Did anyone go from MK7 GTI to BRZ?

[Up4speed]

Hi guys/gals,

I just signed up to the forum, excited about (possibly) buying the BRZ, and looking for advice. I am seriously considering buying the new 2022 BRZ, but wanted to make sure it was a wise move, and need some encouragement, especially from people that went from a GTI to the BRZ, and are happy about it.
My concerns are that I currently LOVE my GTI. I use it as my "bad weather" daily, and my track car. It is very comfortable as a daily, has a lot of versatility, and it also performs reasonably well in our NY winters. I have done a lot of performance modifications to make it track ready, and it is very quick on street, and track. I tend to beat up on cars that I have no business beating up on. So you ask, if it's that good, why do you want to replace it?
Well, to be honest, 80% of the reason is that it is "wrong wheel drive", lol. The other 20% is probably that it is too top heavy.
I have a lot of track experience, so I got to the point that I am starting to get bored because it is "too easy" to drive. I literally can drive at the limit (even in the rain) and feel like I'm on a Sunday drive. Of course my passengers are in awe, and sometimes pooping in their pants, but I'm not feeling thrilled.

Well, I feel like the BRZ can change that for me. It is a RWD car with a manual transmission, and a low center of gravity. It has very playful characteristics, that, I think should, keep me excited for a longer time. However, my main concern is the lack of power (compared to my tuned GTI). I also lose the back seat, and cargo space. The back seat isn't too big of an issue though, because I have other cars that I can use in an emergency.

Were any of you in a similar predicament? Were you happy you made the change, or do you have some regrets?
I'm predicting that I will truly love this car, and its playfulness and chassis dynamics should definitely make up for the lost speed. My intent for this car would be to leave it essentially stock, I don’t want to go down the modding rabbit hole like I did with the GTI. I intend to just put on a good set of street/track brake pads (maybe Ferodo), and a good brake fluid (maybe Motul RBF660), then break the car in for about 1500-2000 miles, then head to the track.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Should I just dive in, and order one?

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Up4speed

Well, to be honest, 80% of the reason is that it is "wrong wheel drive", lol. The other 20% is probably that it is too top heavy.
I have a lot of track experience, so I got to the point that I am starting to get bored because it is "too easy" to drive. I literally can drive at the limit (even in the rain) and feel like I'm on a Sunday drive. Of course my passengers are in awe, and sometimes pooping in their pants, but I'm not feeling thrilled.

When I owned a mk6 GTI with my FR-S, the FR-S was my primary track car. Once every blue moon I'd track the GTI for fun and that is exactly how I felt. It would just understeer 90% of the time. Easy to drive at the limit, but kind of boring.

If you need more motivation to switch, a good friend of mine has a stage 1 mk7 GTI and an AP2. When we go for canyon drives or track days, none of us wants to take his mk7. It's faster in a straight line than either his AP2 or my e85 FR-S, but the turbo lag is noticeable and it runs out of breath at the top end. Almost seems like its better to short shift which isn't fun. Also readily understeers and the eLSD feels odd at times when it works mid-corner. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing street car/daily driver, but not as exciting for fun driving and kind of numb overall.

Personally I'd make the switch if I were you, but it has its downsides like you mentioned (power, rear seat space). Another option would be to get something like an E46 M3. I've tracked a friend's supercharged one and the balance reminds me of a larger/heavier FR-S. Surprisingly easy to manage the oversteer at the limit, even making 400+ whp. And noticeably more rear seat space than an 86. Love those cars as well.

[AK2112]

I'm selling my Focus ST to buy a BRZ I ordered.

You really need to drive the BRZ to answer your questions. I test drove one and knew right away that it was what I wanted. Power felt great and the interior space was not at all the compromise I thought it might be.

[Up4speed]

Thank you both.
These posts were definitely very helpful!
Darksunrise, from your response, I know that you understand EXACTLY how I feel!
Everything you say is exactly what I’ve experienced. As long as the car is entertaining enough on the track, I don’t need to worry about any of the other negatives since I have other cars to drive if I needed to.
AK2112, you are correct, obviously the only way I can personally be 100% sure is to actually test drive it. The only issue was that my local dealers don’t know when the cars are coming in for me to do that, and if I decided to do it, I would like to order it now so I have it in the spring. Maybe I can make a deal with them where I leave a deposit and make the sale pending a test drive to make sure I like it? Also, with street driving I still can’t be 100% sure, because unless I take it on the track to really feel the balance at the limit, I still wouldn’t be 100% sure. However, I’m sure a test drive will make me 80% sure , and I guess that’s good enough for a risk.
Unfortunately, I can’t ask the same question on the GTI forums to get the opposite end of opinions, because the 2022 model is very different from the old one, and a better car, so the opinions may vary, and they may sway me in the other direction I’m sure, lol.

[cpierr03]

Originally Posted by Up4speed

The only issue was that my local dealers don’t know when the cars are coming in for me to do that, and if I decided to do it, I would like to order it now so I have it in the spring.

There are quite a few dealers on LI with BRZ in inventory - only issue is most have ADM, but test drives are available.

[alphasaur]

Originally Posted by Up4speed

Hi guys/gals,

I just signed up to the forum, excited about (possibly) buying the BRZ, and looking for advice. I am seriously considering buying the new 2022 BRZ, but wanted to make sure it was a wise move, and need some encouragement, especially from people that went from a GTI to the BRZ, and are happy about it.
My concerns are that I currently LOVE my GTI. I use it as my "bad weather" daily, and my track car. It is very comfortable as a daily, has a lot of versatility, and it also performs reasonably well in our NY winters. I have done a lot of performance modifications to make it track ready, and it is very quick on street, and track. I tend to beat up on cars that I have no business beating up on. So you ask, if it's that good, why do you want to replace it?
Well, to be honest, 80% of the reason is that it is "wrong wheel drive", lol. The other 20% is probably that it is too top heavy.
I have a lot of track experience, so I got to the point that I am starting to get bored because it is "too easy" to drive. I literally can drive at the limit (even in the rain) and feel like I'm on a Sunday drive. Of course my passengers are in awe, and sometimes pooping in their pants, but I'm not feeling thrilled.

Well, I feel like the BRZ can change that for me. It is a RWD car with a manual transmission, and a low center of gravity. It has very playful characteristics, that, I think should, keep me excited for a longer time. However, my main concern is the lack of power (compared to my tuned GTI). I also lose the back seat, and cargo space. The back seat isn't too big of an issue though, because I have other cars that I can use in an emergency.

Were any of you in a similar predicament? Were you happy you made the change, or do you have some regrets?
I'm predicting that I will truly love this car, and its playfulness and chassis dynamics should definitely make up for the lost speed. My intent for this car would be to leave it essentially stock, I don’t want to go down the modding rabbit hole like I did with the GTI. I intend to just put on a good set of street/track brake pads (maybe Ferodo), and a good brake fluid (maybe Motul RBF660), then break the car in for about 1500-2000 miles, then head to the track.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Should I just dive in, and order one?

My good friend changed from a stock MK7 to a 2020 86. He does not regret it. He currently is on a catless header and tune and is fairly happy with the power it makes. The gen 2 is also considerably quicker though will likely get roasted by your modded mk7 in a straight line.

[C R]

The GTI is such amazing car, but not the ideal choice for track days. We've had about 8 of them, currently have a 2021 GTI with the usual suspects, HPFP, tune, downpipe, intercooler, intake. As I'm sure you're aware, the car is a little rocketship with these basic mods, pushing well past 300whp with tons of torque.

Yet, these have always been the Mrs' cars. The few times I tracked/autocrossed the GTI, I could find the limits very quickly, but that was to be expected. Some time ago I had a C5 Z06 and later a C7 Z51, those are good track day cars that just need alignment and tires for the most part. Later I got into motorcycle track days, but that's another story.

I also want a BRZ because I want to take it to a track but want to keep my consumables low. We'll still have the GTI in the garage, so I don't have your conundrum, but I think if I were in your shoes I'd do the trade and later down the road think about adding some boost if you get bored with the power levels.

[Panda Grahams]

I previously owned a Mk7 GTI. I always regarded it as a car built by people that must have driven every other car and hated it, because it was just so pleasant to drive. The engineers really put their best into it. I loved the ergonomics and comfort while on the road at any speed. However, when I pushed it through the canyons, I found the limit immediately. Eventually, it became pretty numb. I was always short shifting to stay in boost and chewing through tires while I was at it. I really did enjoy how "ghostly" fast it was on the highway; I seemed to always be closer to 100mph than I thought. But it became uninspiring to drive because of it.

[azndavepgh]

I only have limited track experience, but even as a daily driver I prefer RWD. Most of my cars have been FWD sport compacts including a MK5 GTI. But then I bought a used E46 325 with the ZSP package and learned to appreciate RWD. I also think the BRZ 2.4 is a nice linear balance between rev happy engines like my Celica 2ZZ-GE and modern turbos with low to mid-range power.

[MajorGerth]

I've owned a MKV and a MK7 GTI. Both of my GTIs were stage 2 and very fast (for a sport compact). I test drove a 2013 BRZ when I had my MKV. I had no desire to buy the BRZ at that point. My reasoning was that I lived in the Midwest where every road is straight, and I didn't have any plans to visit a racetrack outside of an 1/8 mile drag strip. Plus the BRZ just felt so slow after being in a car with 300 lb-ft of torque. Now I want to get into autocross and racing that requires turning. I just bought a 22 BRZ for that reason. I love my BRZ for many reasons, but the MK7 GTI is clearly a better daily driver. I took my BRZ to Costco the other day, and it was tough to fit everything in the car when I left. I definitely loved my GTIs. I was heavily considering a MK8 but nobody had one for me to test drive, and I kept hearing how god awful the infotainment/HVAC controls were. Bottom line is you can end up loving or hating a BRZ. The outcome is really gonna depend on what you want in a car. Do you want a tiny, high-revving, corner carving sports car or a practical torque monster with decent handling and room for your family.

[Quagmire]

Just traded in my 17 GTI AUTO for a manual brz I miss the storage, infotainment, and torque. I don’t regret my decision and I had a 13 brz in the past so I expect to grow into my 22 brz once I get the feeling back and get my shifting more precise I don’t track but the 86 and brz seem like good starting point for track driving. Just got the car Monday don’t even have 100 miles yet Wish I was more help oh and the brz is a looker where I didn’t do as much with the GTI

[Up4speed]

Originally Posted by C R

The GTI is such amazing car, but not the ideal choice for track days. We've had about 8 of them, currently have a 2021 GTI with the usual suspects, HPFP, tune, downpipe, intercooler, intake. As I'm sure you're aware, the car is a little rocketship with these basic mods, pushing well past 300whp with tons of torque.

Yet, these have always been the Mrs' cars. The few times I tracked/autocrossed the GTI, I could find the limits very quickly, but that was to be expected. Some time ago I had a C5 Z06 and later a C7 Z51, those are good track day cars that just need alignment and tires for the most part. Later I got into motorcycle track days, but that's another story.

I also want a BRZ because I want to take it to a track but want to keep my consumables low. We'll still have the GTI in the garage, so I don't have your conundrum, but I think if I were in your shoes I'd do the trade and later down the road think about adding some boost if you get bored with the power levels.

You seem to be in the exact position as me. You have same mods as me on the GTI, so you understand the power difference of the GTI vs a stock BRZ. But you also understand that I want the driving dynamics, and fun of the BRZ with a low cost of consumables, etc. Such tough decisions!!!
The sad part is that I have the perfect track car in my garage (M2 Competition), but don't want to beat it up on the track, plus a higher cost/track day, so I decided to preserve that car because I love it too much.
Here is my car beating up on some far more capable cars, lol

Thanks for all the replies! They are definitely helpful. Ultimately, I guess I need to decide if I can give up the convenience and speed/torque of the GTI, for the driving dynamics, and fun of the BRZ. I'm definitely thinking BRZ at this time. I feel like it will keep me entertained for longer on the track for sure. Just mastering heel and toe should keep me occupied. I've practiced it for a decade, and still suck at it (I even practice on my driving simulator), lol

[DeeAich]

I went MR2 to GTI to BRZ.

I thought the handling and power would be enough to offset the change in chassis dynamics but I was wrong. It didn't help I also got the DSG.

While the GTI is awesome in many ways, it's still a Golf that's been tarted up. It makes a huge difference in how the car feels when the sole purpose is to go fast. BRZ has that dedicated sports car feeling right out of the box, no DCC needed.

[alphasaur]

Might want to also look at the new Golf R with it's fancy new rear diff that allows a bit more power to the rear wheels.

I rode in some golf r's during a track day at NYST and they were scary quick with insane grip.

Also keep in mind the new brz is dynoing in the 210s, so it likely has room for another 10-20hp to the wheels with a tune and header if the recent videos from stratified are any indication.