Raiku898

I love the blue. I would be really interested in seeing your long term impressions as you spend more time with the car. I wouldn't mind picking up one down the road for cheap, although I think they should hold their resale pretty well.

spicytuna

Saw one in person this past weekend.

The pictures don't do it justice because it looks awesome!

NEW77GUY

Spoke with a friend over the weekend who is the sales manager at a very large area dealership here in NoVa. He basically said that every one that they'll see this year has been spoken for...BRZ's are HOT & Subaru can't make 'em fast enough.

BillY2KFRC

Well, I have about 2500 miles on the car at this point so I can probably give a pretty good impression on how I like it.

Exterior: WR Blue is easy to keep looking clean, I like that, good trait for a daily driver to have! I still like the appearance of the car as much if not better than I did when I picked it up. Get lots of attention driving around, many compliments at gas stations and in traffic. Far more attention than I get in my Vette.

Interior: Everything is great so far, seems very high quality for a $25,000 car. That is actually the first comment everybody that sits in it makes "this feels like a much more expensive car". It's not Audi nice, but it's way nicer inside than a WRX or EVO. Seats are perfect, tons of support, would not be good for those that are larger however. LOVE the big center mounted tach with digital speedo. Nav headunit is quite good actually, one of the better built-in units I've used. Bluetooth audio quality is good, radio sounds good, interface is above average. Plays my iPod and displays album art. Negatives? Window switch vibrates with radio bass (will get that looked at during first service). Otherwise it's great.

Power: Ah, the $25,000 question; is it fast enough? I think so. Would I complain about another 50hp? No, definitely not. But for a fun, efficient everyday car, it's pretty quick. Not much torque, really need to rev it over 4000 to get anything to happen, but once you get up there, it moves along. It's actually a lot of fun to drop it a couple of gears, wind up the revs and rip through some twisty back roads, pulls very nicely out of corners. Apparently they are dynoing around 165rwhp stock, which isn't bad. If intake/header/exhaust/tune can get between 190 & 200rwhp, I think that will be PERFECT.

Handling: Now this what this car is all about. The steering is weighted perfectly and is extremely precise. Has that nice solid on-center feel that you get from the best handling cars. The balance is phenomenal. Be it low speed or high speed corners, the car always feels very controlled and planted. Lower speed corners are especially fun when you throw the car in a little too hot, just give it a little extra gas when you feel it start to push and the back end comes around in a nice, controllable drift... I love it. Really easy to get sideways in the wet, don't ask how I know. Negatives? Maybe a slight, and I mean slight, lack of steering feel. I haven't driven any other electric rack cars, but now I can relate to descriptions I've been reading in the magazines. It doesn't really take anything away from the handling for me, but there is sort of a subtle numbness to the wheel compared to a conventional steering rack.

Shifter/Clutch: Awesome. That about sums it up. Clutch is light, but still has a nice mechanical feel to the engagement. Same can be said about the shifter; short throws and easy to click into gear, but feels mechanical, like you are connected to the drivetrain. Doesn't feel overly refined and disconnected like the manual setups in some late model cars. Imagine an STi gearbox with the short/precise throws of an S2000 and that about says it all.

Brakes: Haven't really tested them, but no complains so far. Good pedal feel and no fade I've noticed during back road romps. Brake dust is minimal as well, pretty good for stock pads.

Sound: Sound is one place where it needs some help. Lots of talk has been made about the sound tube that pumps intake noise into the cabin above certain RPMs, and it does help, but not much. Basically, over 4k rpm, you get some sound pumped into the cabin from the airbox. It sounds okay, but it's not really a scream like you would get from a vtec, it's more a steady, monotone growl. It's better than nothing, but I'd like something more. I'm hoping some of the aftermarket intakes and exhaust systems will give me the sound I'm hoping for. I will certainly need to hear them in person first though since I don't want to end up with anything too ricey sounding.

Gas Mileage: My commute is mostly highway, but I am seeing 34mpg highway and 31mpg combined currently. Very impressed. It think it's just a bit better than the 09 CTS-V I was considering before.

Overall impression: I am satisfied with my purchase. With that said, this car is not for everybody. If you are an absolute speed and power junky and this will be your only car, look elsewhere. You are better off with a GTO or something over 400hp. But for me, already having a 600+hp Z06 in the garage and just needing a fun daily commuter, this BRZ is the ticket. It more than lives up to the hype and fulfills the designers original vision of a lightweight, affordable, fun to drive coupe.

Please feel free to add any comments or ask away with questions, I'll be happy to answer whatever I can.

Bill

Dave68

Bill, did you say that you would drive this in the Winter or do you have yet another vehicle for that purpose? When I lived in CT, it just killed me to put away my 68 C3 vert every winter. Back then, there were no sporty front or all-wheel drive cars for use on snow-covered streets, so my winter cars were rear wheel drive and inexpensive like a 68 Cougar or 75 Monte Carlo - not very good traction unless they were shod with full-blown (poor-performing on dry roads) winter tires.

Regarding sales: I recall when the 1990 Miata was first introduced. Mini-seminars were held at the Mazda dealerships to inform potential buyers of the "selection" process and the mandatory dealer markup. Like Subaru, sales overtook supply for quite a while but you can get a great deal on an MX5, today, especially when the new gen is just around the corner. I have no doubt that demand will once again be high.

Thanks for the excellent writeup. If I end up getting the next gen MX5, I will try to do the same.

Dave

BillY2KFRC

Yeah, this car replaced my 2000 Integra and will be my winter car. With the very even weight distribution and limited slip, I expect it to perform nicely with some snows. I'm actually looking forward to it to be honest. Also, I have the option to work from home when the weather is bad, so I can avoid any of the real deep snow until the roads are clear if we get a nasty storm.

Pinky...

Thanks for the write up! Enjoy her.

McGirk94LT1

Just as an FYI, Subaru said couple months ago that 6,000 were being imported the first year, thats it(I'm calling it now there will be a HUGE drop off in demand for them after the first year or two). Scion hasn't made any statement about their supply and with their pure pricing or whatever, no way I'd pay the crazy mark ups I'm sure most subaru dealers are applying so I'd probably set my sights on the FR-S if I even sort of wanted one. In fact, there's a Subaru dealer right by me, maybe I'll pay them a visit out of curiosity tomorrow...

Raiku898

Cool. Thanks for the write up. I'm really curious to see if they make an sti version. I really like the cars. Definitely for an increase in RWD cars. From the perspective of someone who hasn't driven one, I just feel like they are under-powered. (at least to be called a "sports car" like many people are trying to label them)

I know, "price," etc. But then I don't know if I could ever buy a new car. I would rather get something a few years used.

I wonder how it would compare to my old E46 m3 as far as "feel." There is something to be said for predictability.

All that said, enjoy. It sounds like a great daily for you.

peteypab2133

need to get a custom plate similar to your z0 666. make it BReeZy

JJ Deuce

Sales weren't poor for the Mazdaspeed MX-5. Production was limited to 4000 cars in '04, and would have been the same for '05 except there was a fire at the plant so they ended the production run at 1300 or so. They sold every unit they built and demand is still high for them, if you can find one for sale.

OP, thanks for the post on the BRZ. It's a good looking car and I appreciate your review on its performance. Glad you're enjoying it.

gilhuly

Very nice looking car,congrats!

Dave68

On the contrary, demand was so weak for the 04s and 05s that dealerships were discounting them, heavily. I was a first-hand witness.

Today, people are selling them for far less than what they are worth. I see them regularly offered for less than $12K with low miles. Many ads have been up for more than 4 months, at least in my area.
Now, that's not to say they are aren't great cars. I'm very tempted to get one, although family and house must come first.

DocKevin

The only thing that always bugs me about imports (almost all of them, not all, but most) is that they seem to have a spartan-like interior. There's so much room for design in there, but it looks ordinary inside.

On the outside though, sweet!! Great looking in my opinion and love the blue!

BSSN

Helluva car for the price, and given another year, I bet we see OEM 300bhp versions running around and once the tuner market gets things sorted, well-integrated FI kits putting down a whole lot more for $4-8K.

Jeff W

BSSN

Probably runs deep into the 12's, handles like a dream, and I love the looks!

Curious about long-term on these FI setups. It looks like a great replacement for the S2000 with a turbo that produces little/no perceptible lag.

BillY2KFRC

I have the exact same worry. Even with a low-boost setup, I'm not going to trust my high compression daily driver with a turbo kit until these things are proven to death. Hopefully by next spring when I plan to start with some mods there will be more information out there. I also think intake/header/exhaust/cams/tune will be a fun setup if you can get around 200-220rwhp N/A.

JerriVette

Billy.... I could have sworn it was you shooting down the merit on Saturday as you threw a big grin and thumbs up on a black c6 in your blue BRZ.

Glad your enjoying your new toy.

Keep the daily driver basically stock for the reliability......

HIt the vette for speed....JMO

Dave68

The S2000 is a vert, so the BRZ/FR-S are not really true replacements.