Test Drove a BRZ today

[rgt]

So on my day off today I decided to go visit the local subie dealer to see what the fuss about these BRZ's is all about. My impressions:

1. First the seats. I am tall (6'3") so the first thing I wanted to do was squeeze into the car to see how fit. I was very pleased with the sitting position. The seats cup you just right and the ledge on the door (glass sill) was just the right height for resting my elbow and had enough width to rest a good portion of my arm. The seats were leather and were very snug. I tried the standard seats on another car at the dealership and was not impressed with the feel. The overall position was good and vision through all windows of the car was fantastic - which surprised me.

2. Test drive. The first thing I noticed and kept fixated on almost the entire test drive was the giant rpm gauge directly in front of you. I don't think I ever noticed the speedo. Just the rpm needle and the digital speed indicator. It took me a little to get used to the clutch - so much lighter than my ole STI. The gearbox was good although I had some trouble trying to figure out what gear I was in at times. The reverse being to the left in the gear tree is strange to me. In any case, off we zipped. The car is an absolute brick in the low rpms - maybe even worse than my ole celica, but ironically I think the car is actually quicker than it let's on. I found myself getting to 60-70mph with relative ease. I had opportunity to gun it from a light as we neared our return to the dealership and it was a blast. The car came to life and growled like a panther. Overall it drove almost exactly as I imagined it. Kinda reminds of a 2.5RS but not as torquey.

Conclusions: i should say first that I come from a stage 2 07 STI but I did go into this with limited expectations to not mess up my impression. Overall it is a gorgeous little car - I absolutely love the cockpit feel of the BRZ. It doesn't really throw you into your seat but it has such a good road feel you kinda overlook it. I just felt so comfortable in it. Still it was a tad slower than I imagined it would be. Don't get me wrong it feels sporty but you really have to be rolling around in the upper rpms to see it - and it's very loud at the high end so you won't be fooling anyone by holding it in a lower gear to get a quick jump.

I think it would make a good replacement for my commuter celi for sure. I was curious if there is anything on the BRZ when you purchased it that you really wished you had upgraded. I think I may just be picking me up one this year.

[MightyMeeple]

Hey @rgt,
Sounds like you had a good experience with the test drive. In my opinion, the car gets better and better the more you drive it and get used to it.

As to your question about options....I assume you know there are two trim levels...Premium versus Limited...and I assume you are in the USA. I think the Limited is a no brainer....the seats sold that for me as well...plus the fog lights are nice to have. The only other option I got was the Homelink mirror. If I had to do it again, I would not get the Homelink Mirror. I've had to have it replaced twice because it falls out of the mount (the engineering for the mount was not well done). Supposedly it has been fixed with an upgraded mount...but we will see. The mirror is really too heavy to be mounted directly to windshield in my opinion. You can search the forums and see that this has been a problem for a lot of owners.

Otherwise, I say go for it. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary and am still in love with this car.

Also, there is a great community here. Jump in and join us....there's a lot of great info and support here.

[rgt]

Originally Posted by MightyMeeple

Hey @rgt,
Sounds like you had a good experience with the test drive. In my opinion, the car gets better and better the more you drive it and get used to it.

As to your question about options....I assume you know there are two trim levels...Premium versus Limited...and I assume you are in the USA. I think the Limited is a no brainer....the seats sold that for me as well...plus the fog lights are nice to have. The only other option I got was the Homelink mirror. If I had to do it again, I would not get the Homelink Mirror. I've had to have it replaced twice because it falls out of the mount (the engineering for the mount was not well done). Supposedly it has been fixed with an upgraded mount...but we will see. The mirror is really too heavy to be mounted directly to windshield in my opinion. You can search the forums and see that this has been a problem for a lot of owners.

Otherwise, I say go for it. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary and am still in love with this car.

Also, there is a great community here. Jump in and join us....there's a lot of great info and support here.

Thanks. Yes, I did have a good test drive. Good info on the homelink mirror. Will be sure to drop that from my list of options.

That car is just such a beautiful package.

[DrDuquette]

I needed the mirror with garage door opener/Homelink. I bought the basic model BRZ. I am totally happy with the cloth in the Subaru. I didn't get the spoiler because I think there are some aftermarket ones far better looking. I didn't bother with the trunk mat, I bought Weathertech after for trunk and floor. Love them for the winter. Save some money up front and buy aftermarket you will be happy. I use my car as a commuter. Love it.

[frslee]

@rgt if you play with the dash buttons (I forgot which one), but you can turn on the gear number so whenever you shift it shows the current gear.

Hope you find a good deal and buy one! My co-worker bought a brz after driving my frs. I love the brz led drl.

[ThisIsChrisKim]

I've had my BRZ for about 6 months now and it's been a great fun car to own. I still turn around to look at it when I park, and that feeling of beauty never seems to fade. The only thing I find somewhat tiring is how jarring it is when you go over bumps or large changes in elevation--it's pretty harsh. Other than that, the car is pretty compliant.

[rgt]

Originally Posted by frslee

@rgt if you play with the dash buttons (I forgot which one), but you can turn on the gear number so whenever you shift it shows the current gear.

Hope you find a good deal and buy one! My co-worker bought a brz after driving my frs. I love the brz led drl.

Excellent. I was hoping there was an option to show it. I just cannot get this car out of my head after driving it. Like i really want to go back and get back in it again. It's so wierd because, like i said, i am so used to the power i had in the STI but there is something about the BRZ that is very alluring.

[Eurasianman]

Hopefully the vehicle you test drove already had over a 1000 miles on it if you were going past 4000 RPM.

Aside from that, the car is fun, it is even more fun when you can fully open the engine up.

Aside from the Homelink mirror issues... I have not had a single issue with mine, other than a slight rattle. But the dealership took care of it and have not had an issue since. I have had the car for over a year now, and coming from a 2010 Cobalt SS turbocharged GM Stage 1, I still love the BRZ. It has been proven to be more versatile than I thought.

[brianhj]

Originally Posted by frslee

@rgt if you play with the dash buttons (I forgot which one), but you can turn on the gear number so whenever you shift it shows the current gear.

AT only

Hope you find a good deal and buy one! My co-worker bought a brz after driving my frs. I love the brz led drl.

Yeah but... the mustache
My scion came with led drl

[1Cor10:23]

Originally Posted by brianhj

AT only



Yeah but... the mustache
My scion came with led drl

Gear indicator is not AT exclusive. Works on my MT frs

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

[PMok]

Originally Posted by brianhj

AT only



Yeah but... the mustache
My scion came with led drl

No, even on the MT you can turn on gear indicator display (G-On).

too bad the base FR-S comes with lame headlights.
of course there's aftermarket answers to everything.

[frslee]

Originally Posted by brianhj

AT only



Yeah but... the mustache
My scion came with led drl

Yeah.. mine is MT and I turned on the gear indicator. I believe you bought a 10 series FRS! Good for you.

[SirBrass]

By default the MT has the gear indicator display turned off, but if you read the manual, it gives instructions on how to turn it on.

I normally know what gear I'm in, but sometimes my mind blanks as I'm doing rapid shifts in changing freeway traffic, and I forget if I'm in 3rd or 5th, or 6th or 4th. Then it's nice to have the gear indicator to remind me before I realize I forgot.

I've accidentally began to upshift to 5th when I was already up in 6th, thinking I was somehow in 4th (despite indicators of speed to rpm that that wasn't the case) and nearly money shifted.

[brianhj]

Originally Posted by frslee

Yeah.. mine is MT and I turned on the gear indicator. I believe you bought a 10 series FRS! Good for you.

Mine isn't 10 series. But it has a strip of LED DRL you can turn on and off under the steering wheel.

Also, my apologies. I swore I read through the manual twice and didn't find anything about a gear indicator.