Motortrend's Best Driver's Car 2012 preview: BRZ vs ZL1, GT500, Aventador, 911s, MP4

[ashtray]

Hyper exotics don't make for great driver's cars. I'm thinking the BRZ will place mid-pack behind the AMG and 911.

Put it this way - cost is no object. You've won the lottery and have bought these 8 cars already. They're all gassed up and ready in your garage. You're off on a 100 mile trip through some nice scenic roads, and getting thrown in jail for triple the speed limit isn't on today's agenda. Which car do you take?

Me, I'm grabbing the keys to the Porsche.

[Spaceywilly]

Originally Posted by ashtray

Hyper exotics don't make for great driver's cars. I'm thinking the BRZ will place mid-pack behind the AMG and 911.

Put it this way - cost is no object. You've won the lottery and have bought these 8 cars already. They're all gassed up and ready in your garage. You're off on a 100 mile trip through some nice scenic roads, and getting thrown in jail for triple the speed limit isn't on today's agenda. Which car do you take?

Me, I'm grabbing the keys to the Porsche.

I think the only trouble is that in this case they will be taking them to the track and not out on regular streets. The car I'd choose for a track day would be totally different than the car I'd choose for a road with speed limits and potholes and traffic.

[SupraLove]

Originally Posted by ashtray

Hyper exotics don't make for great driver's cars. I'm thinking the BRZ will place mid-pack behind the AMG and 911.

Put it this way - cost is no object. You've won the lottery and have bought these 8 cars already. They're all gassed up and ready in your garage. You're off on a 100 mile trip through some nice scenic roads, and getting thrown in jail for triple the speed limit isn't on today's agenda. Which car do you take?

Me, I'm grabbing the keys to the Porsche.

Porsche has really captured the soul of driving and placed it into every one of their cars bar the Cayenne and the Panamera. The BRZ comes close. Very close. And there's no fun in hyper exotics. They're simply poseur-mobiles now. Only uber-rich celebs and poseurs drive them. The real exotic crowd who actually track their cars is rapidly diminishing, especially in this economy.

[was385]

Originally Posted by SupraLove

Porsche has really captured the soul of driving and placed it into every one of their cars bar the Cayenne and the Panamera. The BRZ comes close. Very close. And there's no fun in hyper exotics. They're simply poseur-mobiles now. Only uber-rich celebs and poseurs drive them. The real exotic crowd who actually track their cars is rapidly diminishing, especially in this economy.

The BRZ and an 07 911s are the two cars I drive most frequently. For the money, how close the BRZ comes in the handling department is nothing short of amazing (can't wait to see what it's like with good tires). That being said, the BRZ just doesn't have the power behind it and as good as the steering is, just can't replicate the feedback of a hydraulic setup. If I had to choose one to drive on a windy road, it's really no competition.

[SupraLove]

Originally Posted by was385

The BRZ and an 07 911s are the two cars I drive most frequently. For the money, how close the BRZ comes in the handling department is nothing short of amazing (can't wait to see what it's like with good tires). That being said, the BRZ just doesn't have the power behind it and as good as the steering is, just can't replicate the feedback of a hydraulic setup. If I had to choose one to drive on a windy road, it's really no competition.

I absolutely agree that the Porsche is better, but the PRICE. The cheapest Porsche is still $20K more than the BRZ. I/H/E and a good ECU tune will push the car up to at least 190-200whp. And we've already seen how well this car responds to boost.

[grst1]

Originally Posted by ashtray

Hyper exotics don't make for great driver's cars. I'm thinking the BRZ will place mid-pack behind the AMG and 911.

Put it this way - cost is no object. You've won the lottery and have bought these 8 cars already. They're all gassed up and ready in your garage. You're off on a 100 mile trip through some nice scenic roads, and getting thrown in jail for triple the speed limit isn't on today's agenda. Which car do you take?

Me, I'm grabbing the keys to the Porsche.

No matter how much I like Porsches, but for 100 miles drive on public roads scenario, I will pick up keys for Lambo or McLaren. For one it is cool and I have never driven either one of them and be very curious to do it. Track is different story. None of the cars on this list will be a real choice as track warrior. I will have to buy another car with lottery money.

[was385]

Originally Posted by SupraLove

I absolutely agree that the Porsche is better, but the PRICE. The cheapest Porsche is still $20K more than the BRZ. I/H/E and a good ECU tune will push the car up to at least 190-200whp. And we've already seen how well this car responds to boost.

Couldn't agree more. The 911 is my dad's car. One day we went for a drive along one of the really fun driving rode and switched it up. He came out of the BRZ with a huge smile, telling me how much more fun per dollar that car was than the 911.

[Turbowned]

I think if anyone doing the review has driven a 997 911 and then goes to drive the 991, they may dock it points for being "softer" than the older model, which may hurt it compared to the BRZ. The 991 is a FANTASTIC car, and I didn't get a chance to drive one when I worked at a Porsche/Audi dealer, but I drove the 997 and it was more raw than I expected. The 991 just looks much more refined. The electric power steering is one of the biggest gripes of the 991 vs. the 997, but the BRZ has it, too.

[TouchMyHonda]

In for more!

[ashtray]

To clarify - I LOVE hyper exotic cars! It's just that I also love sleeping in my own bed at night instead of on a cot in an 8x8 cell. A hyper exotic would be boring at normal speed limits here in the US. Too big/heavy/wide to toss them around tight canyon roads. Too dull and punishing to take them on long highway trips. That's why I think they fail as "driver's cars".

This problem has crept into "regular" performance cars as well. My friend has the new GT500. He can never hit the gas for more than a second or two before he's over the speed limit, and the handling capability is numb when you don't push it - but pushing it on the streets is crazy bc you're in serious speed at that point.

Chris Harris pegged the GT86 right - even at speed limits, the car wants to rotate in a turn. A little extra stab at the throttle on corner exit and you get this satisfying tail wiggle. That "fun zone" between complete traction and loss of control is huge in the BRZ. Other cars you need to get into high speeds/cornering G before you start to lose traction - but the line is razor thin before you lose all control.

As for hp... I was behind my friend who has a 400hp sedan. We were stuck in the same traffic moving at speed limit (or under) on a single lane, no passing road. I still enjoyed my ride - even when we came to a stop and had to start up again to 55mph. Rowing through the gears was fun. My friend was rightfully bored and frustrated with traffic.

Maybe this BRZ stands a better chance than mid-pack after all?

[b.e]

Great Excitement:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnL1VV8S2-g&feature=g-u-u"]Behind the Scenes of 2012 Best Driver's Car - Wide Open Throttle Episode 29 - YouTube[/ame]

"Best Driver's Car is about finding the car that a driver can take to the limit of his or her ability, and the limit of the car's ability. It's about a car that inspires confidence when you're driving really fast. It may not be the car with the best lap time, but it's the car that allows you to reach the limits of its performance. We've got a car here, the Subaru BRZ, it has barely 200 horsepower. We've also got a Lambourgini Aventador, with 691 horsepower. Two very different cars, and one is a much better driver's car than the other, and it has nothing to do with the horsepower."

Based on that quote, I'm thinking the BRZ will win this.

The Best Driver's Car, that is. Its going to lose the drag race by a wide margin.

[chuy21]

Well top gear picked the GT86 over the Focus ST, Astra VXR, M6, Boxter S, TT RS, Exige S, MP4-12c, Aventador, M600, GTR, C63 Black, M5. Just look at chris harris new review on the GT86. I think this car has a shot.

The exotics just seem like giant computers that wouldn't let you have real fun, just go fast.

I think it's going to be the
1st: c63
2nd: BRZ
3rd: Porsche
4th: GT500

[brianc]

In the last drag race. That BRZ is going to get freaking TRASHED. haha

[xjohnx]

Pobst's face as he's exiting the corkscrew in the BRZ and commenting on what a wonderful launch it got coming out of it.