody speak about it yet: You can’t input a new address or dial a phone number on the screen unless the car is at a full and complete stop. This is not the case for many other systems including BMW’s iDrive, makes it a real PITA to come to a complete stop to input anything into the search category, including a phone number that is not in the address book. Over all, I give it a 7/10 for an OEM nav system. The Radio: Let’s just say I wish there was a Premium Sound option from Subaru, cause this radio is mediocre at best. The Mini’s Harmon Kardon was leaps and bounds better. After many miles of listening I started to hear the door speaker rattling, if I keep the car long term, the sound system is certainly being upgraded! Although, I do love the HD radio built in and the USB/iPod input options.

Engine:
Great torque down low, even at cruising speeds, doesn’t require a down shift for regular passing, and during break-in it felt a little underwhelming at first. After break-in, wow, this little 2.0 boxer loves to rev and pulls nicely all the way to redline. If the torque dip can be remedied, that would make this one really sweet engine! Averaging around 28 mpg with a lot of short distance commutes and 34 mpg at hwy speeds cruising at 75mph give or take on the road trip! Cruise control works very well as expected, the car is rather quite inside at hwy speeds without much road or wind noise.

Exterior:
This car simply looks great. It has great lines and some sex appeal, something non-existent in modern Subaru’s. Of course the BRZ gets attention everywhere it goes and my wife breaks necks while cruising around, lol! It gets similar type of attention to the Noble M400 we had, yeah crazy in a sub $30k car! Having a background in Concourse detailing & preparation, the paint has quite a lot of orange peel although not something I am concerned about, it still has a nice glossy finish. We have yet to give it a first detail with Zymol & 303 products, although I’m sure she will look even better with a top notch detail!



Conclusion:
There are many positive aspects of the BRZ and definitely some negatives. Overall it is a great package that could use an extra 50hp, some attention to interior refinements, and of course this will all come with time and development. Is it a replacement for the Dinan Mini S, not directly, although it’s pretty close and I can live with the faults. If there is an STi version that comes out, will I be getting one? You betcha!! Just fix those front seats so they go back into position!



Here are a few photos we took shortly after delivery...
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01 PY S54 M Coupe
00 EB S52 M Coupe
99 Spec Miata
13 BRZ Limited (delivered July 2nd)
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b.e (08-03-2012), Dadhawk (08-03-2012), Extreme86 (08-03-2012), kappaknight (08-03-2012), kwood9000 (08-03-2012), PMok (08-04-2012)
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