2013 Subaru BRZ

Affordable rear wheel drive sporty cars are few and far between. Just ask the many drifters out there desperately seeking old Nissan 240SX's and twin cam Carolla's to do their thing. Well, this year that all changed with the Toyota/Subaru joint venture that came to life as the scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ. Now, we loved the manual trans FR-S when we put it through its paces a few months back. Now we turn our attention to a BRZ with an automatic. Let’s see if a change in gearbox changes our opinions.

Much has been written about the 2013 Subaru BRZ and its platform-mate Scion FR-S bringing the return of the pure sports car-type to the market. So it may seem odd that we chose an automatic equipped BRZ for our test. We did so for two reasons; one we wanted to make our BRZ test as different as possible from the FR-S manual we recently tested and loved. And, second, automatic gear boxes are far more popular than manuals, even in sports cars.  

For those living under a rock and not familiar with the BRZ/FR-S, they are 2+2 sporty coupes that we classify as sports cars, not performance cars. To us, performance cars are all about big horsepower and high tech wizardry, while sports cars are about being nimble and doing a lot with a little. Much like the Genesis Coupe and V6 Mustang and Camaro, the BRZ is not overly performance oriented, just plain fun to drive. 

Decent power in a light body means a sports car feels quicker than you are expecting, but not necessarily overly quick off the line, as the automatic BRZ will not launch at a high RPM. It took us 7.7-seconds to hit 60 miles-per-hour; that’s a second and a half off the manual’s pace. Sport mode does quicken up the shifts from the 6-speed geared automatic a tad, but they could still be quicker. It does feature rev-matching on downshifts, and you’ll have to live in the upper range of the 7,400 RPM rev band if you want to see any significant power. But it sounds great when you’re up there, thanks to an intake-mounted “sound generator” that really “brings the noise” into the cabin. Finishing out the ¼ mile takes 15.9-seconds, hitting 91 miles-per-hour as you trip the lights and throughout the journey the BRZ is plenty solid, even as you approach triple-digit speeds. The familiar Subaru-style 200-horsepower boxer engine uses both port and direct injection to twist up 151 pound-feet of torque. 

Just enough to push the BRZ through the cones in a very tight manner, feeling better the harder you push it and despite the low power numbers, there’s a lightness to the rear end that has us wanting to seriously take up drifting. Steering is super direct, very quick, and gives you great feedback, and much like the FR-S, it’s all about great balance. Brakes are not quite as stellar, as fade started creeping in after only a few runs; ABS Panic stops average a just OK 128 feet. We expected better from only 2800 pounds. The back-to-basics approach makes its way to the inside of the BRZ, as well, though brighter trim makes the cabin feel more inviting than the FR-S. Still, this is a sports car so you sit very low, and the interior is intimate, especially for back seat passengers. No matter how you drive you will feel very connected to the car thanks to that ultra responsive steering. The ride can be a little rough at times, but any softer and it wouldn’t be as much fun.

Styling differs little from the FR-S, with the biggest difference being the front fascia, side badging, and rear wing; even the wheels are the same. Government Fuel Economy Ratings are good at 25-City, 34 Highway, and 28 Combined, but oddly enough it requires Premium Fuel. Still we managed a good 31.5 miles per gallon in mixed driving. But the best part of all about the BRZ is the price, starting at just $26,265. That’s about a grand more than the FR-S, but the BRZ is better equipped with navigation standard. The automatic adds $1,100 more.

So, how do we like the automatic BRZ compared to the manual FR-S? Well, quite simply, we like the manual better, as it really brings out the best in this lightweight, fun chassis. But, for many weekend warriors the automatic might be just the thing that helps them get through weekday chores en-route to their favorite weekend track or switchbacks. But, no matter which tranny you pick, there’s a lot to love about the 2013 Subaru BRZ, and we do.