Reader Review: 2022 Subaru BRZ Sport-Tech

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Subaru says the target market for their second-generation 2022 BRZ sports car is a “young and spirited” crowd. And that’s exactly to whom Gary Rokosh thinks the car will appeal. In fact, if he were slightly younger himself, he’d put it high on his list.

“My first new car was a 1987 Toyota MR2,” the Calgarian says. “It was a small, mid-engine car and I didn’t really think too much about the practicality aspect of it. I just wanted something that was fun to drive, that turned really well and stopped really well.”

After spending a week in a ’22 Subaru BRZ Sport-tech with 6-speed manual close ratio transmission, Rokosh confirms the 2 + 2 coupe, “Just makes driving fun.”

Subaru worked with Toyota (which sells their own version of the car, currently called the GR86) to develop the sports coupe model, and first launched the low-slung, boxer-style flat four-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive BRZ in 2012.  Now in its second-generation for 2022, Subaru’s BRZ is a completely upgraded car. Under the hood is a slightly more powerful naturally aspirated 2.4-litre boxer-style engine that now puts out 228 horsepower — the outgoing 2.0L engine offered 205 h.p. Backing up the engine is either a 6-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission. For ’22, the car is longer by 1-inch (25mm) and the roof height has been chopped 0.4-inches (10mm). The chassis has been strengthened and the BRZ also has a lower centre of gravity.

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Subaru has imbued the car with an even sportier exterior, one Rokosh says, “Has more folds and creases than it really needed,” and he continues, “Not to be super critical, but I think it could have been simpler.

“It is, however, still a good-looking car, and overall, I liked the profile. The rear end is especially appealing, the way the rear flares over the wheels and tires and wraps around, it’s very aggressive and purposeful.”

Finished in Subaru’s classic World Rally Blue Pearl paint, Rokosh’s tester “was hard to miss, and it’s a colour that definitely highlights the car, very well” he says.

Getting into the BRZ, Rokosh appreciated the simple and straightforward cockpit. The LCD gauges are configurable to display a variety of content, including just the basic driving information. “The instrument cluster was front and centre with tach and speedo, and everything was really well laid out,” Rokosh explains. “There wasn’t a lot of room to work with in there, but all of the controls are right where you’d expect them to be.”

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There’s an eight-inch infotainment touchscreen at the top of the centre stack with knobs and switches directly below to control the HVAC system. 

At six-feet tall, Rokosh says it took him a few minutes to get into a comfortable driving position in the manually adjustable low-profile sport seat. In the Sport-tech equipped BRZ, the seats are trimmed in leather and Ultrasuede.

“I had plenty of headroom, and it’s certainly not claustrophobic,” Rokosh says. “But the seat bolsters were tight. I weigh 185 pounds and if you’re around 250 lbs you’ll have a little trouble in the seat. It certainly does a good job of holding you in place.”

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Fit and finish was “really good quality, and for the price point, I didn’t feel like I was sitting in anything cheaply built. There weren’t a lot of hard plastics and I was super impressed by the lack of squeaks and rattles – it’s really solidly put together.”

That price point, if Rokosh had driven the BRZ Sport-tech off the lot, was just a bit more than $34,000 with freight and PDI but before taxes. Time spent behind the wheel proved the BRZ was a capable performer.

“The car is light and the engine is torquey so you don’t have to rev it out to feel like you were getting anywhere,” Rokosh says of the powerplant. “But if you really did want to go, at 4,000 rpm it starts to make great power and the engine didn’t sound coarse – it sounded good.

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“And the shifter for the six-speed transmission was one of the highlights of the car; it’s one of the better ones I’ve driven. It’s never vague on where it’s going, with direct, positive short throws.”

Clutch action was light and it took Rokosh little time to figure out the sweet spot. As Rokosh has already said, he found the car fun to drive. “It’s kind of go-kart like, with very little lean going into a corner. It’s surefooted, very zippy and not intimidating at all. Steering is super direct and overall, the car feels very athletic. It’s got a really good ride, there’s no harshness in the suspension and the shocks feel like they’re very high quality.”

And Rokosh found the BRZ had far more utility than his old Toyota MR2.

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“You could put someone in the back seat in an emergency, I’d say, but I don’t see that working out for a long journey proposition,” he says. “But when you fold the rear seats forward, that opened up quite a bit of utility. It took two golf bags, and you could put more in there no problem. There were no issues with blind spots, either.”

The overall appeal of the car, he says, was its simplicity. It was a great commuter, and it could also be used for track days. After driving the BRZ every day for a week, he says it cost him $90 to fill it with fuel.

“I think it does suit someone younger, but it’s not just for younger folks,” Rokosh says, and concludes, “For anyone looking for a weekend car or a commuter that you want to have some fun in, it could also be a great toy for a more mature person.”

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DRIVER’S JOURNAL

DAY 1

Started it up, clutch throw is short and light. Throttle response off idle a bit slow and there is some rev hang before they come down again. Definitely quicker than the previous version with the 2.0-litre, more torque at lower rpms makes a noticeable difference. Pretty short gearing so it has no trouble moving out in first and second gear. Feels very light and nimble, lots of fun to drive. 

DAY 2

Loaded two golf bags and went golfing, lots of room for clubs with the back seat folded down. Really enjoying the car, more torque definitely improved driveability, no problem scooting through traffic. Likes to rev and sounds good doing it, very smooth and makes good power at higher revs.

DAY 3

Ran a few errands. You can get a surprising amount of stuff in the car with the seats folded down. There’s easily enough room for a weekend golf trip with luggage. I feel like I’m climbing down into the car but once in it feels great, you really feel like you’re sitting in the car not on the seats. Suspension takes railway tracks and bad bumps without any harshness or bottoming at all. I think they nailed it, some cars these days have suspensions too harsh for normal driving in my opinion.

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DAY 4

A bit surprised at how good the stereo is, better than I was expecting at this price point and market. A manual can be a pain in traffic but this one makes it relatively painless. Light clutch, great shifter and more torque make it easy to navigate traffic. I do like the shifter lockout for reverse, shouldn’t happen but every now and then reverse instead of first can be embarrassing. Small car with great handling makes it easy to find the holes in traffic flow.

DAY 5

A small thing but nonetheless, impressed with the lack of turbulence with the windows down. Stop and go traffic into work has me starting to appreciate the slight throttle hang, makes the car very smooth while crawling along in first even if it’s a bit annoying when you’re trying to shift fast at higher speeds. Getting used to it, this is a great manual transmission with a smooth, torquey engine that likes to rev. The instrumentation changes in track mode to a bar line tach with the rpms above 4,000 exaggerated to ensure you know exactly where you are as you approach redline, very slick

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DAY 6

Would I buy this car?  As a young person I would definitely consider it. I always like smaller, good handling cars with horsepower being secondary to good handling. With today’s 400-plus horsepower cars you don’t get a chance to drive them flat out very often, this one lets you drive hard without breaking all speed records in an instant.

DAY 7

Last day with the car. Did some higher speed freeway miles, very comfortable doing 120 without breaking a sweat. Relatively loud but not excessive in my opinion. I think this car nails the target market, young person who wants a fun to drive, reliable and practical sports car. Fast enough, very solid feeling, great handling. Looks great in my opinion, especially the rear end of the car.