Back then…
At the start of the decade it looked like the automotive industry was steaming in one direction. Turbocharging was already the norm, and the front- or four-driven hot hatchback was arguably more assured in its market-leading position than ever before. Traditional sports cars in the MX-5 mould were a peripheral enthusiast offering in the grand scheme of things. Subaru certainly didn’t appear to be the brand to change any of that - not when its own WRX STI hatch had failed to stir up a significant following. So when it became known that the firm was working on a bespoke rear-drive sports car, it came as something of a surprise. Like having a second Christmas in June.
The BRZ arrived with its sibling, the GT86, in 2012, and made no apologies for its chosen identity. In the front you got a 200hp 2.0-litre flat-four, nestled so low in the engine bay that the centre of gravity was at knee height, driven through a standard-fit six-speed manual gearbox. Also among the standard-fit items were Michelin Primacy tyres; the same Michelin Primacy tyres you got with a Toyota Prius. The message could not have been clearer: the BRZ was not hugely fast, and nor was colossal lateral grip a priority in the 2+2 sports car.
Important to recognise now, getting on for ten years later, that not everyone appreciated the combination. Some reviewers were unbridled in their praise for the car’s outrageous and entirely natural sense of balance. Others found it difficult to reconcile the idea of performance car which could be a real handful in the wet - and not particularly fast in the dry. But there was no questioning the singular nature of the offering, nor the optimism involved in bringing it to market. Subaru’s position was inevitably smaller than Toyota’s, but the BRZ did come in World Rally Blue and Subaru provided a rich legacy of boxer fandom. It was a good starting place even if most of the glory - and sales - went to its development partner.
Nowadays…
Subaru has no more enthusiastic flag-wavers than us when it comes to their retention of a naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre engine, but modern turbocharged four-cylinder units are so darned good, it’s hard to excuse the initial feeling of gutlessness that accompanies the BRZ driving experience. Like most petrol motors reliant on atmospheric pressure, the boxer needs winding up - but it is imprudent to expect the kind of explosiveness that makes Honda’s VTEC technology worth seeking out. The BRZ is enthusiastic at 7,000rpm; not life-changing. It doesn’t particularly sound like a Subaru-built flat-four either; there’s a familiar cough at the first rotation of the starter and a definite off-beat rhythm to it, yet it’s far too hushed and tinny to ape the manufacturer’s more famous engines. In isolation, it’s good, but not great.
Perhaps we’ve become too accustomed to great engines being at the heart of great cars. In the BRZ, the boxer must be thought more as a means to an end and a way of unlocking what is around it. The gearbox is direct and tactile (the optional paddle shift auto is decent, too), while that freakishly low centre of gravity - for a series-run model, at least - is almost entirely enabled by the engine’s positioning, because it ensures the aluminium bonnet sits low, an advantage carried all the way to the rear of the car and its playful backend. Add into this is the BRZ’s 53/47 front to rear weight distribution and you get a front-engined chassis with physics on its side.
You’re well aware of this central weighting as soon as you climb inside. The seats are sports are low, your legs are angled horizontally and the steering wheel is straight ahead. The windscreen is raked and the roofline falls away from its peak immediately behind your head, something that – along with the comically small rear legroom – means the seats in the back are best thought as a temporary space. It means before you’ve even moved an inch, the car is wrapped around you. The cockpit is supremely functional, although you do wonder who thought it was acceptable to have such a mis-match of fonts and two, separately adjusted digital clocks (one on the centre console and one in the small digital screen in the instrument cluster), so they’re never the same. Early cars also lack satnav.
Best not to dwell on those details though because it’s impossible to think about them much while driving. The BRZ is quite unlike anything else in its price bracket - which is to say brilliant, feeling light on its toes, with direct, well-weighted steering that makes the front end feel delightfully responsive. The rack’s not overly fast, but the 1,253kg coupe has a wonderful positivity to it, helped no end by the suspension’s ability to soak up bumps rather than sacrifice itself to them. Even on the Primacy boots the BRZ generates a surprising amount of grip, although not so much that you can’t bring the rear out of line by tipping the nose into a bend and quickly chasing with a heavy dose of throttle. With only 151lb ft of torque, it’s no drift machine, but it’s just about power adjustable - and supremely controllable, too. As an illustrator of a rear-drive car’s mechanical limits, and how to take advantage of what’s beyond them when on track, it is exceptional.
Should you?
Thanks to the forgiving suspension setup (which is based around McPherson front and multi-link rear axle) and its compact dimensions, it’s easy to recommend a BRZ for regular use. Driving the car through urban areas is a doddle, it’s fairly economical with 40mpg possible on a motorway run and it’s far from wearing on long drives. Neither the BRZ or GT86 have ever felt particularly refined - expect to hear wind noise at a motorway cruise - and boot space is acceptable rather than plentiful. But those feel like small prices to pay given the rest of what’s on offer.
For those seeking what the BRZ is designed for – that’s to say fun above outright performance – it’s hard to suggest anything better suited to the job. An MX-5 will certainly deliver a comparable enjoyment factor and the reclining top gives it an obvious USP, but the BRZ is a step above it in terms of seriousness thanks to the chassis’ delicacy and a decent performance advantage. Despite their relative rarity, the BRZs on Britain’s secondhand market don’t appear to command a premium over GT86 equivalents; the cheapest BRZ listed on PH at the time of writing is up for eleven grand, with a similar mileage (circa 50k) GT86 only a few hundred off that.
Choosing which version to go for will be a subjective decision, obviously, but for some there’s added clout in the Subaru brand. Odometer reading aside, it’s not like going for older examples buys you a considerably lesser car, either; facelifts have been mild and the technical makeup beneath is unchanged. Your search can therefore be car-specific, rather than variant, trim or year. Given that both are longstanding enthusiast favourites which barely start from four-figure money, they look like remarkable value for money – meaning you can attribute the purchase to your head as well as your heart. Both will thank you.
SPECIFICATION | SUBARU BRZ
Engine: 1,998cc, flat-four
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 151@6,400rpm
0-62mph: 7.6 secs
Top speed: 144mph
Weight: 1,239kg
MPG: 36.2
CO2: 181g/km
Price new: c. £26k
Price now: £10,000+
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