Girl of the Week: September 16th-22nd 2019 – Lauren & Subaru BRZ

When it was introduced in 2013, the Subaru BRZ was like a cool, refreshing drink of water in an arid wasteland. At the time, there were few sporting vehicles that weighed less than 3,000 pounds and drove their rear wheels. The BRZ’s compact size, sharp dynamics and low price of entry were a revelation.
Being the result of collaboration between Subaru and Toyota to make a fun-to-drive and inexpensive sports car Subaru BRZ is the other half of the now iconic joint venture that resulted in Toyota launching the widely popular GT86. Like its GT86 sister, the front-engined, rear-wheel drive 2+2 BRZ is powered by a 197bhp 2.0-litre flat four. It’s an engine that needs working hard if you want to make swift progress, but the BRZ is more about handling than straight-line speed. With its classical layout, it’s tremendously engaging to drive on twisty roads, and a rewarding machine on track.
Handling is a big part of what the BRZ is about. The rear-wheel drive configuration is music to driving purists’ ears, while the low centre of gravity means this is a car that simply loves corners. The steering is excellent, the driving position is brilliant, and the clever electronic stability and traction control systems ensure you can have fun with fewer associated risks. All of this means you can expect a much purer and uncorrupted driving experience compared with a front-wheel drive hot hatchback.
Unlike many modern performance cars the Subaru BRZ uses a naturally aspirated engine. That means the 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol unit makes just 200hp, while rival turbocharged cars extract nearly 50% more power from the same-sized motor. The advantage, however, is a more linear spread of power over a wider rev range – you need to reach 7,000 rpm for peak punch – rather than the laggy bottom and breathless top end associated with a turbo engine.
Consequently the BRZ’s power is very predictable and easy to manage; the throttle response is sharp so when you want a quick burst of power, the Subaru delivers immediately. We’d have liked a more exciting engine note though. As a result, while the BRZ’s motor is a very effective tool it’s not something you’ll enjoy on an emotional level.
Although a sports car, the BRZ isn’t what you’d call uncomfortable. Its sports seats are very supportive without being hard, and long journeys pose no real problem. The ride is cossetting thanks to 17-inch wheels with relatively fat tyres, so there’s not much of the choppiness associated with other focused sports cars.
We could all learn something from the 2019 Subaru BRZ. The low-slung coupe starts with the right proportions and doesn’t add bloat or unnecessary weight. It’s better than average inside and out by our eyes. The BRZ isn’t coy about stealing inspiration from sports cars of the past. It adds modern touches like LED lights and sharp sculpting that cars from yesteryear couldn’t, but the Subie keeps the same elegant roofline and flared fenders like a greatest hits compilation. The inside is simple and smart, without much clutter. Its design is a subtle hat-tip to industrial design—nuts and bolts on the climate controls and simple switchgear underneath. The touchscreen planted in the center of the dash is welcome, without being too much of a distraction.
The BRZ is hardly a straight-line champ. It saunters up to 60 mph more slowly than nearly all of its rivals, but that’s missing the point anyhow. The flat cylinder arrangement in the BRZ gives it a low center of mass that keeps the coupe uncommonly level around corners. Quick steering doubles up on the immediacy around the bends; the BRZ is a blast when the roads just can’t stay straight. We like that.
Coils over struts in the front and a double wishbone in back prioritize weight over the front wheels. Nail the throttle and the BRZ’s weight gingerly slides toward the rear, where its tail can step out in predictable—but not very powerful—slides over and over, again. A Torsen limited-slip differential helps the BRZ mind its manners, even when we don’t.
Comfort takes a backseat to performance in the 2019 Subaru BRZ. That’s assuming anyone can get back there, too. The front seats are exactly what you’d want in a low-slung sports car. Points there. But we ding the BRZ for rear seats that aren’t just vestigial, they’re also practically painted on. A scant 6.9 cubic feet of trunk space isn’t ideal either—we suggest doubling up and using the back seat as an extension of the cargo capacity. Bad knees and bad backs may not appreciate the seating position and low entry of the 2019 BRZ, but we suspect achy joints turned their backs on the sports coupe long before now.
Miles for smiles, the investment in premium fuel for the 2019 Subaru BRZ is worth the money. Among small coupes, the BRZ is mid pack. The Mazda MX-5 Miata rates at 29 mpg combined, but turbo-4 versions of the Chevy Camaro and Ford Mustang do worse. If the BRZ looks like a small, boring two-seater commuter car to you, there are more efficient options out there. It takes a lot to consider the BRZ to be boring, however, especially if Lauren shows up driving this beauty.