When people ask me – and they have for years – what’s my favorite road test vehicle, I tell them.
Many do not believe me when I say the Toyota GR86, and its clone, the Subaru BRZ.“You mean, it isn’t the Corvette, or Mustang, or Bugatti?,” they ask.
Nope, my fave is a rear-wheel-drive two-plus-two coupe with a 6-speed manual transmission – automatic available – and “just” 228-hp. Plus, the price is below $40,000, not bad these days. The only alternatives are few – the admittedly cool Miata, or the Ecoboost inline-4 Mustang that I just tested.
So here’s the ultimate BRZ – this red tS – with upgraded Brembo disc brakes, specially-tuned struts and dampers, and a “Sport” button.
OK, here’s some history to back up my love of this 167-inch-long coupe jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru. It was introduced in 2012 with a 200-hp flat four that helped keep the hoodline low. It shared some bits with a Toyota Scion (look it up) amd today has a 53%-front, 47%-rear weight bias and a low center or gravity.
2025 Subaru BRZ: One Of The Few 2-Doors Left Standing
The basic shape, then as now, was a classic fastback coupe. The Toyota and Subaru were almost identical, with minor differences in nose and tail designs and some side details. This second generation BRZ, in 2021, had a similar silhouette, but got more aggressive in its details.
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The nose has slim, almond-shaped headlights with LED swoosh daytime running lights (DRLs) over aggressive lower corner intakes with black accents inside. The 6-sided grille goes gloss black over a deep air dam. The deeply-drooped aluminum hood had a bit of Porsche Cayman in it, to great effect, meeting a neatly raked windshield.
The front fenders get aero-sculpting as they flare aft to frame functional side vents, and neatly encircle P215/15R18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport rubber on thin-spoked gray alloy wheels with bronze Brembo brake calipers inside. The lower vent line flows aft to become flared sill, again to good effect as they add some edginess to the flanks.
The fastback window is not a hatchback. The trunk lid ends in a tall, swept-up spoiler added to the trailing edge, with slim LED taillights at each corner, connected by a black bar. Two largish exhaust tips are framed by a black lower fascia.
The whole deal looks low, wide and well planted. I liked how the wide rear Michelin’s were visible peeking out from the short rear end’s minimal overhang. The roof is just about as high as my waist.
Can A Young Family Live With A Subaru BRZ?
Yes – sorta.
My spouse and I are 6-foot-tall, so we folded down into the BRZ and planted our 9-year-old grandson in the back seat. Criss-cross, apple sauce, he fit, with inches of room between his knees and the back of the front seat, while the adults still had room. Many would consider this a sports car with a cozy cockpit, driver-oriented controls and enough tech to keep driver and passenger happy. As part of its earlier 2022 model year update is a more driver focused design in black with touches of red in the instruments and control lighting.
2025 Subaru BRZ’s 2+2 Interior Is Comfy, Cozy
You drop into deep, very supportive and comfortable Ultrasuede and leather bucket seats with manual adjustment, decent side bolsters and inserts with blue striping and stitching. The steering wheel gets a grippy, leather-wrapped rim with the usual stereo, trip computer and phone controls in front. The last-gen analog gauges are now a customizable 7-inch digital display under a suede-trimmed cowl, padded dashtop framing it, with hard black plastic below.
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The gauge display has a 9,000-rpm tach dead center, a digital speedometer inside with drive indicator, and gas and temperature bar graphs. The left display can be switched to audio, trip meter, G-force and more. In Sport and Track mode, the tach becomes a linear graph for a quick read at speed, with a 7,500-rpm redline. Wit h Subaru’s eye toward safety, the display’s left side also flashes if you close in too quick on a car ahead.
The dashboard design is less busy than the last generation, with jet intake-like a/c vents at the outer edges and a tubular section in front of the passenger. Center stage over slim air vents is an 8-inch infotainment touch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (not wireless), Bluetooth, rear camera and SiriusXM with apps, although there’s no HD Radio. Instead you’ll make due with a regular AM/FM tuner. Dual-zone climate control integrates main functions into dials below with integral displays, then buttons handle the rest.
The front seats get dual-level heat along with a heated steering wheel. The seats, while manual in height, rake and slide, could be perfectly configured. They’re comfortable and supportive due to just-right bolstering, and include blue shading in the grippy cloth inserts. There’s also nice blue striping in places like the gearbox leather boot. While there’s a bit of hard plastic around, at least the doortops get padded suede. There are cup holders in the door, and behind that shifter. Seat heat controls join drive and Track mode buttons, plus stability control.
Since this is a 2+2 coupe, the rear seats are made for kids with folded legs, or your luggage, or a pet. You can fold them down to expand the shallow but wide 6.3-cu.ft. trunk to fit four race tires and tools for track days, Subaru says. The BRZ also includes rubber floor mats.
One downside, the gauge and center display fade out in morning and afternoon sun. Outside of thaqt quibble, it’s a comfy, cozy place for two in a driver-oriented cockpit that’s done nicely.
BRZ Boxer Engine Delivers Decent Fuel Economy
The aluminum bonnet is light, propping open to reveal a 2.4-liter Boxer (opposed) four with 228-hp at 7,000 rpm and 184 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,700 rpm. To remind you of its Toyobaru heritage, the motor’s plastic cover says TOYOTA D-4S Boxer SUBARU. And to remind you that it has opposed cylinders like the classic Porsche 911 or VW Beetle, there’s a bit of that putter-putter sound at idle.
That hp and lb.-ft. figures may not sound like much. But this 2,851 -lb. coupe is pretty light thanks to aluminum roof, front fenders and hood, for a decent power-to-weight ratio of 12.5 ponies per pound.
There’s Normal and Sport drive modes, as well as Track setting on a separate button. You can feel engine power nudge up, with sharper throttle response, when you tap in Track or Sport mode.
There’s plenty of urge in Normal thanks to a well-weighted clutch pedal that engages neatly with a precise, short-throw shifter. Our 6,400-mile-old coupe hit 60 mph in a rapid enough 6.7 seconds with a hint of launch wheelspin. In Sport mode, the exhaust note sportily snarling, we got to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, wheelspin handled by traction control. And in Track mode – stability control automatically shuts off, and engine response gets even more aggressive – we again hit 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, manually (and merrily) controlling wheelspin as the engine revved its lovely little heart out. We also pulled a respectable .7Gs on launch. And we saw an average 27 mpg driving in a mix of base and Sport drive modes.
To compare, when we tested a 2022 BRZ tS (seen above) with an automatic, in Normal mode, it launched smartly to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. In Sport mode, it was quick – 60 mph in 6.5 seconds (100 in just over 14) with a rabid exhaust snarl, pulling .7 Gs on launch. And we hit 60 mph in 5.9 seconds in Track mode, averaging as high as 28 mpg then. To go back even further, when I tested a first-gen 2018 BRZ tS in Track mode, we hit 60 mph in 7 seconds.
2025 Subaru BRZ’s Handling Remains Sharp & Taunt
This second-gen platform has a 50-percent increase in torsional stiffness, while front lateral bending rigidity has increased by 60-percent, Subaru says. The BRZ also has one of the lowest centers of gravity of any gasoline production car, even lower than the first-gen, Subaru says. Those meaty Michelin Pilots are combined with a 4-wheel independent suspension made up of MacPherson-type struts with lower L-arms, Hitachi dampers and coil springs in front, and double wishbones in back with stabilizer bars all-round.
We found a pleasingly taut ride with decent, quick bump absorption It’s very firm but has buffered rebound on potholes and bumps. It’s not as refined as some German sports coupes I could name, but I lived with it every day with no complaints. The cabin is fairly quiet with only some tire thump over pavement cracks.
The BRZ loves to play, with a nice front/rear weight balance and standard limited-slip Torsen rear differential. It showed sure-footed cornering composure on interstate ramps, with minimal body roll and a near-neutral attitude as I applied power coming out of the curve. An interstate on-ramp under power saw .6Gs in steady-state cornering ability. It was very neutral.
If you power into a corner it stays true to its path, although a bit of throttle could swing its tail out playfully, with no malice and easily caught by driver and stability control. On a real winding road, it was a joy – it tracked so nicely as we connected curve to curve. The G-force display showed up to 1 G in steady-state cornering on our skidpad, with very solid grip. And in Track mode, we enjoyed powering the tail out just a bit, easy to catch and play with.
Electric-power-assisted rack and pinion steering is very direct and full of feel with a quick 13.5:1 steering ratio. And our 12.8-inch front/12.4-inch rear vented Brembo disc brakes had an immediate pedal bite and good control, great stopping power with no fade from high speed. We consistently pulled 1.1 Gs in stops with minimal nose dive and no brake fade.
For safety, adaptive cruise control maintains speed and distance to a stop, then the driver has to take over. Subaru’s Eyesight Driver Assist monitors traffic ahead and alerts if it slows down, and beeps if you stray out of lane. There’s a 2-second hill holder to make it easier to launch on an uphill.
Built at Subaru’s Gunma, Japan plant, the base price of a 2025 Subaru BRZ Premium with 6-speed manual is $31,095. Our BRZ tS with manual was $36,360 at the time this story was posted. Two extras were the $145 cargo tray and $81 rubber floor mats mentioned above for a final tally of $37,756.
Bottom line: Still my favorite for power-to-weight-to-fun ratio, as well as fun/predictable at-the-limit handling. It’s quick enough, ready to be run hard, but still able to commute – looks good too.
2025 Subaru BRZ tS Specifications
Vehicle type – two-plus-two compact sports coupe
Base price – $36,360 (as tested – $37,756)
Engine type – aluminum DOHC 16-valve boxer four with dual variable valve timing
Displacement – 2.4-liter
Horsepower (net) – 228 @ 7,000 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 184 @ 3,700 rpm
Transmission – 6-speed manual
Wheelbase – 101.4 inches
Overall length – 167.9 inches
Overall width – 69.9 inches
Height – 51.6 inches
Front headroom – 37 inches
Front legroom – 41.5 inches
Rear headroom – 33.5 inches
Rear legroom – 29.9 inches
Cargo capacity – 6.3-cu.ft.
Curb weight – 2,851 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 13.2-gallons
Mileage rating – 20-mpg city/ 27-mpg highway