2019 Subaru BRZ Consumer Reviews
Most Helpful Reviews
Positive Review
I've always been a fan of the Mazda MX-5/Miata, meaning I appreciate refined handling more than raw horsepower in a sports car. The BRZ is like an MX-5 except with a fixed roof. Therefore it's a niche car among niche cars: a sports car, and one that doesn't rely on neck-snapping power for thrills. In other words the BRZ won't appeal to everyone, or even to all sports car buyers. That said, if you enjoy the spirit of the MX-5 but don't want a convertible, read on. Or better yet, call your Subaru dealer now, then read on. Since I could write a book on how much I like my BRZ, I'll confine my review by following KBB's points above and then add a couple more comments. 1 - Value: My 2013 BRZ is a "Limited" trim and its total msrp was $27,495. There are no further options to drive up the price. This is what I paid for it as well, no dealer mark-up. All I can say here is yes, it's a good value. You may not get better handling/braking/steering/shifting car for twice the price. You certainly won't get it for the same price. 2 - Reliability: I only have 800 miles on the car so I can hardly comment on reliability from my own experience, other than noting it's clearly very well-built. So I rated it a 10 based more on Subaru's big success in reliability and resale value with its other models. So far no sign this car will be different. 3 - Quality: Not a 10, but only because some of the interior plastic isn't as nice as it could be. Specifically the inside lower door plastic, forming the the door cupholders, is way too thin. Some of the control knobs aren't the most impressive either. 4 - Overall: Not a 10 here either, but close... 5 - Driving Dynamics: Superb. I won't go on because you can read all about it in the auto reviews. You just have to experience it, the more treacherous the road the better. A 90-year old grandmother would have no trouble zooming around hairpin turns because the car inspires so much confidence. Which wouldn't be a good thing if it didn't deliver, but this car does! On the other hand, the BRZ definitely could use a bit more torque - low-end grunt - but in the horsepower department, 200 is more than enough for a vehicle this light (2776 lbs). 6 - Design: The interior only comes in all-black which I don't like, but that's a subjective thing of course. I'm not a big fan either of the look of Alcantara, but it does hold you in place. The interior looks fresh, a bit spare (which I like), and not at all gimmicky like some other cars in this class. The steering wheel is clean and simple and feels just fantastic. One will end up in MOMA at some point. The aluminum pedals look and feel great too. Three fake-chrome trim pieces (the interior door handles, the pushbutton surround and the handbrake release button) look just bizarre in contrast to the rest of the nice matte silver interior trim. Subaru's attempt to standardize these pieces across their model range backfires in the BRZ. The exterior was designed by Toyota, their only part in the project. It disappointed me when the BRZ/FR-S was only available in pictures, but in person looks a lot better, from some angles even really good. Certainly everyone else has complimented me on it. There's no denying that the car looks tight and compact, it's just not particularly original. 7 - Comfort & Convenience: The front seats are probably the most comfortable you'll ever sit in in a car, although wider bodies have reported feeling a little tight in them. The back seats are useless except for storage purposes, and the car would have been better off designed as a 2-seater from the start. This would have narrowed the doors a bit, although they're much more user-friendly in tight parking spots than doors on most 2+2 coupes, which have to be wide enough to allow access to the back seats. Ingress/egress requires some flexibility (!), but the BRZ is a low-slung sports car, after all. Visibility - always a big deal for me - is the best you'll find in a sports car. Forward visibility is panoramic, you see exactly where the front wheels are. Rearward is good too but the trunkline is high. Unfortunately the center stoplamp is just obnoxious, I don't think I'll ever stop glancing in the mirror thinking another car is on my tail... Rear 3/4 visibility is, well, better than in a top-up convertible, but the back windows are really just small triangles of light. If your seats are not positioned too far back, and your neck isn't arthritic, you may just see out of them. The Limited comes with all sorts of convenience features (which the Premium trim lacks, as does the Scion FRS), you can read about them on the Subaru website. The keyless entry (doors and trunk) and pushbutton start are great conveniences. The radio/navigation screen isn't, I'll never prefer pressing a screen over the fine control you have turning a knob. Noise - You'll be pleasantly surprised, the BRZ is actually pretty quiet! That is, until you get near 4000 rpm during hard acceleration. That's when the interior resonator pipe - intentionally designed to bring in 2 cylinders-worth of noise to the cabin - kicks in. I don't like it and may have my dealer muffle mine, but otherwise the BRZ is less noisy than other small cars I've driven, certainly less than other sports cars.
VS
Critical Review
I purchased a 50th Anniversary BRZ with all of the Anniversary upgrades which included a different head unit than other 2018 BRZs. 1 month after purchase the radio would not start for 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The map couldn't find 5 year old businesses and Subaru will not upgrade GPS function. The backup camera started blacking out. The recall was supposed to fix all problems. It did NOT. At 6400 miles, the radio continues to lag in coming on. The radio changes stations whenever it feels like it. The Nav screen will change from the map to the Home or Phone screen whenever it wants. The audio frequently does not recognize contacts in the phonebook or addresses that I access constantly. One day I got 3 error messages when I plugged in my phone to charge it. The errors have not repeated despite having plugged my phone in several times to charge. Subaru told me to replace my 2 year old Android with an iPhone. Is Subaru in bed w Apple?
2019 BRZ Reviews
Showing 8 of 37 reviews.
Long review because it deserves it. I bought my 2017 BRZ 6spd manual new. I currently have 91k miles on it with literally only 1 problem.....the center console charging port needed to be replaced for $20. I have had to replace nothing but tires, battery, and fluids. That's pretty hard to beat. I'm a mechanic and have worked on a HUGE variety of cars, so you can trust me when I say it's a great car. Toyota and Subaru really let their engineers loose and the results speak for themselves. I'm very pleased with the dependability so far. Performance: By no means the fastest car I've driven, but it's like driving a 205hp go-cart as a daily driver and is fast enough to be quicker than all the "regular cars" out there. I'm currently averaging 36mpg combined, but mostly highway. I can also have fun when I want to drift turns, do donuts, or mess around. Name another car that can match that..... The cargo capacity is really good for a (realistically 2 seater) sports car as well. The rear seats are a joke though and I suspect a ploy to lower insurance costs. Summary: Dependable, great gas mileage, loads of fun to drive, easy to work on, reasonable purchase cost, high safety rating, and comfortable. Highly recommended.
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Car has a very nice clutch. Overall sporty appeal and performance for the price. The car is not fast but it definitely handles and sounds amazing.
All the above
Power
Garage kept. Never seen snow or cinders. Broke in the way i drive it.5,6,7 grand on the tach and over 110 and more every drive. Never had a car cut up the road like this one. Only thing i can ask for would be a turbo version / sti package with engine size.
Car and driver become one while driving
No backseat for mother-in-law or sticky children
Fun to drive and proud to own. Four years later and I still get at least a dozen strangers each week asking about my car and saying how much they love it!
Agile car for the first few years.
Known engine problems like mine.
It is not the best, however, fairly decent car in performance for the price until the engine certainly stopped working at 43000 miles. Reached out to the dealer and the head office of Subaru in north America, basically I was told it is already passed warranty. I started to search for a used engine and realized there were quite similar problems with Subaru BRZ. Most use engine in the market range 4000 to 6500 dollars plus installation fee about 1000. I wouldn't recommend this car unless you don't have any respect for your money.
No
Engine noises, and hesitations
Just a basic car with slap together parts from Toyota and Subaru. It's just not a good choice vehicle. Cricket sounds from engine that gives a headache listening to it. Engine has to many flaws on rpm. Not enough horsepower. It has sluggish spots... For the same amount of money, I rather buy the wrx awd.
Driver focus, handling, high revving engine, FUN!
no torque, Prius tires, sound system, poor NVH
This is a car for driving enthusiasts and enthusiastic drivers. Not everyone will like this car or even understand it's appeal. The late Ken Miles once told an MG owner that he needed to drive his MG "like he meant it." This is a car that must be driven like you mean it. Zero to sixty is not this car's strong suit: acceleration from a full stop is always disappointing, but once you get this car up to speed and the engine revving between 4500 RPM and redline it is an amazing performer and a very satisfying drive. The problem is that the typical driver will be to scared to drive it the way it was meant to be driven. They will want to shift at 3000 rpm and keep the revs deep within the infamous 'Torque Dip' and will complain that the engine "has no power!" But the driver who keeps the engine from dropping under 4500 RPM will be treated to a transmission and drivetrain that can teach them how to drive like Sir Jackie Stewart. The pedals are perfect for heel and toe downshifts. Above 4500 RPM the engine is flexible enough to skip gears on both upshifts and downshifts. The seats, steering wheel, and instruments are very good. It is a fabulous driver's car once you learn it's foibles. Now, the shortcomings: The Michelin Primacy HP tires that the car arrives on wear like iron, deliver awesome gas mileage, and handle very predictably, but they don't provide much grip. Replace them as soon as you can with the high performance tires this car deserves; you won't regret the purchase. The navigation sound system is mediocre at best and attached to low fi speakers. It is not very loud and can be difficult to hear over road noise. Many owners replace the entire system. I kept the head unit but upgraded to good quality, high efficiency speakers and it now sounds tolerable if not at audiophile quality. BTW: the cheap OEM speaker are VERY heavy; I saved weight by replacing them with speakers with neodymium magnets. Speaking of road noise, the designers didn't use much sound deadening material. They preferred to save cost and weight. When it rains the roof drums and when roads get rough road noise is loud. I added about 20 lbs. of sound deadener to the roof, doors, trunk, trunk lid, and rear fenders and it is now a smidge quieter. The back seat is not for full sized people and as a package shelf is better utilized folded down although that increases the road noise. Finally the engine: it is just fine at high RPMs but off idle it leaves a ton to be desired. I will admit I replaced the headers and cat back with high flow aftermarket parts and invested in a tune to eliminate the torque dip problem. The car has much improved drive-ability throughout the entire rev range with those mods, but it is very noticeable off idle and low RPMs. It now launches confidently from a full stop. In Summary: this is a car for driving enthusiasts who enjoy thinking about the mechanics of driving, getting the best performance out of the car, and enjoy thinking about how the car responds to their inputs, It is not a car for people who can't be bothered to think while driving, the ones who drive with a Starbucks in one hand and a cell phone clamped to their ear who never look at the tachometer. This car will disappoint those drivers. It is not basic transportation for a minimally skilled driver. It requires attention and those who pay attention will learn to drive this car well and will enjoy driving this car for many, many years.
