Our Last Drive of the Current Subaru BRZ

Subaru BRZ REVIEW 2021

BRZ is the most fun you can have sitting down, there, I’ve said it. With Subaru ready to launch the shiny new 2022 BRZ in a veritable jiff, it would have been churlish not to give up a champers and canape lunch for one last drive

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Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, the last of these 2021 BRZ’s are the model year 20. OK? Henceforth called 2021, just because. Some viewers confused MY20 with a review labelled 2021. Something about leading a horse to water comes to mind, but, moving right along…

Above: This Week 2021 Subaru “GOODBYE BRZ”  Roadtest

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ABOVE: BRZ in 2021

ABOVE: BRZ in 2021

The Drive:

We took the 152kw coupe up the back road to the blue mountains to relive a 2014 road test we did in a duo-drive review with Pro_Cee’d GT and Toyota’s 86.

BRZ and 86 are twin sisters, the issue of an after dinner strump by Subaru and Toyota. This terrific twosome came close second to Pro_Cee’d GT in our Car of the Year awards for 2014. In fact, it was so close that you couldn’t have fitted a schmear of Pâté between them.

Why the Blue Mountains, do I hear you ask?

There is more to the Blue Mountains than a selfie at the three Sisters a bunch of expensive tourist-tat. In fact, it is a string of delicious turns and twists punctuated by vistas of worthy of DeMille.

You can choose to get there all calm and smooth by taking the motorway, or, and this is me pointing like a barrel girl, you can go the back door route. This hidden gem is a little off the beaten track and is a road rarely travelled on the tourist route. While it can’t take buses loaded with camera-clicking punters, the fun can still be ruined by locals doing the school run. Mental note, don’t use this road at school time.

If you’re persona non grata at the local track, this is the next best thing. The speed limits notwithstanding, it is the most fun you can sitting down.

BRZ, taken by the scruff of the neck, tears it up. It’s like a nippy terrier eager to please. It is twitchy, and demanding, but above all, involving. It isn’t a drive, it is an experience.

Downshifts are dispatched with a pleasing pushback as the gearbox pulls the coupe into shape. A gentle push brings the flat-four into the power band, and off you go. Each hairpin is taken with care, as you feel the rear end come round and the back wheels get down to business.

BRZ is more akin to fun sports cars from the halcyon era of motoring. It purrs like a kitten, and is so much more pleasing than the brutish kick in the head you get from a V8. There is no turbo la, because there is no turbo. I’m not saying BRZ couldn’t do with a turbo, and it frequently infuraties me. For reasons known only to themselves, Toyota and Subaru didn’t want to impinge in their high-end sport models with a coupe that coupe outperform them. In some ways, BRZ is all the better for it.

I love the automatic version too. The 6-speed comes from the Toyota/Lexus workshops and fits perfectly with Subaru’s horizontally opposed engine. In fact, I’d prefer it to the manual, and it gets better fuel consumption too. Subaru have been heading down the CVT route for years, and that awful gearbox has no place in a small sports car.

We spent 200km worth of time with steering as sharp as a pin, and we liked it a lot. In the video, you can see bends 180° bends taken nice and slow, only to accelerate up the other side.

There exposed full-sized spare tyre could use a cover, and this is pretty much my only complaint. Imagine a bootful of stuff sitting atop the filthy wheel removed after a roadside switchover.

BRZ is remarkably low-tech.

You don’t notice the absence of active driver aids until you’re back down on the highway. There is no lane keep assist or AEB. This means the 2012 5-star ANCAP rating is hopelessly out of date. It also means you have to mind how you go. There are 7 airbags though, just in case you bang in to something you don’t mean to bang.

The cruise control has no radar function, and blind spot monitor is a mere glint in the designer’s eye. BRZ is a car you have to drive yourself, and it is a revelation.

The All New 2022 BRZ

Toyota and Subaru have kept their cards close to their chests, but here is what we know. Both BRZ and 86 will be here late this year. It has a little more power and torque, and a slightly stiffer body. Despite the looks, it is completely new.

They’ve kept the “BRZ” look much like Mini and other brands have done. It’s a clever device designed not to offend the zealots. It will keep the same front engine/rear wheel drive layout. So, now AWD, and there is no sign of a turbo either. Ah well…..

Automatic models will have Eyesight, Subaru’s safety suite, but it remains to be seen what manuals get. Without all the goods, manuals will not be able to get a 5-star ANCAP rating.

You can register your interest in the ALL NEW BRZ here.

The runout:

BRZ is banished from Subaru’s official website. A canny buyer will still find a couple of hundred new NRZ’s on the sales websites ranging from $38,000 to somewhere around $46,000

Engine: 2.0L boxer

Power: 152kw/212Nm

Trans: 6sp man/6 sp auto

Econ: 8.4/7.1 L/100k

TAGS:

Gay subaru, gay sports cars, gay coupe, subaru Australia, subaru UK, 2022 subaru BRZ, boxer engine, sports

Written by Alan Zurvas

Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.

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