Subaru BRZ (2012 – 2020) Review

Light, compact and agile is everything sports car fans want, and Subaru delivers exactly that with its BRZ, so it should sell in huge numbers. It doesn’t, which is odd given it pretty much ticks every box in for those who like, no, love, driving. The BRZ is stymied for a couple of reasons, Subaru is a tiny part player in the UK market, and the BRZ is available from Toyota dealers wearing its T on the nose and the GT86 badge on the bootlid. Its specification underlines that Toyota’s pinched its sportscar from Subaru, as the BRZ features the company’s well-known boxer engine under the low bonnet, which helps keep things low and level in the corners. If you enjoy driving, it’s worth looking out for a BRZ.

Subaru might be long associated with asymmetrical four-wheel drive and rugged utility, but the BRZ ditches some driveshafts, sends its meagre power to the rear and isn’t ever likely to cross a field – unless, of course, you get it spectacularly wrong going around a corner.

It does come with Subaru’s other notable technical quirk, a boxer engine. If that means nothing to you then it’s forgivable, but, simply, it’s got an engine that has two sets of pistons working opposite to each other. That means the engine is ‘flat’ – like those in a Porsche 911 - allowing it to sit low in the chassis, to the benefit of weight distribution. 

Unlike the Porsche’s boxer engine the one in the BRZ is naturally-aspirated, 2.0-litres in capacity and only has four-cylinders, all of which means it’s got a fairly modest 200PS, which is delivered pretty high up the rev range.

That’s not a complaint though, as the BRZ’s light, and part of the joy of driving it is the need to work with what you’ve got, maintaining speed via the BRZ’s accomplished dynamics. It’s on skinny little tyres, you sit low, right between the wheels and need to work the engine and either the sweet-shifting six-speed manual or the not as appealing, but easier day-to-day, paddle-shifted automatic, pretty hard to get the most from it.

Do that and the BRZ is a hugely rewarding, engaging, enjoyable driver’s car, that is a rare treat these days. There’s none of the meddling ‘driver aids’ you’ll find on more expensive rivals, the BRZ a pared, back-to-basics sports car for those who enjoy the journey as much as reaching their destination. 

It might be simple, but it’s not overly compromised. There are a pair of seats in the rear, which might not be able to fit adults but can accommodate small children if necessary, while the boot’s a decent size for a car that puts driver appeal at the top of the list of priorities.

It’s only offered in coupe form, too, which differentiates it from what’s arguably its key rival, and other driver-focussed small car from Japan, the Mazda MX-5. Buying a BRZ is a very deliberate choice, then, one that defines you as someone who enjoys their driving, that even more so if you pick the Subaru over its more common Toyota GT86 relation.  

That GT86 and the Mazda MX-5 might be its most obvious rivals, but if you’re in the market for a small hot hatch then the GT86 is likely to appeal.

It might lack their outright firepower, but the fine balance from the chassis and the joy you’ll have on the right road will see you forgive it that.

With sportscars practicality is a secondary consideration, and while that’s true with the BRZ, it’s not as big a compromise as you’d think.

Indeed, at this price point people are going to have to justify their sportscar as one that’s more than a mere frivolity, so you can point out the pair of rear seats and a decent-sized boot to your questioning other half. The boot is 243 litres, which is comparable to something like a VW up! city car, while there’s the ability to fold the rear seats should you have more to carry, doing so upping the capacity to 391 litres. 

The rear seats are small, but you’ll squeeze a couple of kids in there if you need to (there are two Isofix child seat mounts), though we’d suggest you only do so for shorter trips.

There’s not a huge amount of oddment storage in the cabin, but you’ll find a cupholder or two between the front seats and a small glovebox and door bins for wallets/keys/phones etc.

The interior is all a bit hard and shiny, so while the plastics are certainly high quality, if you value longevity, but you’ll not be wowed by the tactility or look of them.

It all feels very Subaru, which means at least a decade behind mainstream machinery, and a couple of decades behind something like an Audi TT. Not pretty, then, but likely to be very durable, which means it’ll still be shake, creak and rattle free for its third, fourth or fifth owner many years after you’ve moved it on.

If the interior materials are a nod to the past, then so too is the infotainment. It’s not quite as basic as a single DIN slot that people used to pinch stereos out of when car stereo theft was a thing, but it’s one step up, being a double DIN slot set-up.

That means there’s a 7-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dash, which looks like it’s aftermarket rather than standard fit, but it’s a better set-up than Toyota offers with its GT86, so that’s a nod in the Subaru’s favour.

It powers six speakers, has a Bluetooth and USB connections, and, unlike that GT86, there’s the ability to run Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with it. It’s all a bit fiddly to operate, otherwise, so we’d suggest you do exactly that. 

The BRZ isn’t going to be selling in big numbers, so it’s hardly surprising that Subaru only offers it in one specification, well, two actually if you consider the automatic as a different spec.

All are 2.0i SE Lux, the manual being £32,020, with the automatic adding £925 to that. If you want any colour than Crystal White Pearl then you’ll need to add £550 to either. Other than the auto and colour choice that’s your lot, which, like the car itself, is pleasingly simple.

Insurance sits above group 30, so consider that if you’re not an ideal candidate, it’ll be cheaper if you’ve a garage or off-street parking, are older and have a decent no-claims bonus. Servicing shouldn’t be too punitive, and if you’ve not got a Subaru garage nearby then a Toyota one will do it easily enough, and consumables, tyres etc, should be relatively cheap.

There’s a five-year,100,000 mile warranty, though given Subaru’s reputation for reliability you shouldn’t need it. Fuel consumption is rated at 33.3mpg on the official combined cycle for the manual, and the auto seeing that drop to 33.0mpg, the reality a good 10-20% less in normal driving, especially if you’re enjoying it properly. CO2 emissions are in the 191-225g/km banding.

The BRZ’s raison d’etre, Subaru’s deliberately kept the power modest in a bid to focus the attention on the chassis. It’s worked, too, the BRZ agile, precise and stable, and, crucially, hugely entertaining.

The steering is light and quick, there’s some feel, too, the BRZ having a fine 53/47% weight distribution, and Subaru’s boxer engine is situated low in the structure to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. 

The BRZ has always felt a touch sharper to drive over its GT86 relation, because Subaru has made some changes to the suspension set-up, with the dampers, anti-roll bars and bushing all fractionally different, that resulting in a more accurate car on the road.

The ride, is, by sports car standards, relatively supple, with the damping doing a fine job in not just maintaining control, but delivering a smooth ride, too.

There’s only one, and it’s a very Subaru engine in its specification, the BRZ’s powerplant being a boxer unit, which means its flat, with each bank of two cylinders lying opposite each other.

It’s 2.0-litres in capacity, and unlike just about everything else these days it does without a turbocharger. That does mean you have to work it for it to produce its best performance, but, then, that’s kind of the point.

Peak power, such as it is, is 200PS, it arriving at 7000rpm, the peak torque output being 205Nm, again that produced high up the rev range. 

All that means there’s not a lot of punch from that boxer engine if you’ve under 4,000rpm on the rev-counter, but above that it gets busier and faster, though it’ll never exactly shock you with its pace.

The numbers underline that, with it taking 7.6 seconds to reach 62mph, with the automatic adding 0.6 of a second to that.

You’ll want, no, need, the manual, if you’re going to enjoy the BRZ at its best, and for all its relative lack of speed, it’s all the more fun for it, because you can have so much fun at sensible – read mostly legal – speeds. 

The BRZ should protect you well in an impact, Subaru having built itself a good reputation for safety, it not having been tested by Euro NCAP, but crash tests in the USA suggest that the BRZ is safe for a car of its type.

There are anti-lock brakes, brake assist, driver and passenger front, side and curtain airbags, as well as a knee airbag for the driver as standard equipment on all. The rear seats feature Isofix child seat mounts, while there’s whiplash-reducing front seats, too. Naturally, there are stability and traction control systems, which can, if you’re heading to a trackday, be switched off.  

Subaru doesn’t quote a towing capacity for the BRZ, and there’s no possibility, officially at least, for fitting a towbar.

There’s one BRZ, that being the 2.0i SE Lux. Well, there’s another, the 2.0i SE Lux with the automatic transmission, but you’re rather missing the point of the BRZ if you buy it as an auto. Only option is the colour, which unless you want white, adds £550 to the price.