Motoring

Subaru BRZ – Still as good as ever

The Subaru BRZ remains an excellent, pure example of what a sports car should be. It’s fun, exciting and frankly is one of those cars that sees you grinning like a Cheshire cat whenever a corner arrives. It’s not overly quick and lacks a turbo, but from behind the wheel, you’re always in a winning position in terms of satisfaction. 

What is it?

The BRZ is a co-production with Toyota who of course give it the 86 nomenclature. The strange thing is you’ll see a lot more Toyota 86’s than Subaru’s effort. Why that is the case I don’t know, but I can tell you they both drive exactly the same. I’d argue some of the unique cosmetic changes Subaru throw in actually make it a more attractive car. 

Let’s face it, despite having four seat belts you’re rarely going to force any human back there. The broad dashboard has one major bonus over the Toyota 86 and that is an infotainment system that offers Apple CarPlay and Android auto. 

The BRZ is powered by a flat-four-cylinder that sounds like it’s full of gravel, but in a good way! Power is sent to the rear wheels and for this review our car was fitted with a six-speed manual.

The BRZ is getting on a bit now but I still jumped at the opportunity to take it for one more victory lap. The fun that the car gives the driver comes down to a couple of key attributes. Because you do seat so low the sensation of speed is elevated, this is no dragster with a 0-100km/h dash figure of 7.4 seconds. 

But there’s something special about that flat-four and manual combination that’s hard to beat. It just has that typical go-kart feel, more toy-like in many ways rather than some blistering sledgehammer. 

The BRZ is set up for some cornering fun, but it does occasionally show a tendency to wallow or bounce a tad via the rear-end. Not a good thing if you’re a purist, but necessary to prevent too much of a jarring ride. 

Overall it’s just old school fun, with direct natural steering and a comfortable six-speed manual gate. 

Vital Stats

The outputs sit at 152kW and 212Nm of torque. As mentioned power is sent to the rear wheels, which will step out, especially in track mode.

Price

The BRZ starts at $32,990 for the manual or $34,990 for an automatic, but WTF would you do that? The premium pack adds leather and Alcantara to the seats which are heated. The BRZ has a claimed fuel economy figure of 8.4L/100km which I actually matched, for once. 

What would you buy one.

Because you have some issue with Toyota.

EFTM Scoreboard

At the end of the day it’s really comes down to tastes or even brand loyalty when it comes to buying this car. It could do with a cup holder or two, sure it would be nice if it went faster but hey it’s the kind of car that will become a legend, irrespective of what badge is on it. It’s an 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Recent Posts

  • Tech

2026 will be the battle of “RGB” in TV technology – what. the. heck. is. that?

If you're still catching up on Quantum Dots, OLED, Mini LED and are thinking that…

2 days ago
  • Tech

NBN gets set for the final roll out of Fibre upgrades to another 600,000 homes

The NBN is getting ready to lock in the final stage of the Fibre to…

2 days ago
  • Motoring

The stunning new BMW iX3 is a vision for the future realised as Neue Klasse comes to market

BMW has revealed the first new model to be designed and engineered under their 2025…

2 days ago
  • Tech

Best in Smart Home – The SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell with AI wins at the IFA Innovation Awards

The SwannBuddy4K Video Doorbell with SwannShield™AI Voice Assistant has been given an Honouree accolade for…

2 days ago
  • Tech

360 degree security camera coverage and smart AI capabilities come to Reolink security lineup at IFA 2025

Reolink is a bit of an upstart when it comes to home security but having…

2 days ago
  • Lifestyle

LG unveil its AI plans for your home appliances at IFA 2025

LG has announced its vision for AI-powered living at IFA 2025 under the moniker “LG…

3 days ago